The Monkees "More of the Monkees" Rhino Handmade Deluxe Box Set

So you were the driving force behind the Blu-Ray set! Thank you for championing the Monkees Andrew. With all you said, it truly is amazing this box set got made and with the bath Rhino took on it, explains why they were so slow putting out the MOTM SDE. I hate to say Sony were the bad guys here, they probably figured it just wasn't worth the time and the sales probably justified that.

We are all in your debt Andrew!

 

THANK YOU Andrew for all you’ve done, and continue to do, for all us fans. We are so very lucky to have you as a fellow Monkees fan!

 

Thank you, Andrew. I can only imagine.

 

Thanks for speaking up, Andrew. I appreciate your efforts on behalf of (and sometimes in spite of) the fans. If sometimes we expect too much, it's because you've spoiled us.

 

I have the DVD's but since reading your post, I've just ordered a copy of the Blu-Ray set. I hope that Rhino is eventually able to break even on this collection....

 

Thanks Andrew. Goes without saying that most of us really, really appreciate your passion and all you do for fellow Monkees fans (and Kinks fans, etc). It’s unfortunate you also have to deal with the nut jobs. Such is life. Keep up the great work.

 

Andrew Sandoval's very thorough explanation of the bluray set's production issues (and the general situation over at Rhino) was interesting to read.

It cleared up every question I had about the set (especially concerning the repeat broadcast soundtracks).

IMO, this kind of "nuts and bolts" approach to explaining what goes into producing a set like the bluray collection is WAY more effective in getting folks willing to support the release than the usual breathless "it WILL sell out!" blurbs companies like Rhino tend to use.

Rights problems...inter-company politics...production costs... Sure, this information might be a bit dry at times, but it's this kind of non-patronizing approach that will get me interested in supporting a project.

So, yeah, it looks like the Rhino warehouse will soon have one less copy to count come inventory time.

 

Y'know...balls of steel to face this crowd...props BIG TIME Mr. Sandoval!!

 

As far as archivists, Andrew Sandoval is my favorite. It's not just the Monkees... but also his work with The Kinks, Boyce & Hart, The Beau Brummels and so many others. Many projects I know he's worked on and they haven't even been able to be released. He's a true man of putting 'labor and love' into his projects. The man saves music... and cats. God bless him.

 

Sincere thanks for your passion and hard work on all these Monkees sets. I have loved them all and deeply cherish them.

 

Thanks so much for all you do, Andrew! We Monkee fans are indebted to you beyond what we can put into words!

Hopefully you are aware that, despite the ferocity of some of the complaints about the Blu-ray box at the time of release, that it was really only around 5% or so of folks who were really upset. Most of us were quite happy with the release, despite the packaging difficulties. But I know how it can be: that vocal 5% can really take the joy out of an enterprise that you worked very hard on. Rest assured that most of us are aware of the effort you put into that release, and it is without question a cherished part of my video collection. It's such a treasure trove of material that I have yet to make it through it all, even after all this time!

Based on what you said about making back their investment, I'm guessing that it's not looking good for a "reunion era" video box (from the 1980's and beyond)? It sure would be awesome to get one, but I can understand why it might not happen.

Thanks again. Looking forward to the MOTM Super Deluxe, and hopefully we will be getting S.D.'s of Headquarters and PAC&J, Ltd.

 

Can I also add my thanks to Andrew who I think has done an OUTSTANDING job with The Monkees. I'm sure most people like myself are extremely grateful for all the hard work you have put in to the various projects.

 

As has already been stated, we Monkees fans are spoiled by the efforts of Andrew Sandoval. Considering when and the length of time they were in existence as a group, it is amazing that we have so much available to us now, and hopefully still to come.

 

I was grateful to get one Missing Links album in 1987. To think that there was an LP's full of unreleased material from the '60s just lying around, and that Rhino was willing to put it together -- that was astounding to me at the time. Look at how the catalog was treated in the '70s. This was "just" a made-for-TV band, and Arista treated them that way. All the albums were out of print for quite a while in the US. More Of The Monkees was one of the biggest selling albums of all time -- yet when I was a kid, I had to settle for a scratched up hand-me-down, where the surface noise was as loud as the music, because I couldn't buy a new copy in a store. Now, here we are, with a 91-track boxed set. And oh yeah, it's the third time the album's been expanded.

There aren't too many acts out there who have the enormous vault of unreleased material that these guys do, and the fact that we've gotten so much of it, and the level of care that's gone into it, I just can't get over how truly lucky we are as fans. You can tell by listening to Andrew in interviews -- hell, I spent three minutes talking Kinks reissues with him at a 2012 Monkees show -- the dude's passionate about what he does. He's a hardcore music fan, and his first priority in these projects is making sure we get over and above what we expect.

 

Wow. Andrew Sandoval comes on the forum,and now everyone is Ok with the Blu Ray set? A shame it took that to get this reaction. I am very grateful for all that he has done for the Monkees fans over the years. I just hope his post here doesn't get him in hot water over at Rhino. Andrew, I hope you will post again soon on this box set that is coming out in less than a month. I'd love to hear about how you came to find some of the material.

