Monkees, The - The Monkees [2LP] Limited Run Out Groove 180gram, Gatefold, Photos, Bonus Tracks

VERY LIMITED RUN OUT GROOVE DOUBLE VINYL EDITION INCLUDES BONUS TRACKS, NEVER BEFORE SEEN PHOTOS, NEW LINER NOTES!!

Deluxe 2-LP set featuring an entire disc of new-to-vinyl bonus tracks (including two previously unissued tracks and four previously unissued mixes).  Kevin Gray and Andrew Sandoval have cut the lacquers directly from the original analog master tapes.

Though The Monkees didn’t organically come together as a band, they ended up as one – a triumphant rock-and-roll story. While The Monkees features Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith, and Tork primarily as vocalists, the LP boasts songs written and produced by Nesmith, plus instrumental contributions from Tork. Producers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and entrepreneur/mastermind Don Kirshner, weren’t yet ready to hand over creative freedom to their charges, but they certainly surrounded The Monkees with the best. Boyce provided seven compositions – six with Bobby Hart and one with Steve Venet, including “(Theme from) The Monkees,” “I Wanna Be Free” and the No. 1 smash “Last Train to Clarksville.” The album also has tunes from Nesmith (“Papa Gene’s Blues”) David Gates (“Saturday’s Child”), Carole King and Gerry Goffin (“Take a Giant Step,” “Sweet Young Thing,” co-written with Nesmith) and Goffin and Russ Titelman (“I’ll Be True to You”). The cream of the crop from the L.A. Wrecking Crew brought their considerable skills to the album, too, including Glen Campbell, James Burton, Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Jim Gordon, Al Casey and Mike Deasy. Upon its release, The Monkees spent 78 weeks on the Billboard chart – thirteen of those at No. 1. It’s still one hell of a record.

The first disc of ROG’s upcoming edition features the original stereo album.  The second disc has 14 additional tracks including a never-before-released radio spot and the Take 5 demo of “I Wanna Be Free” plus previously unreleased mixes of “(I Prithee) Do Not Ask for Love,” “So Goes Love,” “I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind,” and “I Don’t Think You Know Me.”  A number of TV versions from The Monkees’ acclaimed sitcom make their debut on vinyl here including “(Theme From) The Monkees,” “You Just May Be the One,” “Take a Giant Step,” and “Saturday’s Child.”

The Monkees will be pressed on two 180-gram vinyl LPs and housed in a tip-on-style gatefold jacket with new liner notes from band historian and manager Andrew Sandoval as well as never-before-published photos.  

7/2021