Monkees [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Monkees | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 20, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1966
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• Run Time: 36 minutes
• ASIN: B0000033DV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,014 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Everybody Remembers The Monkees !! Good Music!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Pop, December 1, 2000

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monkees (Audio CD)

The Monkees were created as an American made-for-TV answer to The Beatles. Despite not being formed as an actual band would, the group produced some of the best pop music of the 60's. Musical director Don Kirshner assembled a top notch staff of songwriters, producers and studio musicians that created the Monkees' sound. Although the band only sang on the songs (with the exception of Mike Nesmith who played on, produced and wrote two of his own songs), they added their own personal touches to the songs. Mickey Dolenz stepped to the front as the lead singer and he sings on the albums best songs including the trippy "Saturday's Child" & "Take A Giant Step", the soul-influenced "Let's Dance On" & the mega number one hit "Last Train To Clarksville". Mike Nesmith contributes two songs, the country-tinged "Papa Gene's Blues" and the superb "Sweet Young Thing" that contains screeching fiddles mixed with a buzz guitar for an unusual and unique sound. Davy Jones provides the ballads for the album, the maudlin "I Wanna Be Free" and the drippy "I'll Be True To You". "Gonna Buy Me A Dog" is a classic bit of Monkees farce with it's silly lyrics and goofy studio banter. Peter Tork (as would be the case with future releases) really only appears in name only on this album. The Monkees have taken their fare share of criticism for being an artificial band, but what difference does it make how you were formed or got your music deal, the end result is the music. The Monkees made great music and over 30 years later, their music still sounds great.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This album contains a lot of great memories!, October 15, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monkees (Audio CD)

In 1966, the United States saw the first episode in a soon-to-be-classic series, the Monkees, which followed the wacky psychedelic adventures of a rock-and-roll band. The show became a phenomenon, fondly remembered by just about everyone who was alive then (or saw it in reruns). To accompany the show, this album was cut, with the Monkees providing the vocals and a completely different set of musicians providing the music. (That changed with later albums, but the band was still pretty new at this point.)

Released in 1966, this album contains a lot of great memories, with two versions of the Monkees theme, and Gonna Buy Me A Dog, which features Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz humorously bouncing off one another! The liner notes have a lot of great information on the band, plus a group of great pictures - a nice bonus! Oh, by the way, as apposed to the 1966 album, this CD has three bonus tracks: I Can't Get Her Off My Mind, I Don't Think You Know Me, and the early, unreleased Monkees theme. This is a great album, one I highly recommend!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Album Is A Party!, March 17, 2000

By 

"nanker" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monkees (Audio CD)

Hey, forget about how they were directly molded after the Fab Four, because this album is FUN! By the time this album is finished, you'll wish YOU were a Monkee. Play it nice and loud and have some soothing lotion nearby to put on your hands, which will be sore from clapping along to the numerous high-energy tunes.

Rather than patching together an album of mindless pop tunes aimed at teenyboppers under a mindset of `They'll buy anything,' producers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart (authors of several of the songs) made a concentrated effort to ensure that the first album by the band would be enjoyable from start to finish.

The party starts out on a high note with the theme song (and that's a song that EVERYBODY loves to sing) and continues through some well-written upbeat numbers like `Saturday's Child' and `Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day' and the classic `Last Train To Clarksville.' The mood lightens for Davy's beautiful `I Wanna Be Free' or his fine reading of The Hollies' `I'll Be True To You,' but they do not disrupt the flow. Mike Nesmith shines with two impressive originals, the country-rock `Sweet Young Thing' and the down-home `Papa Gene's Blues,' and the party ends with the hilarious `Gonna Buy Me a Dog.'

Well, that's how the original 1966 album ended, anyway. Rhino, however, brings the boys back for an encore with three previously unissued gems, including an earlier shelved attempt at the theme song. As they fade away singing `Hey hey we're the Monkees,' the listener is apt to feel a little sad that the party is over, but at the same time he'll be smiling, thinking `That was fun!'