Something I had recently was three of the first five studio albums by the Monkees a band famously assembled for the TV show of the same name although two members Peter Tork and Michael Naismith were actual musicians.
For me the start point in the original 1974 issue was this compilation on Music For Pleasure that while missing Alternate Title, does sound really good and gives a short but sweet overview of their hits and "deep cuts" such as She.
That's the 1981 reissue but using the original metalwork so it sounds just as good.
I had missed the tv show forst time around by a few years but records by them were around the house as my older brother was old enough to of seem them and later on in the 1970's the BBC repeated the shows which I saw.
Much was happening in late 1965 and 1966, pop music was getting more sophesticated by the month with The Beatles issuing Rubber Soul and Revolver, the Stones issuing Aftermath, the Beach Boys issuing the brilliant Pet Sounds which was wonderful but had left what today we call "Tweenagers", the nine to thirteen year olds out who yearned for relatively simple songs that were relatable.
Similar in someways to why we for much of the early to mid 70's we loved our Partridge Family, Barry Blue and Bay City Rollers records while our older siblings went for Prog Rock or more mature music.
Perhaps that explains why several years on I fell for their music?
The first two albums have the music that originally featured in series one of the tv show and are relatively simple, sometimes more comedy but uncluded gems like Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow, Mary Mary, Take A Giant Step as well as the hits I'm a Believer, A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You and the Monkees Theme.
Interesting More Of The Monkees issued in the U.S. in January 1967 was an album they knew nothing about until a fan at a concert brought it for signing having neither taken part in analbum photoshoot nor even been given complimentary copies!
That resulted in amajor dust up with the person who was in control of their music and they won the right to control their music.
The third album Headquarters recorded after that dust up sees them write, perform and arrange more of their own songs such as "Alternate Title", You Just Might Be The One and Shades of Grey and probably is the one essential album beyond of a compilation.
These issues from 2021,22 amd 24 respectively all come with a bonus disc of alternate version such as those recordings actual used on the tv show or songs while being featured in the show were not part of the albums issued at the groups height of fame.
They managed two more albums before the tv show got cancelled as ratings had dropped (however often tv shows featuring teen bands tend to have short runs anyway) and in time they went their seperate ways.
I originally had these albums bought used in "mono" but really in the UK unlike the U.S. they were just the stereo recordings combined and cut in mono for the portable mono record players teens had back then so there wasn't much to be said for getting replacement originals and actually these records sound the best the albums ever could.
