Ease on down the road-- 4/5 Strangely, I'm coming to the realization that I enjoy the parts of this album rather than the sum. Maybe that is changing.
For me, there's a continual battle to view the entire Monkees project as "glass half full" vs. "glass half empty." I'll think, "Wow, they did SO MUCH awesome stuff," and then a while later I'll think, "Man, they had SO MANY missed opportunities," then I have to remind myself "They really did a LOT of great stuff, be thankful for that; it could've been nothing," and so on. I really wish they'd just stuck together for much longer instead of splintering ... and there I go again! Just be happy with what you got, rocknrollforyoursoul! LOL
Oh, for sure! Sometimes I listen to Changes, DJBH, and "Christmas is My Time of Year" and find myself wishing there had been more " '70s Monkees"!
Today's song is I Whistle a Happy Tune: Micky most definitely displayed his versatility on this album, but this is a fraction too wacky for me. It feels a lot longer than 200 seconds and starts to get boring quite quickly. Again, I can understand trying to do something different with it, especially as it had already been recorded by the likes of Julie Andrews, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams etc., but I don't think it stands up to repeated listenings. I don't hate it, but it's not one that I rush back to. 2.5/5.
I Whistle A Happy Tune - Definitely a unique turn on this ‘Sound of Music’ song. Micky is having fun with it. As noted, there are so many versions of this tune, this one is certainly different. Yee Haw! 3/5.
This is so over-the-top stupid that you know that everyone's on the same page and in on the joke... because there have been times during these guys' solo careers where that hasn't been clear. I mean, it's still pretty awful, but at least that's intentional. Plus, the kazoo sounds like a '60s fuzz guitar, so that's something. 2.5/5
This just doesn't work. Should have played it straight with the vocal like Bugs Bunny's Hillbilly Hare square dance song. 2/5
Ease on Down the Road - 3.5/5 Fun jam to this cover. I forgot this was on Broadway Micky. I Whistle A Happy Tune - 2/5 Nope, too stupid. This might have worked on Hillbilly Honeymoon episode of the Monkees. I just can't get into this. Sorry, Micky.
I would agree with most of the comments. It is a strange track for sure. The only way it would have worked is for a short, crazy version on like the Monkees episode similar to Mike as Billy Roy Hosteter (was that the official name?) doing Different Drum all rushed and humorous. This is 3 minutes and released on a CD.
Whistle a Happy Tune After reading the comments, I was a bit worried about this. It wasn't as bad as I feared, but it is too whacky for me as well. Basic arrangement fine, but the vocal and kazoo ... not. And did we need some of those sounds to come back again? 2.5/5
Today's song is Chim Chim Cher-ee: Micky sings Dick Van Dyke for the third time on the album... A very enjoyable song within the context of the movie - even considering Dick Van Dyke's legendarily dire Cockney accent - but I don't think it works quite so well as part of this album. A more interesting choice by the same singer might have been Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Hushabye Mountain, but that's probably just me. Micky sounds fine, but I don't think this kind of material was playing to his strengths when he still had such a fine voice. 3/5.
Chim Chim Cher-ee - 3/5 Not bad, an improvement over the previous track. Personally I would have preferred Micky to do a more pop or rock oriented album, however, this is better than nothing released.
Chim Chim Cher-ee: A nice take on the Mary Poppins classic. Love the arrangement and Micky sings it well. Having worked on the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, this number brings back nice memories. 4/5.
Chim Chim Cher-ee It's a reasonable arrangement and performance, but I'm not sure that it matches Micky's voice. Or perhaps he didn't really decide how to sing it. It's a classic song, but too associated with Dick van Dyke and the film for me. Micky doesn't really make the song his own. 2.9/5
