Alternate/Fantasy MONKEES albums

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by VeeFan64, Jul 19, 2009.

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  1. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    I love the colors of the original Instant Replay LP and think that Rhino made it better with the better picture choices (disembodied heads with no necks creep me out!).

    As for the alternate take on it, maybe I *did* get carried away a bit.. ;)

    The original idea was to go with the the same slightly stretched picture, but send it out without any text on the front cover (ala Abbey Road or Badfinger's Straight Up).

    The biggest problem trying to with alternate sleeves for their 1969 releases is the dearth of good pictures (especially color pictures). Apart from their 1969 tour booklet (which are all B&W), there just don't seem to be any high-res shots of the post-Peter group around.

    Anyway, the picture below is the other idea for this sleeve. (Feel free to vote on your favorite!)
     

    Attached Files:

  2. StewMac

    StewMac Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    Here's a quick mock up of Fantasy Meets Reality.. Keeps the awesome colourful background and gives a more cohesive photo of the fellas.
     
  3. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    That looks fantastic! Great job! (I might use that idea!)

    How did you achieve the effects? It seems like you used the "stroke" option for the border around the guys and one of the art filters to give it the painting look. Which one was that?

    It *definitely* improves the cover 100%!
     
  4. StewMac

    StewMac Forum Resident

    Thanks Michelle.. I though it came out pretty good for a quick 10 minute mock-up..

    Anyway, I don't actually photoshop, but instead I use a program called GIMP.. There are a bunch of effects and scripts you can use in the program.. To get the painted look, I used a filter called 'cartoon' and for the neon effect, there's a script called 'neon.'

    I was going to add a neon type group name and title as well, but I had to get back to work... Something like this:

    [​IMG]

    I wish I had more time so I could do a bunch of Alternate Reality Covers too! Maybe I'll try and sneak in a few quick ones like this here and there!
     
  5. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    One thing that I'm always thinking about when doing the covers is not to go too heavy on the computer effects, as they didn't have the same tools in the late 60's.

    The "solarization" effect *was* something that came about by then and was used in HEAD. (Solarization was used on Mike's and Micky's solo LPs to give them their neon-like glow.)

    Davy's solo LP was pretty much just a simple collage. Even my busy-looking Instant Replay cover above was just a series of blow-ups and a transparency-style overlay for the ghostly-looking heads.

    I guess the jury is still out on this one. I like aspects of all three cover ideas.

    This is a toughie!
     
  6. BobT

    BobT Resident Monkeeman

    I like the first Instant Replay, except Mike isn't quite right-you cannot really see the 2 pics clearly.
     
  7. Slokes

    Slokes Cruel But Fair

    Location:
    Greenwich, CT USA
    You really can't get them exactly right and get the sense of motion I think Michelle was after - to capture the essence of the title. I think it might be doable without blurring, but it would require some heavy time on Photoshop, tracing aspects of the one image without obscuring the main image you see now.

    Micky's hair is awesome in that shot, by the way. I don't think I've ever seen him with the feathered look before. Wonder when that was shot?
     
  8. readr

    readr Forum Resident

    There's one I don't have available in front of me from the IR back cover photo shoot. It has Davy standing, Mike on the rail and Micky next to him with the Monkee drum on it's side. It's shot low, looking up. Looks a little like the MOTM shot. I've seen it in the Music Box and the Reissue booklet for IR. That would be my front cover for an alternate IR. Someone find it and post it. You'll see what I mean. Great photo.
     
  9. RobRoyF

    RobRoyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southland
    These are very cool fake compilations. A Fellow Monkees fan.
     
  10. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    The post-Peter Monkees had a photo shoot in Las Vegas on December 7, 1968. This picture was taken then. (Other pics from the session can be seen on the back cover of Instant Replay and a trade ad for the "Good Clean Fun" single.
     
  11. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    I know the shot, but *where* could a high-res example of it be found - in color?

    Most of the post-Peter photos seem to have been taken by Henry Diltz. I really wish they'd be printed in a book somewhere!
     
  12. D-rock

    D-rock Senior Member

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    I like that one a lot. Except Davy's pic doesn't look as good.
     
  13. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    All three of those Instant Replay covers are good, and all are better than the real one IMHO.

    I would love to see some tries for an alternate Birds & Bees cover. I recently reworked the album song wise, but I haven't tackled the cover art and I am not nearly as good as Michelle or StewMac.
     
  14. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    This was my stab at a fantasy b00tleg cover from about 8 years ago.
    Sunset Sam posted it in another thread sometime back.
    It took me a long time to do this. I didn't have the correct font, but it's close.

    [​IMG]
     
  15. StewMac

    StewMac Forum Resident

    nice work! love the reformatted background!
     
