The Monkees: new album 'Good Times!'

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, The Monkees - or rather, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork[nb]It looks like Nesmith is sitting this one out, sadly.[/nb] - are releasing a new studio album, complete with songs written by Rivers Cuomo, Noel Gallagher and yer man from Death Cub For Cutie.

http://pitchfork.com/news/63366-the-monkees-announce-new-album-good-times-featuring-songs-written-by-rivers-cuomo-noel-gallagher-ben-gibbard-more/


We've had Monkees threads on here before, but given the news I thought I'd start a new one. So, The Monkees. Ace, weren't they?

[daf]

Andy Partridge too :

The Monkees gave me SO MUCH joy as a kid, it's all I can do to repay it. They are liking 3 of my tunes so far, and I hope they dig the latest?

[Nowhere Man]

Andy Partridge and Rivers Cuomo are two of my favourite musical people, and i've been a huge fan of the Monkees so i'll keep an eye out. Not gonna lie and say that the lack of Michael Nesmith is a big mood kill though. Much more so than even the late Davy Jones.

[Attila]

I used to pretend to play guitar along with the Monkees during the show; my stage was a giant (to me) wallpaper catalogue. I had this blue dress that had a brown bit of ribbon running down the front like a guitar strap.

It drove my brothers crazy because I stood directly in front of the television.

Mickey Dolenz did have a great voice;[nb]but it's been Mike all the way for me[/nb] I'd be interested to hear his tracks on the new work!

[Ignatius_S]

Track listing confirmed: http://www.jambands.com/news/2016/04/19/the-monkees-announce-first-new-album-in-20-years-good-times

[Serge]

Birth Of An Accidental Hipster (Noel Gallagher/Paul Weller)

I've got a bad feeling about this.

[the science eel]

http://Spam-removed/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=131028

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

A video for "She Makes Me Laugh" has been released, and it's bloody lovely. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpp-Ry2ZNhY

[Brundle-Fly]

A video for "She Makes Me Laugh" has been released, and it's bloody lovely. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpp-Ry2ZNhY

That is lovely. Top promo too.

I admire the lyric, "I'd love to be with her for a while" rather than the obvious lachrymose alternative "I'd love to be with her forever "

[Attila]

Neat that there's contributions from the olde daye writers as well (and one from Mike <3 )

[Dr Rock]

A video for "She Makes Me Laugh" has been released, and it's bloody lovely. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpp-Ry2ZNhY

That is very nice, really got The Monkees sound, possibly more so than any of their other comeback material.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

A knowledgeable pal on Twitter has just informed me that, despite reports to the contrary, Nesmith actually makes several contributions to this album. He sings lead on three tracks - including the one he's written - and plays 12-string guitar throughout. Hurrah!

[Ignatius_S]

A knowledgeable pal on Twitter has just informed me that, despite reports to the contrary, Nesmith actually makes several contributions to this album. He sings lead on three tracks - including the one he's written - and plays 12-string guitar throughout. Hurrah!

When the album was first announced, it was claimed that they were utilising recordings from when the band were together. I'm pretty sure that it was mentioned that this included vocals he had previously recorded.

I meant to mention it previously because there were definitely going to be Nesmith contributions – also, it sounded like a lot was in the air and we couldn't assume for sure he wouldn't been getting into a recording studio for this.

[Ignatius_S]

A video for "She Makes Me Laugh" has been released, and it's bloody lovely. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpp-Ry2ZNhY

That's fab.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

When the album was first announced, it was claimed that they were utilising recordings from when the band were together. I'm pretty sure that it was mentioned that this included vocals he had previously recorded.

I meant to mention it previously because there were definitely going to be Nesmith contributions – also, it sounded like a lot was in the air and we couldn't assume for sure he wouldn't been getting into a recording studio for this.

Yes, the same pal informs me that Nesmith's involvement depended on various complicated negotiations. The exact details are a mystery, but as you say, whether he was going to be directly involved or not was up in the air for a while. Anyway, I'm so pleased to hear that he's all over the album.

[Attila]

A knowledgeable pal on Twitter has just informed me that, despite reports to the contrary, Nesmith actually makes several contributions to this album. He sings lead on three tracks - including the one he's written - and plays 12-string guitar throughout. Hurrah!

(edited -- that's meant to signal, 'Yay, A-ok!' and not to cast doubt on yer pal, Ballad!)

[Dr Rock]

Nesmith has promoted the single on Facebook and dismissed ideas that he would be playing live on any tour dates. He hasn't made clear what his involvement with the album consists of though. If he wrote one of the songs and sings and plays on multiple tracks I'm much more excited than I was before.

[DrGreggles]

There's always a chance that Mike will turn up for a couple of gigs, as long as they're not too far out of his way.

The vid is great though.

[Dr Rock]

He says:

I can't go on the Monkees tour in May.
I wont be there except by chance -- and right now that chance is 1 in a million. Please don't make your decision about buying tickets to the Monkees show based on my possible attendance.
I have a commitment to Random House Crown to deliver a final edit on my book and I am working on it diligently -- as I promised -- and there are many weeks of work to complete this task.
The book is scheduled for publication in 1st quarter of 17.
Sot that is the situation -- but --
I would enjoy doing a show with M&P as one the Monkees -- and I want to do a 50th anniversary concert or festival or something in the late Summer early Fall. We are all working on that. It could be a terrific Monkees show.
And if it works so I can come sing a song or two with M&P on their Monkees outing I will. They have invited me and I have accepted -- but only if I can.
That is the full Monkees tour scoop from me.
M&P can deliver a great Monkees show -- its a good band playing good pop tunes and great video. Its worth going to even without me. As you can hear from out new record Mick sounds great and Peter can cover my harmony parts till I get there.

