"Dork Tours" - hahaha - that works well - I don't recall that term for the much later Micky-Peter shows. Great summary. Well said.
As a passable 80s song 3/5 As a Monkees song 1/5 I remember winning the Then and Now cassette at the NJ shore in 1986 and wondering what this 80s stuff was doing on a Monkees album. I’m really not a fan of any of their post 1970 stuff. I don’t know what happened to Micky’s voice either. It’s on pitch but it’s not pleasant at all. That goes for all the “comeback” albums and songs.
I suppose it's a reasonable 1980s song. Given that it's a cover I wonder why they didn't select a better song. I can see all the 5/5s above, but the song doesn't strike me. I wasn't aware of it being released at the time (or even that the Monkees had reunited) as I was busy with other stuff at the time. It's an OK song, but I don't feel I want to listen to it over and over again. I can imagine someone hearing it at the time being overjoyed that The Monkees were back, but for me listening to it now, I don't find it special. 3/5
The Monkees didn’t choose the songs for the ‘Then and Now’ album, the songs were chosen for them. That was Davy’s primary issue, he felt they were being treated the same way they were the first time. He wanted songs that they wrote to be included, in particular, his. (If Michael Nesmith had been involved, you bet any new songs he wrote would have made it on the album!) That’s a main reason Davy didn’t participate in those songs, which I always felt was a miscalculation on his part, and I think he realized it too. In later reunion tours he did remain on stage and sang on ‘That Was Then, This Is Now’.
4/5 for TWTTIN Great first 80s Monkees song that gets stuck in my head quite a bit whenever I hear it. Such a catchy chorus. I love 80s Monkees!
That Was Then This Is Now - 4/5 I didn't hear the Mosquitoes version until just a few years ago so, objectively, I honestly can't say whether years of Micky's performance helplessly biased me against it. It is a good tune but another example where I feel like Micky's vocal elevated a song to a whole other level. He delivered three very strong vocals for these new tracks, always rising above any limitations of the material and/or instrumentation. I saw this performed in a slightly shortened version (I believe the second verse and chorus got cut) on both the 2016 tour with Peter and on Sept 22 at Micky's own show and it adjusts very well to a more "garage" arrangement. Like the Monkees songs in their heyday on the TV show, the video for this song supercharged the impact. It captured the hysteria - both of the nostalgic first/second gen fans and the new third gen - in a way that has been seen very infrequently elsewhere with other groups/singers. It's a bit ironic, and sad, that Davy missed the boat on the Then & Now songs because of old business and the rancor towards Bell/Arista. I would like to think that his presence on the song and in the video(s) would have propelled this into the top 10. Maybe that would have increased the leverage for Pool It! and its marketing. Yet another "what if?" in a collective history rife with them...
That Was Then, This Is Now is 4/5 Always really liked this song and the 80s production does not lessen it for me because the lyrics and music are very good and in the spirit of their 60s recordings Too bad they didn’t sustain this success on Pool It
“That Was Then”: Such a hard one for me to judge. It sounds so badly dated (As will all the other 80s songs we’ll discuss) and yet... I have such fond memories of this song and the summer of ‘86. I was in high school, obsessed with the 60s (Especially the music), and discovering The Monkees was right in my wheelhouse. Got in line very early in the morning for tickets to see them at the Wisconsin State Fair (Front row! Sold out show!) and the Then & Now collection was one of the first CDs I bought. Anyhow, for that summer “That Was Then...” was a perfect little pop-rock song. Don’t listen to it much anymore, but hearing it again made me happy. Solid 4/5.
"That Was Then, This Is Now" I assume the title of the song was a major reason why it was chosen, as it fitted in with the whole concept of the revival, reunion, compilation album with new tracks etc. (Pity they didn't choose the ABC song from 1983 with a similar title instead!) It's average mid-80s fare with cheesy synth sounds - time-capsuled fun. 2.5/5.
I don’t think this was ever on an LP in the UK? Not a fan of this sound for the group, but it’s a decent song. 2/5.
