I am extraordinarily proud to share the news that a new book from my publishing imprint Beatland Books is now available for Pre-order – it begins shipping at the end of October.
The Monkees: Smoke-Filled Dreams is The Monkees’ history seen from every angle. Culled from Joe Russo’s massive private lifetime collection, it features more than 700 rare and previously unpublished images chronicling the group from their inception in 1965 through to their final days in 1970.
This is not just another Monkees book. In the coming weeks we’ll show more of what is inside – 500 black and white photos, mixed with over 200 color images, as well as a dozen rare period documents. The range of material is breathtaking even to me, someone who you would think as seen it all at this point.
It is 535 pages printed on high quality paper and it weighs a ton! It is 12×12 like Micky’s recent book and would look very nice next to it! Lots more details to come…
Beatland Books, which has previously published the extensive deluxe rewrite of Andrew Sandoval’s ‘The Monkees: The Day by DayStory’ book, has followed up with another outstanding release with ‘I’m Told I Had A Good Time: The Micky Dolenz Archives – Volume One’.
Sandoval has compiled from the personal archives of Micky Dolenz an incredible collection of photos that chronicles Dolenz’s life and career from his earliest childhood stardom in the 1950’s television series ‘Circus Boy’, into the 1960’s and Micky’s second burst of fame with The Monkees and on till 1977 as he began his career in England as a respected television director.
Photo Copyright Micky Dolenz/Beatland Books.
The nearly 500 pages are packed with astounding photos and memorabilia from Micky’s personal collection, the majority never before published. Micky takes the reader behind the scenes of Circus Boy, the early days of The Monkees on their television set, the movie ‘Head’ and the whirlwind of their wild concert tours, with fantastic photos of Jimi Hendrix as their opening act, hanging out with The Beatles, Stephen Stills, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon and Harry Nilsson among many famous faces and names.
Peter Tork and Jimi Hendix. Photo Copyright Micky Dolenz/Beatland Books.
Throughout the book Dolenz reflects on the many aspects of his life and career with warmth and humor and a fondness for the people he associated with and called his friends. Micky takes you back to those fun, crazy days when he and the other Monkees were briefly in the eye of the hurricane and beyond.
The book is available in three different formats: as a numbered Super Deluxe Hardcover Edition in a special clamshell case with an additional set of prints, a numbered Deluxe Hardcover Edition in a protective slipcase and a less expensive unnumbered Flexibound Open Edition minus extras. Both Deluxe Editions are hand signed by Micky Dolenz. The Deluxe Editions are limited and will be available for a very short time. The Flexibound is an unsigned open edition. The Flexibound edition of ‘The Monkees: The Day By Day Story’ by Andrew Sandoval is also still available in a limited supply.
Beatland Books has prided itself in presenting the book to its highest quality standards with glossy paper in a sturdy bound format. ‘I’m Told I Had A Good Time’ by Micky Dolenz is a book that belongs in the book shelves of any Monkees and 60’s Rock Fan. This is the ultimate Monkees scrapbook, and it’s only volume one!
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’
The songwriting team of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart are pretty much recognized as the ‘Lennon & McCartney’ of The Monkees, having written several of the groups most popular songs and hits like ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, ‘I Wanna Be Free’, ‘She’, ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’, ‘Words’, ‘Valleri’, ‘Tear Drop City’ and more. Together and as individual songwriters, they’ve written hits for artists like Little Anthony & The Imperials (‘Hurt So Bad’), Freddie Cannon (‘Action’), Curtis Lee (‘Pretty Little Angel Eyes’), Jay & The Americans (‘Come A Little Bit Closer’) and Helen Reddy (‘Keep On Singing’) among others. It was Boyce & Hart that Screen Gems turned to help write, produce, and shape The Monkees’ sound on record. Seeing the success the Monkees were having inspired Tommy and Bobby to become recording and performing artists as well, getting a taste with their band the Candy Store Prophets backing the solo segments of the Monkees 1967 tour. (Less than a decade later, the duo would team up with Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart.)
Signing with A&M Records, the duo released their first album ‘Test Patterns’ in 1967. On the strength of the successful single ‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?’, the team recorded and released their second album named after the single in 1968. Considered their best album, 7a Records has remastered ‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?’ in a new reissue with incredible sound to celebrate its 55th anniversary.
The songs have a Beatlesque/Brian Wilson type of production that really benefits the songs with a Pop sheen sprinkled with a bit of 60’s psychedelia. ‘Pretty Flower’ could have fit on a later Beach Boys record with its Pop arrangement enhanced by strings. And the B & H version of ‘Tear Drop City’ is actually better than the Monkees one, which segues with sitar-like acoustics into the ethereal ‘Love Every Day’. ‘Two For The Price Of One’ is a soulful bit of fun with the duo name tagging each other.
‘Goodbye Baby (I Don’t Want To See You Cry)’ is a nice orchestral track with building vocals that evoke the harmonies of The Beatles and The Beach Boys. (Tommy & Bobby were paying attention to what Brian Wilson was doing in the studio.) ‘I’m Digging You Digging Me’ sounds like it could have fit onto the Beach Boys ‘Wild Honey’ album, the melody sort of references the ‘Monkees Theme’ with a wink! Bobby Hart enhances the song ‘Leaving Again’ with his soulful vocals. Tommy Boyce has fun with ‘The Countess’ which has a touch of the Beatles and the Monkees. ‘Population’ has a Bob Dylan improvisational stream of consciousness feel in the lyrics with a wild instrumentation buildup that softly segues into Tommy & Bobby’s version of ‘I Wanna Be Free’ that ends the album on a nice, quiet note.
7a Records has reissued the remastered album on cd in a gatefold sleeve accompanied by a 28-page booklet with informative liner notes written by Monkees historian Andrew Sandoval and many period photos by acclaimed photographer Henry Diltz. The vinyl edition is limited to 500 copies pressed on 180g Red vinyl. As per their past releases, 7a Records excels on the quality and production of this release.
Hopefully this release will lead to more reissues of the Boyce & Hart catalogue with rare bonus tracks included. If you’re a fan of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart and their work with The Monkees and other artists, then the 7a Records remaster of ‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?’ is a definite keeper.
1. I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?
2. Pretty Flower
3. Teardrop City
4. Love Every Day
5. Two For The Price Of One
6. Goodbye Baby (I Don’t Want To See You Cry)
7. I’m Digging, You Digging Me
8. Leaving Again
9. The Countess
10. Population
11. I Wanna Be Free
• Deluxe 55th Anniversary Edition
• Remastered
• Previously Unseen Photos
• 28 Page Colour CD Booklet
• Extensive Liner Notes
• Lyrics To All Songs
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’.
No matter how many times I’ve seen The Monkees in concert, group or solo, the show was always better than the one I saw previously. Sadly, Micky Dolenz is the last surviving member of the group since over the past ten years, between 2011 to 2021, we’ve lost Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. As the last Monkee standing, Micky now shoulders the responsibility of carrying on the groups’ legacy. As he did on last years ‘Celebration of The Monkees” tour, Micky along with his excellent band, continues with a celebration of the groups’ seminal album ‘Headquarters’, performing the classic record in its entirety.
Micky Dolenz and Rich Dart
I caught up with the tour on April 16th at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA. Micky’s band consisted of his sister Coco Dolenz on background vocals, Alex Jules on keyboards, Rich Dart on drums, John Billings playing bass, newest member Emeen Zarookian on guitar and long-time lead guitarist Wayne Avers who also served as the musical director. The production was put together by Monkees archivist, author and Grammy winning producer Andrew Sandoval.
With Andrew Sandoval. Photo taken by Scott Erickson
The concert not only focused on the ‘Headquarters’ album but was also a moving tribute to the memory of Micky’s dearly missed Monkees brothers. The usual Monkees hits like ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’, ‘Porpoise Song’ from the movie ‘Head’ and other familiar songs were played. Micky sang lead on some of the songs associated with Davy Jones like ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little You’, ‘Valleri’ and an emotional version of ‘Daydream Believer’ that the entire audience were encouraged to join in on. One of the rarities performed was ‘All Of Your Toys’, the very first song the Monkees played all the instruments on. This led right into the main portion of the show highlighting the ‘Headquarters’ album with Micky singing lead on most of the songs. The exceptions were a couple of the Davy songs with Emeen Zarookian singing the lead on ‘Forget That Girl’ and Alex Jules on ‘I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind’, their vocals closely matching those of Jones.
Alex Jules, Micky Dolenz and Emeen Zarookian
Forget That Girl – Emeen Zarookian
The other exception were the actual audio clips of ‘Band 6’ and ‘Zilch’ supplemented by photos from the albums’ sessions. On these two brief segments, all four young Monkees from over 50 years ago were together again.
Through this portion of the show Micky offered his recollections on Davy, Peter and Michael with special video tributes dedicated to each member. One of the most emotional moments of the show was when Micky and his sister Coco performed ‘Shades of Gray’, the song now taking on a much sadder meaning. After the performance, Coco could be seen wiping her eyes, as were many members of the audience.
Micky Dolenz, Wayne Avers and Coco Dolenz
The ‘Headquarters’ part of the show ended with Micky playing timpani on ‘Randy Scouse Git’ and at the conclusion announcing the intermission. The entire show and intermission were supplemented with video clips from the Monkees TV show, their movie ‘Head’ and 1969 television special ’33 & 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee’ and rare film footage from Micky’s private archives that included footage of the famous 1967 Hollywood Bowl concert.
From the collection of Micky Dolenz
The second half of the show began with a performance of ‘Porpoise Song’ along with its coda, and several of the Monkees big hits: ‘Valleri’, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, ‘That Was Then, This Is Now’, ‘Goin’ Down’, an audience singalong of ‘Daydream Believer’ with Micky wistfully waving to Davy dancing on the video screen, ‘Steppin’ Stone’, and winding up the show with the group’s biggest hit ‘I’m A Believer’.
Micky Dolenz Celebrates ‘Headquarters’
The entire show was a fitting tribute to both the ‘Headquarters’ album and to the memory of Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. Micky and the entire band were top notch and gave 100 percent-plus on their performances. It was evening filled with great memories and a few heartfelt tears. These Monkees celebration shows with Micky Dolenz are extra special, so try and catch this tour when it come to your town.
(Theme From) The Monkees Last Train to Clarksville Take a Giant Step Papa Gene’s Blues A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You The Girl I Knew Somewhere All of Your Toys You Told Me I’ll Spend My Life With You Forget That Girl Band 6 You Just May Be the One Shades of Gray Davy Jones Tribute Video (Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind Peter Tork Tribute Video (Your Auntie Grizelda, Long) For Pete’s Sake Mr. Webster Michael Nesmith Tribute Video (What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’ ) Sunny Girlfriend Zilch No Time Early Morning Blues and Greens Randy Scouse Git Porpoise Song (Theme From “Head”) Pleasant Valley Sunday I’ll Be Back Up on My Feet Valleri That Was Then, This Is Now Goin’ Down Daydream Believer I’m Not Your Stepping Stone
Encore I’m a Believer
Fred Velez, 2023.
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan Perspective’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’ plus the Monkees themed Holiday CD ‘A Little Bit Christmas’.
Sunday April 16th don’t miss “Collectors Call” on the MeTV channel at 6:30pm ET. I’m the show’s memorabilia “expert” assessing the MONKEES collection of Katherine McCabe. Hosted by Lisa (“Facts of Life”) Whelchel. Find MeTV here:
Of the nine studio albums The Monkees recorded and released during their initial mid/late 1960’s period, their 1967 third album ‘Headquarters’ is universally recognized as The Monkees most famous and iconic record. After two albums released with studio musicians under the supervision of music coordinator Don Kirshner, ‘Headquarters’ was the group’s declaration of independence where their talents as a functioning band were on full display as they finally were allowed to perform the majority of the music themselves. While slightly rough in spots, the garage band feel of the album under the musical supervision of producer Chip Douglas and with Michael Nesmith taking on the helm of group leader, ‘Headquarters’ became the Monkees third number one charting album in a row. The band’s efforts have been previously examined in the 2000 Rhino Handmade ‘Headquarters Sessions’ box set and the 2007 two disc Deluxe Set. Now Rhino has finally released the highly anticipated 4 cd disc Super Deluxe Edition set produced by the Grammy Award winning producer, Monkees expert and chronicler Andrew Sandoval, and it was well worth the wait.