  16. RobRoyF

    RobRoyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southland
    The Instant Repulse is great, Mr. Schneider. :)
     
  17. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    Mr. Schneider, GREAT job on that background! Very inspired choices! (Princess Mike always makes me laugh!)
     
  18. Sammy Banderas

    Sammy Banderas Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    Thanks for sharing that new take on "Instant Replay" with us, Michelle! I'll have to give that track listing a try later tonight.:) Btw, I love those Vegas pictures of the Monkees as a trio!!! They look so cool and confident!!! I also dig the ones where the trio are in the treehouse taking pics with all their gold records and other awards! Keep the goodies coming!:righton:
     
  19. StewMac

    StewMac Forum Resident

    I present to you: Please Stand By (COM-109)

    [​IMG]

    This is my alernate reality take on The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees...

    The concept is that the group is letting the public know that even though the show is no longer in production, the music still is.

    I never really like the title 'The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees' and the cover is just okay for me.. Please Stand By would have been way better in my opinion.. If I get more time, I'll do the back cover as well, so feel free to send me a track listing you'd like to see on this one..

    Making these things is so much fun.. Let me know what you think!
     
  20. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    Great work StewMac. Here is my track listing for Birds & Bees (I mean Please Stand By!):

    Side 1
    Dream World
    Aunties Municipal Court
    We Were Made For Each Other
    Tapioca Tundra
    Daydream Believer
    Circle Sky

    Side 2
    I'll Be Back Up On My Feet
    The Poster
    P.O. Box 9847
    Propinquity (I've just Begun To Care)
    Valeri
    Porpoise Song

    The three songs I removed are "Writing Wrongs", "Magnolia Sims" and "Zor & Zam". I never listen to the "Head" soundtrack, so the handfull of real songs on that album have been used to repair Birds and Bees & Monkees Present.

    The only change I made to Instant Replay was to remove "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and substitute "Come On In" so I could use one of those reworked covers that show Peter:righton:

    My rework of Present is much more radical since IMHO that album is almost unlistenable as released.
     
  21. RobRoyF

    RobRoyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southland
    That is a clever design, StewMac. Nice to see gatherings of Monkees fans. I looked around online for various forums, but this one is my favorite to actually post to.

    Though I am new to this forum as an active poster, I have read it for a long time, maybe a year now as a lurker. Some great threads about 60s music, which is my favorite era for rock.
     
  22. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    Not enough 60's threads, I'm afraid and mostly major artists. Lotsa junk discussed in this forum. The musical tastes of some are certainly puzzling.
     
  23. RobRoyF

    RobRoyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southland
    mr.schneider wrote:
    I have to agree with you on this part. We need more Monkees threads. I like Boyce and Hart a lot, too, but I realize with some Monkees fans, liking their material is hit or miss. Maybe I will start a few threads once I read here more often, still kinda "green" I think. I hope I don't take any of it too serious either, I am here for learning more about my favorite music.

    BTW: Your avatar of Mike is strange and quite amusing at the same time, not sure if you were told that, if so, don't mean to be repetitive.:wave:
     
  24. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    The original "Monkees Present" LP had artwork designed in color, but Colgems opted to print it in black and white. (According to Mike Nesmith: "That had the black-and-white cover done with Marks-A-Lot (marking pens) and was supposed to be in color. Apparently the wouldn't do a color [printing], because by that time we were, you know, as cold as yesterday's soup. Nobody would spend any money. Besides that, Peter had spent all the royalties on 'Lady's Baby,' bless his heart.")

    So, with the B&W limitation, I thought a sleeve that looked like vintage circus posters might be fun.

    Unfortunately, I had to make some compromises with the image in my head and the artwork itself due to a lack of skill with Photoshop (and the fact I can't draw at all...)

    BTW, this sleeve was designed as a gatefold (so much for the lower budget..! ;) ).

    As for the tracks, a few were changed from the original (as noted below):

    Side 1
    1. Little Girl
    2. Of You ("Good Clean Fun" was used on Mike's solo LP.)
    3. If I Knew
    4. Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye
    5. Never Tell A Woman Yes
    6. Looking For The Good Times

    Side 2
    1. Penny Music ("Ladies Aid Society" is a novelty song that's better used on the final LP in the alternate reality collection... :p )
    2. Listen To The Band (Mike's solo LP uses a remix. This is the standard version.)
    3. French Song
    4. Mommy And Daddy
    5. Oklahoma Backroom Dancer
    6. Pillow Time

    The images here are pretty tiny, so if you'd like to see them in higher resolution, I've also posted them to my Flickr page.

    Front Gatefold:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle_66/3874669546/

    Back Gatefold:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle_66/3874671068/
     

    Attached Files:

  25. semidetached

    semidetached Monkees Mixographist

    Location:
    Bucks County, PA
    Whoa - that is insane detail. Great stuff!!!
     
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