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PISCES PART ONE: NOW YOU HEAR IT, NOW YOU DON’T – THE MONKEES ‘PISCES’ SDE BOX SET: DROP, CATCH, RELEASE? Order Link!
October 2, 2025 by fred.velez
Filed under Albums, band, blogs, Fred Velez, monkees alert, music, news, news feed, Rhino Entertainment
The Monkees fourth album, ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.’ Is not only considered the group’s best album, but it’s also considered one of the great albums released in 1967, rating with other outstanding releases that year: The Beatles ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’, the Rolling Stones ‘Between The Buttons’, Pink Floyd’s ‘The Piper At The Gates’ Of Dawn’ and several more. (If ‘Smile’ by The Beach Boys had been released at the time, it would have been part of the list.)
The Monkees made a great achievement by not only having four albums issued between late 1966 to November 1967, but also that each consecutive album topped the charts at number one in a row. (‘Good Times’ released in 2016 would be the Monkees fifth official number one album issued in vinyl.)
The album followed the psychedelic musical trend of 1967, boosted by the use of the Moog Synthesizer created by Paul Beaver and used by Beaver and Micky Dolenz on several of the tracks, in particular ‘Love Is Only Sleeping’, ‘Daily Nightly’ and ‘Star Collector’. ‘Pisces’ was one of the first Pop/Rock albums to incorporate a Moog as part of the music. With Chip Douglas again sitting in the producer’s chair, the album was recorded during the Monkees 1967 concert tour at various studios along the route. The album is incredibly cohesive, with the music performed by the members of the band and assorted studio musicians, the record was completed quickly during this busy and hectic period for the group. ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ by Carole King and Gerry Goffin was pulled as the single for the album with ‘Words’ by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart as the B-side, the single reached number three on the charts.
For some time, the ‘Pisces’ album was announced as the next (and possibly last) in the Monkees Super Deluxe Edition box set series to be issued by Rhino Records and produced by Andrew Sandoval. Sandoval had written on his various social pages that the set was all ready to go, and fans were waiting with anticipation. When a track listing of the set was posted on the Steve Hoffman Music Board, the excitement level rose an additional 100%. Then, early on September 18th, 2025, the ‘Pisces’ set suddenly began appearing on several digital platforms for download purchase and streaming.
After the initial surprise, fans quickly began streaming and downloading the tracks, still not believing what had just happened. However, by September 19th after the initial drop, the tracks started disappearing from the various platforms as quickly as they appeared. Some fans were fortunate enough to have purchased the set and download the songs before they vanished. It was assumed that someone at Rhino had jumped the gun on the release. Andrew Sandoval on his Facebook page wrote: “Life is especially stressful on so many levels right now. I woke up to flurry of messages about a certain group (that’s how Peter (Tork) refer to them) and apparently a certain project that I produced was put up possibly in error on some sites? But why should I speak, since I know nothing…” Shortly afterwards, Rhino posted an image on their social media pages and on their official Monkees page:
About a week later Andrew Sandoval posted another message on his Beatland Books website:
Last week, some of you may have noticed that our friends at Rhino had a mysterious misfire and the special box set that Andrew worked on all of March was briefly issued across every digital platform (at least for a few hours). Rhino then pulled it all down and reset things for a full announcement about the project October 2. We can’t say much except that The Monkees WILL be back!
The confirmation that the physical ‘Pisces’ Super Deluxe box set was on the way produced more excited chatter among Monkees fans. Those who were fortunate enough to download and save the 102 music files of the set were happy to know that with the “official” announcement of the box set, their long wait would soon be over. The downloads included the stereo and mono versions of the ‘Pisces’ album with greatly improved sound and separation of the music and vocals making them the best sounding versions of the album yet heard. As with the previous Monkees SDE’s. the bonus material spread throughout the four cd’s. There are alternate song versions with vocals, instrumental backing tracks, outtakes with studio chatter, 2025 remixes of album tracks and singles (some with longer fade-outs), the original 1967 mono single version of ‘Goin’ Down’ finally available on cd, a mono mix of ‘Daily Nightly’ without the Moog effects, the television mixes of ‘Riu Chiu’ plus the sessions, ‘Goin’ Down with live vocals, ‘Daydream Believer’, jams and so much more to examine, study and enjoy.
It’s fun and enlightening to listen to all the different takes and mixes. You can hear the Monkees, Chip Douglas and the various studio musicians really working hard on the tracks. Peter Tork shines on this set as a musician with his early acoustic instrumental demos of ‘Can You Dig It?’ (dubbed ‘Tentatively’ on the take) and ‘Tear The Top Off My Head’, the acoustic demo ‘Untitled’ and ‘A Man Without A Dream’ which he championed for the Monkees to record which eventually was done by Davy Jones for the ‘Instant Replay’ album. The lead vocals by Tork, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Michael Nesmith are all outstanding.
The music on the ‘Pisces’ super deluxe set is such an amazing revelation of this ground-breaking album, the release of the actual physical box with Andrew Sandoval’s extensive and informative liner notes, rare photos, and an exclusive bonus vinyl 45 record, the anticipation for fans to hold it in their hot, little hands will be unbearable to say the least.
Can You Dig It? You betcha!
Stay Tuned for Part Two!