Under Sandoval’s meticulous supervision and attention to detail, the four discs are filled to capacity with tons of bonus tracks, session tapes, studio chatter, and accompanied by a booklet of informative liner notes by Sandoval that chronicle the entire genesis of the making of ‘Headquarters’, including the creative battle of wits between Don Kirshner and the Monkees. The essay is a condensed version of the more detailed account found in Sandoval’s extensive rewrite of his 2021 book ‘The Monkees: The Day To Day Story’. The booklet with the liner notes has great photos of the Monkees, Chip Douglas, Don Kirshner, Jeff Barry and the other major actors involved during the period of the sessions which would be almost worth the price of admission alone. But the main focus of the set is the amazing treasure trove of music spread out over the four cd discs with 67 previously unreleased tracks.
The discs are broken up into four thematic sections: a new 2022 remix of the original album with additional bonus material, the January 1967 Sessions, the February 1967 Sessions and the March 1967 Sessions and Beyond. The remix of the ‘Headquarters’ album found on Disc 1 is a major revelation on its own. Working with the original multitrack tapes, all of which still exist, Sandoval has created a new version that enhances the listening experience by centering the drums and bass on the mix without compromising the integrity of the record. The clarity is astounding, it’s like listening to ‘Headquarters’ for the first time, which with this mix you are. The stereo picture is very close to the mono mix of the album which brings out sound textures previously buried in the original mixes. There are longer fadeouts on some of the songs like ‘Forget That Girl’, ‘Shades Of Grey’ and clean endings to ‘Early Mornings Blues And Greens’ and ‘Randy Scouse Git’ which add to the fun of those songs. The bonus tracks on disc one include the first and second versions of ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’, amazing remixed versions of ‘All Of Your Toys’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’, the first version of ‘She Hangs Out’ with a longer fadeout, ’99 Pounds’ and ‘You Can’t Tie A Mustang Down’ that practically leap out of your speakers, headphones and ear buds. Even the weaker numbers ‘If I Learned To Play The Violin’ and ‘Sally’ (‘I Didn’t Know You Had It In You Sally’) have a bit of a kick to them in these remixes. Two songs on disc one, ‘Gotta Give It Time’ and ‘Love To Love’, originally produced by Jeff Barry and Brendan Cahill in 1967 and used by the late Adam Schlesinger for the 2016 ‘Good Times!’ album’, have also been remixed and enhanced with less reverb on the 2016 Micky Dolenz lead vocals and Michael Nesmith’s backing vocals brought up higher in the mix on the former track and on the latter track using Davy Jones’ 1969 vocals with the 2016 backing vocals of Dolenz and Peter Tork also brought up in the mix with much more clarity.
Disc 2 features the January 1967 sessions that begins with the previously unreleased instrumental demo sessions recorded at the legendary Gold Star Studios for ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’ and ‘All Of Your Toys’, with the Monkees playing the backing tracks and Chip Douglas in the producer’s seat, that were intended for Don Kirshner to listen to and prove that the group were adequately capable of accompanying themselves on their records. Another of the Monkees’ recorded backing tracks is ‘She’s So Far Out, She’s In’ which the group were performing on their early concerts. (A live version with Nez singing lead from the 1967 Arizona concert can be found on the ‘More Of The Monkees’ Super Deluxe Box Set.) The majority of Disc 2 are the various backing tracks for ‘Love To Love’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’, ‘Gotta Give It Time’, ’99 Pounds’ ‘She Hangs Out’ and ‘Mustang’. Many of these tracks were supervised by Kirshner with producer Jeff Barry at the helm at the New York RCA studios. The majority of these tracks were up for consideration for the proposed Kirshner supervised third Monkees album. Among the recorded backing track are those written and produced by the team of Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer which include ‘Love Is On The Way’, ‘Sally’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Puppy Dog’ and ‘Sugar Man’, the latter song notoriously confused with Jeff Barry and Andy Kim’s ‘Sugar, Sugar’ which became a hit for The Archies in 1969 with Ron Dante singing the lead. Andrew Sandoval definitively dispels the erroneous myth that ‘Sugar, Sugar’ was offered and rejected by the Monkees in 1967 when in actuallity it wasn’t composed until late 1968, a fact corroborated by the song’s writers Barry and Kim. Other backing tracks of songs for the proposed third Monkees album include ‘Poor Little Me’, ‘Eve Of My Sorrow’, ‘The Love You Got Inside’, ‘If I Learned To Play The Violin’ and ‘Black And Blue’ which was written by Neil Diamond. The remainder of the disc is rounded out by demo takes and mono mixes of ‘Seeger’s Theme’ with Peter Tork on acoustic guitar and whistling, ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’ and ‘All Of Your Toys’.
‘Sugar Man’ by Denny Randell & Sandy Linzer
‘I Wanna Be Your Puppy Dog’ and ‘Love Is On The Way’ by Denny Randell & Sandy Linzer
As chronicled in Sandoval’s liner notes, Don Kirshner was eventually ousted from his position as music supervisor when he breeched his contract by issuing through RCA Records in Canada an unauthorized single of ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’ backed with the early version of ‘She Hangs Out’ with vocals by Davy Jones instead of the group recorded ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’ with Micky Dolenz on lead vocals that was offered as a compromise which Kirshner refused and saw as an affront to his authority. With Don finally out of the picture, the Monkees along with Chip Douglas and engineer Hank Cicalo, Disc 3 of the February 1967 sessions presents the group as a musical working unit as they properly begin work on the album that would become ‘Headquarters’. Among the tracks are alternate versions of ’99 Pounds’, ‘She Hangs Out’, the Monkees’ recorded ‘Mr. Webster’, ‘Sunny Girlfriend’, the in-studio demos for ‘She’ll Be There’ and ‘Midnight Train’ with Micky and his sister Coco singing together, Peter Tork’s early rough mono mix of ‘Can You Dig It?’, Michael Nesmith’s mono mix demo of ‘Nine Times Blue’, individual demos of Davy and Nesmith singing ‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’ that Nez first recorded as Michael Blessing and with Michael accompanying Davy on acoustic guitar. The cd also includes the mono single mixes for ‘A Little Bit You, A Little Bit Me’, ‘She Hangs Out’ and ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’.
Disc 4 rounds out the set with the March 1967 sessions. Among the gathered gems are alternate vocal versions of ‘Randy Scouse Git’, ‘You Told Me’, ‘Forget That Girl’, ‘You Just May Be the One’, ‘No Time’, demo takes for Micky’s ‘Just A Game’ and ‘Pillow Time’ which was written by his mother Janelle Scott and Matt Willis, a version of ‘Early Morning Blues And Greens’ with alternating vocals between Davy and Peter, an informal recording of Tom Paxton’s ‘The Last Thing On My Mind’ with Peter on lead vocal and harmony vocals by Micky, an alternate vocal version of ‘Randy Scouse Git’ with a quick segue into the traditional song ‘East Virginia’, Micky and Peter fooling around on ‘Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho’, an unedited demo of Nesmith’s ‘Cantata & Fugue In C&W’ (which Nez later rerecorded on his own and appears as a bonus track on the 7a Records reissue of ‘And Hits Just Keep On Comin’), backing tracks for Harry Nilsson’s ‘The Story Of Rock And Roll’, a ‘Zilch’ concert tickets radio contest spot for KHJ Radio, the TV edit of ‘For Pete’s Sake’, the mono version of the ‘Tema Dei Monkees’ Italian 45 single with an additional stereo LP version that appeared on ‘I Monkees in TV’ Italian album and mono mixes for ‘Love To Love’ (originally issued on the 1979 ‘Monkeemania: 40 Timeless Hits From The Monkees’Australian LP), ‘You Can’t Tie A Mustang Down’ and ’99 Pounds’ which was originally issued on the Monkees final album ‘Changes’ in 1970.
But Wait, There’s More!!! A bonus 45 single with the 1967 mono mixes of ‘All Of Your Toys’ backed with ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’ with Michael Nesmith on lead vocals is the cherry on the cake.
The box set is beautifully put together with alternate front and back cover photos on the additional cds, the booklet filled with extensive and informative liner notes by Andrew Sandoval that gives you a basic primer on the history of the ‘Headquarters’ album with a fascinating peek behind the scenes of the backstage machinations and intrigues. There are many fantastic photos taken during the studio sessions that includes pictures of the master tapes boxes which are an extra treat. And, as a nod to those who purchased the 2000 Rhino Handmade ‘Headquarters Sessions’ box set, the inner casing of the box is made to resemble the cardboard OBI belt that secured that set, a nice little Easter egg for Monkees collectors.
Andrew Sandoval deserves extra kudos for compiling and producing this incredible collection. Monkees fans who purchase this set, which is limited to 4,000 units, will have hours of fun diving deep into the various contents of the box. The set can only be purchased at a reasonable price for such a jam packed collection on Rhino’s Monkees Shop Online Link and will NOT be available on any other online sale outlets like Amazon. Unless Rhino decides to run another batch of boxes, once it’s gone, it’s gone, and it will be expected to garner outrageously big bucks on sites like eBay down the road. The success of this set will also bode well for, hopefully, a super deluxe box set of the ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd’ album, and perhaps, if all the master tape elements and materials can be located or miraculously turns up, fingers crossed, a deluxe edition of ‘Changes’.
The 2022 ‘Headquarters’ Super Deluxe Edition Box set is not only fantastic in its own right, it makes the perfect companion piece to the earlier 2000 ‘Headquarters Sessions’ and 2007 Deluxe Edition two cd set. An album this important deserves the deluxe treatment this set provides.
In 1967 The Monkees were looking for respect. With the 2022 ‘Headquarters’ Super Deluxe Edition Box Set, they more than earned it.
The 2022 ‘Headquarters’ Super Deluxe Edition Box Set can ONLY be ordered on the online Rhino Monkees Store:
The 2000 ‘Headquarters Sessions’ set is also available for Digital Streaming and Download Purchase on most Streaming Services like Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music and Spotify.
Fred Velez, 2022.
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’ and the Monkees themed Holiday CD ‘A Little Bit Christmas’.
Micky Dolenz is pleased to announce he will be celebrating The Monkees’ third album, Headquarters with a 20-date live concert tour in April 2023! Tickets go on sale Friday (Nov 4th) with an artist presale on Wednesday (Nov 2nd). PSST: The PW is Zilch! Rhino honors Headquarters 55th anniversary this month with a 101-song box set containing 4 CDs, a 7” vinyl single, exclusive booklet and lots of unissued material. Limited to 4,000 copies worldwide, the set will be released on November 18 for $69.98. Head to Monkees.com for the tracklist and to preorder!
Dolenz is right to celebrate. The album represents a peak moment for The Monkees in terms of both creativity and camaraderie. Released in May 1967, Headquarters was the first album the group recorded after winning a hard-fought battle for control over its music earlier that year. It sold three million copies and topped the charts, making it the band’s third consecutive #1 album in less than a year.
Rhino honors the landmark recording’s 55th anniversary this year with an expansive new set that shows the genesis of the Headquarters project in full. It boasts 69 previously unreleased recordings, including the entire album newly mixed from the original multitrack elements which were resynched to create the best fidelity version of the album ever available. It also boasts the debut of backing tracks made for an abandoned Don Kirshner-led version of the album, as well as the band’s earliest surviving demos, plus recordings that would be completed in 2016 for The Monkees’ final studio album, Good Times!.
HEADQUARTERS: SUPER DELUXE EDITION contains 4 CDs and a 7” vinyl single with “All Of Your Toys” b/w “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.” Limited to 4,000 copies worldwide, the set will be released on November 18 for $69.98, exclusively at Monkees.com. Pre-orders are available now. “After completing our first tour as a four-piece band in late 1966, Nez perceptively remarked that, ‘Pinocchio had become a real little boy.’ By the end of March 1967, Pinocchio had actually become quite a cool little dude (if I do say so myself) with the completion of Headquarters, the first studio album that we had been allowed to create entirely amongst ourselves,” says Dolenz. “Monkee music was great music. Terrific songs crafted by gifted writers and produced by skilled producers. But Headquarters will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember the camaraderie, the collaboration, the enthusiasm and the occasional creative angst. And I particularly remember lying on the floor behind my drumkit between takes eating sunflower seeds.”
The creative journey that led to Headquarters unfolds chronologically on the new Super Deluxe Edition. It documents The Monkees’ struggle for artistic control with Don Kirshner, the group’s music supervisor. The group wanted to write and perform its own music, while Kirshner preferred to continue using outside songwriters and studio musicians to record backing tracks, with the band adding vocals later. In January and February 1967, Kirshner oversaw sessions in New York where more than an album’s worth of backing tracks were recorded for the band’s planned third record.
At the same time, in Hollywood, the Monkees – Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork – began recording songs with producer Chip Douglas. The Super Deluxe Edition includes the debut of the band’s earliest demos for “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” and “All Of Your Toys.” The band recorded them in January 1967 at Gold Star Studios to convince Kirshner the group should have more creative input. Kirshner balked at the idea, and the showdown continued until late in February when he was dismissed from the Monkees’ project after unilaterally removing Nesmith’s “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” as the B-side on the band’s new single and replacing it with a different song.
With Kirshner gone, the band quickly took creative control and began recording the album at RCA Victor Studios in Hollywood with Douglas producing (credited as Douglas Farthing Hatlelid). While previous reissues like Headquarters Sessions (released by Rhino Handmade in 2000) have focused exclusively on The Monkees’ time in the studio, the new collection is the first to revisit the songs Kirshner planned to include on the album.
The Super Deluxe Edition introduces 23 previously unreleased backing tracks from those sessions. Many were recorded by producer Jeff Barry in New York early in 1967. They include several songs he wrote or co-wrote (“99 Pounds” and “Gotta Give It Time”), plus contributions from other songwriters, including two from Neil Diamond, who penned “Love To Love” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.”
Along with selections from Headquarters Sessions, the new Super Deluxe Edition digs deep into the vault to uncover even more unheard outtakes from the band’s time in the studio in February and March 1967. The unreleased highlights from those sessions include “Detuned 12-Bar Jam,” an informal recording of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing On My Mind,” and different versions of album tracks, like “You Just May Be The One,” “Forget That Girl,” “No Time,” and more.
Grammy®-nominated producer/engineer Andrew Sandoval compiled and remixed the audio and penned the detailed liner notes that accompany HEADQUARTERS: SUPER DELUXE EDITION. In them, he writes: “Rather than plunder the previous reissues…the entire three-month period surrounding the creation of Headquarters has been reexamined to offer a deeper view…The primary goal has not been modernizing or reinventing what is now a legendary work but rather presenting it in the best possible light.”
HEADQUARTERS: SUPER DELUXE EDITION 4-CD Track Listing
Disc One: Headquarters (& More) Remixed
1. “You Told Me” 2. “I’ll Spend My Life With You” 3. “Forget That Girl” 4. “Band 6” 5. “You Just May Be The One” 6. “Shades Of Gray” 7. “I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind” 8. “For Pete’s Sake” 9. “Mr. Webster” 10. “Sunny Girlfriend” 11. “Zilch” 12. “No Time” 13. “Early Morning Blues And Greens” 14. “Randy Scouse Git”
Bonus Material 15. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – Version One 16. “All Of Your Toys” * 17. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – Version Two * 18. “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” * 19. “She Hangs Out” * 20. “Gotta Give It Time” * 21. “Love To Love” * 22. “99 Pounds” * 23. “You Can’t Tie A Mustang Down” * 24. “If I Learned To Play The Violin” * 25. “Sally” 1969 Version *
Disc Two: January 1967 Sessions
1. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” (Gold Star Demo) * 2. “All Of Your Toys” (Gold Star Demo) * 3. “She’s So Far Out, She’s In” – Backing Track (Take 2) 4. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – Version One, Backing Track (Take 10) * 5. “All Of Your Toys” – Backing Track (Take 1) 6. “Love To Love” – Backing Track (Take 1) * 7. “Love To Love” – Backing Track (Take 14) * 8. “You Can’t Tie A Mustang Down” – Backing Track (Take 5) * 9. “Gotta Give It Time” (Rehearsal) * 10. “Gotta Give It Time” – Backing Track (Take 4) * 11. “99 Pounds” – Backing Track (Takes 3 & 4) * 12. “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” – Backing Track (Take 2) * 13. “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” – Backing Track (Takes 3 & 4) * 14. “She Hangs Out” – Backing Track (Take 2) * 15. “I Wanna Be Your Puppy Dog” – Backing Track (Take 10) * 16. “Love Is On The Way” – Backing Track (Take 7) * 17. “Sally” – Backing Track (Take 2) * 18. “Sugar Man” – Backing Track (Take 6) * 19. “Poor Little Me” – Backing Track (Take 14) * 20. “If I Learned To Play The Violin” – Backing Track (Take 4) * 21. “Black And Blue” – Backing Track (Take 6) * 22. “Eve Of My Sorrow” – Backing Track (Take 7) * 23. “The Love You Got Inside” – Backing Track (Take 9) * 24. “Seeger’s Theme” – Demo (Takes 1 & 2) * 25. “Seeger’s Theme” – Demo (Take 3) 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 26. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – 1967 Mono Mix 1 27. “All Of Your Toys” – 1967 Mono Mix 28. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – 1967 Mono Mix 2
Disc Three: February 1967 Sessions
1. “99 Pounds” – Alternate Vocal (Take 1) * 2. “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” – Alternate Vocal (Take 1) * 3. “She Hangs Out” – Alternate Backing Vocals * 4. “If I Learned To Play The Violin” – CD-Rom Mix 5. “99 Pounds” – Alternate Vocal (Take 2 with Handclaps) * 6. “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” – Mono Single Mix 7. “99 Pounds” – 1967 Mono Mix * 8. “She Hangs Out” – Mono Single Mix 9. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – Backing Track (Take 11) * 10. “Sunny Girlfriend” – Take 7 With Scratch Vocal * 11. “Mr. Webster” – Alternate Vocal Mix * 12. “She’ll Be There” – Demo, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 13. “Midnight Train” – Demo, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 14. “Can You Dig It” – Demo, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 15. “Nine Times Blue” – Demo, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 16. “Until It’s Time For You To Go” – Davy Demo, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 17. “Until It’s Time For You To Go” – Mike Demo * 18. “Sunny Girlfriend” – Acoustic Remix 19. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” – Mono Single Mix
Disc Four: March 1967 (& Beyond) Sessions
1. “Randy Scouse Git” – Alternate Version (Take 18) * 2. “You Told Me” – Take 15 With Alternate Vocal * 3. “Peter Gunn’s Gun” – Backing Track, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 4. “Forget That Girl” – Take 15 With Alternate Overdubs * 5. “Where Has It All Gone” – Backing Track (Take 12) * 6. “The Last Thing On My Mind” – Informal Recording * 7. “Randy Scouse Git/East Virginia” * 8. “Forget That Girl” – With Alternate Backing Vocals * 9. “Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho” 10. “Fever” – Backing Track, 1967 Mono Rough Mix * 11. “Pillow Time” – Alternate Take Of Demo Version * 12. “Masking Tape” – Backing Track (Take 16, Called “13”) * 13. “Detuned 12-Bar Jam” * 14. “You Just May Be The One” – With Alternate Backing Vocals * 15. “No Time” – Version One, Backing Track (Take 2) * 16. “Cantata & Fugue In C&W” – Unedited Version * 17. “The Story Of Rock And Roll” – Version One, Backing Track (Take 18) * 18. “Untitled Jam” * 19. “The Story Of Rock And Roll” – Version Two, Backing Track (Take 28) * 20. “Early Morning Blues And Greens” – Alternate Vocals * 21. “No Time” – Backing Vocal Mix * 22. “Just A Game” – Demos (Takes 1-3) * 23. “Zilch” – KHJ Radio Spot 24. “For Pete’s Sake” – TV Edit 25. “Tema Dei Monkees” – Mono 45 Version 26. “Love To Love” – 1969 Mono Mix 27. “You Can’t Tie A Mustang Down” – 1969 Mono Mix * 28. “Tema Dei Monkees” – Stereo LP Version 29. “99 Pounds” – Mono Album Mix
On August 31st, 2001 The Monkees through King Biscuit recorded and filmed their concert at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim, California. Unbeknownst to the fans then, it was the last concert to feature Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork who quit due to internal frictions within the group. They would not perform as a trio again until ten years later in 2011. King Biscuit issued edited versions of the concert in 2003 as ‘The Monkees Live Summer Tour on CD and DVD with additional bonus interviews on the DVD. Due to fan requests, the entire concert was issued as a pricey special limited edition DVD, minus the bonus interviews. This is the only professionally filmed Monkees concert officially released.
Original Uncut Concert DVD
A reissue of the DVD and CD has recently been released in England by the company Grey Scale as a three disc set titled ‘The Monkees Live! Summer Tour’ (an exclamation point added to the title). The DVD of the entire concert is All Regions, so it will play on DVD/Blu-Ray players in the USA. The DVD also includes the bonus interviews with The Monkees that were included on the edited general release of the DVD.
For the first time the entire 29 song concert set is available spread out over two CD’s where the original 2003 King Biscuit CD had only 15 songs. An additional CD ‘Extended Versions:The Encore Collection’ was also issued in 2003 with seven repeat songs (‘Clarksville’, ‘Daydream Believer’, ‘I’m A Believer’, ‘Steppin’ Stone’, ‘Mary, Mary’, ‘Goin’ Down’, ‘It’s Nice To Be With You’) and three additional songs not on the original first CD (‘Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)’, ‘Can You Dig It?’, ‘No Time’).
Live! Summer Tour Inner Booklet Photos
While it’s nice to have the entire concert set on the CDs and DVD, there is a printing/tracking error that was repeated from the original limited edition DVD where not all the songs are listed or are on separate tracks. ‘I’ll Love You Forever’ comes between ‘I Wanna Be Free’ and ‘Goin’ Down’ and shares the same space as the latter song. The same error occurs with ‘Listen To The Band’ following ‘Porpoise Song’. This mistake doesn’t take away from enjoying the concert whether you’re listening or watching it straight through, but it might cause some minor confusion if you’re trying to look up those tracks on their own.
For fans who attended The Monkees shows from the mid-90’s to 2001, an extra little treat on the DVD is the ‘Archie & Edith/All In The Family’ routine performed by drummer Sandy Gennaro and the late Dave Alexander who played keyboards on the tour. The 2001 Monkees band also included Wayne Avers on guitar, Aviva Maloney on saxophone and keyboards, the late Jerry Renino on bass and was also the music director, and the horn section; Eric Biondo (trumpet) Greg Briggler (trombone) and Sam Albright (tenor saxophone). The Band introductions come in at the 1 hour, 20 minute point after Peter Tork’s performance of ‘Lucille’ on the DVD and on CD 2.
The DVD video quality is good and comparable with the original 2003 DVD. The sound quality of the CD’s are also excellent.
The set is currently available on the Amazon UK site at a pretty reasonable price after dollars to pounds conversion. If you missed out on getting the uncut ‘The Monkees Live! Summer Tour’ back in 2003, then this reissue is definitely worth checking out.
The Mahoning Drive-In Theater (located at Lehighton, Pennsylvania) will screen two rare 35mm Saturday morning re-run episodes of THE MONKEES(with the original 1973 commercials) on the BIG screen, followed by HEAD(1968) on Sunday, August 14th at “Mahoning Monkeemania”, a night featuring all sorts of Monkeeing around!
