HUG-H

^ Here's a famous example of one of the CBS splices:
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DaveM4964

Looked into buying them, too late...Sold Out!

JANK

Well I just discussed Cuddly Toy with my buddy back in the Twin Cities and he concurs with Hug-H that the DJs at the time had a lot more leeway than they do now and just played the song in the daily rotation like a Top 40 single. So all I can add is that it was a big regional hit, which I didn't realize wasn't occuring across the USA.

Cuddly Toy is supposedly about a rape victim so what is so risque about Love Is Only Sleeping?

HUG-H

^ Yes! I forgot that it was a rape lyric. Good call on that!
Thanks also for the shoutout!

Rocketdog2000

I've never gotten the straight scoop on what the song is about - exactly - but the lyrics are fairly open to interpretation. It's also why I didn't say one way or the other what the song's meaning was in my review. One thing I've read is that it's supposedly about a gang bang, and it may be, but I've also read where that was contradicted.

At the very least, to me, it's about a very promiscuous girl, who's more into the song's author than he is her. She's fine for a hookup, but a serious relationship is out of the question. The rest I'll leave up to the personal interpretation of the listener. Regardless, it's still fairly deceptively, dark stuff than your average Monkees song.

DaveM4964

I've always felt that The Monkees recorded many songs that would have been hits if released as singles. I will never understand why no U.S. single was ever issued for Headquarters.

JANK

Cuddly Toy was written by Nilsson who wasn't your standard Brill Building (King/Goffin/Diamond) songwriter and choosing one of his songs shows the growth the Monkees chose in their music (if you want to call having songs with ambiguity and a dark side as "growth"). Nevertheless, it did make the Monkees a lot more interesting much like the Beatles progression from I Want To Hold Your Hand to everything on Revolver.

This dark side trend traces back to the excellent overlooked Early Morning Blues and Greens on Headquarters (yeah we still are can talk about that album I guess).

The Monkees were great for many reasons; they were able to appeal on several levels be it to a teenybopper or a jaded youth.

JANK

Well A Little Bit Of Me A Little Bit Of You was their big hit during the Summer Of Love that Headquarters fought head to head with Sgt Pepper (who'd thought it would be the Monkees and not the Beach Boys!!!) and ALBOMALBOY might have been included on Headquarters much like I'm A Believer was on the earlier albums....

That aside, (and sorry we are BACK to Headquarters) Randy Scouse Git backed with For Pete's Sake would have been a killer 45!!

HUG-H

^ I was wondering what Albomalboy was! (Although he probably does say "A little bit o' you" somewhere in the recording)

I think it's actually ALBMALBY.

There was an earlier track lineup of Headquarters that included both sides of Colgems single 1004:

Side 1
"For Pete's Sake"
"I'll Spend My Life With You"
"Forget That Girl"
"You Just May Be the One"
"Shades of Gray"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (Neil Diamond)
"Band 6"

Side 2
"Sunny Girlfriend"
"Mr. Webster"
"You Told Me"
"The Girl I Knew Somewhere"
"Zilch"
"Early Morning Blues and Greens"
"Randy Scouse Git"

HUG-H

^ And here's the original Pisces Aquarius lineup so we can realign with where we are in the order of records:

Side 1
"Special Announcement"
"She Hangs Out"
"Salesman"
"Cuddly Toy"
"Words"
"Don't Call on Me"
"Goin' Down"

Side 2
"The Door Into Summer"
"Hard to Believe"
"What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"
"Daily Nightly"
"Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"Star Collector"

And in this case only "Goin' Down" from the Colgems single 1012 and not the A-side was included.

DaveM4964

Interesting but i can see why "A Little Bit Me" wasn't included. The band didn't play on it although i guess they could have recorded a new version and included it on the LP.

Rocketdog2000

Moving on, a new year - 1968 - and a new record...


The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees - Released April 1968, Colgems Records.
Is the fifth studio album by The Monkees, and their first album not to reach Billboard's number one, instead charting at number three and eventually selling over a million copies. Yielded the group's fifth and sixth million-selling singles in "Daydream Believer" and "Valleri", the former of which had been recorded and released prior to the album.

The last Monkees Album to be officially released in the US in a true Mono mix, and in limited quantity, as mono albums were being phased out by 1968. Original Mono copies had become a highly-sought for their unique mixes that differ from the common stereo versions. In turn, most foreign mono copies feature the stereo mixes merely reduced to one channel.

