Monkees - Best of the Monkees

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Music reviews of Best of the Monkees

Music Review: Give these guys more respect!
Rating: 5 Stars

I remember riding with my big brother on I-94, playing around with radio stations, then hearing that distinctive intro to "Clarksville" on guitar. I dug it right away. I was vaguely aware that NBC was premiering a new series on a rock group, loosely based on the Beatles, to air in the Fall. I thought to myself that if "Clarksville" was any indication of the music we could expect from this prefab group, it should be a pretty good show.

Little did I know, on that trip to see the Fab Four, that they would play their last public appearance in August, 1966. The Beatles had soured on trekking around the globe playing music that couldn't be heard. They were growing restless with their lack of independence and needed a chance to all do some individual soul searching.

I think the enormous popularity of the Monkees can be linked to the changes the Beatles were experiencing in late 1996-early 1967. The Monkees couldn't have asked for better timing. There is no way NBC or the producers of their show could've known that the Beatles were going to stop touring and go into hibernation around the time of the show's premiere. The Beatles' hibernation and their transformation into a more "mature" group of mustache-wearing soul-seekers in 1967 left a huge gap in the teenybopper music market. The Beatles weren't making music for teenyboppers anymore. They didn't look like cuddly, fresh-scrubbed teen idols anymore. The Monkees did.

Unfortunately, the Monkees teenybopper hysteria came at the time when rock started to be taken seriously by critics. Again, the Beatles set the pace with such singles as "Strawberry Fields Forever" and albums like "Sgt. Pepper." "Serious" rock critics looked upon the Monkees with disdain, even though, or maybe because, their records continued to top the charts in 1966-67.

Even though it was common practice for many rock bands in California to have session musicians play on their records, the Monkees were harshly singled out for this. You have to give the Monkees credit for publicly demonstrating their musical abilities by actually "playing" on albums such as "Headquarters" and "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones, Ltd." They had the sense to know their limitations as musicians, but they played the music they wanted to play with skill and precision.

It's too bad that the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" has continued to neglect the Monkees. They never got the respect they deserved when they were popular back in the '60s, and they still haven't gotten it now that it's been almost thirty-eight years since their TV show first aired. Like it or not, the Monkees are a big chapter in the history of rock music. I credit them for single-handedly doing more to blaze the trail for the music video format they any other band of their time. Their best songs still hold up and stand the test of time. I hope that someday the "serious" critics will give the Monkees the "serious" credit they so rightfully deserve!

Description of Best of the Monkees

Classic Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock