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Rating:  -
Although the Monkees first two LPs were good, this was their first great record -- and probably their best (It's a toss-up between this one and 'Pisces, Aquarius....').
If only for the reason that this is the first Monkees record to feature the band playing their own instruments, it would always be considered a success. But they not only play capably, they actually managed to make an important record of serious music, superior to their previous efforts done with professional musicians. Nothing they had done previously compares with the likes of 'Shades of Gray' or 'For Pete's Sake'.
The record is full of gems ('You Just May Be The One', "Randy Scouse Git', 'Early Morning Blues and Greens') and the bonus tracks are fantastic. What a record this would have been had it included 'The Girl I Knew Somewhere' (my favorite Monkees song) and 'All of Your Toys', both included here for the first time.
Very highly recommended.
Rating:  -
This album was good in the 60's and still stands to be good today. All the extra tracks on the CD make it even better.
Rating: -
I paticulaly like "Sunny Girlfiend" and "Shades of Grey." THose are both fantastic songs. This album came out in 1967 and was knocked off the charts by Sgt Pepper and his band. But what a shame because this album was just as groundbreaking really. The really experiment wildly on some cuts. "Forget the Girl" is a nice Davy-sung ballad which shows that, hey, he wasn't a total waster after all!! No, sorry, Davy, I just mean you didn't play no instruments except for the tamborine, which is ok because I don't even think Britteny Spears can do that much!! You told me has a nice banjo solo and Mike Nesmith was still a little leaning towards rock than country, I mean, he gets all hillbilly on Present. At least on Headquarters he could still rock out a little bit and not sound like Billy-Bob sitting at the end of the bar drowning his sorrows in whiskey. Mickys great on this album, right? Because that's him actually playing the drums all out of time!! Well, I mean, he keeps time ok, and who am I to say, right, I couldn't do any better, but I mean, just read the book with the CD. Chippy Douglas had to splice nine takes of every song just to get it to flow smooth. And I think these are his words, not mine, Micky was playing too fast or something. I'm glad they got rid of Donny Kirshner for this album, right? Just think, he would of had them doing Sugar Sugar or Green Tambroine? I don't think so. What was that guy on? I mean, he should of just ran the business and left the song pickin' to the boys. Kirshner was too old at this point to know what was hip. I guess he wanted to keep it all fresh and clean cut. Boy, what did he think of Head? He probably thought they were off the wall at that point. I guess we all did by that point!! But get 'em here while they were fresh and at they peak. GOod songs, good singin' and even they were playing all the instruments except whatever Chippy was overdubbing when the boys went out for a smoke break!! Micky is funny on the bonus track "Pillow Time." He's talking into the microphone while the tapes were rolling and Chippy is yawning and says "Hey Micky we're gonna go get some food or something." And Micky just stops singing his little song and practically dropps his microphone and says "Bring me a hamburger and some fries and a coke!!" I think all the other Monkess must have went home by that point and the poor engineer was probably wishing he had taken up Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass Band to engineer their songs that night!! Instead their in the studio with Micky while he sings some dumb lullaby in accapella. Too bad they didn't give you a bonus track of when Chippy came back with the hamburger for Micky. I'd rather hear four minutes of him slopping that down than to hear an out of tune lullaby with a music box going away in the background and so much tape echo on the lead vocal that you'd think Micky was in a concrete tunnel.
And also I like "You Just May be the One" because it so beautifly captures the Monkees at their peak, which is really what this whole disc does, and really keeps alive the spirit of the 60's, even if Sgt Pepper knocked them off the charts!!
Rating: -
Referred to by Peter Tork as "the first Monkees album", this third outing has the boys taking artistic and musical control, with excellent results. Nearly every track made their TV show. Mike stands out with "You Told Me", "You Just May Be The One", and "Sunny Girlfriend". Peter pulls off a passable vocal on the wonderful "Shades Of Gray" and contributes the popular "For Pete's Sake", which closed the show the second season. Micky sings the establishment-bashing "Randy Scouse Git" and Davy sings the love-gone-wrong "Forget That Girl" and the mellow "Early Morning Blues and Greens". Some good bonus tracks are included, like "All Of Your Toys", "Nine Times Blue", and an alternate version of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere".
Rating: -
When I was about 8 years old (mid 1970s) I found this vinyl LP at a yard sale. It invitingly said "MONKEES" on the cover. It had the characters from my favorite TV show on the front - yep, those zany Monkees! So mom's $2 later and I was spinning this underrated collection of music almost every day on my Mickey Mouse record player - skipping those uncool slow songs. Well, 25 years later Mickey Mouse is gone, I still have that scratched up old platter AND Rhino's enhanced Monkee's HQ CD. This time the line up is the same, only now I know what went in to it's production. Indeed, those pre-fab musicians - panned by some critics and fans - set out to prove to...well, themselves, that they could do it by themselves. To this fan HQ is not a mixed bag but a CD to be enjoyed from beginning to end in one sitting. I no longer skip the slow songs but marvel at the beauty of "Shades Of Gray", "I'll Spend My Life With You" and "Mr. Webster"(all worth the purchase price alone). I've never been more impressed with Nesmith than when I listen to "You Told Me" and "Sunny Girlfriend". But check out the bonus track called "Nine Times Blue". Mike was damned talented! Of course, my favorite Monkee was Mickey. His bonus bits are priceless ("...get me a hamburger!!"). There are some wonderful humor elements and a huge fold out of well written liner notes that make this the best Monkee collection ever! Note: I don't believe any of the tracks here were charting hits but many were used on the Monkee's tv show. Don't expect "I'm A Believer", "Daydream Believer" or the like. For those pick up the nearly perfect (no "SHE") MONKEES Greatest Hits also from Rhino.
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