In case anyone wants to dig for it, there are two recordings of "If I Knew" on Davy's Just For The Record series -- one on Volume 3, which is a great home recording that seems to date from the early '70s, and one on Volume 4, which is a much later studio recording that is marred by cheeseball production. Was hoping to upload a link to the '70s recording, but unfortunately only the one from Volume 4 seems to be up on YouTube.
If I Knew - It’s an OK song, but I’m not really wowed by it the way others are. I have no problems with the instrumental performance, but Davy’s vocal is too light and feathery for me to really enjoy the song. I understand why he’s doing it, but I think he could’ve done it a little a little heavier. This would never make my Monkees playlist, but if I was listening to the album, I wouldn’t skip the song. I’ll give it a light and feathery 3/5.
If I knew -4/5 Love the collaboration between Jones and Chadwick in the song. One of Davy's better recordings during the Monkees. This and "French Song" are the only 2 Davy tracks that are solid on Presents, the other two should have been dropped (Good Times and Ladies Aid).
If I Knew I couldn’t even remember this song without giving it another listen. Upon further review: I think Davy was a bit melodramatic on the line “I would just die,” but I think this song has a nice understated quality about it. The guitar is pleasant, and the chorus is the best part for me. I generally like the Jones/Chadwick collaborations, though this is not my favorite example. 3/5
Today’s song is Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye: Probably Micky’s weakest songwriting effort that made it onto one of the original albums. It sounds a little half-finished in terms of the writing and certainly the production. It also feels like the vocals are kind of working against each other. A bit of a mess on every level. 2/5.
"Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" -- 3/5 This is a pretty good song, I guess, but by this point I'm really starting to miss the guy who sang on all those earlier commercial hits. He's trying a bit too hard to be edgy at this time, IMO. I've always liked the lyric "You spend your time sitting there thinking / Thinking about sitting there thinking". Cool lyric, though maybe not as profound as Micky probably thought it was at the time. James Burton plays banjo on this (!!), while Louie Shelton is on the electric guitar. The acoustic guitar here is the best part musically, though who's playing it wasn't cataloged. The drums are almost non-existent, buried in the mix with that heavy compression that marred "If I Knew". This is a fairly decent track, and probably my favorite Micky song on this album...which should tell you how I feel about his stuff on Present overall.
I missed "If I Knew", but it's probably a 3/5. I would have been interested to hear the Zombies cover this c. 1967. "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" - I like it, interesting riff and vocal, but it's not much of a song. 3/5.
"Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" Not of of the album highlights but I don't dislike it either. It's just sorta there. Micky had much better material but this is kinda catchy. A low 3/5
3.5/5 for BBBBB. I LOVE the pre-choruses especially, ya know the parts that go: “You spend you life thinking about living You spend your whole life” and “You spend your time sitting there thinking Thinking about sitting there thinking You waste my time talking about dying Dying when you should be trying” Those parts get a 5/5, but yeah, 3.5/5 for the whole song
Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye- Here is where we hit the first bump in the road. At least it is a modern track, as opposed to a 1966 retread. However, it is just not a very good tune. The harmonica is grating, the vocals are slight, just meh.Not the worst track on the album (we all know what that is, right?). 2/5
"Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" - sounds like a rewrite of "Mommy and Daddy". It's okay, but not great. Micky's vocal elevates it to a low 3/5.
Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye One of my least favorite Micky songs ever. Lyrically it seems to not make sense in spots, and there were plenty others in the can that could've been used instead... Steam Engine, for example 2/5
I like ‘Bye Bye, Baby, Bye Bye’, it’s a different type of song for Micky. A bit experimental with the music and vocals. Micky might have seen this as a last chance to do something creative on a Monkees album. I do like the overlapping vocal dubs at the end of the song. Have to give Micky credit for trying something different and not playing it safe. 4/5.
4/5. I actually love this song, but it isn't quite as good as his other 3 contributions, so I'll give it a lesser grade. I love the first 3rd of this album though and I couldn't imagine skipping a track.
A strong 3/5. The thinking sections, as mentioned earlier, are super strong, and the song kinda fits in nicely with Nez’s stuff here. I wish the drums were louder, and the vocals balanced better, but the mono mix helps this somewhat.
