Alternate/Fantasy MONKEES albums

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

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  1. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    Your artwork is amazing as always Michelle. I just wish you had left Magnolia Simms off the album. I hated that song when I first heard it as a 12 year old and that contempt has only grown over the years. If I had been involved in the Monkee project I would have made sure the Magnolia tape was accidently wiped clean.:angel:
     
  2. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    No other song to use....

    All of Mike's Nashville stuff is on his "solo" LP, and "Magnolia" was the only song left.

    Actually, the song isn't that bad when the audio is centered and the skip is removed.

    But, like I wrote before, IR never had a clear concept (unlike many of the titles in the alternate reality series). It basically just became a repository for songs left off other projects.

    The big rule I set for the alternate reality project is that every song from a 60's album needed to be used. (Although I have substituted certain mixes a couple of times.)

    I was going to use the stereo mix of "Magnolia", but thought the skip-free mono version was better.
     
  3. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    Your alternate Monkee universe is incredible, and I certainly understand why you needed to give Magnolia Simms a place on an album.
    My alternate project is much more modest, and as someone who grew up in the 60's, Birds & Bees always represented to me when the wheels began to come off the Monkee Machine. When I grew up and became president of Colgems Records;) the first thing I did was remove Magnolia, Writing Wrongs and Zor and Zam from the album and replaced them with 3 songs that sounded like the Monkees to me. I also greatly reworked Head, Present and Changes. As you would know, since my alternate Monkees discography didn't include solo albums I had a great selection of songs left in the vault to "improve" the albums to my liking.
     
  4. readr

    readr Forum Resident

    While I'm waiting for The Monkees Present Deluxe box set, I've been noddling around with some of the groups outtakes and leftovers. I did this concept album before, but I think I've finally hit the best compilation of these tracks. Here's a fantasy (easily could have been a reality) album Colgems could have released between More Of The Monkees and Headquarters, which includes all the group members pre-Monkee singles not available on LP. It is padded with a few early outtakes.


    THE MONKEES - EARLY RECORDINGS

    SIDE ONE
    1. All The King's Horses (Nesmith)
    2. What Are We Going To Do? (Levine/Roberds/Macleod)
    3. How Can You Kiss Me (Nesmith)
    4. Don't Do It (Dolenz)
    5. So Goes Love (Goffin/King)
    6. What Seems To Be The Trouble, Officer (Krasnow/Nesmith)

    SIDE TWO
    1. I Wanna Be Free (Boyce/Hart)
    2. Just A Little Love (Nesmith)
    3. Huff Puff (Pipkin)
    4. The New Recruit (Ashe/Krasnow)
    5. The Girl From Chelsea (Goffin/King)
    6. Until It's Time For You To Go (Sainte Marie)
     
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  5. mr_mjb1960

    mr_mjb1960 I'm a Tarrytowner 'Til I die!

    And,I've got the perfect cover idea to go with it! How's This: Babies bodies with the Monkees' Faces! Sorta like BS&T's "Child Is Father To the Man"!
     
  6. Delramos

    Delramos Active Member

    Location:
    London
    Michelle

    I absolutely love your stuff. I think you're a genius, it is so beautiful.

    Have you ever thought of getting them printed up as either real LP or CD covers? I know I'd happily pay for them.

    Keep up the good work.

    BTW I got hold of the transcripts for Peters unreleased autobiography from the 1970's. Great little find.
     
  7. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    WHOA!

    How many pages? I didn't even know he was going to write a book back then!

    This is amazing...
     
  8. Delramos

    Delramos Active Member

    Location:
    London
    There are maybe 100 pages. It's basically the transcript of several interviews with a writer who was going to then write his (auto)biography.
     
  9. rswitzer

    rswitzer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Golden, CO USA
    I have books about each Monkee EXCEPT Pete. It would be interesting to read Pete's perspective back in the '70s.
     
