DaveM4964

I love "Don't Call On Me". It's proof that Mike can vocalize with the best of them. I think it was Boyce or Hart who commented that Mike thought he was Merle Haggard. On this song he sure doesn't sound like Merle. I do agree with the comments about the intro and finish to the song. It takes away from the quality of the song. I actually made an edited version without the intro and ending comments.

HUG-H

I think I hear what you're talking about!

I always thought I heard a mock operatic voice in there too, actually--they were probably screwing around as usual.


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Compare that to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUyTZlJnRns

DaveM4964

They probably were screwing around. I think i read somewhere that Mike and Micky just made up the lyrics on the spot. It does have a "what the hell, lets put this on our Lp sound to it".
I wonder if there's an alternate version without those brady bunch backup vocals available? I don't have the Headquarters Sessions set but there might be one on there.

HUG-H

^ Yes, there's actually a few of them, and one of them is actually a tracking version with hired sidemen (Keith Allison and Jerry Yester among them) that's more of a perfect take (but a little too perfect, it sort of loses edginess)--the difference is literally night and day. And the other ones are tracking session versions. Another one has the backing vocals minus the lead vocal.

Rocketdog2000

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees - Day By Day Story book, the box they were found in was assembled by Chip Douglas and Hank Cicalo of odds and ends made up of outtakes from their various 1967 recoding sessions. This tape was constructed in October of '67, but all of the material was recorded well before this date. There was scant information on the box, but what little there was indicated that "Fever" was most likely from the Headquarters era sessions of March.

Rocketdog2000

As HUG-H pointed out, the Headquarters Sessions has a track on disc three of the set, where you can hear just the backing vocals prominently, without the leads. It's - No Time [Version #2 - Master Take With Backing Vocals]. You can hear Micky cracking up through half of his backing vocals, and he also does that falsetto part.

The song, itself, came about out of a jam session in the studio between takes of working on other songs. Micky is quoted as thinking it was most likely "Long Tall Sally" that they were riffing on at the time, but the guys felt like playing a bit of rock & roll instead of what they had been working on - sort of as a palette cleanser. The genesis of "No Time" came out of it. They would later even try doing a different take with a couple of studio guitarists - Keith Allison and Gerry Mcgee - to help polish and spice it up a bit, but it was ultimately deemed that looser feel of the original worked best. And yes, the lyrics were made up on the spot in the studio.

HUG-H

^ I totally forgot I had that book! I have to dig it out!

But that first version of "No Time" definitely sounds like it's a whole 'nother band, not just the guitarists. What was the reason for cutting that version of the song?

DaveM4964

I love Andrew's book. It's by far the best one out there even though Eric Lefocowitz considers himself to be the true expert on The Monkees. I heard his call-in interview on a radio show just a few days after Davy's death. He basically trashed the band and said some really negative things about Davy's personal life. He came off as a total a-hole.

Rocketdog2000

Yeah, I heard that, too, and you're right. I think because Lefocowitz was the first one to have a book out about The Monkees, he that's what makes him the true expert on them. I wasn't aware of this until recently, but I guess about a year or so ago he released a newer book called Monkee Business: The Revolutionary Made-For-TV Band - which is essentially an updated re-write and re-structure of his previous book The Monkees Tale. Although apparently, this one doesn't always paint such a rosy picture of the band. Still haven't read it yet, so I can't say for sure.

HUG-H

Were you guys talking about this?: http://www.soundopinions.org/audio.html (Show #328)

If it's not, my apologies--I don't hear him trashing them or Davy Jones, but he does point out the negative side of the story a lot.
I'm surprised they're not getting Sandoval to do these interviews, he'd probably do it a different way.

Rocketdog2000

Nah, it was a different radio show. Eric Lefocowitz kept alluding to dirt he had on the band, and saying things like how the surviving Monkees were being all fake about their comments on Davy Jones passing. Even the DJ, whose show it was, made a comment like - "For someone who claims to be such a fan and friend of the band, you sure don't sound as if you like them very much?". And Lefocowitz had called in to this show -they didn't call him.

Andrew Sandoval, on the other hand, I think was probably being far more respectful of the band, and just keeping out of it. He clearly realized that tooting his own horn wasn't the proper way to honor Davy's memory.

Rocketdog2000

And now for the album I think most people have been waiting for...


Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. - Released on November 1967, Colgems Records.
Is the fourth full length album by the group. Within weeks of it's release, it would hit the #1 spot on the chart, their third consecutive album within the same year to do so. It would stay on the charts for 47 weeks, and go on to sell three million copies.