We’ll have Mick Lawless joining us for a preshow live acoustic set of Monkees and Mike Nesmith covers at Mahoning Monkeemania on August 14th! Mick has played live in New England clubs and pop culture conventions for decades, solo and with his Michael Nesmith tribute band Loose Salute. Mick can be heard every week on Monkee Mania Radio online doing his show, THE FRODIS ROOM, and runs the Nevermind Shop in Upton, MA, selling vintage music and memorabilia, a selection of which he’ll be vending with at the show!
Authors Michael A Ventrella signing and selling his LOOKING FOR THE GOOD TIMES and HEADQUARTERED books, Thom Johnny Beefstew Shubillasigning and selling his PRIMETIME 1966-1967 book, Fred Velez signing and selling his A LITTLE BIT ME, A LITTLE BIT YOU: THE MONKEES FROM A FAN’S PERSPECTIVE books and Monkees-themed Christmas CD. A live DJ spinning Monkees hits and deep cuts, a Monkee Merch raffle, vendors, and more to be announced as we go along!
The Mahoning Drive-In Theatre, 635 Seneca Rd, Lehighton, PA 18235
The Monkees Blu-ray set is available again on Rhino Records Official Monkees website.
The set includes the entire Monkees TV series, the movie ’Head’, the 1969 ’33 & 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee’ television special, original Monkees screen tests, the original version of The Monkees TV pilot, outtakes from the movie ’Head’, Davy Jones performing ’Someday Man’, Saturday Morning reruns song segments, promos, commercials and outtakes, a bonus 45 single and booklet with liner notes written by Andrew Sandoval in a box featuring a lenticular cover. You can also purchase the set with a Monkees T-shirt to match.
The latest March 2022 issue of the British Music Magazine Mojo has a cover story on The Monkees and Michael Nesmith.
Written by David Fricke, the ten page article is a well-researched piece covering Michael Nesmith’s career with the Monkees and as a visionary solo artist. Micky Dolenz, Andrew Sandoval and former First National Band drummer John Ware give their personal insights and recollections of Nesmith, with archival interviews added to give Nez a voice in the article. Side articles touch on the Monkees albums with Nesmith , Monkees episodes, the movie ‘Head’, the 1997 Monkees special and Portlandia, and Nesmith’s incredible solo career. Other artists covered in this issue are The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Al Green and more.
Mojo Subscription Issue
The issue can be purchased direct from Mojo in both print and digital versions. If you are a Mojo Magazine subscriber you’ll receive a copy of the issue minus print on the cover. The magazine is also available in the United States at most Barnes and Noble and other book stores and newsstands that carry import magazines.
Michael Nesmith has passed away on December 10th, 2021 at the age of 78, just a few weeks short of his birthday on December 30th which he shared with fellow Monkee, the late Davy Jones. I’ve been a fan of the Monkees for 55 years, and I’ve been rewarded by the incredible music and art I’ve been exposed to during those years by the four individuals, especially Papa Nez.
The Monkees: Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith
When I began watching the Monkees television show after I discovered it in 1967, I loved the series which was like watching The Beatles every week on a regular basis, except with a different foursome of comic musicians. Each member stood out: Micky Dolenz was the wild, crazy one. Peter Tork was the sweet and naive goofy one. Davy Jones was the cute, Paul McCartney type heartthrob. And Mike, the one in the green wool hat, well he was Mike, the group leader, the cool one with the laconic, sly sense of humor. As much as I liked the other three, there was something special about Nesmith. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but you just couldn’t take your eyes off him. When he entered a scene he captured your full attention. There was just a mystique about him.
This wasn’t just true about the television show. This carried over into the group’s recordings. As good as some of the other songs might have been, Nesmith’s tracks immediately stood out. They were well written and had an edge to them that demanded further attention. They weren’t frivolous Pop tunes, they were songs that carried a bit more weight and maturity than a typical 1960’s Pop song. And they sounded different than the other songs that shared the albums. The songs had a distinct Country flavor to them that made them sound much more unique. Even the songs he didn’t write benefited from his touch.
After the whole Monkee trip ended, Nesmith continued onward on a path of his own making. His solo recordings, starting with the First National Band albums, saw Papa Nez following his muse, branding his songs with the Country tinge first heard in his Monkees recordings, but with the help of musical partner Red Rhodes, the songs went into a whole other stratosphere. The imagery the songs evoked were much more cosmic and other worldly, it’s no wonder that he earned the nickname of the ‘Cosmic Cowboy’. His records may not have been as big sellers as artists like Gram Parsons, The Byrds or the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band who played in a similar style, but they were just as creative, if not more-so.
As a growing artist, Nesmith was not content to remain in one style for long. He continued to push himself forward with unusual concepts like ‘The Prison’, a book with a soundtrack, that saw his writing style become much more visual in execution. This naturally led to the next step in Nez’s artistic evolution, a new way to visually present musical ideas, the Music Video. Where there had been ‘promotional films’ issued by artists to help sell their records, Nesmith’s approach with his video ‘Rio’ was much more cinematic, presenting the music in a non-linear visual style, at times with a story that wasn’t a virtual representation of the song lyrics, but carried their own storyline apart from the actual song.
Continuing to move forward with these concepts, Nesmith produced the long form video ‘Elephant Parts’ which combined his music with his unique sense of humor, winning a Grammy Award in the brand new category of Music Video, becoming the first music artist to win in the field. Nesmith branched out and became a movie producer for films like ‘Time Rider’, and the acclaimed ‘Repo Man’ and ‘Tape Heads’. He later became a published author of fiction and most recently with his autobiography ‘Infinite Tuesday’.
Michael Nesmith with first Grammy Award for Music Video
I followed Michael Nesmith through all these phases of his career, and I was rewarded by the exposure of the art that he was creating. From the Monkees television series, the records, the movie ‘Head’, the ’33 & 1/3 Revolution per Monkee’ tv special, his solo music career and his entry into the field of Music Video, each was a stepping stone where he kept going forward and rarely if ever looked back.
Elephant Parts, 1981
While I had seen and met Davy, Micky and Peter at concerts from 1976 into the 1980’s, I didn’t meet Nesmith until 1981 when he launched ‘Elephant Parts’ at a special party event at Tavern on the Green in New York City. I was invited to the event through my friend, animation expert Jerry Beck. Finally meeting the man, we shook hands and I told him how much I admire his work and that I wished him great success with his new video venture. He smiled and humbly thanked me. I was immediately struck by the full attention he gave, paying total attention to me as I spoke, his eyes kind and friendly. Whatever nervousness I may have had before, Nesmith wiped it away with his gentle demeanor. To this day, the memory of that first meeting has stuck with me.
I fortunately had other occasions in meeting Nez. In 1986 when the incredible Monkees 20th anniversary tour had ended it’s successful run, I was able to attending the taping of MTV Christmas Video that would feature all four Monkees, Nez disguised as Santa Claus as the big surprise ending of the video. I had already made friends with Davy Jones and Peter Tork and they both said hello to me when I entered the studio. It was Peter who introduced me to Mike who was all decked out in the Santa suit and makeup. As on our first meeting, Nez was friendly and he gave me his full attention as we spoke. All four Monkees signed the latest copy of Maggie McManus’s Monkee Business Fanzine that I brought with me which had a cover illustration featuring all four of them. When the taping had finished to reveal the big surprise of Nesmith as Santa Claus, I was able to have pictures taken with Davy Jones and Michael Nesmith whose eyebrows were still white from the Santa makeup.
Fred Velez with Michael Nesmith at the taping the 1986 The Monkees MTV Christmas Video.
The next time our paths crossed was in 1989 when the Monkees were going to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which would be proceeded by a concert at the Universal Amphitheater with all four members, Nesmith’s first fully rehearsed Monkees concert since 1968. (He had made a surprise guest appearance when Micky, Davy and Peter played the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in 1986).
A Monkees convention took place the weekend of the events. Having never seen any of the 1967 concerts, seeing all four Monkees sharing the same stage together allowed me to cross off this major event from my bucket list. When Mike came on stage the entire theatre broke out in major shrieks of excitement from the fans which raised the roof. There was not a dry eye in the house as tears of joy were shed by the time the show ended.
There was even more excitement the following day when the Monkees were to receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a special ceremony held in front of the Vogue Theatre where the movie ‘Head’ premiered in 1968. Helen Pantuso, who spearheaded the campaign for the Monkees to receive their star, called on me to help with fan security. Inside the Vogue Theatre the Monkees were finishing up a press conference prior to the ceremony when Helen brought me in. Peter saw me first and then Davy and they both said hi. Peter then introduced me to Nesmith, telling him that I was major booster of the group. As in our previous meetings Nez was friendly and attentive as we spoke. As we were speaking, our mutual friend photographer Michael G. Bush who was taking pictures of the group, politely told me that I was in the shot. I quickly apologized and started to move away when I felt someone tug at my elbow. It was Peter Tork who was pulling me back into the group and said “Fred, you’re IN the picture!!!” So I had a photo taken with myself and all four Monkees as well as musician Lawrence Haley who was part of the Monkees backup band. In the picture it looks like I’m thinking “I can’t believe that I’m in this picture!!!”. The photo is a treasured piece of my Monkees collection, and I’ll always thank the kindness of Peter Tork for helping to make it happen.
Fred Velez with the Monkees and Lawrence Haley, Vogue Theatre 1989.
I’ve had other occasions where I met Nesmith, including a solo concert he performed at the Lone Star Cafe in New York City during the promotional tour of his album ‘Tropical Campfires’. Seeing Nez in a solo show was another check off my bucket list, as he performed from his classic catalog as well as selections from his new album. After the show there was an informal meet & greet where Mike said hello to the fans. I had another opportunity to speak with him and he was just as friendly and attentive as he was at our previous meetings. As we talked I told him that my favorite Monkees song that he wrote was ‘While I Cry’ and I said that I hope he would one day consider performing it live in concert. He gave me a small smile and thanked me and said that he’d think about it.
Fred Velez and Linda Walsh with The Monkees, Beacon Theatre 2011.
The years passed. The Monkees with Davy Jones went on a major tour in 2011 which was one of the best tours they had done in years. I caught them at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and was able to attend the after show meet & greet and had a picture taken with Peter, Davy and Micky along with my future wife Linda. Sadly, it turned out to be the last picture of me and Davy together as he passed away from a heart attack on February 29th, 2012. The devastation of that loss was somewhat alleviated by the joy of finding out that Micky and Peter would be joined by Michael Nesmith for a tour to celebrate the Monkees ‘Headquarters’ album. The tour was in the planning stages with Davy before his untimely passing. Linda and I attended two of the shows on that tour, which became both a celebration of the Monkees and the life of Davy Jones.
In 2013 Michael Nesmith embarked on his first solo tour in years with his ‘Movies of the Mind’ shows. Me and Linda attended the tour stop at Town Hall in New York City, and I was also able to score tickets for the after show meet & greet with Nez. Nesmith and his band gave incredible renditions of his classic songs, which were accompanied by stories that gave a visual flair to the numbers. I was surprised to learn later that Elvis Costello was also in attendance at the show. After the performance, everyone who had meet and greet tickets lined up as we waited for Nez. He finally appeared and met each fan, autographing Monkees and solo items, giving each fan time to talk with him. Finally it was mine and Linda’s turn as we stepped up and Nesmith smiled and shook our hands and signed our items, which included a ‘Elephant Parts’ DVD, a cd box set of Nesmith’s Pacific Arts catalog, and for our friend musician Gary Owen, the cover of his ‘The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees’ album that had already been signed by Davy, Peter and Micky and just needed Mike’s signature. As on previous occasions, Nez gave his full attention to us as we spoke to him. I mentioned that the last time we saw each other that I had suggested if he would please consider performing ‘While I Cry’ live as it was my favorite Monkees song of his. He again smiled and seem to say “we’ll see”.
