January 12 – Sunday – The Monkees – More of The Monkees

What else can I say about The Monkees? Except for Mike Nesmith, they weren’t musicians. I think the show confused me, putting me in a musical ambivalence by the time I was 11. They were cute and funny, but I think I wanted more from my music. Or maybe I’m just thinking I was more sophisticated than I was, cause I was really kind of a bonehead more times than not.

In any case, the Monkees were a fabricated group, and in 2002, after the death of John Entwistle, bassist for the Who, at the age of 57, and George Harrison less than a year prior at 58, I said these very words to a colleague of mine regarding the ironies of life: “We have two Beatles, two Who, one Mama and one Papa, but we still have all our Monkees.”

That fact altered five years later with the passing of Denny Doherty, leaving us with but one Mama, probably the least significant, but definitely the best-looking of the Mamas and the Papas. The entire statement was then nullified five years after that when we lost Davy Jones of The Monkees at 66, the same age as Papa Denny.

Even though I enjoyed the first Monkees album, I thought they had worn out their welcome and this one would be uninspiring. However, you throw in a little Midler, and you’ve again got an energetic and fun workout. As a matter of fact, this is actually a pretty good album. I guess we have to thank Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and Neil Diamond for songs like “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone” and “I’m a Believer.” Except there’s a real lame-ass song in the middle of side two. But I take back my derisive comment of more than ten years ago, and my past feeling of ambivalence. It doesn’t matter, these guys were fun. As much as I enjoyed the record though, it’s not a contender for Ram alternative.