Track listing

Side 1
1. "Dream World" (David Jones/Steve Pitts)
2. "Auntie’s Municipal Court" (Michael Nesmith/Keith Allison)
3. "We Were Made for Each Other" (Carole Bayer/George Fischoff)
4. "Tapioca Tundra" (Michael Nesmith)
5. "Daydream Believer" (John Stewart)
6. "Writing Wrongs" (Michael Nesmith)

Side 2
1. "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet" (Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell)
2. "The Poster" (David Jones/Steve Pitts)
3. "P.O. Box 9847" (Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart)
4. "Magnolia Simms" (Michael Nesmith/Charles Rockett)
5. "Valleri" (Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart)
6. "Zor and Zam" (Bill Chadwick/John Chadwick)

Produced by The Monkess, "Daydream Believer" produced by Chip Douglas. Music Supervisor: Lester Sill

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

Session musicians -
Michael Nesmith: Vocals, Guitars, Organ & Piano
Davy Jones: Vocals
Micky Dolenz: Vocals
Peter Tork: Piano on "Daydream Believer"
Chip Douglas: Bass on "Daydream Believer" and "Zor And Zam"
The rest of the session musicians are numerous and vary by track. Amongst them are...
Guitars : Michael Deasy, Al Hendrickson, Gerry McGee, Keith Allison, Bill Chadwick, James Burton, Al Casey, Dennis Budimir, Howard Roberts and Louie Shelton.
Bass: Max Bennett, Richard Dey, Lyle Ritz and Joe Osborn
Drums: Earl Palmer, Eddie Hoe, Hal Blaine and Billy Lewis
Various Keyboards: Don Randi, Harry Nilsson, Michael Melvoin, Bobby Hart, Paul T. Smith
Various Horns: Buddy Childers, Jack Shelton, George Roberts, John Cave, Don Duke, Arthur Maebe, Lewis McCreary, Vincent DeRosa, David Duke, Richard Preissi, Pete Candoli, Al Porcino, Manuel Stevens, Richard Noel, Richard Leith, Philip Teele, William Hood, Oliver Mitchell, Louis Blackburn, Clyde Reasinger, Anthony Terran, Milt Bernhart, Richard Leith, Frank Rosolino, John Lowe, Jay Migliori and Roy Caton
Various Strings: Sam Freed, Nathan Kaproff, Martin Limonick, Alexander Murray, Erno Neufeld, Marie Feram, Edgar Lustgarten, Jacquelyn Lustgarten, Fredrick Seykora, George Kast, Kurt Reher, Eleanor Slatkin, Nathan Kaproff,
Ambrose Russo, Victor Arno, Jack Pepper, Philip Goldberg, Raymond Kelley
Various Percussion: Brendan Cahill, Teresa Helfer, Milt Holland, Jerry Williams, Bill Martin, Gary Coleman, Gene Estes, Billy Lewis, Hal Blaine, Stanley Levey

Horn & string Arrangements: Shorty Rodgers, except "Valerie" by Don McGinnis

The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees again saw each individual band member began to produce his own sessions with his own selected studio musicians, often at entirely different studios around the Los Angeles area. An agreement was made to label all finished efforts as "Produced by The Monkees", even though there was there was little 'group' involvement in the making of them.

Even though he fully expected to continue as the band's representative in the studio, Chip Douglas found the individual Monkees more interested in exploring their diverse musical backgrounds with their own friends rather than relying on him as the central figure. That coordinator position would now fall to Lester Sill to keep track of everyone's various output, and assembling the final album.

The only real problem, was that with their diverse backgrounds, while making for an interesting mix of styles and sounds on Monkees albums, also created a very fractured sound. Four different musical outlooks resulted in less and less harmony in the recording process and it's output. As a result, Davy Jones' Broadway styled songs, Michael Nesmith's country rock leanings (and psychedelic experimental songs), and the rock and soul of Micky Dolenz did not always mesh together easily.

Even worse for Peter Tork, although he recorded several compositions that were considered for release on Birds, his participation on this album is almost zero. His sole appearance is playing piano on "Daydream Believer". Partly this was due to his not being able to complete his own material satisfactorily, and in a timely enough manner. He spent many months and sessions re-recording and tinkering with what would have been the most likely candidate for inclusion - "Lady's Baby". (Alternate takes of "Lady's Baby" will feature Peter's longtime friend Stephen Stills- the man responsible for him being a Monkee - on guitar, as well as Buffallo Springfield's Dewey Martin, and alternately Buddy Miles, on drums.) Other songs he was working on at the time also got held back for inclusion on the soundtrack to the Monkees first movie - Head - which the band had also started filming while recording sessions for the album went on. Peter would spend the rest of his Monkees tenure struggling to find his footing in the studio now that the band was no longer working organically. Ultimately, it would lead to his decision to leave the band by the year's end.

