Customer Reviews

Concert in Japan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Two of the Monkees join with their 2 former writers and producers to form a new and maybe better group. About 10 years after the show ended the public wanted the Monkees back. They toured, of all places, dinner theaters in America and stadiums in Japan. This CD was recorded in Japan. They sing many of the popular tunes they preformed and wrote in the 60's. This is a very good CD for being done live. If sales go up on this CD maybe it will convince Capitol to re-release the only album on CD this group ever did. A very fine album called...what else "Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart" So please buy this cd. If you work for Capitol then please re-release the above mentioned album.

The original DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE AND HART album released on Capitol Records in 1976 is a vastly underrated pop album. Why it has never seen proper re-release is beyond me, especially when Rhino Records has released almost everything Monkees related. "I Remember the Feeling" is one of the best Monkees side-project songs...with vastly underrated pop singer Micky Dolenz belting out the lyrics like nobody else can.

This is the live album from this very same era, recorded in 1976 in Japan. It's an enjoyable affair, and the quality of the songs are high, including Boyce and Hart's biggest hit, "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight?" and the Dolenz/Jones original, "Savin' My Love For You." Of course it's also hard to go wrong with Monkees pop classics "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Last Train to Clarksville," "Cuddly Toy," and "Steppin' Stone." The backing band is tight (including ex-Paul Revere Raider Keith Allison on guitar), and the arrangments are pretty much true to form. Davy Jones doesn't sound quite up to snuff vocally, but it is not a major detraction. The medleys, however, were a mistake...they cheapen the memory of the original songs. "Daydream Believer" as part of a medley? What were they thinking?

Overall, this disc is a good remembrance of this part of Monkees history, with liner notes (and some great DJBH-era photos) by Monkees historian Andrew Sandoval to boot. These performances do not best the actual Monkees revival concerts of the '80s and '90s, but is an enjoyable listen nonetheless. However, this live album would be easily trumped by the official release of the actual DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE AND HART album.

Back when this originally was issued, it was an expensive and rare album to come by. I'd never heard it, but being quite the Monkees fan, I was anxious to hear it, and felt sorry I didn't go see them when the toured the US. Once the CD finally came out 20 years later, I realized (as happens more often than not) I didn't miss a thing. As has been stated, the album is horribly recorded - I've heard better audience tapes! The performance is pathetic. These guys should have been ASHAMED at their performance. It's no wonder the project didn't continue. It was an abomination, and an insult to the great original work they did together. A lot of times, the legend of a recording is more exciting than the recording itself. This is a prime example. Unless you can get it for free, don't bother with this one.

The CD starts off promisingly enough with a decent run-through of "...Clarksville", but unfortunately, it heads straight into the pits shortly thereafter. The album sounds sloppy & uninspired. Yeah, there is a "hard to come by" Dolenz/ Jones penned song, "Savin' My Love For You", but, with the group indulging in such a "we couldn't care less at this point" performance, it's basically irrelevant what song they are playing. And Davy's singing performance throughout is disastrous--his voice sounds shot--especially on "I Wanna Be Free" which at least has definite camp value. The condition of Davy's voice may very well explain why the Davy-sung Monkees staples "Valleri", "Daydream Believer", and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" get stuffed together into a let's-get-them-out-of-the-way-quickly medley form. But the biggest abomination is the slaughtering of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" which gets reduced from a kickass garage rock classic to pure Vegas-worthy schmaltz thanks to Dolenz's pathetically mindless, tuneless vocal antics. Those who are diehard Monkee/ Boyce & Hart fans through & through might be curious to hear it at least once to see for themselves the quality (or lack thereof) of it, but this can pretty safely go in the "trash it" pile, since there's barely any reason to even listen to it other than as a historical curiosity.

Although this isn't the greatest album, I think it's a must for Monkee fans. Aside from the fact that it's it's Micky and Davy, The addition of Boyce and Hart adds another level. Also of great interest is a song written by Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz. "Saving my love." I'm a Nez fan but I definitely like this CD.

Though the band name was not (could not) be used, The Monkees are essentially brought back as former band members Mickey Dolenz - who spearheaded the comeback - and Davy Jones team with chief songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, producing a studio album and this 1976 live set from Japan.

Perhaps with a lot to prove to an entertainment industry that used the group like a concert ticket - toss it in the trash after the show is over - Dolenz and Jones solidly deliver the goods. While there is more pop in the pop rock, the timing may have been off; a few years later The Monkees had a revival during a new wave that swept pop culture, as the song, (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone, became a concert standard for any number of punk bands, including the Sex Pistols.

This band was through within a year, but briefly showed the potential of trying to get back into the music game, minus the sugary bubblegum.

Bought for my wife, a true Monkees fan. She has enjoyed it very much.

-"DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE, AND HART CONCERT IN JAPAN"-
COOL!, I JUST BOUGHT THIS CD YESTERDAY AND I LOVE IT!. IT'S NOT A RHINO RE-RELEASE, BUT IT'S A GOOD RECORD. MY TWO FAVORITE TRACKS ARE THE TWO MEDLEY TRACKS. I THINK IF YOU ARE A MONKEES' FAN, OR LIKE ME A MONKEES' FAN/HISTORIAN... YOU SHOULD BUY THIS CD.

I WAS GLAD THAT IT WAS [less] WHERE I BOUGHT IT.

REMEMBER, THIS IS MICKY DOLENZ(MONKEES' DRUMMER), DAVY JONES(OF THE MONKEES), TOMMY BOYCE(1 OF MONKEES' WRITTERS), AND BOBBY HART(ANOTHER MONKEES' WRITTER)

THIS IS NOT THE MONKEES IN MY BOOK AND YOU WILL NOT LIKE THE WAY
THESE SONGS ARE SUNG!! STICK WITH THE MONKEES LIVE SUMMER TOUR CD
THATS GREAT!!