BUY "MONKEES 50" FROM AMAZON.COM
"You Bring the Summer," goes one of the brightest tracks on The Monkees' new hit album Good Times! Well, the summer is bringing more of Micky, Davy, Peter and Mike with the dual August 26 releases of Monkees Forever and The Monkees 50. This announcement comes hot on the heels of the release of the lavish, definitive Blu-ray collection of The Monkees' television show!
These two new collections are timed for the band's 50th anniversary (currently being celebrated on the road by a successful tour featuring Micky and Peter) and aimed at the casual fan with three formats to pick up some of the group's greatest hits and fan favorites. Monkees 50 is the most comprehensive of the sets, with 50 tracks on 3 CDs spanning The Monkees' entire career from "(Theme From) The Monkees," "Last Train to Clarksville," "Take a Giant Step" and "Papa Gene's Blues" on 1966's The Monkees right up through "She Makes Me Laugh" and "You Bring the Summer" on Good Times! Both familiar tunes and lesser-known selections alike are included on Monkees 50.
Monkees Forever is the most compact of the packages. Available as a single-CD or single-LP set, the compilation offers fourteen highlights of the band's career including classic hits like "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Daydream Believer" and "I'm a Believer," as well as "She Makes Me Laugh" and "Porpoise Song." (You won't find "(Theme From) The Monkees" here, however!)
Both The Monkees 50 and Monkees Forever arrive in stores from Rhino on August 26. You can peruse the track listings and pre-order at the links below!
The Monkees, 50 (Rhino, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1
- (Theme From) The Monkees
- Last Train To Clarksville
- Take A Giant Step
- Papa Gene's Blues
- I'm a Believer
- (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone [2006 Remastered]
- She (2006 Remastered)
- A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (Stereo Remix)
- The Girl I Knew Somewhere
- Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) [2006 Remastered]
- Mary, Mary (2006 Remastered)
- Sometime In The Morning (2006 Remastered)
- Randy Scouse Git (2007 Remastered Version)
- You Told Me (2007 Remastered Version)
- Shades Of Gray (2007 Remastered Version)
- For Pete's Sake (Closing Theme) [2007 Remastered Version]
CD 2
- Pleasant Valley Sunday
- Cuddly Toy (2007 Remastered Version)
- Words (2007 Remastered Version)
- Love Is Only Sleeping (2007 Remastered Version)
- Daydream Believer
- Goin' Down
- Valleri
- Tapioca Tundra
- P.O. Box 9847
- Auntie's Municipal Court
- D.W. Washburn (1968 Stereo Mix)
- It's Nice To Be With You (1968 Stereo Mix)
- Porpoise Song (Theme from "Head")
- As We Go Along
- Circle Sky (Live)
CD 3
- Tear Drop City
- A Man Without A Dream
- You And I
- Listen To The Band
- Someday Man
- Good Clean Fun
- Mommy And Daddy
- French Song
- Oh My My (2015 Remastered)
- I Love You Better (2015 Remastered)
- That Was Then, This Is Now
- Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
- Heart And Soul
- MGBGT (Live)
- Every Step Of The Way
- You And I
- Regional Girl
- You Bring the Summer
- She Makes Me Laugh
The Monkees, Forever (Rhino, 2016)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD / Amazon Canada
- I'm A Believer
- Valleri
- You Just May Be The One (TV Version)
- That Was Then, This Is Now
- (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
- Pleasant Valley Sunday
- Daydream Believer
- Last Train To Clarksville
- She Makes Me Laugh
- A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
- Porpoise Song (Theme from "Head")
- Heart And Soul
- Words
- Goin' Down
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Review: The Monkees, "Headquarters: Super Deluxe Edition"
I think the original Listen To The Band box by Rhino is still the best Monkees compilation. I am glad to see, however that both of these have Goin' Down. No Monkees collection should be without that one. I feel like it's their best song ever.
"Listen To The Band" was a great box set, but I think overall they improved on it with "Music Box." That newer collection deleted a small number of tracks, but added many more; it's the only Monkees compilation I know that has all the songs from the "Head" soundtrack.
In 1981, Arista Records put out a collection in Europe, just called "The Monkees," with 30 tracks spread over two LPs. I replicated the running order on a single CD (although I had to cheat by using the shorter TV version of "Monkees' Theme"). It's a pretty solid collection, with extensive liner notes. I particularly enjoy the candor of this passage: "the group tasted their final singles chart success with the pathetically cloying 'D.W. Washburn,' an alarming retrogression which completely failed to reflect their progress into more adventurous music." And "Washburn" is ON that compilation album! (So is "Goin' Down," by the way.)
