The Monkees were hugely popular in their day but also had a certain stigma against them because they were a prefab group and it wasn't a secret. For one thing they had auditioned at a Hollywood studio--other auditionees including Paul Williams, John Denver, Stephen Stills(!), and Van Dyke Parks(!!). And much of the music actually came from faceless session men.
Their initial revival in popularity in the 1980s simplified their appeal. Perhaps for Gen X the idea of a prefabricated rock group wasn't so wrong. Although the New Monkees crashed and burned after a few months, so also perhaps there are limits.
Anyway, I like the above song. Partly because it provides a spotlight for Peter Tork, the most creatively frustrated member of the band, having been an actual gigging musician and a friend of Stills.
2 comments:
The Monkees arrival on the scene came a little too late to generate much interest from us, never mind the fact that everyone knew they'd been manufactured for a tv show about a rock group. They did have good session players, though, Carol Kaye and Tommy Tedesco of the Wrecking Crew among them meaning it was no wonder the Monkees music really was acceptable. Phil Spector got his Wall of Sound from them. I guess Peter Tork was the only Monkee allowed to play a little with the session band.
Until I read your post about them I hadn't been aware of the other musicians who tried out for the band. I can see it would have been a very different group had Steven Stills, John Denver (!) or Van Dyke Parks had been recruited.
Eventually, they did get to perform their own music. The song you picked to feature is a good one and ,yes, it's good to see Peter Tork being featured.
Initially I think their core audience was the younger brothers and sisters of the kids who had gone crazy for the Beatles, Stones et al. Starring on a knowingly silly weekly sitcom was part of that appeal. Youngsters who had already started exploring more esoteric music wouldn't be as interested. A hipster audience has built up in the ensuing generations, though. Michael Nesmith probably could have gotten into the sessions as well, but as low man on the totem pole I think Tork was more motivated.
Yeah, the auditions were pretty broad, and we only know a fraction of the people who showed up. Did I mention the lead singer from Three Dog Night? He was another one. Not as out there an idea, but a gruffer voice.
Time marches on, of course. One paradox is that it seems they got to perform their own music later on because they weren't as much of a big deal.
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