 

I don't know who is aggressive and mean, and why the would be, when you are delivering rare Monkees time and time again. I can't thank you enough and appreciate all you have done.

I believe that the quick switch from love to hate is one of the main reason Mike Nesmith takes long extended breaks from The Monkees.

Can't wait for More Of The Monkees Super Deluxe!

 

I’m not sure everyone understands, though most do, how lucky we are as Monkees audio fans that we have Super Deluxe Box sets for 7 out of 9 of their original albums, so far, as well as a Super Deluxe Box set for their television series and their 1967 summer tour. This happened because Monkees fans had the fortune of having a few super fans in charge of making decisions at Rhino.
I can’t think of any Super Deluxe Box sets existing before Headquarters Sessions......I’m sure there were, but they definitely weren’t common. Luckily for us, this perfect storm of the right artist, right executives at the right label, and right level of demand at the right time (mainly the 80’s reassurance), definitely came into play. Most artists would never allow this level of raid on their vault, again, luckily, The Monkees don’t.
Anyway, my thanks to those on the ground floor at Rhino, mostly Harold Bronson, Bill Inglot, and especially Andrew Sandoval, along with the handful of fans who make these things possible.

 

I find this very interesting how bands that people put a lot of their emotion and happiness onto also put it onto whoever is doing their reissues. Andrew is a 'Monkee' to a lot of people. He's keeping things going and it's the closest fans have short of creating a time machine and going back to the 60's. Andrew IS that time machine so he is getting the brunt of peoples feelings when every new product comes out. It's the same with Mark Lewisohn. The new rocks stars of the 60's are the archivists of today and they don't have the fun the musicians had. They get all the business end from the record companies and the fans. This has to be really rough at times like Andrew stated above. I like when I hear them speak personally because look what happened here; peoples tune changed and lightened up and that goes down to internet culture. Maybe the people who responded to Andrew here aren't the ones who complain but I don't know. I can't say I haven't been a person like that. I would love it if companies were transparent in why products are the way they are right when they come out as to avoid people getting upset. Those feelings are understandable as is the privacy of the company when dealing with these matters. Everyone just needs to be more considerate of everyone else. Personal connection goes much further than anything. Thank you Andrew for what you do and the above post. It helped remind me of myself.

 

Thank you, Andrew Sandoval, for always looking out for all of us! I bought the blu-ray box set and I don't even have a blu-ray player ... that's how much I respect and enjoy Andrew's work! Count me in for the MOTM box and anything else that may be in the pipeline.

FYI for Andrew ... Jeff Barry's son posts around here and he MAY have access to some goodies that would find a good home on a CHANGES box set someday! Check out the CHANGES appreciation thread for more details.

 

Thanks again to Andrew. I, too, remember a time when the Monkees albums were out of print in the United States and no one cared. Then when the CD era came along, there was one 20-song compilation from Germany copied from records. Then a U.S. compilation CD. Then finally the first two albums. Then reissues of two more compilations. Then two more original albums. I never thought we'd ever see their entire original catalog on CD, let alone...

 

I loved the blu-ray set and am so grateful for its existence. The Monkees tv show reairings on MTV had a huge impact on me as a ten year old to pick up drumsticks for the first time.

Heck I paid more for the VHS boxset back in the 90s..as did we all Im guessing.

 

I remember when the Monkees revival happened in 1986. At that time the home video industry's emphasis was almost solely on movies. Movies, movies, and more movies. For a TV series to be deemed worthy, it had to be something like Star Trek. So I was a little surprised when Columbia started releasing episodes of the Monkees TV show in volumes of two episodes. (This was the first time I saw Black Label or Kellogg's cereal boxes in the closing credits and I finally saw why the closings on the MTV reruns looked like they came from 16mm film, then halfway through they cut back to 35mm like the rest of the episodes, but I digress.) Anyway, they finally released HEAD on video (I would have thought they would start with that since it was a MOVIE, but probably too far outside of the mainstream). It retailed for, I forget exactly, $69.99 or $89.99 or something. Just insane. Later Rhino released it for $19.99 or something like that and included a trailer. Then it was on DVD with more trailers. Who today would pay $69.99 for one freakin' movie with no extras?

 

You brought back a memory I hadn’t thought about in quite some time. The $89.99 or around that price is what almost every movie sold for in the ‘80s. They were priced for rental, not for sale to the average consumer. When most people rented and didn’t’t buy it was a way for the studios to milk the video stores. This really made it tough for the mom and pop video store. Just think how many times you would need to rent a title at 2-4 bucks a rental before you made any money on it. I remember when E.T. came out for something like $29.99 and sold a ton. That was a game changer and the prices started to come down after that because they realized they could sell volume. Interesting times compared to now.

 

That's really the bottom line. I wish folks could remember that lesson that their moms (hopefully) taught them as kids: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated".

It's so simple, yet way less frequently practiced than it should be, in message forums like these.

Either way, it was awesome to hear from Andrew, and it's nice to see all the appreciation being directed back at him. He deserves it! I dare say, if folks were more respectful, he'd probably participate in discussions like these a little more often!

 

I bought Let It Be on VHS for $70 in 1989 from a video store.