Let's dance on (The Monkees) (LP 4420 - 4425)

The Monkees  The Monkees (CD and Vinyl, Rhino/ RCA Records, 1966) ****  

The Monkees  More of The Monkees (CD and Vinyl, Rhino/ RCA Records, 1967) ***

The Monkees  Headquarters (CD and Vinyl, Rhino/ RCA Records, 1967) **** 

The Monkees  Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (CD and Vinyl, Rhino/ RCA Records, 1967) *****   

The Monkees  The Birds, the Bees & The Monkees (CD and Vinyl, Rhino/ RCA Records, 1968) ***  

The Monkees  Head (Vinyl and DVD, RCA Records, 1968) *****  

The Monkees  Instant Replay (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1969) *** 

The Monkees  The Monkees Present Micky, David and Michael (Vinyl, Rhino Records, 1969) *** 

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Greg Knowles collection, Three Kings Woolworths, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: (Theme from) The Monkees

Gear costume: Last Train to Clarksville (The Monkees), For Pete's Sake (Headquarters), Pleasant Valley Sunday (Pisces etc), Daydream Believer (The Birds etc)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: No surprise that I am a huge fan of The Monkees. Are you kidding me? What's not to love?

Zany humour, pop smarts, big personalities, catchy choons, dandruff, irreverence, harmonies, goofiness, the sixties, heroes, villains, sword fights, daring do, giants, rodents of unusual size...Hmmm. I seem to have strayed into The Princess Bride there, but you get the picture.

The first album and a later one have been covered already in the countdown, so I won't add them to the tally, but in the interests of completeness, I'll add them to this post.

The debut from Mike, Peter, Davy, and Mickey was album #320. 

I had this to say: Their debut holds up amongst 1966's great company! There are some great tracks on here, confidence was high and the production is spot on pop-wise. And as to the sneery idea that 99% of the music came from session musicians? Too words: Pet Sounds. Two more words: True genius.

The highlights: Gonna Buy Me A Dog (kidding! Although they were zany!), Last Train to Clarksville; Theme from The Monkees (it kicks off the debut album superbly - it immediately evokes those opening scenes to the TV show); Let's Dance On...There were no duds.

Mickey Dolenz is the star performer on the debut with his distinctive vocals (he's still at it in 2026 too - still touring and performing Monkee songs). He's not alone though - Mike Nesmith's country leanings are already apparent on Papa Gene's Blues and Davy Jones, the girl obsessed cute one on the show, also gets a shot on I Wanna Be Free (I'll Be True to You is a croon too far though).

Overall, it's a brilliant album, full of exotic musical sounds for 1966, and well deserved its huge success - the first of four consecutive U.S. number one albums for the group.

More of The Monkees contains more of what we love about The Monkees: Mickey's vocal led hits - She, Mary Mary, (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone, I'm a Believer; Davy's English inflected vocals that feed into his girl obsessed persona - Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow); Mike's country-folk rock The Kind of Girl I Could Love.

It also includes some below par or just okay filler songs. Peter Tork's Your Aunty Grizelda is undistinguished, for instance, and Davy's trite The Day We Fell in Love is a low point. Nevertheless, led by the mega success of I'm A Believer, it was a hugely successful album - The Monkees were at the peak of their popularity.

Headquarters was next - and the first real album where the monkeying around foursome played their instruments and wrote more of their own songs. Previously, Don Kirshner, the TV mogul, had stipulated that they were just to provide vocals. It was another hugely successful album, although success was shaded when Sgt Pepper came out shortly afterwards.

As AllMusic pointed out: Headquarters doesn't contain any of the group's biggest hits, but it does have some of their best songs, like Nesmith's stirring folk-rocker "You Just May Be the One," the pummeling rocker "No Time," the MOR soul ballad "Forget That Girl," which features one of Davy Jones' best vocals, Peter Tork's shining moment as a songwriter, "For Pete's Sake," and the thoroughly amazing (and surprisingly political) "Randy Scouse Git," which showed just how truly out-there and almost avant-garde Micky Dolenz could be when he tried.

That said, For Pete's Sake ended up as the soundtrack for the end credits on the show and Zilch is zany Monkee genius!

Their fourth album in two years, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. is the other album that has appeared already in the countdown. In my previous post I explained how I came to buy it: it's 1968 turning into 1969, I'm 11, and I am either playing sport, reading, or glued to the TV. One show I never miss is The Monkees - a group that makes riotous irreverent fun of things AND they sing great songs. As a result, I have this album bought for me, my first LP, from a local shop in Three Kings, Auckland.  