Also adding to the somewhat disjointed feel of the album, is the fact that the group were working simultaneously on material that would end up being released on their next two albums, as well as this one. Musical supervisor Lester Sill was left with the unenviable task of sorting through what was available, and trying to make as cohesive an album as he could out of it. With all of the boys busy working at separate times, in separate studios, as well as filming the TV show and a movie, it was often difficult to get a group consensus on things.

The front cover of the album shows a Shadow box that contains some memorabilia from the 1940s through 1960s, including a Cootie (game) bug, a popgun, a fan that folds out into a paper flower, ceramic birds, various paper flowers, and stick flowers (which were popular in 1968). The rear cover contains the term "MIJACOGEO" with Micky's photo, a term that is an anagram for the members of Micky's family: MIcky, JAnelle, COco, GEOrge. (It was also the name of the final Monkees TV episode, which Dolenz directed, as well. Alternately known as "The Frodis Caper" - with 'frodis' being a euphemism Mickey had made up for marijuana.)

But back to the music...

"Dream World" - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
The album opens with a pleasant bit of orchestral chamber pop co-penned by Jones and Steve Pitts, a friend of Mike Nesmith's, whom Nesmith had introduced Davy to earlier. This is the first of two songs the duo would contribute here, and wouldn't sound at all out of place on an Association album.

Auntie’s Municipal Court - Lead vocals by Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith
Next up is one of my favorites off of Birds, and features an unique dual lead vocal by Micky and Mike, although Micky is far more noticeable. Another Nesmith hybrid country/folk mid-tempo rocker, the style on this one seems somewhat ahead of it's time. The mono mix puts more emphasis on the guitar accompaniment

We Were Made for Each Other - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
Stylistically, kind of jumps right back to the sound of the opening cut, and as such, seems a bit redundant. It's a pretty little song that was re-recorded for inclusion here, although the group had done a prior version with Chip Douglas the year before for possible inclusion on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. .

Tapioca Tundra - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
The first of several more experimental tracks that Mike sings (and co-wrote) on the album - and of all of them, the one I like best. I remember as a kid thinking it was kind of weird, but I've grown to really appreciate it over the years. The latin flavored song originally started out as simply poetry Mike had written, which he later decided to set to music, much like "Daily Nightly". Guitarist Keith Allison helped flesh out the song with riffs he came up with during a studio jam session. The song was also the B-side to "Valleri", charted surprisingly well in it's own right at #34.

Daydream Believer - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
Although written by former Kingston Trio member John Stewart, this tune is arguably one of the defining songs and true standout moments in Davy Jones singing career. Previously recorded and meant to be part of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. , the song was held back for release on this album - although it was released as a single prior to the album coming out. Charting at #1, it was the Monkees third straight single, but also their last, to reach that position. It's the only song on Birds to feature all members of the band, and the only song with Tork at all. About as gloriously perfect as pop songs come. I still love the opening gag at the song's beginning - with Davy asking what number song they are doing, and everyone replying "Seven A!", along with his "It's because I'm short, I know".

Writing Wrongs - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
Continuing to dominate his presence on the album's first half, Mike offers up this rather odd piece of music, which is actually two takes spliced together for the final mix. While I find the extended musical break interesting, overall, the song doesn't do much for me.

I'll Be Back Up On My Feet - Lead vocal by Micky Dolenz
Side two of the album starts off by again dipping back into the well of great songs that were previously recorded and used on the TV show, but not issued on any albums. This version of the Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell penned song is actually the third one the band have attempted to put to tape. The first was produced by Jeff Barry for possible inclusion on More Of the Monkees, while the second was another uncompleted re-do that was tracked for Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. . As opposed to the first take, this outing features the prominent use of a brass section and an extra chord change. I go back and forth over which one I like better. Sometimes I dig the added horns and more polished feel of this version, but I also feel there's a bit more life to Micky's vocals on the original take, and I like the ending of that one better, as well.

The Poster - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
The record's second Jones/Pitts collaboration is a groovy pop confection based on a circus theme. Not quite as good as "Dream World", but still proved Davy was possible of coming up with good musical contributions in his own right.