  10. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    OK, here's the final LP I needed to do in the alternate reality series.

    And it was the hardest as there was *no* music available for it...!

    As mentioned earlier in this thread, for Micky's LP, I imagined that Micky would have recorded an experimental album of him noodling around on his then-new Moog synthesizer (ala George Harrison's "Electronic Sound" LP in 1969).

    Unfortunately, if tapes even exist of Micky messing around on his Moog, I don't have access to them.

    So, what I did was to process "Randy Scouse Git" and "Shorty Blackwell" through authentic Moog software, and edit the results together as 15-minute suites.

    And how do the results sound?

    Let's just say this thing is about as enjoyable as listening to the Beatles' "Revolution 9" over and over again.... ;)

    Still, since it's merely processing the music, the original melody and Micky's vocals are often recognizable - even though the songs no longer sound like anything on the proper albums.

    “The Monkees Present: Mellow Psycho-Jello From That Fuzzy-Headed Fellow”

    Side 1:
    1. Randy Scouse Git ala Moog (15:11)

    Side 2:
    1. Shorty Blackwell in Outer Space (15:46)

    Produced by Micky Dolenz.

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    I love the Micky Moog LP. I wish it really happened back then.
     
  12. mr_mjb1960

    mr_mjb1960 I'm a Tarrytowner 'Til I die!

    Unfortunately,Micky sold it to Bobby Sherman! "Easy Come,Easy Go",indeed!:shake: there were only 3 made them,E. Power Biggs had one and Walter (Wendy) Carlos had the other one.
     
  13. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    Back in post #108 of this thread, I had this to say about a Kellogg's promotional offer for a Monkees EP:

    A rough mock-up of the sleeve was made at that time, but that's about it.

    Well, I finally got around to finishing the sleeve - as well as doing a proper cereal box for the promotional campaign.

    Here's a box of Rice Krispies that offered the record:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The record's label still needs work, so I'll post pictures of the finalized sleeve and CD when it's all done.
     
  14. BenB5150

    BenB5150 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin,TX, USA
    Very nice a usual Michelle! Can't wait to see the rest of it! :righton:

    Ben
     
  15. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    Thank you!

    OK, here are the completed EPs for the two Kellogg's promotional campaigns of 1967.

    Up first is the EP advertised on the cereal box above:

    [​IMG]


    In August, Kellogg's ran the second campaign. (Details about the content were originally added to this thread in post #113):

    And how it looks all finished:

    [​IMG]
     
  16. JDistheone

    JDistheone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denton, TX

    Fantastic (as usual) Michelle!

    I know how much you hate the song "The Day We Fall In Love" how many times did you have to listen to it, to make this EP! ha ha

    Didn't Micky mention Ringo in "No Time"? maybe that isn't part of the official lyrics.

    All this writing make me think you should do some fan fiction for a 'what if Don Kirshner never left' and totally rewrite what happened in 1967.
     
  17. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    Michelle, I am in awe of the work you continually put out regarding The Monkees! Incredible amounts of attention-to-detail and very artistic, with a great feel for that time period. I would seriously love to see a photo album with all of your work in it (preferably in a nice, large hardcover book!) :righton:
     
  18. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    In this Monkees 'fantasy world' can't we just pretend that "The Day We Fell In Love" was never recorded? ;)
     
  19. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    Thanks! :)

    Actually, TDWFIL didn't kill me when I put it on the Kellogg's EP. Having it coupled with IILTPTV was apt.

    But, having to listen a few times to make sure the lyrics were OK was rough... (anything for art!)

    I had noticed a couple of other typos on prototype sleeve (a few punctuation goofs), so I'll add the Ringo line when I print another copy).

    As for "official" lyrics, I doubt the gibberish at the beginning is in any sort song book. ;) (Kiddie sing-along lyrics should be more accurate than official lyrics sheets anyway, IMO.)

    Lessee....Donnie K. throughout 1967....