Here's what I wrote back in 2019: It's an easy five stars! A classic! It's a cliche, I know, but, as a pre-teen, I really did just about wear out the grooves on this album. I'm so glad I latched on to this at a young age as it set me up for a lifelong love of pop music. The track listing shows an embarrassment of riches - songs that have hooks AND an edge. Who else could do that in the late 60's? It holds up too. Each time I play it, it pops!

The follow up was The Birds, the Bees & The Monkees in 1968. It was concurrent with their film Head - the soundtrack of which would come out a few months later in 1968. By this time their TV show had been canceled, and their popularity had dipped as a consequence.

The album is unusual, even for The Monkees. There were two big hits - Daydream Believer and Valleri, but the rest of the material isn't up to their usual high standards.

Head is a work of genius that is beyond criticism because my friend Greg and I listened to it so much it became part of us! We can still quote lines from it without any problem and we still crack up over those same lines. Nothing like the naivety of youth is there?

PopMatters got it spot on when they described Head as "a hypnogogic hallucination of a 60's pop record" whose composition encompassed musique concrète pieces and six new songs in the genres of psychedelic, Broadway and lo-fi rock. All that and a glass of cold gravy with a hair in it! Like I said, genius!

All band members contribute equally for the first time on a Monkees album and it's definitely Peter Tork's finest album. A fitting ending as he left the band at the end of 1968.  

Their first album without Peter is Instant Replay (1969) although several of the songs dated from sessions up to two and a half years earlier while Peter was still a Monkee. Tear Drop City was one of those oldies.

While not their best album, it does contain their usual mix of catchy songs (although there were not any hit songs coming from it), whip smart humour and familiar Monkee sounds.

The Monkees Present Micky, David and Michael is also from 1969. It was the last album to feature Mike Nesmith until a reunion in 1996. The highlight is Listen to the Band but the rest of the album includes some solid contributions from the remaining three members. For instance, Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye is Micky at his deranged best. Mike contributes some cool country-folk material before leaving to form the First National Band.

Where do they all belong? That's it for the sixties version of the band. Next up - the reunion, the live albums and a couple of compilations.

Dance the night away (The Mavericks) (LP 4419)

The Mavericks  Trampoline (CD, MCA Records, 1998) *** 

Genre: Americana, pop 

Places I remember: Charity shop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dance the Night Away

Gear costume: I Should Know

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: A few years ago, I bought a copy of this on CD from a charity shop for $1 based on the clever video for their Tex Mex influenced Dance the Night Away - a catchy enough song. I was hoping that the album would match or better that bright song. And it kinda did.

Although that song is the most commercial thing on the album, the first six songs on side one swing by in very enjoyable fashion - with a succession of songs inducing toe tapping, body swaying, head nodding and dad dancing!

Yes, things go pretty well for six songs with a succession of Roy Orbison inspired vocals. I love Roy's vocals, and although I prefer the real thing, Raul Malo (The Mav's main man) has a great country/rock and roll/Tex Mex/pop/Americana voice.

Actually, if you squint, at times it almost sounds like The Traveling Wilburys with some Tijuana Brass drafted in for texture.

Almost.

I Should Know is a clear example as it blends Beatle sounds into another great horn led mixture of styles. Someone Should Tell Her is another excellent song.

But then we hit Fool #1 which slows the pace and starts the meh-o-meter ticking. The needle moves into the amber with the instrumental Melbourne Mambo.

After that somewhat pointless instrumental, the album loses focus, wobbles, falls over, and lies on the ground with its legs in the air thanks to Dolores (a skipper).

All up, a tale of two halves. First side kicks it and has me enjoying the ride, but then the profusion of styles on side two leaves me on the curbside.

Where do they all belong? Overall a worthy addition to the Americana collection.

Tide shift (The Man-Eating Tree) (LP 4418)

The Man-Eating Tree   Vine  (CD, Century Media Records, 2010) ****  

Genre: Prog Metal

Places I remember: Virgin Megastore (Dubai)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Nights in White Satin

Gear costume: Amended

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Man-Eating Tree is a Finnish metal band formed in 2009. Vine is the band's debut album.

