Davy Jones' "lost" album, Incredible!, is finally seeing a wide, authorized release from our friends at 7a Records. This Friday, May 17, the label will issue the album on both CD and limited edition, 180-gram, LP pressed on blue vinyl.
Incredible! has taken on almost mythical status among Monkees collecting circles. Jones recorded the original 10-song set at the height of the '80s wave of Monkeemania when new fans were discovering Davy, Mickey, Peter, and Mike through MTV, syndication, and the young CD format. Recording in various studios (including in Memphis and New York) as The Monkees toured from city to city, Jones was joined by co-producers Mark Clarke (also The Monkees' touring bassist), Joe Hardy, and Robert Merrill as well as other musicians from The Monkees' touring band. Among the varied material, he revisited "Valleri" for the album and covered Chan Romero's "Hippy Hippy Shake." Incredible! was finally self-released on cassette near the end of 1988 via Jones' Dome Press label as a mail order exclusive. Years later, Jones reissued the material in expanded form on a self-released CD and then as a digital download. None of these extremely limited releases resulted in significant attention for the album, and both editions became scarce collectors' items.
The whole, well, incredible story of the album is told on 7a's new, deluxe reissue, the CD version of which includes a 36-page booklet with detailed liner notes by Monkees historian Mark Kleiner and previously unpublished photos by Henry Diltz and Michael G. Bush. Seven bonus tracks have been added to the original ten, for the fullest exploration of Incredible! yet. A new cover photo adorns the release, too, replacing the jokey cover photo of Jones satirizing the familiar, shirtless Jim Morrison shot from 1985's Best of The Doors. Kleiner's liner notes and photos are also featured in the gatefold blue vinyl edition.
Incredible! follows 7a's recent, superlative reissue of Jones' Bell Records recordings. It arrives this Friday, May 17. You'll find pre-order links and the track listing below.
Davy Jones, Incredible! (7a Records 7A064/7A065LP, 2024)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Deep Discount (U.S.)
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Deep Discount (U.S.)
- Look Inside Yourself
- Make The Woman Love Me
- Only Dreaming
- Black And White
- Valleri
- After Your Heart
- Incredible
- I'll Love You Forever
- Hippy Hippy Shake
- She Believes In Me
Bonus Tracks
- King Lonely The Blue (Later, Alt. Ver.)
- Hangin' By A Thread (Studio Ver.)
- Don't Go
- Fallen Hero
- Can You Whistle?
- Hangin' By A Thread (Live)
- Free (The Greatest Story Ever Told)
Guy Smiley says
For Davy fans, I’m happy this is getting a wider release with more songs.
Me? I’m hoping 7a will get us more Nez releases, and soon. Three terrific CD reissues of his old RCA albums, but expanded CDs of First National Band trilogy remain AWOL.
Likewise, the original, 1974 mix of The Prison has never been issued on CD, and Live at the Palais could sure stand a (Expanded?) CD reissue too.
Wouldn’t mind more cool, smartly handled new Micky Dolenz projects either. Dolenz Sings Nesmith was outstanding, and Dolenz Sings REM was fun but woefully short. A full album was warranted. Maybe there are some bonus tracks to still release?