Fred Velez with Michael Nesmith, Town Hall in New York City 2013
In 2014, Linda and I attended the Monkees Convention being run by Jodi Ritzen and Phyliss Paganucci, a year after the successful Davy Jones Memorial Convention that was also co-produced by Charles Rosenay who had co-produced some of the 1980’s Monkees Conventions along with Maggie McManus and Ed Reilly. 2014 saw the publication of my first book ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’, and I brought along copies of my book which sold out by the end of the weekend. This years’ convention had as special guests Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith in his first full convention appearance since his brief appearance at the 1989 Hollywood Monkees Convention. Nesmith was not only appearing as a guest, he would also be performing one of his ‘Movies of the Mind’ shows at the convention. I saved three books to give signed copies to each member of the attending Monkees. At a special breakfast, I was in the company of fans and the families of the individual Monkees. I gave my inscribed copies to Micky and Peter who graciously accepted them. I was pleased to see the members of Micky’s family looking at the book and passing it amongst themselves.
Michael Nesmith was seated with his family at their table, saying hello to fans who dropped by, playing with a little baby one fan brought along. I waited till a more opportune moment when Nez was free and finally came up to say hello, saying what a pleasure it was to see him again. He thanked me and I offered him the copy of my book as my gift to him and asked him how I should address the inscription, as Mike, Michael or Nez? He smiled and said “Nez would be fine”, and I signed it that way. We had a couple of more minutes before he needed to leave and I again addressed our previous conversations about ‘While I Cry’ and that I hoped one day he would consider performing it. He smiled and thanked me for liking the song and gave me a “we’ll see” look. Later that night he performed his ‘Movies of the Mind’ show which knocked out everyone who attended. Nez was surprised and pleased by the incredible crowd response, grinning so wide you could see him glow from the other side of the room. Many in the audience who had never seen a solo Nesmith show before became instant converts. It was one of the best solo Michael Nesmith concerts that I ever had the pleasure of attending.
Over the years Nesmith did a few more Monkees tours with Micky and Peter as well as some solo shows. He sat out most of the 2016 50th Anniversary Monkees tour, making a special Skype appearance at the New York Town Hall concert performing ‘Papa Gene’s Blues’.
Nez did commit himself to perform live at the September Monkees Pantages Theatre concert in Hollywood. Linda and I quickly got tickets for this show and made hotel arrangements to stay in Hollywood for the weekend of the concert. Peter Tork, who had been diagnosed with throat cancer, was unable to do the two shows prior to the Pantages concert, and Nesmith stood in for him on those dates.
There was a buzz of excitement the night of the Pantages concert. Fans came from all around the world for this major event. As Linda and I entered the theatre we saw old friends like Monkees friend and actress Valerie Kairys Venet, and I was surprised and pleased to see Marty Ross of the New Monkees was there for the show too.
Fred Velez with Marty Ross of the New Monkees at the Pantages Theatre, 2016.
The concert was fantastic, with a mixture of the classic Monkees songs plus selections from the 2016 album ‘Good Times!’, the first album of new Monkees material since the 1996 ‘Justus’ album, the last album with Davy Jones. The songs from the new album that went over the best were the beautifully haunting ‘Me and Magdalena’ written by Ben Gibbard and ‘Birth Of An Accidental Hipster’ written by Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller.
Towards the end of the show, Michael Nesmith took the stage alone with his guitar as he spoke his introduction to the song ‘Tapioca Tundra’, explaining that the inspiration for it was the first concert the Monkees performed in Hawaii in 1966 when with the wild fan adulation, all four members strangely felt the presence of another person sharing the stage with them. After that concert Mike asked the others if they too had felt that presence and Peter said that he thought he knew what it was. Mike pressed him and Peter answered “that was The Monkees”. Nez agreed with the assessment, acknowledging that with the group and the audience together, that they were all collectively ‘The Monkees’, which were expressed in the lyrics, “it can not be a part of me, but now it’s part of you”.
The entire show was emotional for the group and the fans attending, especially later when it sadly became the final Monkees concert Michael, Micky and Peter would perform together before Peter Tork succumbed to his cancer on February 21st, 2019.
Nesmith and Dolenz would tour together in 2018 as ‘The Mike and Micky Show’ with Michael planning another solo tour with his First National Band Redux band, having already performed a special show at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles earlier that year.
The ‘Mike & Micky’ tour was at the mid-way point when it was reported that Nesmith was ill and the rest of the tour was cancelled to be rescheduled as Mike had to go for a triple bypass. After an amazingly short recovery period, Nez was again on the road for his First National Band Redux tour. The man’s stamina was incredible as he was in good spirits and fine voice for the shows. We saw the show in New York and we were astounded by how strong Nez was.
Later in the year the new dates for the Mike and Micky Show were announced and Linda and I were able to obtain reasonably priced VIP tickets for the pre-show rehearsal at the Beacon Theatre in New York in March 2019. The informality was illuminating as the band went through several numbers, including a couple that they performed only at the rehearsal. The main concert itself had a sad bittersweetness to it as it took place just several weeks after the passing of Peter Tork. Peter was acknowledged in a special video of him performing the classic standard ‘Till Then’ on acoustic guitar. It was a moving tribute and received an emotional ovation.
The main show contain a great selection of classic Monkees tunes, many of them penned by Nesmith with rarities like ‘St. Matthew’ and ‘Auntie’s Municipal Court’ thrown into the mix. Further tributes to the missing Monkees Peter and Davy included ‘For Pete’s Sake’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’ and the emotionally charge ‘Daydream Believer’. The show concluded with Nesmith on stage alone starting an a cappella version of ‘Listen To The Band’ which segued into a full band rendition and ending with the group’s biggest hit ‘I’m A Believer’.
The ‘Mike and Micky Show’ was to continue with new dates into 2020. And then the Covid 19 pandemic happened with many events canceled throughout the remainder of the year. The concerts were rescheduled for late 2021 with additional dates added. These shows were going to be different as it was announced that this would be the Monkees Farewell tour. When the early dates of the tour began, while Micky was in good form, there were concerns for the health of Michael Nesmith. He appeared very fragile and unsteady during the early shows, not playing guitar and sitting on a stool for the majority of the show. His voice was a little shaky with him speak-singing for most of the show. Even with the strong support of Micky and the rest of the band, it was hard to ignore Nez’s condition. As the tour progressed, it appear the Mike was getting stronger and more engaged from the emotional energy being given off by the fans. He sang a little more strongly and seemed to feed off the love coming from the audience. As with the tour previous many Monkees classics were performed, several of them written by Nez.
Linda and I attended the October 22nd show in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We saw many familiar faces like Jodi Ritzen, Scott Erickson and Micky’s wife Donna. By this time I had written my second book ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’. I had brought along three signed copies for Micky, Mike and their manager and Monkees archivist and author Andrew Sandoval. Security were able to get my books backstage and Andrew contacted me afterwards to assure me that he, Mike and Micky had gotten the books.
The show soon began and everyone cheered as Micky and Mike entered from separate sides of the stage. Micky looked great and energized. Nesmith however looked a bit frail and walked steadily to his chair. He smiled and waved to the fans and thanked them for coming. As they performed the opening number of Nez’s ‘Good Clean Fun’, Mike spoke/sang the song as Micky sang to keep the tempo up. Despite early concerns, Nesmith’s spirit seemed to rise as he fed off the love generated by the fans. At times his vocals were a bit shaky, and other times his voice was as strong as it had been just a few years earlier. He waved and clowned with Micky on stage to the delight of the audience. When a song associated with Micky was being performed, Nez would duck into the wings on his side of the stage to rest before coming back.
After the intermission came the part of the show I was waiting for as I learned about the set list prior to the show. Nesmith haltingly explained the song he was about to sing and how it expressed sentiments felt by many. Then Mike began to sing ‘While I Cry’ from the 1969 Monkees ‘Instant Replay’ album, the song I had been waiting for years to hear him perform. While the vocals were shaky at times, Nez’s emotions reflected those in the lyrics, as the audience sat silently listening. The band played beautifully and with Micky’s sister Coco, sang lovely backup vocals. As the song came to its emotional conclusion with Mike tearfully singing the last lines, there was not a dry eye in the house. When the song ended I along with the rest of the audience gave Nesmith a well deserved standing ovation, which pleasantly surprised Mike who graciously thanked the fans as Micky came forward and gave Nez a big hug.
There were many highlights in the show, with Mike beaming at the enthusiastic response from the audience. The show came to an end with ‘I’m A Believer’ with Micky, Mike, Coco and the rest of the band bowing to a standing ovation from the fans. Micky and Mike soon exited to separate sides of the stage, with every eye on Nesmith as he disappeared into the wings.
Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith, Greek Theatre November 14, 2021
A few weeks later the tour would end at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on November 14th, the official last stop on the tour. It was fitting that the tour would conclude on the historic stage that all four Monkees reunited on in 1986. Mike and Micky were to perform on a couple of makeup shows that had to be rescheduled plus a cruise show co-headlining with The Beach Boys in 2022.
Sadly, barely three weeks after that final show at the Greek, Michael Nesmith passed away from natural causes.
Following the man’s career for nearly 55 years, we are blessed by the music and art Nez gave to the world. Words are inadequate for everything I feel about his passing. His loss is as devastating as those of Davy Jones, Peter Tork and earlier Elvis Presley, John Lennon and George Harrison. For many fans, they all had the impact of a death in the family.
It’s been a long journey, and we should feel privileged that in a small way, we were able to tag along on Michael Nesmith’s journey.
Thanx for the ride, Nez.
Fred Velez, 2021.
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’.
It is with deep sadness we announce the untimely passing of Keith Allison on the evening of November 17, 2021, at home in Sherman Oaks, California.Born Sydney Keith Allison on August 26, 1942, in Coleman, Texas, and raised in San Antonio. Keith Allison was a multi-talented songwriter, musician, singer and actor with a long list of credits.
Keith knew everyone, and everyone loved Keith.Keith Allison recorded and performed with some of the biggest names and acts such as Roy Orbison, Ringo Starr, Sonny & Cher, The Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers, Chuck Berry, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Monkees, Boyce & Hart, Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper, Rick Nelson, The Crickets and Johnny Rivers just to name a few. He also appeared in many movies and TV shows as an actor and musician
Keith Allison has been entertaining since the late 50’s where he was in local bands and club performances with Clarence (Gatemouth) Brown, Doug Sahm, Augie Meyer performing in the Keith Allison Combo. Moving into the 60’s Keith was Musical Director and Guitarist for Ray Peterson from 1962-1965. In 1964-65 Keith was a member of The Crickets along with his cousin drummer Jerry Allison.
Keith’s success took off when he arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-sixties. It was at a taping for Dick Clark’s “Where The Action Is” at the Whisky A-Go-Go that really put Keith on the map, when the camera panned catching him in the shot, and the audience swore Paul McCartney was at the taping. The phone rang off the hook at Dick Clark Productions, “if not McCartney, then who was that?”. Keith was invited back to be a part of “Action” becoming a permanent cast member along with friends Paul Revere & The Raiders.Keith contributed to a lot of memorable music including The Monkee’s self-title debut ‘Headquarters’, ‘Head’ and co-writing “Aunties Municipal Court” with fellow Texan Michael Nesmith on ‘The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees’. Keith played Guitar and Harmonica on Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On”. In 1967 Columbia Records signed and released the album Keith Allison ‘In Action’.
Keith Allison in The Raiders
Keith Allison (bottom left) with The Raiders
Most notable, Keith was a member of Paul Revere & The Raiders from 1968 to 1975 on bass, guitar, organ, vocals and writing credits. Keith co-wrote with Mark Lindsay “Freeborn Man”, considered one of the top bluegrass songs of all time, recorded and performed live by scores of artists. In 1971 Keith scored the film “Where Does It Hurt?” starring Peter Sellers, as well as wrote and sung the title song. In 1974 and 1975 Keith toured with Johnny Rivers on bass and guitar. In 1976, recorded “Sail Away” with Harry Nilsson and played on Nilsson album produced by Steve Cropper.