Along with other Scandinavian metal bands, I picked this up in Dubai, while living in Al Ain. Generally it's right up my alley -  droning metal with stoopid lyrics that I can't really hear.

Their version of The Moody Blues hit Nights in White Satin is pretty cool. Weird, but cool. It tips the balance into prog metal nicely.

Where do they all belong? A one off that I enjoyed in Al Ain.

Look through my window (The Mamas & The Papas) (LP 4417)

The Mamas & The Papas  Farewell to the First Golden Era (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1967) *****  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)

Gear costume: I Saw Her Again 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Even though I have three compilations of this seminal sixties vocal group, I have only included this one because it was the first, released in 1967. Plus, the liner notes are written by Derek Taylor - reason enough to feature it on its own.

As a collection, it was intended to sum up the first golden era, but it worked out to be their only golden era. All the big hits are here: Dedicated to the One I Love; Go Where You Wanna Go; Words of Love; Monday Monday; Creeque Alley; Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon); I Saw Her Again; and California Dreaming. 

Where do they all belong? Many other collections would come after it, but this is the best one to my mind. One album - all killer, no filler.

Absolutely cuckoo (The Magnetic Fields) (LP 4416)

The Magnetic Fields  69 Love Songs (CD, Merge Records, 1999) ***   

Genre: Indie pop, synth-pop 

Places I remember: Fopp

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: World Love

Gear costume: All My Little Words

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: My initial experience of The Magnetic Fields, which is dominated by one guy - Stephin Merritt, is 69 Love Songs. Since then, Tom has used another album on MNAC as his album of the fortnight.

A colleague while I was at Cambridge High School, played 69 Love Songs a lot and a couple of the songs burrowed into my brain. So, I bought a copy while I was in England, in some ways to be hip and current. It's not a triple CD that I love or play often, although I do love and applaud the fool's errand idea. 

It's hard to digest 69 songs in a row. A consistently high-quality triple studio album cannot be done, I don't think. Even The Fabs didn't try to do that. A decent single vinyl album is in 69 Love Songs somewhere, but he'd need a new title which wouldn't be as school-boy naughty would it.

It's certainly not boring, as it features songs in many different genres, including country, synth-pop, free jazz even, and, yes, off kilter love ballads. Highlights other than my two choices above are I Don't Believe in the Sun, Asleep and Dreaming, Busby Berkeley Dreams, and Acoustic Guitar.

Where do they all belong? I'm glad I have a copy. It's one I'm return to in the future - maybe it will make more sense then.

In my head (The Lemon Twigs) (LP 4415)

The Lemon Twigs  Everything Harmony (Vinyl, Captured Tracks Records, 2023) ****  

Genre: Alt rock, pop 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Ghost Run Free

Gear costume: Corner of My Eye

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Lemon Twigs are two talented brothers - Brian and Michael D'Addario. Both brothers are vocalists, songwriters and play multiple instruments.

Everything Harmony is their fourth album and it is full of glorious harmony vocals and sympathetic arrangements to highlight the vocals. That means an acoustic bed and orchestral touches to lie on. There's still the power-pop inclinations that I love so much - hence my highlighted track - Ghost Run Free.

Where do they all belong? I'd buy more but I can't find any of their other albums in NZ record shops yet.

Son of a gun (The La's) (LP 4414)

The La's  The La's (CD, Polydor/ Go! Discs Records, 1990) *****  

Genre: Alt-rock, pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: There She Goes

Gear costume: I. O. U.

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The La's have become a legendary band because of main man Lee Maver's insistence on perfection. This is the band's only album. It's a brilliant one too.

It's very sixties sounding and the closest touch point is Ray Davies and The Kinks, but The La's sound like no one else.

As AllMusic pointed out, the album shows how The La's 'exist outside of time, suggesting the '60s in their simple, tuneful, acoustic-driven arrangements but seeming modern in their open, spacy approach'.

Where do they all belong? A true one-off.

See the world (The Kooks) (LP 4411 - 4413)

The Kooks  Inside In/Inside Out (CD, Virgin Records, 2006) ****  

The Kooks  Konk (CD, Virgin Records, 2008) ***** 

The Kooks  Junk of the Heart (CD, Virgin Records, 2011) *** 

Genre: Indie rock 

Places I remember: Virgin Megastore (Dubai)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Shine On (Konk)

Gear costume: See the Sun (Konk), Junk of the Heart (Happy)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Kooks is an alt rock group from Brighton. The band is Luke Pritchard (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Max Rafferty (bass), plus Paul Garred (drums). Max was fired after the second album was recorded, he was replaced by Peter Denton for the third album.

