Occasional Albums Thing 007 - The Monkees “The Monkees”

I know this next statement will cause much wailing, gnashing of teeth, exclamations of disbelief and much, much table thumping in certain circles but, this is my Blog and if you don’t like the opinions expressed here, go write yer own…back to that statement, which is…when it comes to loveable, mop-topped pop four pieces of the 1960’s who excelled in making knockabout, slapstick movies/TV shows and producing hit singles like it just ain’t no thing…I’ll take The Monkees over The Beatles every time…there, I’ve said it.

Yes they were a band put together specifically for a TV show from open auditions for actors and musicians. Davy Jones had starred as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway run of “Oliver!” after previously appearing in “Coronation Street, Micky Dolenz had starred as a child actor in the TV series “Circus Boy”, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith were both working, if unsuccessful, musicians. Yes most of their songs were written for them by the best songwriters of the day (Neil Diamond, Goffin and King, Boyce and Hart). And no, I’m not trying to claim The Monkees were as important in the grand scheme of things as The Beatles, I just prefer them. 

Maybe it’s the glamour of The Monkees being (mostly) American, maybe it’s the over familiarity and the endless fawning over The Beatles (something I have an inbuilt aversion to) but you’re just gonna have to deal with my choice. In defence of The Monkees it’s not just them, I’d take the Small Faces, The Who, The Hollies, The Yardbirds and a host of other 60’s luminaries before you get me anywhere near a pile of Beatles records.

And when they put their minds to it/were allowed to The Monkees could write their own songs too. Mike Nesmith’s “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”, “You Just May Be The One” and “Listen To The Band” for instance, or Micky Dolenz’ cheeky dig across the pond on “Alternate Title (Randy Scouse Git)” and not forgetting Peter Tork’s co-write “For Pete’s Sake” (the song that used to play over the closing credits of their TV show “In this generation, In this loving time” etc.), they’re all great songs and there were more that aren’t included on this compilation.

Of those written by other writers, Neil Diamond’s pair of “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” and “A Little Bit Me, A LIttle Bit You”, ace songwriting duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart’s “Valleri” and future Punk classic “I'm Not Your Stepping Stone” and  Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s social commentary piece “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and the utterly superb “The Porpoise Song” are songs almost any band would would be happy to have drop into their laps…and we haven’t even mentioned the really big hits.

I’d have heard most of these songs as a kid watching Saturday morning re-runs of The Monkees TV show, zany slapstick it may have been but it helped The Monkees sell around 75 million records. And then they went and made a far-out, lysergic-dipped  hippy movie, “Head”, written by a then unknown Jack Nicholson and starring Victor Mature, Sonny Liston, stripper Carol Doda, a Green Bay Packer and Frank Zappa…what’s not to love about The Monkees ?

What Am I Doing Hanging Round - https://youtu.be/nS_M3Xj4NHM?si=FQFpxqf4LJYcT4oE