Keith Allison with Boyce & Hart
Keith Allison with Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork. Also in picture is Nigel Olsson from the Elton John Band and DJ Rodney Bingenheimer
From 1975 to 1977 Keith was on guitar and band leader for ‘Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart’ and on Capitol Records album and live album “Live In Tokyo” while touring with them in Asia in 1976.In 1977 Keith played Guitar on Ringo Starr’s “Bad Boy” followed by 1978 as musical director for Ringo Starr’s TV special “Ringo”. In 1980, Keith wrote and recorded four songs for the film “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” starring friend Dennis Quaid.
In the 90’s Keith went on to act in several popular television shows such as “Blossom”, “7th Heaven”, and “The Wonder Years”. In 2003 Keith played Captain James J. White in the film “Gods and Generals” starring another friend Robert Duvall.
In 2007, Keith was inducted as a member of Paul Revere & The Raiders into the Oregon MusicHall of Fame.In 2015, Keith was inducted as an Ambassador of the Buddy Holly Foundation along with Don Everly, and was presented with a replica Buddy Holiday J45 guitar presented by Jerry Allison.In 2016, at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Keith played guitar and sang with The Crickets for their final performance.
Since 2000, Keith has been a permanent guest member of the Waddy Wachtel Band.
Keith is survived by his wife Tina Stern of 40 years, Son Ryeland Allison, Daughters Allison Gonzalez (Husband Rob) and Brenda Meck (Husband Rich), Sister Cherri Hicks (Husband Don), Judith Allison & Don Reo, eight grandchildren Zephyr, Skyler, Gavin, Adrian, Madeline, Isabella, Makyla, Mercedes, and six great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Keith’s Life will be announced at a future date.
Please direct any media inquiries to:Alex Hartalexhartmanagement@yahoo.com
Just in time for the 55th Anniversary of The Monkees first coming onto the Pop Culture scene, Andrew Sandoval’s original 2005 book, The Monkees: The Day To Day Story, has not only been updated, it has received a full 740 page re-write in beautiful deluxe editions filled to brim with photos and additional and in-depth information, making this the absolute definitive book on The Monkees as a media phenomenon.
Starting with the individual childhoods of the four who would become the Monkees, Sandoval’s book traces them in their early careers as entertainers, the beginnings of the Monkees television project by producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, Don Kirshner‘s entry as the music supervisor for the project, the work of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart in writing the songs and shaping the Monkees’ sound, the selling and initial success of the television series and records, the first live appearances by the group, their place in the 60’s counter culture, the filming and release of the movie Head and the 33 & 1/3 television special, and much more.
Photos Property of Beatland Books
Following the template of Beatles author Mark Lewisohn, Sandoval follows the history of the Monkees through deeply detailed date entries that fully explore what took place between the years 1965 to 1970. If you want to find out what the Monkees were doing between the months of January to August of 1967, it’s all there with in-depth information and dates on filming and recording sessions, with tons of amazing black & white and color photos. Many of the photos are broken up in pull out pages that give you a panoramic view of the Monkees in the recording studio, in concert, filming the movie Head, etc.
Photos Property of Beatland Books.
Perhaps the most anticipated part of the book is the lawsuit between Don Kirshner and Screen Gems that got Kirshner booted from the Monkees project. Sandoval has included details of the lawsuit with the legal depositions of the Monkees that gives revealing and detailed information that puts into perspective of, as Micky Dolenz referred to it, “the palace revolution”, that ousted Kirshner from his position as music supervisor of the Monkees records, and leading to the freedom for the group to write and record the music on their own recordings.
Beatland Books is offering three different versions of the book at different prices: the Super Deluxe Hardcover Editionwhich comes inside a sturdy Red protective clamshell casing with an exclusive booklet of rare and fascinating photos that couldn’t be fit into the main book. The Deluxe Edition comes in a slipcase with the design of the famous Monkees ‘Rainbow’ room. The least expensive Open Flexibound Edition is a sturdy and firm Paperbound book that includes everything in the hardcover versions minus the extras. Both Deluxe Editions are personally signed and numbered by Andrew Sandoval. The Regular Edition is not signed or numbered.
The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story: Deluxe Clamshell Edition
Deluxe Clamshell Edition with Bonus Photo Booklet
Original 2005 Edition in Size Comparison with Deluxe Clamshell Edition
As of this writing, the Super Deluxe is completely sold out, and there are limited supplies of the Deluxe Edition and Open Flexibound Edition still available. Orders and payments for the books can be placed at the Beatland Books website.
Andrew Sandoval who has done yeoman’s work as a music archivist, Grammy Award winning producer, and producer and manager for The Monkees, has painstakingly put together an amazing book on the group that can only be described as a work of art in its own right. Pretty much everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Monkees can be found in this book, with well-researched details and beautifully reproduced color and black & white photos that on their own will literally take hours to properly digest.
Whether you’re a serious student of Pop Music Culture, or a Monkees fan from any generation of the past 55 years, The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story is an essential addition for the library of collectors and fans alike.
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’, and the Monkees’ themed Holiday cd ‘A Little Bit Christmas’.
Run Out Groove follows their recent deluxe vinyl release of The Monkees 1966 debut album with a deluxe vinyl edition of the group’s second album More of The Monkees. The two record set will include the original album plus an additional record of bonus tracks in high quality green vinyl.
Thank you to all those who have already placed their orders.Books are on track to ship to you in August. If you haven’t seen the latest unboxing video, here is a rundown of the three distinct editions of the book.
On July 1, 2021 prices for preorders will increase by $25 per book (to reflect increased production costs). Only 2,000 books have been produced and all sales will be suspended in August (when Andrew shifts to producing the Monkees’ farewell tour).
This is it! There are no plans to keep the book in print and there will be no digital version. If you want a copy of The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story at the best price, preorder now for August delivery.
This is a lavish limited edition collector’s book that will be worth its weight and worth the wait. We are only weeks away now from getting these in your hands.
We here at Beatland will be counting down the days until your books arrive. Thank you for being a part of this epic project!
It has been a very busy week here, and I have much information for you in this update.
I was on a Zoom call with Michael Nesmith preparing for the upcoming Monkees farewell tour when there was a ring at the door. The FedEx man delivered samples of all three versions of the book! I had to immediately leave the call to review the contents (yes, I hung up on a Monkee to look at pictures and words about the Monkees) and instantly get back to the printers with any issues I found. Looking through 740 pages three times (plus the 40-page super deluxe supplement) took several hours. In the end, I spotted some minor things even at this late stage, and one photo flaw necessitated rerunning a 12 page “signature” (a huge grouping of pages printed at once, which are later cut and bound) to fix one image.
On a lighter note, I have made a fun video of the unboxing for you to see the three distinct versions and how they will look when they ship to you in August.
A Journey With Michael Blessing
I did get back to Michael the next day and spent the end of the last week visiting with him at his home. Nez was in fact the first person outside of my design and editorial team to see the finished book. It was an amazing moment handing it over to him to look through. Like many serendipitous events in the journey of creating this book, it was not planned, but presented itself in just the perfect way.
I stood over his shoulder laughing endlessly at his commentary on the photos and various events chronicled in the book. Michael was also fascinated by my research regarding the Kirshner court depositions and said he could remember being in an office giving his (which ran over 200 pages in its printed form).
I know most reading this will ask, “Where are the photos and videos of this wonderful time?” Although I might have whipped out my camera and tried to document it, I didn’t take any. After all, I was a guest in my friend’s home and part of our thirty-year relationship has been treating the Monkees with a certain formality and respect.
Furthermore, the reason for my visit was not to show off the book, but because Michael and his assistant Melodie Akers specifically requested my help with organizing his archive of “older stuff”: recordings and handwritten lyrics and notes from pre- and post-Monkees. The wonderful news is that we began this process a few days ago and made some incredible discoveries! Nez has a substantial archive which I hope he will be ready to share in various forms in the new year.
I am sure another question will be, “Why has it taken you thirty years to look at Michael’s personal tapes and documents?” Well, there is one obvious answer to me. They are his personal items and I have never felt it was my right to have access without his being completely comfortable with the concept. Simply put, in the very long gestation of this book, all four Monkees were extremely helpful, but I have always tried to observe their personal boundaries.
As fans, we want to see and hear everything. And in 2022, I think we are going to get some of our archival prayers answered with more Beatland Books and possibly some audio/video projects of note. I am hoping to announce the second Beatland Book (which is in pre-production) once all of the Day-By-Day books are in the post to you. There is a lot to look forward to, so hang in there and get ready for August!
The good news is The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story is in production after last minute additions and polishing. It is now 740 pages! For those who reserved the super deluxe edition, the supplement has swelled to 40 pages – it really looks great! You can see samples of the 3 different editions of the book at www.beatlandbooks.com– I will try and upload some further videos later in the weekend.
The increased size means that all of the costs of the book went up, but I will of course honor the original prices if you pre-order your book between now and June 30th. Now the not so great news: although production is on schedule to be completed in June as promised, the books will not arrive at the Port of Long Beach (where they filmed Head in April 1968) until July and the printer is estimating it may take a full 3 or 4 weeks for the container to make a short trek to the nearby shipping center. This is due to increased traffic in the port since the pandemic. That means late July or early August shipping for the preorders.
Many people have written and wondered why they would need to preorder if they already reserved a book. The fact of the matter is that no one has actually paid for their books yet (that is except for me)! So, if you are sincere about buying a book, the store is now open. We will keep track of all orders and anyone who doesn’t pre-order will lose their reservation on June 30th. You may chose to wait to order if any stock is left on the books, but the prices will go up $25 on each edition (to reflect my increased production costs). I am only making 2,000 books and will suspend all sales in September when I focus fully on producing the Monkees’ tour. This is it! I have no plans to keep the book in print – I will NOT be doing a digital version. It is a limited edition collector’s book that should retain its value.
My team and I actually took extra time with not only the contents of the book, but also how it would ship to you. This book will be shipped by a professional facility and not by me personally. Because of the physical size of the book, shipping outside of the United States is quite expensive. I was in shock when I first saw the rates and went the extra mile to get better prices wherever I could, but I do not set the rates of shipping or fuel or control the universe. I know!
740 page signed & numbered Deluxe Edition in a Slip Cover weighs 13 pounds – boxed 14.5x10x3.5 inches
740 page signed & numbered Super Deluxe Edition with extra 40 page booklet weighs 16 pounds – boxed 15.5x11x4.5 inches
You may now turn your reservation into a preorder at our shop: https://beatlandbooks.com/preorder-your-book/ This is the only way to guarantee you will get one of the 2,000 books being produced. Note: If you do not act on your reservation by June 30, 2021 it will be considered abandoned. If you wish to change your order or quantity at this time, you may do it in your pre-order. If you signed up for our waitlist, you may also preorder now and we will take you off of the waitlist.
Because so many people changed their reservations and made excessive multiple reservations, we are not sending out individual invoices. Pick what you want from the shop and we will consider your reservation fulfilled. If you do not preorder a book by June 30th we will know you do not wish to keep your reservation and we will release more books for preorder.
How much do the books cost? Preorder prices are $75 for the flexibound/$175 for the Deluxe in Slipcover/$225 for Super Deluxe in clamshell case with additional 40-page book. Shipping and tax are calculated once you place the book(s) in your cart.
We do not offer combined shipping; each book comes individually boxed and with Priority mail on the Flexibound and Deluxe, we found the Medium flat rate box was the best option, but it only allowed one book per box. There is no other flat rate box that fits this book and no flat rate box that fits the Super Deluxe. Media Mail is also an option in the United States.
I think you will love the book! I showed the samples to Michael & Micky and they were both shocked at the size and price (they each told me I didn’t charge enough – lol)!
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, The Monkees’ Tour originally scheduled for March/April 2021 is being moved and at two venues cancelled. We appreciate the love and support that you have shown Mike & Micky by holding on to your tickets, and we hope to see you in September.
