"The porpoise is waiting" - HEAD by The Monkees: 50th anniversary

I agree with you on that

 

You missed that boat back in 2000...

 

When did you first hear this album? around 1985-ish ?
What did you think? not as good as the film, preferred the film mixes of some of the songs. When this was shown on tv or I got a cough pirate video I made my own album on cassette from the soundtrack. What a superb bunch of songs.
Has this opinion changed at all? no
How many copies of this album do you have? maybe 2 vinyl and possibly 2 cd's and the cd box.

I think Andrew Sandoval mentioned that film outtakes survive but the company that owns them are being difficult and the restoration costs prohibitive. That's a shame. I'd happily buy a blu ray with extensive out takes. I don't think there's much in the most recent release of the tv shows / Head etc. iirc.

 

To clear up the matter why PS shorter version was the Rhino Vinyl Head release has to go back to the time PS single was released in November 1968. The stock copy was released with the coda at 4:00. Two promo copies from Colgems were issued, one at the shorter version for AM radio and the longer version for FM. When Colgems released the vinyl soundtrack album, PS was only released as the short version assuming because the coda was never played in the original motion picture. Fast forward to 1985 when Rhino released Head on vinyl, they simply duplicated what Colgems originally released especially since they were only licensing this from Arista at the time. Later on when Rhino got controlled of the catalogue changes were later made to include the longer version since that was the fan favorite version.

 

Gotta check this movie out one day - I've never heard of it.

 

It’s... Different. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Summer 1984, picked up a Japanese Arista reissue LP. Wouldn't see the movie for another two years.

I thought it was weird, though I always liked "Porpoise Song." I had "Monkee Flips" which I had picked up a short time before and the original mix of "Circle Sky" sounded weird to me after having heard the alternate mix first.

I knew "Porpoise Song" from the 1976 TV mail order album, and later I got the 1968 "Porpoise Song" / "As We Go Along" single.

All the songs have grown on me. In some cases I prefer various alternate mixes. I appreciate the soundtrack album more having seen the movie.

1984 Japanese Arista LP
1968 Colgems LP with "Jerry Goffin"
1985 Rhino reissue LP
1985 Rhino cassette
1992 Lightning UK CD
1994 Rhino CD
2010 Rhino Handmade box set
2016 Original Albums CD box set

So eight, I guess. Although in some cases, I'm not sure if I still have them -- the cassette for instance.

 

I think this was my 3rd Monkees record I owned at all around 1988 after Arista's "Greatest Hits" compilation (Germany, 1976) and "The Monkees" debut album re-release by Rhino Records.
My sister went to a large record store in another town (in Germany) and I asked her to look for ANY Monkees stuff as I knew this shop had a great choice of US album imports. And of all the choice she came back with this album!
Up until then I had only seen the tv show via Sky Channel and didn't expect anything like this avantgarde-psychedelic-strange dialogue-vaudeville-rock album. But I was amazed by the effects/ screams/ weird sounds and loved the album from the very first time I heard it. And I nearly played it to death.
It took around 10 long more years until I finally found the movie on a VHS tape in a London-based record shop (maybe Tower Records? Virgin..?). From then on I showed this movie to nearly every music lover I knew because I thought (& I still think) that this is a pure work of art.

On vinyl I have the original Colgems version and the 1980s Rhino album.
On CD I own the mid 90s Rhino version.
And I know the digital Rhino Handmade deluxe version.

 

Gotta ask: What did your music loving fans think of the "HEAD" movie?

 

First heard it back in the mid 80's...

I liked some of the songs, but it didn't really hit me as a stand out album.

Not sure, haven't heard it since the first time, and haven't seen the film since then either.

None..... It's been on my vinyl wants list for years, but i've never really made the commitment to buy it. Maybe if they release a 50th Anniversary edition with foil cover I might buy it, but no plans as yet.

 

I don't think there's going to be a 50th anniversary edition of the "HEAD" soundtrack... It'd be cool, but at this point in the year, it's too late to...

 

I first heard it in the Summer of 1983 when I got the Japanese re-issue (Arista 25RS-125). This was a couple of years before I got to see the actual film (on TV). I liked the LP a lot, especially the Carole King/Toni Stern song 'As We Go Along', and I was pleased to see two Tork-written songs on the record (both of which I enjoyed). I also quite liked the snippets of dialogue and other sounds from the film, but (where dialogue was unclear) I was a bit mislead by the enclosed lyrics/transcripts sheet (e.g. 'Give me N...O...R... What does it spell?'). I do have to say, though, that I was disappointed with how short the album was, and that particular pressing sounds a bit bright to my ears (but certainly not terrible).

Moving forward just a little into the mid-'80s, I got hold of the original UK mono version of Head (RCA Victor RD 8016), which sounds pretty good for a fold down, and in January 1987 I bought the US Rhino re-issue (RNLP 145), which is not especially great-sounding (though it is pleasantly warm) and which is rendered somewhat inauthentic by flying in the single's coda to 'Porpoise Song'. Inevitably, I went on to buy (the German pressing of) the Rhino CD (4509-97659-2), circa 1994-95.