Thanks. I knew bits of that, but far from the big picture. And, given this hindsight, 'Justus' being on the horizon makes a lot of sense.
Here is an "Alternate Version" video of That was Then, This is Now I don't remember this version. I also did not have MTV in 1986. Was it shown there?
I’d guess this is just a fan edit with some clips from the old show cut into the actual video. Haven’t seen this video since ‘86, but I remember it very well! The actual video, got played a lot in ‘86. Amazing to see the crowds they drew, and the enthusiasm of said crowds, that year.
"That Was Then, This Is Now" I loved it when it came out and, although I still enjoy it, I only find it ok. But it was the song that brought The Monkees back into the public eye so that's gotta count for something. 3/5
I give TWTTIN a solid 4/5. It's a catchy tune in an 80's sense, and since the '86 Reunion period is what got me catapulted into Monkee-land, I have some nice kid-era memories attached to that, like heading into the Titus-Oaks Record Store in Melville, Long Island in all of my 12-year old glory to see if they got the latest Rhino LP reissues. Good times..... Davy will always be an integral part of the band, but it seems to me that he has caused plenty of animosity over the years internally.
In the early Summer of ‘86 I knew there was going to be a new song from The Monkees, and couldn’t wait to hear it. One day I turned on the radio just in time to hear the announcer say the word “Monkees”, and I was beyond excited. The song sounded very of it’s time, very mid 80’s. It was danceable and pretty cool. What I loved was Davy’s over the top, very British vocal. At the time I thought it was great that The Monkees were keeping up with the times, and not going for a retro sound. From the chorus I surmised the title was something about “digging your scene”. A few days later I learned that the song wasn’t The Monkees, but rather The Blow Monkeys. What were the chances that 2 artists with “monkeys” in their names both had new singles out at the same time?! As for “That Was Then”.... It’s a great song. 4/5.
Oddly, I recall "Digging your Scene" by the Blow Monkeys quite well. I had bought the 45 as I really dug it. That was a great single, but I don't recall anything else by them. Hmm ... I bet you were probably not the only one who may have thought the same at that time!
"That Was Then..." might be the best thing they put out in the '80's and if I was rating these songs by decade I would give it a 4/5. When I rate this song with the "60's stuff, albums 1-8, it really isn't that good and I have to rate it a 2/5. Good comeback tune though and it fit with the era.
Ok, fond fond memories of this song in the summer of 1986. It was unbelievable to hear Monkees music on the radio. Now, having said that, the song and recording have not aged well. There's a reason that it doesn't really get any continued airplay after 1986. BUT I'm going to give it at 3.5 out of 5. As someone said, this is like "a day in the life" compared to what we just endured with djbh, har har. Seriously, this song has earned a lot of goodwill for me despite it's shortcomings. One thing that I always found interesting is the personnel for the record. Three people with monkees connections are involved! Paul Leim drummed for Nesmith for many years. Michael Lloyd produced this; he worked with Micky in the early 70's. The guitar solo was played by Laurence Juber; he later played on Peter's solo cd.
Learning about this decade of the Monkees will be a history lesson for me. By this time, the Monkees were 15+ years in my rearview mirror and I didn't know anything about the huge comeback they had in '86 until I started getting back into their music in 2010. In 1986 I was listening to late '70's Punk, early '80's Post Punk and the edgier New Wave, the Monkees were not even on my radar. I will do my best to listen to and then rate these songs but because of what my ears preferred to hear back then I may come across as a "bad fan" but I have a feeling I won't be the only one that throws out low #'s
This is getting confusing. We've just reviewed a live in Japan album by a group not called the Monkees and now we're back to a Twokees situation yet refusing the Point which had another Twokees set-up. Oh well .... That Was Then This Is Now Great song with a fantastic vocal by Micky and a nice backing vocal from Peter. Mainly guitar instrumentation, which suits me fine, with an overall lovely Byrds lilt to proceedings. 4/5