    OK, how's this:

    Mike gets fired for insubordination after Raybert backs DK (I mean, the albums were raking in the dough).

    To replace him, Raybert signs Bob Denver to the group, considering Gilligan's Island had just been canceled.

    Since BD was well-known already, he creates a character not unlike Mike, gets his own wool cap, and even goes by the "Wool Cap" monicker.

    Bob plays WC with lots of physical comedy, and he soon becomes the main focus of the group.

    Alan Hale makes appearances at the boys' new landlord (explained as being Mr. Babbitt's brother.)

    For record, BD is ghosted by Ron Dante, because if DK stayed with the Monkees, The Archies never would have happened.)

    The Nez-free group continues to sell copious amounts of product, and the show runs until the 1969-1970 season.

    The end.

    Thanks!

    Know any publishers? I'm game!
     
  20. Delramos

    Delramos Active Member

    Location:
    London
    Michelle

    As you know, I'm a fan. I'd buy a book. One way is self publishing. You can get really nice results from Blurb. I do it for private books for family.

    Also, I haven't forgotten our conversation. The surprising tour news has thrown my bank balance a little off kilter...
     
  21. HolsteMan

    HolsteMan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    No wonder I had a hard time finding this thread; no one's posted in it for 3 months!

    Well, this is one of my favorite subjects. It's become something of an obsession of mine after hearing Andrew Sandoval's interview in 2005 (where he announces the 2-CD box sets), in which he said that the choice of songs on Birds & Bees is baffling when you consider all the good material that was in the can at that point. I completely agree, so I set about creating my own fantasy version of the album listings. I'm glad to see that other people have the same idea, and there are certainly many imaginative variations in this thread!

    My list is by no means intended to be definitive or superior to anyone else's; it's just one more possible variation on the theme. I've even done multiple different versions myself.

    For this attempt, I decided to stick to the challenge of changing as little about the order as possible. For instance, for More of the Monkees, I would rather start the album with "Valleri" and put "She" in the middle of Side 1 or the middle of Side 2. But I do like "She," and in this attempt, I just decided to see what it would look like if I (mainly) only removed the songs I didn't want. As such, I only listed just the changed track except where necessary. This is what I came up with, along with explanations:

    MONKEES

    3. I Wanna Be Free (TV version)
    10. All the King’s Horses

    As unlikely as it is that Kirshner or Colgems would have allowed one less Davy song on this album, I opt for "Horses" since it's a song from the TV show (played on there twice, just as much as "Saturday's Child"!) rather than "I'll Be True to You."

    MORE OF THE MONKEES

    2. Valleri (TV version)
    4. You Just May Be the One (TV version)
    9. I’ll Be Back Upon My Feet (TV version)

    Three great songs from the show, inexplicably left off the album. (I guess Kirsh wanted to save them for the next album, but that version of the album never came.) "When Love Comes Knockin'" is decent, but I prefer "Valleri"; I don't really care for "Hold On Girl" at all; and "The Day We Fall in Love" is just the worst thing ever produced by society. Since it's just talking, I don't even consider it a song. Only "The Good Earth" is as bad. How Kirsh picked this track even over other Davy material such as "So Goes Love" or "Prithee" is unfathomable to me.

    HEADQUARTERS

    5. The Girl I Knew Somewhere
    9. All of Your Toys
    13. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

    Due to the falling out with Kirsh, "Little Bit Me" was never going to be on the album. But it made the single, even the A-side, anyway, possibly due to contractual obligations. So I'm inserting it here, pretending that the same contractual obligations forced them to put it on the album as well, replacing the pleasant but tepid "Early Morning Blues and Greens."

    I can understand why the Monkees left off "Little Bit Me," but leaving off "Girl I Knew Somewhere"--one of their all-time best, and produced under the same setup as the rest of Headquarters--is just unthinkable to me. Since the earlier (and superior) version of "You Just May Be the One" is on another album now, there's room for "Somewhere" in its place.