Order Details October 2nd, 2025
Disc 1:
1. Salesman (2:37)
2. She Hangs Out (2:58)
3. The Door Into Summer (2:50)
4. Love is Only Sleeping (2:31)
5. Cuddly Toy (2:39)
6. Words (2:52)
7. Hard to Believe (2:36)
8. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (3:09)
9. Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky (0:27)
10. Pleasant Valley Sunday (3:16)
11. Daily Nightly (2:33)
12. Don’t Call On Me (2:52)
13. Star Collector (4:26)
14. Special Announcement (0:37)
15. Goin’ Down (4:23)
16. Salesman (2025 Remix) (3:04)
17. She Hangs Out (2025 Remix) (3:28)
18. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Version) (3:23)
19. Love is Only Sleeping (2025 Alternate Mix) (2:40)
20. Cuddly Toy (2025 Remix) (2:41)
21. Words (2025 Remix) (2:56)
22. Hard to Believe (2025 Remix) (2:40)
23. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (2025 Alternate Mix) (3:21)
24. Pleasant Valley Sunday (2025 Remix) (3:15)
25. Daily Nightly (2025 Remix) (2:36)
26. Don’t Call On Me (Version 2) (2:57)
27. Star Collector (Alternate 1967 Mix) (4:51)
28. Riu Chiu (Alternate Version) (1:10)
Disc 2:
1. Salesman (Mono) (2:28)
2. She Hangs Out (Mono) (3:08)
3. The Door Into Summer (Mono) (2:52)
4. Love is Only Sleeping (Mono) (2:33)
5. Cuddly Toy (Mono) (2:39)
6. Words (Mono) (2:52)
7. Hard to Believe (Mono) (2:36)
8. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (Mono) (3:09)
9. Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky (Mono) (0:27)
10. Pleasant Valley Sunday (Mono) (3:10)
11. Daily Nightly (Mono) (2:32)
12. Don’t Call On Me (Mono) (2:54)
13. Star Collector (Mono) (4:27)
14. Special Announcement (Mono) (0:37)
15. Salesman (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:35)
16. Cuddly Toy (Alternate Mono Mix) (3:02)
17. Don’t Call On Me (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:59)
18. Goin’ Down (Alternate Mono Mix) (4:23)
19. Star Collector (Alternate Mono Mix) (4:51)
20. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Vocal) (2:53)
21. Daily Nightly (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:29)
22. Goin’ Down (Full TV Mix) (4:50)
23. Love is Only Sleeping (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:35)
24. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:54)
25. Goin’ Down (Mono Single Mix) (4:00)
26. Star Collector (Alternate Mono Mix 2) (5:09)
Disc 3:
1. The Story of Rock and Roll (Version Three Backing Track) (3:50)
2. I Don’t Know Yet (Backing Track) (2:38)
3. Cuddly Toy (Backing Track) (2:38)
4. Come On In (Version One Backing Track) (2:22)
5. Come On In (Version Two Backing Track) (2:25)
6. The Door Into Summer (Early Version Backing Track) (3:22)
7. Pleasant Valley Sunday (Backing Track) (3:28)
8. Words (Backing Track) (3:05)
9. Daydream Believer (Backing Track) (3:32)
10. Salesman (Backing Track with Backing Vocals) (3:14)
11. Jam #1 (Backing Track) (1:48)
12. Words (Vocal Session) (8:22)
13. Daily Nightly (Backing Track) (2:32)
14. Love is Only Sleeping (Backing Track with Percussion and Backing Vocals) (2:39)
15. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (Backing Track) (3:19)
16. Don’t Call On Me (Backing Track) (2:27)
17. She Hangs Out (Backing Track) (3:28)
18. Goin’ Down (Backing Track) (4:52)
19. Yours Until Tomorrow (Backing Track) (3:39)
20. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Version Backing Track) (3:33)
21. Can You Dig It “Tentatively” (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (3:00)
22. Tear the Top Right Off My Head (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (2:08)
23. Untitled (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (1:56)
24. A Man Without a Dream (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (4:16)
Disc 4:
1. Pleasant Valley Sunday (2025 Alternate Vocal Remix) (3:09)
2. Words (Backing Track with Backing Vocals) (3:05)
3. Star Collector (Alternate Mix) (5:07)
4. Jam #2 (Backing Track) (2:12)
5. She Hangs Out (Alternate Mix) (3:28)
6. Daydream Believer (2025 Remix) (3:32)
7. A Man Without a Dream (Instrumental Piano Demo) (3:39)
8. Hard to Believe (Backing Track) (2:42)
9. Cuddly Toy (TV Mix) (2:36)
10. Love is Only Sleeping (TV Mix) (2:28)
11. Goin’ Down (TV Version) (3:58)
12. Star Collector (TV Mix) (2:44)
13. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (TV Mix) (3:13)
14. Daydream Believer (TV Mix) (2:43)
15. She Hangs Out (TV Mix) (2:43)
16. Riu Chiu (TV Version) (1:33)
17. Salesman (2025 Remix with Sales Rap) (3:06)
18. Riu Chiu (Alternate Version 2) (1:36)
19. Daily Nightly (Alternate Mix) (2:30)
20. Riu Chu (Session) (4:53)
21. Riu Chiu (Alternate Take) (1:43)
22. Don’t Call On Me (Chatter Session) (9:33)
23. Special Announcement (Session) (2:26)
24. Star Collector (Alternate 1967 Stereo Mix) (4:56)
Fred Velez, 2025.
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’
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