Review: The Monkees ‘Headquarters’ Super Deluxe Edition Box Set

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’.

 

 

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:

Rhino/Monkees Store Order Link: https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/en/the-monkees/home/the-monkees—headquarters-super-deluxe-edition/081227883836.html

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’.

FreddyPop Shop Link: https://freddypop.wordpress.com/freddy-pop-shop/

The Monkees HEADQUARTERS Super Deluxe Edition And Micky Dolenz 2023 Headquarters Tour!

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!

Preorder Link: https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/en/the-monkees/home/the-monkees—headquarters-super-deluxe-edition/081227883836.html

Here are the dates for Micky’s tour:

4/1/23 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
https://bit.ly/3WhnSQW

4/2/23 – Clearwater, FL- Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Clearwater
https://bit.ly/3ST7ymP

4/4/23 – Virginia Beach, VA – Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
https://bit.ly/3TRXb3R

4/5/23 – Annapolis, MD – Maryland Hall
https://bit.ly/3sJ79bO

4/7/23 – Atlantic City, NJ – Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
https://bit.ly/3fkBcDx

4/8/23 – Vienna, VA – The Barns at Wolf Trap
https://bit.ly/3DNyqQy

4/10/23 – Chester, NY – Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center
https://bit.ly/3SRnMwD

4/11/23 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount – Huntington, NY
https://bit.ly/3FvDMBg

4/12/23 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen Performing Arts Center
https://bit.ly/3gZkQ3z

4/14/23 – Ridgefield, CT – The Ridgefield Playhouse
https://bit.ly/3Wuj3UK

4/15/23 – Beverly, MA – The Cabot
https://bit.ly/3Nmvcqp

4/16/23 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak
https://bit.ly/3NjTKk1

4/18/23 – Warren, OH – Robins Theatre
https://bit.ly/3DpimmN

4/19/23 – Kent, OH – The Kent Stage
https://bit.ly/3DOfbqc

4/22/23 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
https://bit.ly/3gZ7B39

4/23/23 – Milwaukee, WI – The Pabst Theater
https://bit.ly/3SVRY9M

4/25/23 – Niagara Falls, ON – The Avalon Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
https://bit.ly/3FvEgY6

4/26/23 – Niagara Falls, ON – The Avalon Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
https://bit.ly/3sRAwbP

4/27/23 – Niagara Falls, ON – The Avalon Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
https://bit.ly/3UahxFd

Rhino Headquarters Super Deluxe Preorder Link: https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/en/the-monkees/home/the-monkees—headquarters-super-deluxe-edition/081227883836.html

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

* Previously Unreleased

The Monkees Blu-ray Set Available On Rhino Again!

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.

Monkees Blu-ray Set Order Link: https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/music/the-monkees-complete-tv-series-blu-ray.html

Blue-ray/T-Shirt Combo Link: https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/the-complete-series-t-shirt-bundle.html

The Monkees ‘The Christmas Song’ Video

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

Link: Fred Velez Monkees Book

Monkees Unwrap You At Christmas Video

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.

Fred Velez, 2018.

Rhino Podcast: The Monkees Christmas Party w/Micky Dolenz & Michael Nesmith

The latest Rhino Podcast talks to Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith about ‘The Monkees Christmas Party’ album.

Rhino Podcast: iTunes Link

Monkees To Release Christmas Album

Link: Rolling Stone – Monkees Christmas Album

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.

The latest Zilch podcast talks about the new Monkees Christmas album with Andrew Sandoval and John Hughes:

Link: Zilch Podcast on Monkees Christmas Album

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.

Preorder Link: Target Exclusive with Bonus Tracks

Preorder Link: iTunes

Preorder Link: Amazon

Review: More Of The Monkees Deluxe Box Set

By Fred Velez

Rhino Order Link: More Of The Monkees Deluxe Edition

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’

Amazon Link: A Little Bit You, A Little Bit Me Book

More Of The Monkees Deluxe Edition

Release Date: 12/15/2017

Who’s ready for even more of MORE? In honor of 50th anniversary this year, we’ve super-sized MORE OF THE MONKEES with a staggering 91 tracks including 55 previously-unreleased alternate takes, remixes, and newly discovered concert recordings from 1967, the band’s earliest-known live tracks, as well as a bonus 7” of “I’m A Believer” (Remix)/”(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” (Vocals Only).

“This is the most exciting archival dig through The Monkees’ vault since 2009’s THE BIRDS, THE BEES AND THE MONKEES DELUXE EDITION. Every track is newly mastered for this set; the live material is the most historically significant of their career,” says Andrew Sandoval, who produced the set and wrote a new essay for its expansive booklet.

MORE OF THE MONKEES: SUPER DELUXE EDITION significantly expands the special edition of MORE OF THE MONKEES released in 2006. Along with mono and stereo mixes of the original album, the SUPER DELUXE EDITION takes listeners into the studio for the making of the album through extensive studio outtakes. Many make their debut here, including the first recorded versions of: “Words,” “Valleri,” “Hold On Girl” and more. Backing tracks for early version of “Sometime In The Morning,” “I’m A Believer” and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” offer a behind-the-scenes perspective on the creative process.

However, the set’s most historic aspect is the inclusion of newly discovered unreleased live music. Recorded in Arizona in 1967, these 10 tracks are The Monkees’ earliest-known live recordings. The performance highlights songs from the band’s 1966 self-titled debut (“I Wanna Be Free” and “Papa Gene’s Blues”), along with covers of Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman” and Willie Dixon’s “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover.”

Limited to just 4,500 numbered copies and housed in a hardbound 7″x7″ box, the collection is available exclusively from monkees.com and rhino.com. MORE OF THE MONKEES: SUPER DELUXE EDITION will be available on December 15, but you can pre-order now.

Order Link: More Of The Monkees Deluxe Edition

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