P.O. Box 9847 - Lead vocal by Micky Dolenz
One of two songs (the other being "Valleri") that saw the return of Boyce & Hart to this Monkees album, and both of which had to be re-cut from previously recorded versions for inclusion. (But as usual, it is an improvement over the original, anyway.) Because of the new "Produced by The Monkees" edict, Boyce & Hart were asked back to redo the songs as basically studio musicians leading the band, but forgoing the production credit. Deciding it was better to still have songs on a Monkees album this way rather than not at all, the duo went along with it. Monkees co-creator Bob Rafelson was the inspiration for this Beatles sounding tune, coming up with the idea of a song about a classified ad. Originally Boyce & Hart wanted to give him a co-writers credit, but the PTB nixed this as a conflict of interest.

Magnolia Simms - Lead vocal by Michael Nesmith
This jazzy period styled piece incorporates some rather ingenious studio production - including the addition of intentional surface noise to imitate the sound of an old 78, as well as just having Nesmith's vocals coming out of just the left channel. The "skipping" section is also a clever twist, but overall the song feels very out of place on the album to me.

Valleri - Lead vocal by Davy Jones
Another track with an old history, music supervisor Lester Sill felt the song could still be a hit - and he was right, with this second single off the album reaching #3 on the charts. Up until now, DJ's in parts of the country had been playing bootleg dubs recorded off the song's appearance in the TV show episode "Captain Crocodile" from the first season. Previously recorded and produced by Boyce & Hart for possible inclusion on the second Monkees album, like "P.O. Box 9847", the duo had to re-cut the song for Birds. Although they tried to stay as close as possible to the original take, the earlier version has a far more garage-y sound, while the newer version also has a horn section, as well as more polished feel. Again, I find myself going back and forth over which version I prefer. There's something to be said for the rawness of the original, but at the same time, I like the cleaner guitar breaks and additional brass on this take. The only downside to this album version is the fade, which was dropped in favor of an ending I prefer that is used on later compilations. Either way, it's another of Jones' standout performances.

Zor and Zam - Lead vocal by Micky Dolenz
The record's final word goes out from Micky, via this anti-war song penned by brothers Bill And John Chadwick. Micky brought in the tune from Bill, a sidekick/bodyguard/stand in for the band, when he had heard him perform it at a party. It was originally written by the brothers for an animated project they had in mind, but when that fell part, they were more than happy when Micky suggested recording it. Great arrangement from Shorty Rodgers. I've always liked the message of the lyrics, too - what if they gave a war and nobody decided to fight. A fine way to close out the album.

It's a shame that Peter got shafted from musical contributions to the album, especailly based on what I've heard that could have been on it. "Lady's Baby" or "Come On In" would certainly been more at home here than say "Magnolia Simms", perhaps. Or, could have easily replaced the redundancy of a track like "We Were Made for Each Other". Even the musical poem "Alvin", as short as it is, could have been added without too much trouble. At least he'd get his due on the Monkees next release.

Oh, and keeping with the "alternate" possible running order of what The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees could have looked like, here's what the initial made stereo master looked like...

Side 1
"Through The Looking Glass" (held back for Instant Replay)
"We Were Made For Each Other"
"Writing Wrongs"
"I'll Be Back Up On My Feet"
"Valleri"
"Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again" (held back for Head)

Side 2
"Dream World"
"P.O. Box 9847"
"Tapioca Tundra"
"The Poster"
"Alvin" (unreleased)
"Daydream Believer"
"Zor and Zam"

Ok, discuss.

HUG-H

Thanks for the review Rocketdog!

I've always loved BB&M, and I know that it's not the favorite of many, but the diversity of the collection is what's charming about it. How many records are you going to hear that have "Dream World" seguing into "Auntie's Municipal Court"? That's a juxtaposition that always stuck with me and taught me anything is possible in music. BTW, I like "Writing Wrongs". The pendulum-like tempo of the slow parts of the song I always found quite hypnotic!
It was awesome when Rhino Handmade released the 3-disc box-set with the remastered stereo and (first-time-ever-on-legitimate-CD) mono mixes. You can't beat the mono mix of "Auntie's", particularly!
And with all-due respect to Peter Tork, I never cared for "Lady's Baby", and given that there aren't many of his songs I really like, it's omission does not affect the album for me (Of course the BB&M box set hopefully appeases fans of the song by featuring 3 different versions of it).

There's a couple of things I need to correct you on, Rocket (sorry):

"Magnolia Simms" actually has the entire song coming through the left channel on the stereo pressing, not just the vocal. Nesmith did this to bid farewell to the monophonic format as it was discontinuing later that year (1968). Always loved that one too! It was especially a treat to hear the song in its first-ever full stereo mix on the Rhino box-set of BB&M.

