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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Enjoyable Hodgepodge, March 17, 2000
Without Boyce and Hart, producers of the first album, overseeing this second Monkees album, the quality was erratic. Colgems, the Monkees' record label, took what seems like a random scoop of Monkees recordings made with different producers and different styles, and quickly stitched together this January 1967 release, giving the overall impression of a consumer product, rather than a well-thought-out album. As a result, alongside top notch tunes like the smash `I'm A Believer,' the proto-punk `I'm Not Your Stepping Stone' (which, in less than three minutes, earned the Monkees lifetime respect from garage rock groups) the hard-rocking `She,' the pleasantly subdued `Sometime In The Morning,' the goofy but endearing `Your Auntie Grizelda,' and Mike Nesmith's classic `Mary Mary,' were some half-decent picks like `Hold On Girl' and `Laugh' (which suffers from lame lyrics.) And Monkees fans generally agree that `The Day We Fall In Love,' a schmaltzy instrumental backing to Davy whispering sweet nothings in your ear, should never have happened. The bonus tracks are quite interesting. `I Don't Think You Know Me' (a song they did not release in the sixties, but have seen FOUR versions of plucked from their archives since 1987) is solid bubblegum, but Peter Tork's shaky lead vocals, and the equally shaky backing vocals from his three mates, will make you smile and root for them. An alternate mix of `Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)' contains a thankfully rejected idea that will make you laugh (if only in a `What were they thinking?' style.) And it's neat to hear another pass at `I'm A Believer.' So, in short, not quite as strong as their debut album, but well worth a listen.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Hits, December 1, 2000
More Of The Monkees was the album that spurred the four Monkees to seek and get their musical freedom. Released without the knowledge of any the group's members, the band became irate and revolted against Don Kirshner for the freedom to play the instruments on, write and produce their own music. They received the freedom and it resulted in Headquarters. Despite the Monkees objections to the album, it contains more classic 60's pop in the vein of their debut. "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" very well maybe the best song the Monkees ever did and it was performed by numerous punk bands in the 70's and is a personal favorite of REM's Peter Buck. "I'm A Believer" is the band's biggest selling single spending seven weeks at number one and still gets alot of play on oldies stations. Mike Nesmith's "Mary, Mary" as sung by Mickey Dolenz is a great rocker and was transformed into a rap number by Run DMC and Nesmith's "The Kind Of Girl I Could Love" is another country-influenced number. Mickey Dolenz sings a tortured lead vocal on "She" and on the pretty "Sometime in the Morning" he contributes a perfectly understated performance. Peter Tork has his first lead vocal on the bizarre "Your Auntie Grizelda". Davy Jones sings lead on the underrated "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)", but sings on the three missteps of the album, "Hold On Girl", "Laugh" and the truly insipid "The Day We Fall In Love" where he speaks the words in lieu of singing. Despite the few missteps, More Of The Monkees is a fine follow-up to their debut album.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More of "More of...", January 6, 1999
Why does everyone bash this album simply because neither of the four Monkees had any input involving it's release? This album features some of the best of the Monkees earlier work and has spawned some of the most memorable work of the Monkees' careers individually and collectively. "I'm A Believer", which is without argue the group's biggest hit is featured on this album as well as "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", another well noted Monkees song. Some of the other fine moments on this album include "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)", "She", "Your Auntie Grizelda", as well as "Mary Mary" which would later become a big hit for 80's rap group Run-DMC. The album, however isn't without it's flaws. The sappy non-melodic "The Day We Fall in Love" could have easily been excluded from the album for example, wheras other tracks such as Davy Jones' "When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door) or Mike Nethsmith's "The Kinda Girl I Could Love" probably would have been better showcased on solo efforts, as neither cut featured any other Monkee. All in all, this was a fine album and should not be dismissed simply because of the way it was assembled. Sometimes the producers do know a little more about making an album than the artists themselves.
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