More Of The Monkees

Love it!

"More of the Monkees" was, as the uninspired title suggests, the follow-up to the made-for-TV pop group's first album. By now it has become legendary as the project that created an irrevocable break between the group members and Don Kirshner, president of Colgems Records. Kirshner essentially put the album together behind the group's back, even going so far as to stage a phony photo shoot for a J.C. Penny catalogue for the album cover (funny enough, you can still find those outfits in a typical J.C. Penny store).Still, to Kirshner's credit, he did not just rush-produce an album of crapola to cash in on the red-hot TV series. Instead, he drew on Brill Building songwriters such as Neil Sedaka, Carole Bayer, Gerry Goffin, and Neil Diamond, along with top flight producers, to put the album together. The result is an album that captures some of the mainstream trends and sounds in pop music at the time and still stands up today as an enduring, entertaining, exercise in mid-60s AM radio music. "More of the Monkees", for the most part, offers songs with catchy hooks, toe-tapping, smile-inducing melodies, lyrics that generally rise above the cliched, and evidence of the group growing into their own as performers with a unique voice."She" sets the tone for the album, a rock-inflected number about a typical pop song subject, a guy who feels wronged by a woman but still loves her anyway. "When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door" shows a Beatles influence, while "Mary Mary" shows off Michael Nesmith's ability as a songwriter, "Mary Mary" holds its own with the other songs on this album. People Tork shows off his vocal skills in "Your Auntie Grizelda," a song that plays off the growing generation gap in American society at the time. "Grizelda" also gives hints of experimentation with word play, instruments and sound effects that would become one of the group's trademarks. "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" is a declaration of romantic independence that, in retrospect, can also be the group's anthem for greater creative control, while "The Kind of Girl I Could Love" is Byrds inspired.The album's only serious mis-step is "The Kind of Girl I Could Love," a truly awful, cringe-inducing number featuring Davey Jones crooning Hallmark card sentiments designed to send 12-year-old girls in booby sox into romantic swoons beneath their unicorn posters. If someone is ever possessed by a notion of releasing a collection of the 10 gooiest songs of all time, "The Kind of Girl I Could Love" would have a space reserved on it. Fortunately, the album quickly recovers with "Sometime in the Morning," with crisp, sparkling harmonies and a Mama & the Papas sound. "Laugh" shows off the group's vocal prowess, and the album concludes with "I'm a Believer," arguably one of the top 20 or so catchiest songs to come out of the 1960s. The packaging includes the original album back cover with Kirshner's carny barker liner notes and, inside, songwriting and performance credits."More of the Monkees" may not, technically, be the best Monkees album in terms of artistic achievement, but it is the album that launched them on their way and which also captures the mid-60s pop sound which has never really been duplicated in pop music since.  More of the Monkees  is a must have for both fans of the group and any one who enjoys pop music of that never-to-be-repeated period.

"More of The Monkees" was the first album I ever bought.It was 1968,I was 12 and I had been watching their T.V. show every Monday night at 7:30 on NBC for a year. Well,I'm 62 now and now I got it on CD and I still love it. The album features their second single "I'm a Believer" which went to No. 1 on The Billboard charts for two months straight, in the top twenty biggest selling songs of the 1960's.Written by a then relatively unknown Neil Diamond and produced by his producer Jeff Barry and using his own studio musicians. Mr. Diamond played acoustic guitar on it and sang backup vocal along with Davy Jones. Mr. Diamond also released his own version as a single in 1967, which wasn't a hit.Too bad,his version is good too.Micky Dolenz titled his 1993 autobiography "I'm a Believer",(I have an autographed copy of),it's an entertaining ,fast read.I gave a copy to my brother Pat and my sister Melody and they loved it too.Micky has always been my favorite Monkee.Melody and my cousin Ruthie,too. It also features two of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart's best tunes "She" and "I'm Not You're Stepping Stone",they rock.Mike Nesmith wrote "Mary,Mary" and a then unknown Glen Campbell played lead guitar on it.Mr. Campbell was then part of the legendary studio musicians nicknamed "The Wrecking Crew." Micky does his usual great vocals on all three songs. Peter Tork sings lead on "Your Auntie Griselda",an entertaining song.Micky sings "Sometime in the Morning",a lovely song written by future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members,Carole King and Gerry Goffin. And Davy sings lead on "Look Out! (Here Comes Tomorrow),also written by Mr. Diamond,who plays acoustic guitar and sings backup vocal along with Micky and Peter.Davy sings of Mary, oh what a sweet girl,lips like strawberry pie.Sandra,long hair and beat girl,can't make up my mind.Wish I only loved one.I see all kinds of sorrow,Look Out!!!Here comes tomorrow! Sounds like an episode of "The Bachelor",this is my sister Teresa's favorite Monkee songs,One of Pat and mine too. Mike sings lead on "The Kind of Girl I Could Love",a good country-rock song,that I'd like to sing to every waitress I've ever been smitten with. Then there's the monkeying around on "Laugh",the lead sung by Davy. There were only two songs I didn't like,"When Love comes knocking at Your Door" and "On The Day We Fall In Love." I've seen The Monkees in concert five times over the past 30 years and "She" and "I'm Not You're Stepping Stone" and "Your Auntie Grizelda" and "The Kind of Girl I Could Love" and "Look Out!(Here Comes Tomorrow!) and "I'm a Believer",(which Micky would say was a hit before "Shrek") were the big highlights of the show.And,I found out "More of The Monkees" is the third biggest selling album of the 1960's.Only The Beatles outsold them.Wow!!!

After the success of the Monkees  first album , it was natural that a second album would be released. For this album, music supervisor Don Kirshner decided to have several producers record as many songs as possible. Then he picked out twelve songs (out of over two dozen) and slapped together an album. In theory, this wasn't such a bad idea. After all, that's pretty much how most pop albums are made today (40 years later). So it might have worked, if Kirshner actually put the twelve best songs on the album. In truth, most of the songs are quite good. "She", "Mary, Mary", "Steppin' Stone", "Look Out", "Sometime in the Morning" and "I'm a Believer" are great songs. But then there are mediocre songs "Hold On Girl" and "Laugh". But the thing that really drags the album down in "The Day We Fall in Love", the absolute worst thing ever to make it onto a Monkees album (although I suppose the 12 year old girls who were in love with Davy swooned when they heard it). Overall though, the album is quite enjoyable. Now, what we have hear is a two cd "deluxe" edition. The first disc has the stereo version of the album and the second disc has the mono version. Both discs have bonus tracks, which are the other songs recorded at the same sessions, and a few alternate versions of songs from the album. Some of these songs should have been included on the album, especially "Valleri" and "Words". But for some unknown reason, two songs from the sessions were not included as bonus tracks here, those being "Looking For the Good Times" and "I Never Thought It Peculiar". Regardless of that, this is still the "ultimate" version of the album. Whether or not you need both the stereo and mono versions of the album is up to you.

Mary Mary is one of the grooviest 60s numbers ever and it was written by Mike Nesmith!Micky dolenz and the wool hat made The Monkees!Peter tork made a good contribution as well but I reckon Davy Jones just came along for the ride and something for the girls to scream atBut saying that they wouldn't have been the same without him they where the first and best American boy band never to be beaten

Great CD with many memorable songs from their show. Happy with my purchase

Le encantó a mi Padre

I watched their show during the sixties as a kid, and sangalong with their tunes. A surprising bunch of guys who changed a few things through their innovations.

all ok