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I think this is a really good CD. It contains 24 tracks, and has a great selection of recordings. All of the tracks are from the '60s.
All but two of the Top 40 songs that the group scored ("Tapioca Tundra" and "That Was Then, This Is Now") are on this collection, at least if you count "Valleri" (see below). As I've said before, "Tapioca Tundra" seems to be the most elusive of the group's hits, being mysteriously left off of most compilations (single-disc ones, anyway). Even ones that include "That Was Then" (one of the group's '80s "reunion" recordings) seem to usually exclude "Tapioca Tundra." "Valleri" (which was the song that "Tundra" backed) has the "cold" ending on this CD (which it seems to have on most CDs) instead of the fade-out used on the original single, but that doesn't bother me one bit; in fact, I prefer the "cold" ending. (Besides "Valleri," "Tapioca Tundra" and "That Was Then," the group's other Top 40s are "Last Train To Clarksville [their first single as well as their first #1!], "I'm A Believer," "Steppin' Stone," "A Little Bit Me," "Girl I Knew Somewhere," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Words," "Daydream Believer," and "D.W. Washburn.") A few of these tracks were (like "Tapioca Tundra") hits as B-sides of hit A-sides!
In addition to having most of the hits, this CD also has several songs that appeared on singles but didn't become hits: "Porpoise Song," "Tear Drop City," "Listen To The Band," "Someday Man," the Monkees theme song (which backed "That Was Then"), and "Randy Scouse Git" (which was the B-side of an '80s remix of "Daydream Believer" and was a '60s hit in England).
Also here are a bunch of tracks that only appeared on albums: "I Wanna Be Free," " She," "Mary, Mary," "Look Out," "Forget That Girl," Shades Of Gray," "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?", and "Cuddly Toy."
Most of the tracks on this CD are in stereo; the exceptions are "Steppin' Stone," "A Little Bit Me," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Words," and "Listen To The Band," all of which are the "single versions" (that is, they have the "parts" that they had on the original singles). Stereo mixes of most of those "single versions" do exist, but most seem to be rare. (The stereo mix of "A Little Bit Me" doesn't have all of the same "parts" as the mono mix; for one thing, it omits the handclaps. Also, there is a stereo mix of "Words" that seems to omit the echo on the backing vocals.)
Many of the Monkees' best recordings are presented on this comp. For a group that (supposedly) wasn't "real," the Monkees sure put out some good (and great) music!
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