1967 will prove to be "The year The Monkess", with all four of their albums charting in the Top 40 for most of year. They will outsell The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. Their TV show dominates in the ratings. They will also break box office records on their colossal summer tour, early dates of which included Jimi Hendrix - hand picked by the Monkees - as an opening act.

Track listing

Side 1
1. "Salesman" (Craig Smith)
2. "She Hangs Out" (Jeff Barry)
3. "The Door Into Summer" (Chip Douglas, Bill Martin)
4. "Love Is Only Sleeping" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil)
5. "Cuddly Toy" (Harry Nilsson)
6. "Words" (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart)

Side 2
1. "Hard To Believe" (David Jones, Kim Capli, Eddie Brick, Charlie Rockett)
2. "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" (Michael Martin Murphey, Owen Castleman)
3. "Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky" (Peter Tork)
4. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King)
5. "Daily Nightly" (Michael Nesmith)
6. "Don't Call On Me" (Michael Nesmith, John London)
7. "Star Collector" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King)

Produced the Chip Douglas. Music Supervisor: Lester Sill

Group Members - Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith

Session musicians -
Michael Nesmith: Vocals, Guitars
Davy Jones: Vocals, Percussion
Micky Dolenz: Vocals, Drums, Guitar, Moog synthesizer
Peter Tork: Vocals, Piano & Organ, Guitar
Chip Douglas: Bass, Piano & Organ, Guitar
(Fast) Eddie Hoe: Drums
Kim Capli: Drums on "Hard To Believe"
Bill Martin: Piano & Organ
Douglas Dillard: Banjo on "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"
Paul Beaver: Moog synthesizer on "Star Collector"
Pete Candoll, Al Porcino, Manny Stevens, Dick Noel, Dick Leith and Phil Teele: various Horns on "She Hangs Out"
Ted Nash, Thomas Scott and Bud Shank: Reeds & Winds on "Cuddly Toy"
Edgar Lustgarten: Cello on "Cuddly Toy"
Vincent DeRosa, Ollie Mitchell, Tony Terran, Bobby Knight, Jim Horn: various Horns on "Hard To Believe"
Leonard Atkins, Arnold Belnick, Nathan Karpoff, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Jerome Reisler and Darrel Terwillinger: various Strings on "Hard To Believe"

The album's title stems from each band member's respective astrological sign (Dolenz is Pisces, Peter Tork is Aquarius, and both Nesmith and Davy Jones are Capricorn). However, since Nesmith and Jones share the same sign (as well as the same birthday, December 30), Davy's last name was placed at the end of the title to avoid confusion. The album's cover features a drawing by Bernard Yezsin of the four Monkees, their facial features blank, standing in a field of flowers with the group's guitar logo half-buried. The drawing was based on a photo of the group Yezsin had taken.

After proving they could make an album that was primarily just them playing most of the instruments, the Monkees soon realized that this would not be feasible to sustain. After Headquarters, all future albums released by the band (until 1997) would now be made with "mixed-mode" band featuring the group's members being augmented by studio musicians.

This musical set-up was due to a number of reasons, the chief of which was time constraints. With the show to film, touring and other demands, they simply didn't have the time to afford making their albums the way they had done Headquarters. There were also other creative factors that were proving challenging. Micky, never a confident drummer, was unable to duplicate a triumph in the studio, and decided he would rather just turn over those duties to more capable hands. Davy, pretty much related to percussion instruments musically, would grow tired and bored banging a tambourine for multiple takes. Mike, more than content when it came to work on his songs, was not as interested when it came to working on others. And poor Peter, so happy to finally get what he wanted, found that wish far too fleeting, and became somewhat disillusioned by it. There was also the fact that the four were still very much different personalities - and while that worked great for the show, it wasn't as helpful in a "band" situation. Producer Chip Douglas often had his hands full trying to wrangle all or most of the group together in the studio at the same time. Everyone had their own ideas and directions they thought the group should go in, and the more successful they became, the more each Monkee wanted to be heard. And on top of all this, the backlash against the band in the press was at it's all-time highest.

Ultimately, it was decided the best course of action would be to go back to original songwriter and song-making strategy of the first two albums. Only this time, it was the Monkees calling the shots about where and how that music came to be. This way, they would have the best of both worlds, and it was basically all they really wanted in the first place. Had it not been for Don Kirshner's megalomania in wanting total control over the recording situation, he may still have had a job within the Monkees organization. Now, however, it would be the Monkees who were picking the songs they recorded, and who was going to be playing on them.

