The Monkees - "The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees" (1968) - Colgems
Hey Hey Friends,
The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees is the band's fifth album in just two years! With a string of hits under their belts, as well as a hit television series in its second season, what a run it had been for Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith & Peter Tork. Something was bound to give and the overall sound of this record is the sounds of the other shoe beginning to drop!
If Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd was the band's Sgt Peppers, then Birds & Bees is their White Album.
It would be their first album produced by the band themselves and not by Chip Douglas or the Boyce & Hart team. As The Monkees became viewed as more of a legitimate "band" and less of a gimmick (especially on their previous two records), this album ironically finds the boys breaking off into individual factions with each member picking their own material and producing their own sessions. Peter Tork, for some reason, is barely present and, in fact, there are only two songs on the LP that feature more than one Monkee on them: "Auntie's Municipal Court" & "Daydream Believer".
Still its a pretty great (and fun) late 60's pop record with some real hints of some interesting, darker stuff bubbling beneath the surface.
Side One is home to the amazing "Dream World" (Davy Jones at his best), the Dolenz-sung "Auntie's Municipal Court", Jones' sappy "We Were Made For Each Other", Nesmith's psychedelia-tinged "Tapioca Tundra", the beloved "Daydream Believer" and Nesmith's ominious and organ-laden "Writing Wrongs" (which plods along and sounds more like something by early Procol Harum than something by a manufactured bubblegum pop group!)
Side Two falls everso slightly off with the shuffling "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet" (featuring more annoying horns that your average Herb Alpert recording!); another charming Jones composition "The Poster" (a nod to The Beatles "Benefit of Mr. Kite"?); Dolenz's terrifically upbeat "P.O. Box 9847"; Nesmith's old-timey-sounding (no thanks!) "Magnolia Simms" and the album's other hit, the great "Valleri".
The Dolenz-penned and sung "Zor and Zam" closes things out. There's marching band drums, some noodling lead guitar, some booming brass, a strong antiwar sentiment and some psychedelic sound effects thrown in for good measure. By this stage in the game, The Monkees were surely outgrowing their pre-teen audiences.
If you thought this one was a little weird, their next record, the soundtrack to the movie Head, would truly be a mindfuck!
RATING: 4 six o'clock alarms that never ring out of 5
The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees is the band's fifth album in just two years! With a string of hits under their belts, as well as a hit television series in its second season, what a run it had been for Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith & Peter Tork. Something was bound to give and the overall sound of this record is the sounds of the other shoe beginning to drop!
If Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd was the band's Sgt Peppers, then Birds & Bees is their White Album.
It would be their first album produced by the band themselves and not by Chip Douglas or the Boyce & Hart team. As The Monkees became viewed as more of a legitimate "band" and less of a gimmick (especially on their previous two records), this album ironically finds the boys breaking off into individual factions with each member picking their own material and producing their own sessions. Peter Tork, for some reason, is barely present and, in fact, there are only two songs on the LP that feature more than one Monkee on them: "Auntie's Municipal Court" & "Daydream Believer".
Still its a pretty great (and fun) late 60's pop record with some real hints of some interesting, darker stuff bubbling beneath the surface.
Side One is home to the amazing "Dream World" (Davy Jones at his best), the Dolenz-sung "Auntie's Municipal Court", Jones' sappy "We Were Made For Each Other", Nesmith's psychedelia-tinged "Tapioca Tundra", the beloved "Daydream Believer" and Nesmith's ominious and organ-laden "Writing Wrongs" (which plods along and sounds more like something by early Procol Harum than something by a manufactured bubblegum pop group!)
Side Two falls everso slightly off with the shuffling "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet" (featuring more annoying horns that your average Herb Alpert recording!); another charming Jones composition "The Poster" (a nod to The Beatles "Benefit of Mr. Kite"?); Dolenz's terrifically upbeat "P.O. Box 9847"; Nesmith's old-timey-sounding (no thanks!) "Magnolia Simms" and the album's other hit, the great "Valleri".
The Dolenz-penned and sung "Zor and Zam" closes things out. There's marching band drums, some noodling lead guitar, some booming brass, a strong antiwar sentiment and some psychedelic sound effects thrown in for good measure. By this stage in the game, The Monkees were surely outgrowing their pre-teen audiences.
If you thought this one was a little weird, their next record, the soundtrack to the movie Head, would truly be a mindfuck!
RATING: 4 six o'clock alarms that never ring out of 5
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