And Jack Sheldon is the trumpeter, not Shelton (You probably were thinking of Louie Shelton, the guitarist, who is also on the record ). Jack Sheldon, btw, was always featured on The Merv Griffin Show, and sang lead on many Schoolhouse Rock songs ("Conjunction Junction", "I'm Just a Bill", etc.).

Kudos to the late Shorty Rogers, yet again, for bringing a great brass arrangement to some of the material, especially "Zor and Zam", even though it's also pretty good in its original arrangement as it appeared on "Mijacogeo".

And glad you put the rejected running order on here. I kind of like the alternate version of the album, but it feels naked without "Auntie's" and "Magnolia"! I have to say while we're at it, I do like the alternate Headquarters--I sort of prefer the album without "No Time".

Pizza

Never liked this album. It's like no one cared anymore. It's always felt like someone in charge said "Hey, we've saved Daydream Believer" for the single so just put a bunch of fill on this and we can coast." With that, I do like half of the album and did enjoy the Rhino box set of this much more than the album proper.

HUG-H

It was one of the singles they did from PAC&J and the song was saved as an ace in the hole for the next album. No one knew what the next record was going to sound like yet, so, perhaps it was a good call on their part. I always thought it sounded fine on the record within context. Plus they ended up having yet another hit on there--"Valleri", a song that was already well-known from its TV version.

reverie

Is it bad I'm not sure I ever realized how Peter really isn't on this one?

Rocketdog2000

No apologies necessary. Mistakes are bound to happen. Sometimes it's kind of late when I'm writing these things, so I tend to glance at the reference material a too little quickly. Other times, my fingers and my brain just don't want to agree on what's being typed. I'll start out thinking one thing, then think of some different way to put it, yet what comes out is a mix of both.

I'm still kicking myself for not getting the Rhino Handmade box-set when I had the chance, too.

Rocketdog2000

I can't say it was that it was like nobody cared anymore. It was more likely they were just not focused on making an album proper. I'm sure the priority at the time was in making Head, and just producing songs in general. Then every time you come up with one, there's always the question of - "Should we save this one for the movie soundtrack?".

But you're not entirely off base. The reality of the situation was that there had to be a new Monkees album out by a certain time, and Lester Sill was the guy who had to see that happen. Without a real producer (like Chip Douglas) overseeing the whole project of making a cohesive album, Sill was pretty much left in charge of trying to cobble together a releasable product. In a way, The Birds The Bees And The Monkees is akin to More Of The Monkees in how it was piece-mealed together - only that Sill didn't have quite the wealth of material, nor necessarily that of "hit" type quality that Don Kirshner had to pull from.

There was also a long standing tradition of holding back at least one really good song (and potential hit) for the next album, just in case - always keeping at least one Ace up their sleeve. That's exactly what happened with "Daydream Believer" on this record.

I find that my appreciation of the album has grown over the years, and the more I listen to it. Some of the songs I didn't really care for before have since become more appealing to me, as my tastes have changed and expanded.

HUG-H

"Magnolia Simms" kind of sounded to me like stuff my parents liked! It was weird to hear that at such a young age on a rock album, and I heard this long before The Beatles' "When I'm 64" or "Honey Pie". Also, the fake scratches with the record getting stuck was confusing because my sister treated her records so crappy to begin with, and I always thought that was a real needle-stick.

HUG-H

Also, knowing that this record was the one that Eric Lefcowitz said was his least favorite in his book, that makes me appreciate it even more now.

DaveM4964

Lefocowitz has proven himself to be a major tool as far as i'm concerned. I think i would like Magnolia Simms better without the skips, scratches and yodeling. I'm sure there's an alternate version somewhere without the effects. Birds and Bees is a mixed bag for sure. The main problems are no singular vision, no group effort and no Chip Douglas.
Still miles ahead of Changes which is the lowest point of The Monkees musical career. That was a mistake that they repeated in the 80's when Pool It! came along.

HUG-H

Yes, there is, it's on the Rhino Handmade box in a full stereo mix, but sorry to disappoint you--the yodeling is still on there. He was doing the vocal with it.

reverie

For some odd reason, I actually like "Magnolia Simms"..

HUG-H

^ Why would you be ashamed of that? It's an awesome song!

DaveM4964

I like the song too, but i prefer Tapoica Tundra which has a similar feel to it. I think it's a far superior song although i'm surprised it snuck into the top 40 as a B-side.