Due to the fact that the Monkees were on tour for most of the summer of '67, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. had to be recorded whenever, and where ever chances allowed. As such it was recorded in several different studios and cities - including New York, Nashville, Tennessee and Chicago - but primarily work was done at RCA's Studio A in Hollywood, California. Considering all this, it's a wonder the album came out as good as it did, with an excellent cohesive flow that would never tip you off to it's disparate origins.

Another big difference that helped PACJ achieve this, was in it's overall sound quality. Over the course of the year, there had been vast improvements and advances in recording technology. The main of which was that for the first time ever, a Monkees album would have the benefit of utilizing the then brand new eight-track tape recording system that had just been installed in the studio. The extra sound dimensions this allowed was something the group would take full advantage of.

But on to the tunes themselves...

"Salesman" - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
Kicks off the album with typical Nesmith twang, and is the first of five unprecedented lead vocal tracks on a Monkees album for him. This tune was penned by Craig Vincent Smith, a friend of Mike's from the band Penny Arkade, which he was also producing at the time. The song featured prominently in the Season 2 episode (and one of my favorites) "The Devil and Peter Tork".

"She Hangs Out" - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
Originally recorded by Jeff Barry and New york studio musicians as the B-side to "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", this groovy song was revived and re-recorded with the Monkees as the backing band, instead. This new, superior version has a cooler A Capella intro, and better overall vibe than the first. Davy let's loose with some of his best whoops and yelps.

"The Door Into Summer" - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
Bill Martin (author of "All Of Your Toys"), having now moved his publishing to Screen Gems, was now ably to freely submit songs to the Monkees which they could release. This tune, loosely based on the writings of Sci-Fi author Robert Heinlein, was one they favored. Mickey adds some sweetly sublime harmony vocals, and Peter is at the keys. Also, one of the only tracks that features at least some drum work from Mickey, with the other drums provided by Eddie Hoh.

"Love Is Only Sleeping" - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
Originally not scheduled to be on PACJ, this song was first planed to be released as single only before the album's release, but it's risque lyrics kept that from happening. Instead it ended up taking the place of a song that was removed for it's inclusion - "Goin Down" - which for now would only get a single release as the b-side to "Daydream Believer". Yet again, another standout Nesmith performance, of an entrancing song written by Mann & Weil. The main guitar riff was homespun, though.

"Cuddly Toy" - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
The first track cut for the album, it was hand-picked out of several songs auditioned to the band by then struggling songwriter, Harry Nilsson. It's inclusion allowed him to quit the bank job he had been working, and take up music full time for good. He also formed lasting friendships within the group, particularly with Micky Dolenz, who would later be his neighbor. A joyful little romp, perfectly suited to Davy's vocal stylings. Mickey adds harmony vocals, and it's also the only track on the album on which he is the drummer. (almost everything else is Eddie Hoh) Peter again on keys.

"Words" - Lead vocals by Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork
Micky's first (shared) lead on the album, and the sole Boyce & Hart contribution to the album. It was originally recorded for inclusion on More of The Monkees. This re-cut version by the Monkees is again superior to the original - featuring as slightly faster tempo, a better band performance, and Peter's Hammond B-3 organ solo in place of an ill chosen flute solo on the original. It was the flip-side of the record's first single "Pleasant Valley Sunday", reaching #11 in it's own right.

"Hard To Believe" - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
Side two of the album starts off with this bossa nova styled tune by Davy. The only song that, to me, really feels a bit out of place on the album. It seems far more reminiscent of what he would alter do with his solo career. PLead vocal by Davy Jonesenned by Davy, along with Kim Capli, Eddie Brick, Charlie Rockett. The former two were members of The Sundowners, one of the opening acts on the Monkees summer tour. Wind and string instruments aside, all the other backing instruments were played by Kim Capli.

"What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
Another favorite Papa Nes performance. This tune came to the band courtesy of Michael Martin Murphey (he of later "Wildfire" fame) and Owens Castleman - or as they were known at the time, The Lewis & Clarke Expedition - under the working title "Loudmouthed Yankee". Indicative of the direction Nesmith was hoping to take the Monkees in, many people now look upon this as one of the first Alt-country songs. The electric banjo is played here by Douglas Dillard - although given his proficiency with the instrument, I'm surprised Peter Tork didn't play on this, instead.

"Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky" - Spoken performance by Peter Tork
A wee bit of semi-comic relief. Although credited to Peter, the words are actual public domain, but as he was the arranger of the piece, he got credit for it. Taught to him by a singer he was working with at the time Judy Mayhan. It was something Tork would occasionally do in the studio for fun, and producer Douglas found suitably interesting for inclusion. Ultimately, it just acts as a unique set-up of for the album's next song.

