|
Rating:  -
I'm now convinced that Rhino Records should re-release every album ever made. Beautiful packaging, wonderful audio. The only thing is that the bonus tracks recorded during this era aren't quite as good as the ones found on 'The Monkees' (as that special edition contains quite a few Nesmith-produced out-takes). "Kicking Stones" could be the absolute worst example of their recorded output. But for a completist, it is an essential purchase, as all the tracks that have been previously scattered over countless rarities disks are finally all in one place. The original album is handled with loving care and sounds better than ever...if only they could've gone back in time as well and removed the incredibly, painfully cheesy "The Day We Fall in Love" from the original release, we would have had the perfect example of 60's bubble-gum pop to last for the ages.
Rating:  -
I had my first crush on Mickey Dolenz. This was the first album I ever bought at the ripe old age of 9. It is amazing to think I thought these guys were so awesome. Most of the songs are teeny bop as to be expected. But some of them actually do transend the generations and remain timeless classics but not all of them!
Rating: -
More of the Monkees further cemented the Pre-Fab Four as the hottest things since their mentors, The Beatles, took the world by storm just two years earlier. This album, highlighted by "I'm a Believer," furthers Peter, Micky, Mike and Davy as suitors to The Beatles throne as teenybop icons. Heck, we even get to here Peter warble "Your Auntie Grizelda." However, things were changing fast in Monkeedom, and this was the final album under the aegis of Don Kirshner. Another great pop effort, but the greatest was yet to come.
Rating: -
Previous reviewers have gone into great detail about the care and respect put into these first two deluxe reissues, but one thing I was very excited about on this particular release I haven't seen mentioned: The mono mix of this album contains the longer mix of "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone".
I own a copy of the original vinyl mono release of this album, and have been hoping for years that Rhino would release this intriguing variation of "Stepping Stone". It's similar to the mono single mix ( previously released on the Rhino greatest hits CD ) with deleted background vocals, but the ending of the song is longer before the final fade-out. This version was heard once on the television series (in the episode where the lads disguise themselves as the 'Purple Flower Gang' to defeat a mob boss ) and only released on the mono album. I'm thrilled to finally have it on CD!
Rating:  -
"More of the Monkees" hit the pop charts like a shot across the bow of everything that seemed `cool'. Teenagers destined to become hippies hated the band, the TV show, and everything that the Monkees represented, feigning a preference for the more `sophisticated' sounds of the Lovin' Spoonful and Buffalo Springfield. Little did they know that either of these bands would have sold their credibility for a piece of the Monkees superstardom; in point of fact, the Lovin' Spoonful almost were the Monkees but were rejected for a lack of personality, while Stephen Stills (of the Buffalo Springfield) got axed for the gap between his front teeth. "More of the Monkees" shipped with pre-orders of 1.5 million copies and then continued to sell in significant quantities, so nay-sayers who figured the band as one-hit wonders had to quickly reformulate their perspective.
Stylistically speaking. "More of the Monkees" duplicates the layout of their first album, but with exaggerated characteristics. The good bits are much better, while the bad bits are almost unbearable. Neil Diamond and the team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin provide some of the best songs of their careers ("I'm a Believer" and "Sometime in the Morning", respectively). Monkee Mike Nesmith proves that he is exceptionally qualified to write his own material for the band, too. "Mary Mary" and "The Kind of Girl I Could Love" are album highlights, with a countrified, rocking edge that must have put some doubt in the minds of those who claimed that the bandmembers could not play their own instruments. Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart provided hits for the first album, and although they didn't provide the hit single here, they would have to settle for writing the best Monkees song ever, "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone", and the hook-laden opening track, "She." These six tracks mark a high-water mark in the band's career, but the balance of the album shoots a hole in the bucket. "Your Auntie Grizelda" is an oafish attempt at humor, but not nearly as bad as the forced stupidity of "Laugh," sung by the hapless Davy Jones. As bad as that track is, poor Davy is also saddled with the most painfully insipid love song ever written, a sappy moon-pie called "The Day We Fall in Love," (which he sings as "luff").
The dual disks present the album in both stereo and mono, with little discernible difference to the casual listener. The real bonus is in the extra tracks, which add a few excellent songs that were woefully overlooked, along with alternate mixes of songs from other albums. If you have ever harbored doubts about this band, then it's high time you check your preconceived notions at the door. When "More of the Monkees" is good, it is very, very good, so relax, lighten up and be very grateful that CD changers make it easy to skip over the bad tracks. A- Tom Ryan
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join the Nielsen//NetRatings Research Panel and you could win a new car, a dream vacation, a dream home makeover or $50,000 Cash!
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Original Superhero & other designs for t-shirts, bumper
stickers, prints, mugs, and other cool merchandise. |
|