Inside In/Inside Out was their debut album, released in the mid 2000s. The appeal for me comes from Luke's vocals, and the catchy pop songs the band write together in various combinations. All up, The Kooks create a charming sound together on the debut.

Second album, Konk, was recorded at Konk Studios - owned by Ray Davies and the location for the vast majority of The Kinks albums.

The debut was a confident set, but Konk surpasses it in terms of swagger and execution. Luke Pritchard is at his inspired best on this album, but so too is guitarist Hugh Harris. Konk is a superb pop rock album and the band's five star classic.

They tried to shake things up a bit with their third album, Junk of the Heart. It's okay to do that, of course, but I prefer the pop smarts of Konk and so my interest faded with Junk, and I haven't bought any successive albums.

Where do they all belong? That's enough Kookiness I think. The first two albums created their appeal for me.

20th century man (The Kinks) (LP 4407 - 4410)

 

The Kinks  One for the Road (Vinyl/CD, Arista Records, 1980) *****  

The Kinks  Give the People What They Want (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1981) ****  

The Kinks  State of Confusion (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1983) ***

The Kinks  Come Dancing with The Kinks: The Best of 1977 - 1986 (CD, Arista Records, 1986) *****

Genre: Pop, rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman (One for the Road)

Gear costume: Victoria, David Watts (One for the Road)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I truly, deeply, madly fell for The Kinks because of One for the Road - a live double album that sounds like one awesome continuous concert (in fact it's made up of the best versions from an American tour from 1979 to 1980).

Ray's stage announcements are judiciously chosen, pithy and entertaining. The music is muscular arena rock thanks to Dave Davies brilliant guitar attack and Mick Avory's drums. The influence of the latter is often forgotten - he is a versatile drummer who serves the song - the perfect foil for Ray's idiosyncrasies. The backing vocals from Jim Rodford, Dave and Ian Gibbons (keyboards) are another superb feature.

This is an amazing album - pretty much providing definitive versions of these songs from throughout the catalogue, from You Really Got Me to Low Budget.

The first studio album of the eighties, Give the People What They Want (1981) carried on the punkish hard-driving energy from the late seventies. I am happy to report that Ray's proclivities for solid hooks and a dry sense of humour were alive and well as the eighties started. 

State of Confusion is The Kinks 20th studio album. Come Dancing was the big hit single from this album. It has a lovely warm glow of nostalgia about it. That success helped the album become commercially successful. It was also Mick Avory's last album as a Kink.

The cover image of the band sprinting away in different directions was a telling one. There is also way too  much synth on this album - that's 1983 for you. I haven't bothered with the albums released after State of Confusion.

Where do they all belong? That's it apart from the compilation album, Come Dancing with The Kinks: The Best of 1977 - 1986. It's a useful compilation of some fine songs between those years and a great place to start if you are unfamiliar with the albums.

The moneygoround (The Kinks) (LP 4396 - 4406)

The Kinks  Kinks - Part One, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround (Vinyl, Pye Records, 1970) *****  

The Kinks  Percy (Vinyl, Sanctuary Records, 1971) ***

The Kinks  Muswell Hillbillies (CD, RCA Records, 1971) *****

The Kinks  Everybody's in Showbiz (CD, RCA Records, 1972) ****

The Kinks  Preservation Act 1 (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1973) ***

The Kinks  Preservation Act 2 (Vinyl, BMG Records, 1974) **

The Kinks  The Kinks Present a Soap Opera (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1975) ***

The Kinks  The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1975) ***

The Kinks  Sleepwalker (CD, Arista Records, 1977) ***

The Kinks  Misfits (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1978) ****

The Kinks  Low Budget (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1979) *****

Genre: Pop, rock 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Low Budget

Gear costume: Celluloid Heroes (Everybody's in Showbiz)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: It was a strong, positive start to the seventies for The Kinks. 

In actual fact, the first two albums I ever bought by The Kinks were Lola Versus Powerman, and 2o Golden Greats while I worked at Marbecks. For quite a while I was content with those two albums. The years went by, until one day Roger Marbeck gave me a tape of The Kinks' One for the Road - a double live album. That was it! I had to hear more!

We'll get to One for the Road in the eighties post but in the meantime, there are quite a few studio albums to listen to before then.