Should these dates not work for you, please visit your point of purchase for direction on how to request a refund. Please remember that The Monkees Tour has never accepted any money for these dates, holds none of the ticket money nor does it control the regulations of the individual venues and their policies. We very honestly want to see you as soon as it is safe! We can’t wait to get back with our friends and fans, so let us all stay healthy.
PLEASE NOTE: not all ticket sites will reflect these changes immediately. We are providing the best information we have as of this post. We will update as more information becomes available.
3/18/21– Vancouver, BC Canada– Commodore Ballroom
Cancelled
3/21/21– Seattle, WA– Moore Theatre
Date Moving to 9/10/21
3/23/21– Sacramento, CA– The Crest Theatre
Date Moving to 9/14/21
3/24/21– San Jose, CA– San Jose Civic
Date Moving to 9/15/21
3/26/21– Riverside, CA– Fox Performing Arts Center
Date Moving to 9/17/21
3/27/21– El Cajon, CA– The Magnolia
Date Moving to 9/18/21
3/28/21– Phoenix, AZ– Celebrity Theatre
Date Moving to 9/19/21
4/1/21– San Antonio, TX– The Tobin Center for Performing Arts
Date Moving to 9/25/21
4/2/21– Austin, TX– ACL Live at the Moody Theatre
Cancelled – moving to new venue, more details to follow
4/3/21– Dallas, TX- The Majestic Theatre
Date Moving to 9/24/21
4/12/21– Nashville, TN– Schermerhorn Symphony Center
REBIRTH OF A CLASSIC: OUT OF PRINT FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story RETURNS!
First published in 2005, Andrew Sandoval’s The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story is the definitive reference source for the history of Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. Now completely rewritten, redesigned and substantially expanded to more than double the original content, the new editions of the book (which cover the years 1942 to 1970) span over 700 pages. Lavishly illustrated in full color and printed at the highest quality in three unique configurations, copies of The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story are now available for reservation from Beatland Books.
The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story explores all of the band’s recording dates (with full session personnel) based on a first-hand, real time review of their unissued session tapes and internal recording documents, plus the American Federation of Musicians’ historic contracts. The Monkees series shooting dates and those for the feature film Head are also presented with reproductions of unpublished stills and unique call sheets. The book further captures every concert appearance made by the Monkees or its members, as well television and radio appearances.
The product of four decades of research, The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Storyfeatures exclusive and previously unpublished interviews with the group and their associates conducted over a 32-year period by author Andrew Sandoval. The diary format reveals thousands of pages of newly discovered legal documents, internal memos, contracts and contemporary news reporting. Hundreds of images (many previously unpublished) are gathered together for the first time to take you through the story visually.
Even if you own every Monkees reissue, have collected every book about the group and can access further information on the Internet, you still will not have the material contained in this edition.
The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story is singularly the largest and most extensive study of the group ever published.
Available in limited numbered and signed hardback editions, as well as an unnumbered soft cover edition, the book will be printed on archival matte paper and delivered in a custom Monkees box. The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story is available directly from Beatland Books ONLY and will not be offered in a digital download version.
Don’t miss this opportunity to own a true piece of history. Original editions of The Monkees: The Day–By–Day Story now resell for four times the 2005 cover price. This is the one-and-only printing of the extremely limited hardback edition, the ultimate collectible for every Monkees fan. Reserve your copy today!
Reserve Your Book
Reserve your copy or copies of The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story. No payment will be taken at this time, however, by submitting this form, you are committing to purchasing the specified copies as the number of books printed depends on the number reserved.
Please note: Reservations are extremely limited and will only be accepted until March 15, 2021. Because these books will be produced in a single, limited run, you must reserve your specific edition(s) before purchase and manufacturing. Any reserver who fails to pay for reserved item(s) will not be eligible to purchase in future without advance payment.
Select from the following versions:
Super Deluxe Edition ($225)
lowest numbered hardback book
individually hand signed by the author
boxed in an exclusive, cloth-covered clamshell case
clothbound cover with red & yellow decorative bookmarks
separate paper dust jacket
includes an extra collectible item not sold separately
Deluxe Edition ($175)
hand numbered and signed by author
hardback edition in an exclusive slipcover
clothbound cover with red & yellow decorative bookmarks
separate paper dust jacket.
Open Edition ($75)
flexibound with soft paper cover
contains entire text of deluxe book without extras
not limited, signed or numbered
All editions: printed on 157gsm matte paper stock in full color.
Fred Velez has written a new book on Monkees Fandom, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives. The new book continues The Monkees’ story from the viewpoints of fans from around the world. Includes many rare photos and interviews with the daughters of Davy Jones, Monkees friend Valerie Kairys Venet, The New Monkees plus More!
“When I heard that Fred Velez was working on another book, I literally jumped out of my seat with excitement. His first was the ultimate Monkee fans’ book, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From a Fan’s Perspective.” I was able to re-live so many great Monkee moments through his writing – many that I’d even forgotten about.
The (Monkees) knew Fred and loved him. They weren’t the only ones who knew and loved Fred – all his fellow fans do too, and I am one of them. He is a dear friend beyond the Monkee world!
Every band or artist in the world would be a little better off with a super-fan like Fred, who for over half a century has only given his love and devotion.”
Excerpted from the Forward by Charles F. Rosenay!!!
The book is available on Amazon.com in both print and kindle editions. Click Link Below:
The Rolling Stone Magazine website has announced tour dates for the 2020 An Evening with The Monkees with Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz. The tour begins April 3rd, 2020 in Vancouver and wraps on April 26 in Nashville. A Live album of ‘The Mike & Micky Show’ will also be released on April 3rd as the tour kicks off. Fans who purchase tickets for the upcoming tour will receive the album as a physical CD or digital download.
April 3rd – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom April 4th – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre April 7th – Sacramento, CA @ The Crest Theatre April 8th – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic April 10th – Riverside, CA @ Fox Performing Arts Center April 11th – El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia April 14th – Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre April 16th – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre April 19th – San Antonio, TX @ The Tobin Center For Performing Arts April 20th – Austin, TX @ ACL Live At The Moody Theatre April 22nd – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City April 24th – Lake Charles, LA @ Golden Nugget – Grand Event Center April 25th – Biloxi, MS @ IP Casino Resort & Spa April 26th – Nashville, TN @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center
The Mike & Micky Show Live (Rhino, 2020) (Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD))
Hey, hey, The Monkees are making their first Nashville visit in five years! Be there as Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith play all of the hits that made The Monkees one of the most popular bands of the 1960s. Stroll down memory lane with favorites like:
Daydream Believer | Last Train to Clarksville | I’m a Believer | Pleasant Valley Sunday | A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You | Valleri | (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
Every ticket purchased online for The Monkees includes your choice of a CD or digital copy of the new album, The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show LIVE, released on 4/3/2020. You’ll receive instructions via email on how to redeem your album after ticket purchase.
The March 9th, 2019 Beacon Theater performance of The Monkees Present The Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz Show was destined to be a special show. The concert was originally scheduled for June, 2018 when it was rescheduled due to Michael Nesmith’s health scare. Between that time to this show was Nesmith’s First National Band Redux Tour and the sad passing of Peter Tork. I was fortunate to attend the VIP sound check where Micky and Mike and their band performed six songs that were not going to be played during the regular show that night:
D. W. Washburn
Different Drum
Steam Engine
Some of Shelly’s Blues
As We Go Along
Grand Ennui
Sound Check
For ‘As We Go Along’ the video for the song from the movie ‘Head’ was shown on the screen backdrop, and the images of Peter Tork and Davy Jones made the song even more poignant. Micky and Mike set the tone of what the show was going to be like for that evening with Micky being focused and funny and Nesmith being a little giddy and silly, but still very serious as he played his acoustic guitar. Their band included Coco Dolenz on backing vocals, Christian Nesmith on guitars, Circe Link on backing vocals, guitarist and band leader Wayne Avers, drummer Rich Dart, John Billings on bass, Alex Jules on keyboards and backing vocals, Paul Kramer on fiddle, guitar and banjo, and Pete Finney, who accompanied Nez on his First National Band Redux and his solo January 2019 tour, on pedal steel and guitar. Probyn Gregory from the Brian Wilson Band was recently added to lineup also performed at the Beacon show.
After a dinner break we returned to the Beacon Theatre for the main event. The lights dimmed and the band took their positions. Then from the wings emerged Micky and Michael, who waved hello. As Micky started to strap on his guitar, Nez approached him and said he had something to say to him, and he turned to the crowd and admonished them to remain quiet until he finished. Then Mike looked at Micky and softly began singing “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,…”, and it was at that point the audience began to sing along, much to Mike’s chagrin. As the previous day, March 8th, was Micky’s birthday, it was only natural that Nez wanted to keep the celebration going.
With a light hearted scold to the audience, the concert promptly started with a rigorous version of ‘Good Clean Fun’ followed by the one two punch of ‘Last Train To Clarksville’. Micky was very energetic throughout the show and drove the band through Monkees classics and rare deep cuts. Michael Nesmith was more laid back in his performance which he augmented with his unique, dry humor. Among the highlights of the show was a lovely rendition of ‘Me & Magdalena’ from the ‘Good Times’ album. The presence of Davy Jones and Peter Tork were felt with the performances of two songs associated with them, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’ and ‘For Pete’s Sake’. Before the intermission a video of Peter Tork singing ‘Til Then’ played on the backdrop screen, not leaving a dry eye in the house and was a proper tribute to Peter.
There were many surprises in the show, including ‘Auntie’s Municipal Court’ which fans have had in their wishlist for years, and ‘Birth Of An Accidental Hipster’ which segued into the Nez rarity ‘St. Matthew’. The acoustic set included an acoustic take on ‘Randy Scouse Git’ and ‘I’ll Spend My Life With You.
Acknowledging TV anchorman Brian Williams in the audience, Nesmith dedicated his solo song ‘Joanne’ to him, accompanied by Pete Finney on pedal steel guitar.
Coming towards the end of the show, the image of Davy Jones flickered on the backdrop and Micky and Mike led the audience in an emotional singalong of ‘Daydream Believer’, made all the more poignant with Peter Tork’s image on the screen too. After performing ‘What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round’, Micky and the band left Michael Nesmith alone on the stage as he strummed the first couple of notes of ‘Listen To The Band’ solo, then the band returned to the stage and they launched into a full version of the song. The evening ended with ‘I’m A Believer’, the entire theater on their feet giving Micky, Nez and the band a well deserved standing ovation.
No matter how many times I’ve seen The Monkees in concert in their many incarnations, I’ve never seen them give a bad performance. This evening at The Beacon Theatre definitely rates as one of their best shows, as well as one of the most poignant now that the lineup has been reduced sadly again.
Thank Heavens that we can still show Micky and Mike how much they are loved by the fans.
Fred Velez, 2019.
Fred Velez is the author of the book ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’
James Frawley, who directed the Emmy Award winning Monkees series and the first Muppets Movie, the 2000 Three Stooges biopic and many more films and TV series, has passed away at the age of 82.
The voice of Mr. Schneider and director of:
Some Like It Lukewarm (1968)
Monkees Race Again (1968)
The Devil and Peter Tork (1968)
The Monkee’s Paw (1968)
Monstrous Monkee Mash (1968)
Fairy Tale (1968)
Monkees in Texas (1967)
Hitting the High Seas (1967)
The Card Carrying Red Shoes (1967)
Monkees Marooned (1967)
Hillbilly Honeymoon (1967)
The Picture Frame (1967)
A Nice Place to Visit (1967)
Monkees on the Line (1967)
Monkee Mother (1967)
Monkees Chow Mein (1967)
Captain Crocodile (1967)
Monkees in the Ring (1967)
Son of a Gypsy (1966)
Too Many Girls (1966)
Dance, Monkee, Dance (1966)
One Man Shy (1966)
Monkees à la Carte (1966)
Monkees in a Ghost Town (1966)
Success Story (1966)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers (1966)
Monkee See, Monkee Die (1966)
Royal Flush (1966)
Rhino has dropped the third video from ‘The Monkees Christmas Party’ album, Michael Nesmith’s rendition of Mel Torme’s ‘The Christmas Song’. The song was produced in the style of the First National Band by Christian and Jonathan Nesmith, the video was produced by Jonathan Nesmith and Susan Holloway in a similar style to the ‘You Bring The Summer’ video done for ‘Good Times!’. Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz recorded dialogue for their animated selves in the video. The video has a nice, dreamy nostalgic quality to it that perfectly suits the song, with enough in jokes to satisfy Monkees fans this Christmas Season!
Fred Velez, 2018. Author of the book: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You – The Monkees From A Fan’s Perpective
Rhino unveiled the first video from the new Monkees ‘Christmas Party’ album, ‘Unwrap You At Christmas’. Done in the style of the ‘She Makes Me Laugh’ video from the 2016 ‘Good Times’ album, the video features new artwork by comic artist Michael Allred who did the album cover, with a new single mix of the song available on Amazon and iTunes. Rhino also announced that the vinyl version of ‘Christmas Party’ will be available in September, 2019.
Here are the presale codes for the upcoming shows on The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show tour. Check the dates so you don’t miss out. If you do not see a presale code listed, we do not currently have a code for that show yet. Check back here: we will update daily!
3/1/19–Medford, MA–Chevalier Theatre (presale on 11/14 is WT14)
https://tinyurl.com/y99dlu36 PRESALE PW: CVR14
3/2/19– Atlantic City, NJ– Ocean Resort Casino (presale on 11/15 is MONKEE)
https://tinyurl.com/ycbmtdco
3/3/19–Lancaster, PA– American Music Theatre
https://tinyurl.com/yaxmob3l
3/5/19– Red Bank, NJ– Count Basie Theatre (already on sale)
https://tinyurl.com/y7laqnyj
3/6/19–Glenside, PA– The Keswick Theatre (already on sale)
https://tinyurl.com/y942eb4f
3/8/19–Huntington, NY–The Paramount (already on sale)
https://tinyurl.com/y8qlsc66
3/9/19–New York, NY–The Beacon Theatre (already on sale)
https://tinyurl.com/yahkl5ek
3/10/19–Albany, NY–Palace Theatre
https://tinyurl.com/ybcm9g4h NO PRESALE PW
3/12/19–Royal Oak, MI– Royal Oak Music Theatre (AEG presale on 11/14 is ROMTLIVE)
https://tinyurl.com/y8f5p7gv
3/14/19–Prior Lake. MN–Mystic Lake Casino Hotel (email presale on 11/15 is BELIEVER)
https://tinyurl.com/y9af4sdc
NO PW FOR VIP PRESALE – MEMBER PRESALE PW: HIPSUW
3/15/19–New Buffalo, MI–Four Winds Casino (venue presale on 11/15 is IMAB67)
https://tinyurl.com/ybut3ytk
3/16/19–St Charles, MO–The Family Arena (venue presale on 11/15 is CLARKSVILLE)
https://tinyurl.com/y7h9ugqz
Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz with New Monkees Marty Ross & Dino Kovas and photographer Henry Diltz.
The November 1st Hollywood event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Monkees movie ‘Head’ was a huge success.
Playing to a sold out crowd at the famous Egyptian Theatre, close by to the Vogue Theater where the movie premiered in 1968, attendees included Monkees photographer Henry Diltz, Gary Strobl, Davy Jones’ youngest daughter Annabel, Jodi Ritzen, New Monkees members Marty Ross and Dino Kovas, among others. Prior to the screening slides of rare photos taken by Henry Diltz at the Salt Lake City concert that the song ‘Circle Sky’ was recorded at with audio of the full concert played as accompaniment. Andrew Sandoval introduced Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith before ‘Head’ was screened.
There will be a midnight movie showing of ‘Head’ at the Nighthawk Cinema in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on November 2nd. Monkees author Eric Lefcowitz will be introducing the film. Details and directions are at this website:
We are pleased to announce that The Monkees in association with RHINO will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the motion picture, HEAD, with a special screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday 11/1/18 – 7:30pm.
Michael Nesmith & Micky Dolenz will appear in person to answer questions following the screening, which will be from an original 35mm print. Andrew Sandoval will conduct the Q&A and you are welcome to contribute your questions in advance online. That way everyone can join in!
There will also be merchandise available inside the theatre – which is directly opposite the original venue that HEAD premiered in November 1968. You may also visit The Monkees star, which is on the walk of fame opposite the theatre. Please join us for this incredible event!
Rolling Stone Magazine reports that Rhino Records will be issuing a Monkees Christmas album titled ‘Christmas Party’ which will be released on October 12th, 2018. The album is produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne with new songs written by Rivers Cuomo, Andy Partridge, Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey following the formula of The Monkees successful 2016 album ‘Good Times’. Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork provide vocals on the songs with archival songs added from the late Davy Jones.
https://youtu.be/JeiG3eGOnxU
The latest Zilch podcast talks about the new Monkees Christmas album with Andrew Sandoval and John Hughes:
The Davy Jones Facebook page posted additional information:
Hey hey! (Or should that be “ho-ho-ho?”)
Just this very second, Rhino announced that it will be releasing The Monkees’ Christmas Album on October 12! It’ll be available in stores and for download and streaming on that date.
The first worldwide single from the album, “Unwrap,” will be released in October (hey, that’s next month!), along with a “lyric video” similar to “She Makes Me Laugh.” Here are some additional things to know:
*** Target stores will be offering a special edition CD with bonus tracks
*** You’ll also be able to purchase the CD at your favorite Walmart
*** The album won’t be released on vinyl until 2019 (it’s OK, we can survive this though, because CHRISTMAS ALBUM!)
And keep your eyes on rollingstone.com today for an exclusive article on The Monkees’ Christmas Album—it’s a great day to be a Monkees fan!
This will be a great Christmas gift for Monkees fans!
Christmas Party Track List
“Unwrap You At Christmas”
“What Would Santa Do”
“Mele Kalikimaka”
“House Of Broken Gingerbread”
“The Christmas Song”
“Christmas Party”
“Jesus Christ”
“I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day”
“Silver Bells”
“Wonderful Christmastime”
“Snowfall”
“Angels We Have Heard On High”
“Merry Christmas, Baby”
Target Bonus Tracks:
“Riu Chiu”
“Christmas Is My Time Of Year”
Target version will be available October 19, 2018.
Michael Nesmith And Micky Dolenz Will Tour As A Duo For The First Time
This Summer, Playing Monkees Music Spanning More Than 50 Years
Tickets And VIP Packages Go On Sale February 23
LOS ANGELES – Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees will hit the road in June for their first-ever national tour as a duo. Billed as “The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show,” these 16 special performances will feature songs that span the group’s entire career – from its 1966 eponymous debut to 2016’s Good Times . The shows will highlight many of Nesmith’s compositions, including some that have never been performed live. The tour also includes two shows in Canada, which represent Nesmith’s first “Monkees” concerts since the band played there in 1969.
Tickets and VIP packages will go on sale February 23 at www.monkees.com . VIP Packages include access to soundcheck, a signed, hardbound copy of the tourbook, early entry to the show and a commemorative VIP laminate.
“I love being on stage with Micky,” says Nesmith. “We’ve been collaborating for over 50 years, so it’s hard to believe it’s never been just the two of us. I’m excited to dust off some tunes that I haven’t played for a long time too. These are going to be some fun shows.”
“Right from the get-go, I admired Mike’s songs. When we used to get together around the campfire to sing in the early days, we were always doing his songs,” says Dolenz. “We always had such a great a vocal blend; he was the one who encouraged me to write songs of my own. I’ve always been a big fan and now we finally get to do the Mike & Micky show that we riffed on back when we were shooting The Monkees.”
Original Monkee Peter Tork will not take part in the tour. Instead, he’s focusing on Relax Your Mind, a new album by Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues that honors the music of Lead Belly. The album is available now via CD Baby and Bandcamp.
“I have in general made no secret of the fact that all these recent years of Monkees-related projects, as fun as they’ve been, have taken up a lot of my time and energy. Moving forward, I have blues projects that I want to give my attention to, hence Relax Your Mind . So, I’m shifting gears for now, but I wish the boys well, and I’ve learned to never say never on things further down the line.”
“The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show” is the latest chapter in Monkee-mania, a saga that began in 1965 when four young men were cast in a television show about a struggling rock band that was inspired by the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. Few could have predicted the impact the Monkees would have on music and pop culture at large, one that still reverberates more than 50 years later.
Micky Dolenz & Mike Nesmith Tour Dates
June 1 – Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center For The Arts
June 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Orpheum
June 3 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s
June 5 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
June 6 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
June 8 – Stockton, CA @ Bob Hope Theatre
June 9 – Stateline, NV @ Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
June 12 – Denver, CO @ Paramount
June 14 – Chicago, IL @ Copernicus Center
June 15 – Huber Heights, OH @ Rose Music Center
June 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Cain Park
June 18 – Toronto, ON @ Sony Center
June 19 – Kitchener, ON @ Centre In the Square
June 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Keswick Theatre
June 22 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
June 25 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre
Rhino Records continues their Monkees Deluxe series with the release of the highly anticipated ‘More Of The Monkees’ Deluxe Edition box set. As with the previous box sets, ‘MOTM’ is chockfull of outtakes, alternate mixes, live tracks and other gems that have made this series a treat for Monkees fans and collectors.
Among many highlights are the stereo and mono mixes of the original album, new 2017 mixes of songs like ‘Mary, Mary’, ‘Laugh’, early recorded versions of ‘Tear Drop City’ in the correct speed, ‘Valleri’, ‘Words’, the original backing track for ‘Whatever’s Right’, later redone for the 2016 ‘Good Times’ album. I found the backing track for ‘Whatever’s Right’ particularly interesting, the arrangement being a little slower and to my ears more country sounding, making me wonder if it was originally written with Nesmith in mind. Other rarities include TV only tracks of ‘I Really Love You’ from the ‘Monkees At The Movies’ episode and Nesmith’s hysterical version of ‘Different Drum’ and ‘Undecided’ from the ‘Too Many Girls’/Fern & Davy’ episode. A fun track on the box set are the background vocals sessions for ‘Mary, Mary’ with Michael Nesmith at the recording deck directing Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork and the chaos that ensues with the three Monkees in the studio and Nesmith trying to keep things under control. It verifies the decision made by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to have no more than one Monkee in the studio during recording sessions.
A big highlight of the set are the live tracks from the January 1967 concert recorded at the Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona are fun and, with the exception that some of the vocals were recorded low and as explained with the intention of being overdubbed, I feel the concert sounds much more exciting than the shows recorded for the Live 1967 and ‘67 Summer Tour set. My thinking on this is that this was still the early period of The Monkees as a live act and they were still feeling the excitement of the shows along with the fans before it all started to become a blur of shows with screaming fans for the group like it became for The Beatles towards the end of their touring career. Ten tracks from the concert are on Disc 3 of the set and includes the rare live version of ‘She’s So Far Out She’s In’ that the Monkees performed during their early concerts. The full concert can be heard on YouTube and it’s understandable why more tracks weren’t included with most of the vocals being inaudible.
The set was assembled by music historian, archivist and sometimes Monkees producer/manager Andrew Sandoval who also wrote the extensive liner notes in a booklet which includes a lots of great photos and fascinating information on the sessions and the intrigue going on behind the scenes between the Monkees and music supervisor Don Kirshner. The three disc set have reproductions of the original U.S. cover and foreign album cover variations. Also included is a vinyl single of a new 2017 mix of ‘I’m A Believer’ and a vocals only mix of ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’.
If you have the previous box sets, then it’s a no-brainer that the ‘More Of The Monkees’ Deluxe Edition is a must have for any Monkees collection.
Fred Velez, 2017
Fred Velez is the author of the book ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’
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