Hey Hey They are the Monkees
I really don't know how critics get their credentials. I was
just listening to NPR where a critic and writer of the history of rock 'n roll
was reviewing the Monkees 50th. His review was basically listing facts about
how the Monkees got the best writers in the industry to write for them and I
took away from it that his conclusion was that's why they had such a great sound.
I could not believe my ears! He even said that he had no frame of reference
toward the Monkees when they originally came out, because he was into the
underground sound at that time that had just gotten started. His review showed
that he had no frame of reference for the Monkees television show at all.
I have made the statement that we were from the Ed Sullivan
generation because we would listen to music that was so different like the acts
that Ed Sullivan had on his show, from Beverly Sills to Janis Joplin, from
Perry Como to Mick Jagger, not to mention the Beatles, who the TV executives of
the time wanted the Monkees to emulate. The television show the Monkees
auditioned as many young men as they possibly could and they came up with four
young men that seemed to have nothing in common or you might say that they were
all from different backgrounds. That, in most cases, might spell disaster for
the chemistry with actors on a sitcom. The TV show the Monkees however was not
a sitcom, it was not a musical variety show, it was something the likes of
American television had never seen before. You might say the television show
the Monkees was a gumbo of a mixture of British and American pop culture in a
soup base that had some of the best songwriters in the world simmering into an
extremely good pop rock band.
I myself loved the Monkees, their hijinks and off-the-wall acting
wasn't meant to be the great American drama and it wasn't. It was entertaining
to the kids of that day. The music that was presented by the Monkees to sing
was fantastic. It was from the best songwriters around, of that there is no
doubt. I however want to make this perfectly clear to everyone, if you would
have put this same music in front of a mediocre group of young men who had no
talent and didn't care, it would have been horrible. I do not think that you
could have any better chemistry for a band as you did with Michael Nesmith,
Peter Tork, Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz. I don't care what was going on behind
the scenes, I don't care if they didn't like each other, I don't care about the
lawsuits, that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the
simple fact that this group of young men came together and became a part of
rock 'n roll history. Say what you want to, they were a good part of rock 'n
roll history.
The music that they put out had at least seven number one
hits as far as I can remember. You can say what you want to about them having
great songwriters which they did, but my contention is if they had not been a
good band, they would not have been able to secure one number one hit let alone
seven. All of this in just three or four years during and after their TV show.
I, for one, believe that there was magic in the chemistry they produced on TV
and stage.
Just to give you a for instance, there is a video
circulating on YouTube from just a couple of years ago that shows Paul
McCartney and his band, walking down the halls to the stage of one of their
concerts, singing “Here we come, walking
down the street, we get the funniest looks from everyone we meet, Hey Hey we’re
the Monkees…..”. I ask you, what greater tribute to the Monkees could there be
than Paul McCartney knowing one of their
songs and singing it with his band for the fun of it.
I would also like to say that the songs they sang are caught
in our minds forever. How many of you out there remember all the words to at
least one of the Monkees’ songs. I personally know the words to at least three
of their songs.
It just makes me mad when someone thinks they have the right
to review a group and still say that they have no point of reference of that
group's heyday. This person listened to their music in retrospect today to
review it in the context of what they know now. You can never have that
appreciation for a piece of art if you never heard it when it came out. I'm telling
you right now I love the Monkees television show. I had all of their albums and
I also listened to the underground sound of the 60’s. I am part of the Ed
Sullivan generation, I listened to almost every kind of music there was from
the time I was a child till today and I'm 60 years old and I have never been
able to understand how a reviewer can review a concert or review an album and
come up with a totally different opinion of that music than those that
appreciate it. I also believe that if you look at the modern abstract art and
you don't get it you're not the person that should review it.
He also kind of skipped over reviewing the movie Head that
the Monkees put out after their TV show had ended, by saying that there are
those that will defend it. I will not defend it, other than to say that looking
at it today I see what they were striving for but the Monkees were never a
psychedelic band, they're acting in the Monkees show was never part of the drug
culture, it was pop rock culture. I put
the blame own it not being a hit, which it wasn't, on the directors and
producers, especially the director who had absolutely no clue. Am I saying that
I dislike Head, yes I probably am, but it is a part of rock 'n roll history and
I'm sure there are people out there that did enjoy it, but I was thoroughly
disappointed with that attempt.
The Monkees shortly thereafter disappeared except for the
occasional reunion concerts and the passing of Davy Jones seemed to have put an
end to the concerts till here recently. Both Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz have
gotten together again for at least one last Monkees romp and I am happy about
it.