    Again, I'm ignoring the copyright issues for this fantasy list and putting the outstanding "All of Your Toys" on this album where it belongs, and removing the inventive but dour "Mr. Webster."

    PISCES

    The album is pretty much flawless as is. If I could have fit in the TV version of "Words" earlier, I would have, but I ran out of space, and the Douglas-produced version on this album sounds just as good.

    The only change I'll make is swapping two tracks, so that a faster track starts Side 2:

    7. What am I Doin' Hangin' Round?
    8. Hard to Believe

    BIRDS, BEES . . .

    This one required a little more heavy surgery than the rest, so I'm listing all the tracks, with the new ones in capital letters:

    Side One

    1. TEAR THE TOP RIGHT OFF MY HEAD (Micky vocal)
    2. I'M GONNA TRY
    3. Tapioca Tundra (in a new spot on the track listing)
    4. RIU CHIU
    5. LADY'S BABY
    6. GOIN' DOWN

    Side Two

    7. Daydream Believer (in a new spot)
    8. P.O. Box 9847 (new spot)
    9. ST. MATTHEW
    10. COME ON IN
    11. Dream World (new spot)
    12. Zor & Zam

    Whew. Where do I start?

    Since "Valleri" and "I'll Be Back Upon My Feet" now appear on an earlier album, we have more room here to play with.

    I don't much care for "Dream World," particularly not as the start of an album. It can stay, but it needs to be pushed way back. "Goin' Down" is excellent, and it was a crime to leave it off of this album. "Riu Chiu" isn't a masterpiece, but in the interest of covering all songs that were on the TV show, I include it, along with Micky singing "Tear the Top" since that's briefly heard in the "Hittin' the High Seas" episode. (Also, it's just a really good song.)

    Contrary to the record execs ignoring Peter on the album, I include him a lot since this is a very prolific period for him. As a result, I don't get to feature Mike as much as I'd like. But I know that I'll have a chance to play catch-up with him, while Peter's remaining time with the group is limited. Mike's psychadelic phase is exemplified with "Tapioca Tundra," but his excellent heavy-country period is about to start, so "St. Matthew" is included to signify this change.

    The singles ("Goin' Down"/"Daydream Believer") bookend Side 1 and Side 2 the way that "Take a Giant Step" and "Last Train to Clarksville" bookend those sides on the first album.

    HEAD

    Rather than the psychadelic mixes by Jack Nicholson, I think it would be more fun and interesting to mirror Magical Mystery Tour in the structure of the album: The first side is all from the project; the second side is good leftover stuff.

    Also, since the TV show never followed any "order" of how the songs were on the album, I don't follow chronological order for the songs on this album. I go for what I think would be the best listening experience, except for "Ditty Diego," since its introduction ("Hey, hey, we are the Monkees") makes for a good start to the album.

    Since some of the tracks are short, I figure I can fit 14 tracks in, same as Headquarters.

    Side One

    1. Ditty Diego
    2. Circle Sky
    3. Can You Dig It?
    4. Daddy's Song
    5. As We Go Along
    6. Long Title
    7. Porpoise Song

    Side Two

    8. Seeger’s Theme
    9. Changes
    10. D.W. Washburn
    11. Nine Times Blue
    12. It’s Nice to Be With You
    13. Naked Persimmon
    14. Rosemarie

    I don't really like either "D.W. Washburn" or "It's Nice to Be With You," but I included them so that all of the singles can be on an album somewhere. "Nine Times Blue" is probably my favorite of the heavy-country Nez tunes, so that's the next one to make an album appearance. "Changes" makes sense for the Head album for obvious reasons. And "Naked Persimmon" hadn't quite been released yet, but I snuck it on here because it feels more right on the last Peter album.