He just posted this just after I posted above, referring to a previous FB post when he said

All rumors that I will be performing with them are simply not true. I have no plans to do any shows on this tour.

[Butchers Blind]

Another track from the album.  The Andy Partridge penned tune.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n_D6XNpYxdU

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

Yep, love it.  It really does sound like an XTC song being covered by The Momkees.  Which is a good thing.

[HappyTree]

She Makes Me Laugh has quickly become my ear-worm. Love it!

[Crabwalk]

Another track from the album.  The Andy Partridge penned tune.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n_D6XNpYxdU

It's pure 'Dear Madam Barnum' and none the worse for it. The bassline's a bit by-the-numbers[nb]Oh, for some Colin Moulding magic[/nb] but otherwise it's a lovely song and arrangement.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

This will almost certainly be their last album, so I'm delighted that - based on the only two songs we've heard, admittedly - it sounds like a sweet, classy, charming epitaph.

Funny to think that The Monkees were once regarded as a lazy go-to reference for manufactured pop pap, whereas now they're rightly praised as pop perfection.

I guess the tide turned in the mid-'90s, when their albums were reissued with "serious" liner notes and fascinating outtakes. Also, the emergence of blatantly Monkees-influenced twee-pop indie bands - I hate that description, but you know what I mean - proved just how beloved they were.

For instance, Stevie Jackson from Belle & Sebastian has spent most of his songwriting career in pursuit of the perfect Nesmith-esque country-pop gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxRi7CGRBmU

[Ignatius_S]

I had been meaning for a while to start a thread in Comedy Chat about Elephant Parts (and may still) as I'm rather fond of that comedy/music offering from Nesmith, which deserves a little more recongnition. Happily, it is on DVD but as it's available to watch online (e.g. http://www.veoh.com/watch/v16302037jr2yq3k8) was hoping to win some more converts - suspect most here would have seen it already, but it's always worth a re-watch.

When responding to Ballad of Ballard Berkley, I mentioned a documentary and had a quick look and saw it's online - again worth a rewatch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKYGLieNhFo

Yes, the same pal informs me that Nesmith's involvement depended on various complicated negotiations. The exact details are a mystery, but as you say, whether he was going to be directly involved or not was up in the air for a while. Anyway, I'm so pleased to hear that he's all over the album.

Mystery? Complicated? Not words I would ever employ in conjunction with Nesmith... are you sure we're talking about the same chap?

Because of the anniversary and they were going to be pulling out all the stops, I suspect that it would be hard for Nesmith to stay away - and by that, ceding all control. However, it was nice to have that confirmed.

This will almost certainly be their last album, so I'm delighted that - based on the only two songs we've heard, admittedly - it sounds like a sweet, classy, charming epitaph.

Funny to think that The Monkees were once regarded as a lazy go-to reference for manufactured pop pap, whereas now they're rightly praised as pop perfection.

I guess the tide turned in the mid-'90s, when their albums were reissued with "serious" liner notes and fascinating outtakes. Also, the emergence of blatantly Monkees-influenced twee-pop indie bands - I hate that description, but you know what I mean - proved just how beloved they were....

The Monkees weren't about music, Marge Ballad of Ballard Berkley, they were about rebellion!  About political and social upheaval! *clenches fist*

That period, I think, was important - especially as there was (strong) work that either hadn't been released or had been very hard to get hold of, such as the Head soundtrack. Also, I think Head being released on home media played a substantial role - people couldn't see the band in the old light after that. All this was helped by a decent release schedule as this helped momentum in terms of media attention - and we got the above documentary out of it.

However, Andrew Sandoval makes an interesting argument in his Monkees Day-By-Day book that (I can't remember the exact phrasing) The Monkees never truly went 'away' because of re-runs of the show that introduced them to a new generation, which was punctuated every so often by renewed interest in the them as a group. I have a feeling that in that book (but can't check at the moment) he argues that MTV broadcasting the series had a massive impact (and IIRC, they mucked up because they were double-booked for two events, one of which was a MTV thing - maybe their awards - that they blew out). Personally, I think there's something to be said about this - especially as I believe that, when as an adult, you experience something that you liked as a kid and realise it really was great and are able to appreciate it even more. (Maybe I'm biased as that was my own experience, but I've generally found that with other stuff from my childhood.) So suspect you have these wonderful factors coming together and increasing the perception of the band.

[daf]

Another track from the album.  The Andy Partridge penned tune.

Now with added Legs & Co!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7vDvVLvTd8

[Attila]

Elephant Parts is fab! As was Television Parts, and then, later Doctor Duck.

The DVD version of Elephant Parts doesn''t have all of the bits that were on the VHS release, though, sadly.

At last, someone else who would know where I get the line, 'Because people are just no damned good.'[nb]that's why YOU need Neighbourhood Nuclear Superiority[nb]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGCFmSFvIZw[/nb][/nb]

[Butchers Blind]

A third track from the album.

https://youtu.be/ggbUv2nlYGE

From whats been released so far this record could be something very special. 

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

Another track from the new album.
'Me & Magdalena'. 
Contains Nesmith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR57UtqRghA

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I've never paid much attention to Death Cab for Cutie, but that song sounds like a lost Nesmith classic. It's beautiful. Mike and Micky are such an underrated harmonising duo.