Wow, I didn't know all that! I'm probably nuts but I seem to remember hating the mix on Goin' Down on Music Box. That kind of soured me on the whole thing. I need to listen again to see if it really is different than the one on Listen To The Band.
D.W. Washburn is a great song in my opinion in it's original version by The Coasters. I wasn't wild about The Monkees version.
According to the Monkees Mixography Web site (a great resource for those of us who sweat such details), only one stereo mix exists for "Goin' Down," and it's on both boxes.
OK, I need to listen to them. I seem to remember an echo on the one on Music Box that was really annoying. I might be dreaming. I'll check it out.
OK, I went and listened. You're right. They're the same. I don't know what I was thinking. I also went and listened to the mono mix and didn't like it. I guess The Monkees were good at stereo. Being a Beach Boys fan, I tend to love mono sound since their records sound so much better in mono (in my opinion). Anyway, thanks for clearing that up!
The Monkees haven't suffered from a lack of compilations over the years. That being said, it makes sense to update the "Best ofs" to include tracks from their terrific new album, "Good Times!," and I understand the decision to put out both a one-disc budget collection and a more comprehensive 50-track set.
I'm puzzled that "Monkees 50" is spread over three discs - I haven't timed out the tracks, but I'd be very surprised if the running order wouldn't fit on a double set. (The excellent 1998 "Monkees Anthology" fit 50 tracks on two discs, with ample room to spare; there are other compilations that squeezed close to 30 tracks onto one disc.)
Some of the track selections are head-scratchers as well. All the A-sides appear to be included, which is a no-brainer, and I'm glad to see every album represented when some collections overlook the band's less successful later period. But "P.O. Box 9847"? "French Song"? I dunno. And there is a rarity there, in the form of the (superior) live version of "Circle Sky" - so why not toss in a couple other historically significant outtakes? (I'd at least have included "All The King's Horses" and "All Of Your Toys.") Of course, every fan could come up with their own track list, and they didn't ask me. I'm sure there's someone out there lamenting the over-obvious inclusion of "Clarksville" instead of "Shorty Blackwell" and "She's Movin' In With Rico."
NO ONE wants "She's Movin' In With Rico." The Monkees had their share of clunkers, but that's one of the very worst.
I guess "50" may appeal to newer fans who are looking for a good career-spanning collection, but this pales compared to Listen To The Band or Music Box. Even the two-disc Anthology from the late 90s is better, IMO.
I agree with you, Steve, that some of the song choices are just odd (Meanwhile, "Forever" leaves off too many gems). How was "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round?" left off, while "French Song," for instance, was included? I would've dropped "Man Without a Dream" too.
Too many songs from the 80s and 90s reunions (sorry Monkee Maniacs, I didn't like any of those "modern" sounding tracks). Pool It and Justus are, frankly, JustAwful!
Including songs from (the fantastic!) Good Times, when that album's only been out for a few weeks, is interesting. I know the album's sales cooled off pretty quickly after its strong debut, but I wonder if these compilations will increase interest (and sales for) Good Times or just kill it further?
Also curious that "50" is chronological, while "Forever" is definitely not?
"Forever" is just woefully incomplete. It covers the big hits, a small handful of B-sides or album tracks, one relative obscurity, and three reunion tracks. Even if all you want is a single disc (or maybe two-disc) "best of," there are much better ones out there that can be found used easily enough.
Some 5 years ago I found "The Original Albums" for a bargain and recorded on my CD-recorder my own selction on two CD:s a' 80 minutes all in all 61 tracks. Very happy with it but I guess the mastering isn't top-nutch. Record companies selections on retro-boxes seldom reflects one owns taste, right? Not in detail anyhow.
Exactly who needs this thing anyway? The Monks have more comps than anyone, except possibly Elvis. And none include "I Remember The Feeling" (or anything else from DjB &H, which is more of a Monkee album than the hokey synthacrap of "Pool It". And I also pile on "French Song". They probably should have included "Regional Girl", if anything.
Oh, sorry, it does have "Regional Girl". God choice.
There are a lot of tracks with no mastering notes. Does that mean those are freshly remastered? The most recent previous mastering of Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere would seem to be from 1991 on Listen to the Band and I'm wondering if this compilation is any improvement.