I'm not sure my opinion of it has changed very much, but I now find I can't make up my mind about 'Daddy's Song' (beautifully executed whimsical parody or trite racket?)

So, that's three vinyl copies and one CD - and I still have 'em.

 

When did you first hear this album?
Soon after I bought it second hand circa 1980 - Australian RCA LP $5. (Bought Instant Replay the same day for the same price). It was in the same one- two years that I decided to find all the albums - prior to that I just had a couple of EPs and the mid 70's Arista Greatest Hits.

What did you think?
About normal for a soundtrack album - some good songs, some so-so songs and some filler.

Has this opinion changed at all?
Yes, a lot. Prior to hearing the album I was vaguely familiar with a couple of tracks (Porpoise Song & As We Go Along) from the Monkeemania 2Lp set which I bought not long before. (BTW the sound is thin because the sides are long and the bass is reduced - there are a few tracks not sourced from proper tapes, but most seem to be.)

Have grown to appreciate some of the tracks much more, especially Swami plus strings. Can You Dig It is also a track that I appreciate much more than at first. I find it a fun listen from start to finish now.

How many copies of this album do you have?

Three
The Australian LP, then
Japanese Arista '81 LP and then
Rhino 85 LP (to get a copy with a reflective sleeve).

 

As far as I remember nobody really understood the movie but they all were kind of amazed by the visual & musical experience. And they all had much more respect for the Monkees after.

 

When did you first hear this album?
1969 when it was released in the UK sometime after the US release (never knew why there was a delay for UK).

What did you think?
Why aren't there more songs! Not having seen the film at the time, in fact I don't know if it was shown much here (and certainly not in Carlisle where I live), the spoken excerpts didn't make much sense.

Has this opinion changed at all?
Being familiar with the film now, it stands up as a companion, so any additional songs would have been superfluous, although that didn't stop The Beatles with AHDN.

How many copies of this album do you have?
1968 UK LP: RCA RD8051
1981 Japanese LP: Arista 25RS125
1994 US CD: Rhino R271795
2010 US Deluxe CD Box: Rhino R271795

 

They released "Daddy's Song" as a single over there, didn't they?

 

Yes it was (b/w Porpoise Song - RCA 1862) but it didn't chart. As a Monkees fan in those days, I bought everything they released (still do!!), but I got my information from the Monkees Monthly magazine and by 1968 there weren't that visible in the media in the UK.

 

Which is why I like the stereo mix done for Music Box.

 

When did you first hear this album?

I think mid-90s when the Rhino remaster came out.

What did you think?

Great, and loved the sequencing. The Jack Nicholson connection was cool.

Has this opinion changed at all?

No, still love it and I like it even more after seeing Monkees playing the songs live.

How many copies of this album do you have?

Just the CD here.

 

I have an odd sense of humor, and I get a kick out of Gravy.

I wish when Dr. Rhino was compiling Greatest Hits he put Gravy in between Porpoise Song and Listen to the Band.

 

Sometimes I like the dialogue on the Head album and other times I prefer not to hear it. I do think all the "regular" songs are strong and among their best in the canon. Porpoise Song is probably my fav. track.

 

Head is a glorified EP rather than an album - even with the padding it's barely half an hour long - but song for song, it's one of the Monkees' musically strongest efforts. "Long Title..." is one of my favorite Monkees recordings. I saw them on the 2011 tour, which turned out to be Davy's last, and was pleased that they performed most of the songs from that album.

 

I never heard the LP, but I won't sit through that movie again....

 

When did you first hear this album?
In the Summer of 1985. I was starting to get into the Monkees (just before the MTV thing) and ordered a copy of it from the store Phonolog. I used to order a lot of records that way!


What did you think?
Loved the songs, became my instant favorite after Pisces. Fav was CS. Didn't like DS so much. I thought it captured them at their peak, artistically and musically. I thought the dialog was crazy and really made me wonder about the movie, which I didn't see until the Spring of '86. Wondered why it didn't have the long version of PS. My first comp was Australia's Monkeemania which had the long version.


Has this opinion changed at all?
Grown to love it more, but these days I just listen to the songs sans dialog. Love some of the outtakes even more, like the vocals up version of CS and the rough mix acetate of Long Title.


How many copies of this album do you have?
1968 Colgems LP with "Jerry Goffin" x3
1968 Colgems LP with "Gerry Goffin"
1968 RCA Canadian LP
1985 Rhino reissue LP
1992 Lightning UK CD x2
1994 Rhino CD x3
2011 Rhino Clear & Black Vinyl LP
2010 Rhino Handmade box set
2016 Original Albums CD box set
2016 Original Albums LP box set

 

Man, would I love to see the HD version of this movie but there's no way I can spring for either of those box sets...or buy a bluray player for one movie....!