Starting with Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround from 1970. It's another Ray Davies' concept that drives the album. This time his target is the music industry itself generally and specifically song publishers, unions, the press, accountants, business managers, and life on the road. 

The lyrics balance anger with keen wit and the music is richer thanks to the expansion of the band to a five piece with John Gosling's arrival on keyboards. The big songs like Lola and Apeman are not the only highlights. I especially love This Time Tomorrow, A Long Way From Home and Powerman.  

Percy is a 1971 film soundtrack that Ray wrote for the British comedy film Percy (the name the lead character gives his penis). The soundtrack is a treat - some terrific rock songs (the blues!) and instrumentals (Lola is a delight). It remains an oddity in the Kinks Katalogue though.

Still in 1971, and Muswell Hillbillies continued the momentum and Ray's sense of being from another era entirely. The brilliant opening track (a real feature of all their albums) 20th Century Man tells us I'm a 20th century man, but I don't want to be here. Spot in self-analysis.

The album is a loose concept centering around the working class - hence the brilliant cover photo of the band in the corner pub. AllMusic sums up the album well: Throughout it all, Davies' songwriting is at a peak, as are the Kinks themselves. There are a lot of subtle shifts in mood and genre on the album, and the band pulls it off effortlessly and joyously.

Everybody's in Showbiz is a double album with two sides being a new studio album and then two sides live from a couple of nights at Carnegie Hall. The live album is a lot of fun but it's a weird combination with the studio set in some ways, and Ray's American drawl gets pretty old, pretty fast.

The theme this time is the rock star lifestyle and celebrity culture (he was ahead of his time). A melancholy mood is present in the studio songs - especially on Celluloid Heroes - another classic song by Ray.

Preservation Act 1 and Act 2 came from 1973 to 1974. Overall, it's a mess in terms of a concept and how it was presented. Act 1, acts more like an introduction to the characters, and all the story is condensed into the second album. I never quite know what's going on. But then again, I am not much of a musical theatre fan, even if it is The Kinks.

Although barking mad, at least Act 1 has some interesting songs that stand alone like Sweet Lady Genevieve, whereas Act 2 is beyond my understanding and taste - it's all over the shop.

The Kinks were expanded for these two act productions. Ray, Dave, Mick, John Gosling and John Dalton were joined by the brass section of Alan Holmes, Laurie Brown and John Beecham. All that plus a chorus. The 'over-egged' phrase comes to mind.  

The next musical theatre centred album, The Kinks Present a Soap Opera, wasn't as po-faced as the Preservation albums. It even kicks off with a good song (Everybody's a Star) featuring one of Dave's guitar riffs. 

Compared to Preservation, the whole concept of Soap Opera is much more manageable and understandable - how ordinary people can dream of becoming stars. Very relevant to the 21st century, if not 1975. The whole thing is camp and flamboyant and OTT. Which has an appeal! 

The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace was also from 1975, and while still in their theatrical period (the title gives that away), it is a creative whole thanks to the 1950's musical direction - doo wop and rock'n'roll and its theme of education. That said, the camp excess was still a holdover from Soap Opera and so it has a limited appeal outside of Kinks fans. Thankfully, it was the last in this music theatre style.

That said, there are some cracking songs on the album. Highlights: Schooldays; I'm in Disgrace; and especially The Hard Way.

Sleepwalker, from 1977 - the year of the punks, marked a return to straight-forward rock songs. The new label - Arista made it clear that they'd rather not have the camp concepts that had been Ray's go-to during the previous four years. It also marked John Dalton's last album as a Kink.

It's okay, but full of not particularly inspired rock songs. Better was to come with the next album - Misfits. Ray sounds much more interested in delivering some solid stuff. This album marked the end of John Goslings' time as a Kink.

The band and Ray mean it maan on Misfits. It's full of chunky rock guitar (Go Dave!!) and big rawk moments. Highlights aplenty on Misfits: Live Life; Misfits; A Rock'n'Roll Fantasy.

Things got even better still with Low Budget. It has a terrible budget cover but its songs hit a new peak in the seventies.

This was the first Kinks album with Jim Rodford on bass. Every song hits its mark with some brilliant lyrics from Ray. Many of the songs would end up on the 1980 live album - One for the Road. The first album in the next post.

Where do they all belong? Ray and the band were on a roll in 1978 - 1979 -the so-called arena rock era.