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" - Lead vocal by Micky Dolenz
The album's first single, it was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King - although the prominent guitar riff was written and added by Chip Douglas, and played by Mike. One of Micky's few leads on the album, he makes up for it by doing outstanding doubling of his vocals. Davy adds some backing vocals throughout, and Mike some great ones near song's end. One of those tracks where the Monkees as an entity just gel. Love the psychedelic, reverb drenched ending, too.

"Daily Nightly" - Lead vocal by Micky Dolenz
True psychedelia from the times, with Micky doing his best Grace Slick. This song also marked the first time a Moog Synthesizer was ever used on a mainstream pop record, played by Micky, who was owner of one of only three in the country at the time. I was always surprised to learn that Mike had written this song, as it seems so Micky. The lyrics are social commentary on what Nesmith was witness on the Hollywood street scene at the time. The guitar licks were also originally written on (and for) hammond B-3, but somewhere along the lines, Nes changed them over.

"Don't Call On Me" - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
Mike's other musical composition on the album was also an older song that dated back to his pre-Monkee days. IMHO, A lovely slice of chill cocktail lounge music. The song's intro and end segments were later added to give it more more of an ambiance - like you were actually hearing it in a factious lounge. The piano on the intro is actually played by Monkees TV show co-creator and co-producer, Bob Rafelson.

"Star Collector" - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
Davy get's the final word on the album, and one of his best performances, on another great track by Goffin & King. Dealing with the phenomena of Groupies, Davy, with the biggest heartthrob following among the Monkees, was the perfect choice to sing it. This time out, the Moog Synthesizer was played Paul Beaver, while the crazed organ parts are played by Tork.

And so rounds out what is arguably the Monkees finest album. It may not have been just them, but creatively and sonically, I don't think the Monkees ever got much better than they did on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd..

As was often the case, the Monkees also released a single along with the album, even though those songs were not on said album. This time out, the single was the previously mentioned "Daydream Believer" (written by John Stewart), backed with "Goin Down". The former cut I'll get into more of during the next album's discussion, as it ended up being included on that album. For now, though, just a bit of back-story on the latter. As for the single, itself, it simultaneously reached the top of the charts with Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd..

"Goin' Down" - Lead vocal by Micky Dolenz
This tune started out as a take on Mose Allison's "Parchment Farm", which Peter used to love to jam on. Since they were only using the chord progression, and not the melody, it was decided to write a new song around it, rather than doing a straight up cover. Micky originally did a loose scat melody over the top, and songwriter Diane Hildebrand would eventually write some great lyrics for it. The horn section was later added to fully flesh it out.

HUG-H

^ Great review!

I think that it should be noted as well that Shorty Rogers, who would do a few great other arrangements for them, arranged the horn section for "She Hangs Out" making it even better than the early mix from the "Card-Carrying Red Shoes" episode (and also on the deluxe PAC&J).

As a child, again, I was creeped-out by a variety of things on the record; The organ at the end of "Love Is Only Sleeping" always sounded like the planes that passed over our house because we lived not too far from LaGuardia; The moog parts on "Daily Nightly" and "Star Collector" (which also had what sounded like evil dissonant organ) were so out there that I often ran away from my sister playing it (But I must have liked the records regardless! ); The reverb immersion at the end of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" was crazy too, like the band were sinking into water.
Nowadays those things aren't so freakish--I even think there should have been more moog on "Daily Nightly"!

BTW, do we prefer mono or stereo for this one?

Franchot

Another excellent write-up!

I already own the Monkees CD box set from years ago and a couple of rare reissues, but I've been buying all the double-disc Rhino reissues as you've reviewed them. (Luckily, I've found them at relatively cheap prices.)

(I'm wondering now if I should splash out the big bucks for the The Birds, the Bees, and the Monkees and Head box sets as these are quite a bit more expensive and these aren't my favorite LPs by the group and there seems to be a lot of "filler" on them.)

Bobaray

I know these are albums that haven't been discussed yet, but today only Pop Market is having a deal on the Head and Instant Replay Rhino Handmade deluxe 3-cd sets. They are $89.99 for both with free shipping. Using code FACEBOOK10 for 10% off I got both for $80.99 shipped. They are $59.99 on the Rhino website. Wouldn't buy for that price, but $40.49 each is a good deal. Here is the link: http://www.popmarket.com/?cid=nl%3A2...et.com%20IMAGE

Rocketdog2000

Thanks for the heads-up on this. I only wish I had the spare cha-ching to buy them right now - but since I had to lay out $450 getting my car repaired last week, I'm a bit short of fundage for now.

Pizza

My favorite album from them. They were in a good place artistically when they made this. I do wish that Goin Down and Daydream Believer where placed on this album when originally released. Also wish Cuddley Toy saw light as a single at the time. I feel it would have been a hit.

JANK

Cuddly Toy was a single! It was heavily played in the Twin Cities on top 40 radio during Feb-Mar 1968. I will have to dig and find my old chart list to verify. I am sure I remember seeing it listed going up the top 40. Strange that it isn't listed as an official single.

HUG-H

^ They might have been playing the album tracks on the pop station. I think they had started doing this with The Beatles too, at the time.

JANK

I've been waiting for this one - THANKs RocketDog2000 for the great kickoff and review.

"Love Is Only Sleeping" - THIS SONG with its (for me) awesome opening guitar riff accented by the psych shimmers flanking it are so memorable that I thank it (and The Who's "I Can See For Miles") for getting me into Rock 'n Roll big time. Shivers. Mike's vocals always sweep me away in how mixes his low tenor with a falsetto at the end. His comeback after the bridge with the the majestic joyful plea "SHE LOOKED AT ME ...!! double tracked (I for some reason imagined it to be Peter) still blows me away. Play it loud, play it loud!

"The Door Into Summer" - Man I love the lyrics on this one!!! And again, Mike's vocal delivery:
--> \"The children left King Midas there, as they found him / In his counting house where nothing counts but more"
--> \"And he thought he heard the echo of a penny whistle band \ And the laughter from a distant caravan \ And the brightly painted line of circus wagons in the sand \ Fading through the door into summer"
--> \"And he pays for every year he cannot buy back with his tears \ As he finds out there's been no one keeping score"

I'll let this sink in with you guys while I mull over my other favorites "Daily Nightly", "Don't Call On Me", "Star Collector", "Cuddly Toy"

HUG-H

This was also the period when both Micky suddenly had curly hair and Mike had a different voice. Needless to say, this caused great confusion for me!

@JANK--Those psych shimmers always reminded me of cicadas!

And this has more to do with the TV show, but the lights behind them for the Star Collector video always made me think it was a neon tongue...
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Rocketdog2000

Mike had recently had his tonsils out, which is why the tonal quality of his voice changed.

As for Micky, has hair was naturally curly, but because his type of hair had a tendency to frizz up the hot lights of the studio, when the show first started, the producers had him get his hair professionally straightened once a week.

Being no stranger to show business needs, Micky went along with this - he had already spent years having his hair dyed blonde when he was on Circus Boy. However, it was a time consuming process, and not always a pleasant one. A straightening cream must stay on the scalp for nearly an hour, and it's so potent that it burns and stings while it touches the scalp. With the ever growing needs of not only having to film the show, but also do recording and touring, it just became too much to put up with. Since the boys were also gaining a bit more control over their destinies, due to having already achieved popularity, this was one of the first things that Micky decided was going to change.

HUG-H

^ I knew about Mike's tonsillectomy, but I knew nothing about it then.
Was that also Mike taking control of destiny?
I know that it made him sound more country.

I knew about Micky's thing too,
Lefcowitz's book had us believing that he had the hair curled rather than the opposite.

These things, however were really confusing because the episodes aired out of sequence when they were on CBS repeats, so, there wasn't any context to why their appearance kept changing.

Mono or stereo for the favorite on this anyone?

Rocketdog2000

I figured you would, but shared for those who may not have known. As for the other part, again proving that Lefcowitz isn't necessarily quite he "expert" he claims to be.

True. It was the same with the original airings, too - they showed them out of sequence of which they were filmed. Hair lengths/styles for Micky and Davy, especially, would change from episode to episode. So you're right that it was confusing.

I've been re-watching the episodes on DVD of late, too, so it's something I've really noticed. Another thing I never really noticed then was that they would often change the music during the "romps" on re-airings - updating the music to newer released material of the time. The DVD's feature the music that was in the original aired episodes, so it was a bit jarring hearing songs different than the way I remembered them from the 70's re-runs.

HUG-H

Lefcowitz got schooled big time when he did that radio show, huh? I'm glad Andrew Sandoval came along.

That was always something that drove me nuts, because I know for the longest time I kept waiting for the episode to come back on that had "Listen To The Band" on it!! I think it had replaced "Clarksville" on an early episode that was being shown in syndication in the '70's.