    INSTANT REPLAY

    While not a perfect album, I like pretty much every song on here to some degree. This is the only change I'll make:

    10. Some of Shelley’s Blues

    That balances the album back out so that each of the guys has 4 tracks on the album, instead of Davy getting an extra one.

    PRESENT

    More massive surgery required for this patient:

    Side One

    1. STEAM ENGINE
    2. Good Clean Fun
    3. MY SHARE OF THE SIDEWALK
    4. AUNTIE'S MUNICIPAL COURT
    5. ST. MATTHEW
    6. Looking for the Good Times

    Side Two

    7. SOMEDAY MAN
    8. Listen to the Band
    9. LOOK DOWN
    10. Mommy and Daddy
    11. THE CRIPPLED LION
    12. SHE'LL BE THERE

    This album seems to favor songs written by the guys over the good stuff actually in the can. I'm fixing that here. Also, to leave off "My Share of the Sidewalk"--a great Davy song written by Nez--is a crime.

    It killed me to lose the excellent "Auntie's Municipal Court" earlier, but I think it fits nicely on this eclectic album.

    I tried to fit in all of the Nez tracks before he officially left, but I had a few stragglers, so I fit them in on the next album--another one that needs a lot of surgery.

    CHANGES

    My explanation for this fantasy version of the album is: Rather than buying himself out of his contract (which turned out to be a huge financial loss for him in real life, anyway), Mike stayed aboard in name only. He let Colgems use songs that he had already produced, but didn't record anything new. His only request is that "Hollywood" be used as his last song on the album, to give an appropriately sarcastic kiss-off.

    Side One

    1. Oh My My
    2. You're So Good to Me (new placement)
    3. I DON'T THINK YOU KNOW ME (Mike vocal)
    4. APPLES, PEACHES, BANANAS & PEARS
    5. LOVE TO LOVE
    6. OF YOU

    Side Two

    7. Midnight Train (new placement)
    8. 99 Pounds (new placement)
    9. HOLLYWOOD
    10. I Love You Better
    11. I Never Thought it Peculiar (new placement)
    12. Lady Jane

    As with Instant Replay and Present, I tried to alternate Micky-Davy-Mike songs as much as possible. I bumped "Peculiar" up one spot because, while I like the song, it's just a leftover from the '66 period. The final song on the final album should be representative of their work during this period.

    Well--this list took a whole lot longer than I expected. :) I didn't get to include every song I like; I felt bad about cutting "When Love Comes Knockin'," "Don't Listen to Linda" (the 1969 version), and either Davy or Micky's version of "Prithee," for instance. But I pretty much included every Micky, Mike and Peter song that I really liked (or at least thought was decent). I guess the leftovers are for this alternate universe's version of "Missing Links." :p

    Thoughts? Opinions? Cribbage, anyone? ;)
     
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  22. rswitzer

    rswitzer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Golden, CO USA
    Good work! I hope you can track down Michelle's alternate album covers for some of these.
     
  23. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    Nice work HolsteMan. Mine are a little different but we had some of the same ideas. It is a fun catalog to rework because there was so much stuff left unreleased.
     
  24. Wade

    Wade Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Anywhere but here
    It's so fitting to have The Monkees in jail for recording/releasing some of those songs!
     
  25. Wade

    Wade Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Anywhere but here
    Continuing my line of alternate albums, which I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to so far, for Head, it would remain unchanged, including the lesser, yet subversive studio version of "Circle Sky". And I made some minor adjustments to my prior tracklists.

    Instant Replay

    St. Matthew (with landslide line)
    Look Down
    If I Ever Get to Saginaw Again
    Someday Man
    Just a Game
    Hollywood

    Tear Drop City
    You and I
    Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care)
    Man Without a Dream
    Some of Shelly's Blues
    Shorty Blackwell

    People talk about Davy's "broadway rock", but Micky brought a few theatrical musical type songs to the Monkees too. "Shorty Blackwell" is like a theatrical musical on drugs suite--meant as a compliment.
     
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