Pisces Part Two: Andrew Sandoval Unboxing Video Of The Super Deluxe Set Plus High-Fidelity Vinyl!

If you remember in our last episode, anxious Monkees fans were awaiting with bated breath for the release of the Super Deluxe Edition of the ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.’ album, and received the surprise of the set appearing on many digital music platforms for streaming and download purchase. Just as quick as they appeared, the digital music files started disappearing just as quickly. It was later explained that someone at Warners/Rhino goofed and dropped the set by mistake. Fortunately, some fans had the good sense to purchase and download the files and to store them separately before they were all gone to enjoy on their favorite listening devices. Shortly afterwards, Rhino put up a notice that the physical box set would go on sale on October 2^nd, 2025, with a video announcement by Andrew Sandoval scheduled for 12 noon EST. And so, the long wait began again.

October 2^nd arrived, and another big surprise awaited fans: the box set became immediately available for purchase at 9am EST! Orders for the set started flooding the Rhino/Monkees site. Then at 12 noon, Andrew Sandoval’s message on YouTube aired live with Sandoval unboxing the set and explaining the work put into it and revealing the set’s contents.

 

At the beginning of the video, Sandoval said that Pisces would be the final entry in the Monkees Super Deluxe Edition series, a disappointment for fans hoping for a SDE box of the 1970 Changes album, the final album released during the initial Monkees period. (It had been explained in earlier discussions that most of the master tapes for Changes have yet to be accounted for, though one of the outtakes, ‘Which Way Do You Want It’, had recently been discovered. There’s always hope that, if not an SDE, perhaps a deluxe edition of Changes might be a future possibility.)

Sandoval opened the seal on the box and revealed its contents: the Stereo and Mono CDs of the ‘Pisces’ album with bonus tracks of additional stereo and mono mixes, 2025 remixes of several of the songs, an alternate stereo version of ‘Riu Chiu’ with handclaps, an alternate mono mix of ‘Daily Nightly’ minus the Moog effects, the full TV mix and mono single mix of ‘Goin’ Down’, a mono mix of ‘Star Collector’ with different Moog effects.

CD three is packed to the Max with backing tracks and Jams including the songs ‘The Story Of Rock And Roll’, ‘Come On In’, ‘Yours Until Tomorrow’, an early version of ‘Can You Dig It’ under the title ‘Tentatively’ and an early acoustic version of ‘A Man Without A Dream’ that Peter Tork submitted for the group.

CD four rounds out the set with more alternate album tracks, the TV version of ‘Riu Chiu’, ‘Salesman’ with Michael Nesmith’s salesman rap, and the TV mixes of ‘Cuddly Toy’, ‘Love Is Only Sleeping’, ‘Goin’ Down’, ‘Star Collector’, ‘What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round’, ‘Daydream Believer’, ‘She Hangs Out’, and the sessions for ‘Riu Chiu’, ‘Don’t Call On Me’ (Chatter Session) and more.

Along with the CDs, the box contains a booklet with Andrew Sandoval’s extensive and informative liner notes containing rare photos from the collection of Joe Russo who collaborated with Sandoval on the huge ‘Smoke-Filled Dreams’ book from Beatland Books, many of the photos taken by Rock photographer and Monkees friend Henry Diltz. An added bonus to the box set is a 45-vinyl single of the single mixes for ‘Love Is Only Sleeping’ and ‘Goin’ Down’ adorned by Henry Diltz’s photos taken from the Chicago Rainbow Room, this being the configuration of the single that was going to be pulled from the ‘Pisces’ album before it was replaced with ‘Daydream Believer’.

Since the “accidental” digital drop of the set that was quickly pulled, the anticipation level for the physical set has been very high, and reportedly, sales have been very brisked. Some fans have reported already receiving their sets.

Rhino High Fidelity Vinyl Edition of the Monkees ‘Pisces’ album.

And the box set is not the only thing getting Monkees fans excited. As part of Rhino’s High Fidelity Vinyl series, a limited-edition version of the ‘Pisces’ album taken from the original master tapes cut by Kevin Gray is also available on 180-Gram heavyweight vinyl, housed in a gatefold jacket with an exclusive insert containing new liner notes by Andrew Sandoval. Numbered and Limited to 5,000 copies, this Rhino exclusive is expected to sellout quickly.

Coming a year before the official 60^th anniversary of The Monkees, their fourth album ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd’ is getting the special treatment and attention it deserves. Who knows what’s in store in 2026 when the Monkees 60^th anniversary rolls around!

Pisces Box Set Order Link: https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/products/pisces-aquarius-capricorn-jones-ltd-super-deluxe-edition-4cd-7-vinyl

Exclusive Pisces Vinyl Order Link: https://store.rhino.com/en/rhino-store/special-edition-shops/rhino-high-fidelity/pisces-aquarius-capricorn-and-jones-ltd.-rhino-high-fidelity/081227811150.html

Beatland Books Order Link: https://beatlandbooks.com

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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