The Monkees Do Their Thing (January, 1967)

In 1965, 437 hopefuls auditioned for what became the sitcom known as "The Monkees". As we all know, four guys: Michael Nesmith, David Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork passed said auditions. . 
Bla bla bla. Old news.
Recording sessions for the project began in June, 1966 with the first single "Last Train To Clarksville" released that August. The TV show debuted on Monday, September 12, 1966. This was after "Clarksville" had already reached #1. The first LP was released that October and- along with the follow up "More Of The Monkees"- is still one of the biggest selling albums in history.
Bla bla bla. Old news.
Now, here's where my thread gets interesting......
Because of silly union rules, The Monkees were not allowed to perform the instruments on the first two albums and singles. This did not sit well with Nesmith and Tork. In fact, Nesmith made sure he would produce some of his original tunes and that they be included on the albums. While recording, he would always have Peter Tork playing guitar or bass on said recordings. I guess he felt it gave the tunes some legitimacy. Rightfully, they became fed up with their vocals only contributions and they rebelled. In January, 1967, they went into the studio and recorded the songs featured in this thread. It was hoped that they would make up their third single but control freak, Don Kirshner, wasn't having any of it. To quote Peter Tork: "Kirshner acted as if the barbarians were at the gates of the Holy Roman Empire". 
So, what became of that planned third single? Well, Kirshner found as many loopholes as possible to keep it from being released. The song intended as the "A" side, "All Of Your Toys", was not a Screen Gems copyright and The Monkees contract clearly stated that all their tunes had to be released as such. To reach a compromise, they asked if the intended "B" side, "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (written by Michael Nesmith) be released as the flip side to "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" which was written by Neil Diamond and a guaranteed hit (reached #2). 
Kirshner decided to go against their wishes and released "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You / She Hangs Out" in Canada. Both tunes, in their full-session-player-glory, feature only one singing Monkee (Jones). Shortly after, Kirshner was fired from the Monkees project. 
For Monkee geeks like me, it was a blessing as the next two albums were easily the best they ever produced: "Headquarters" (reached #1) and "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd" (#1....and my fave).
Eventually, the third single became "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You / The Girl I Knew Somewhere". The latter being re-recorded in a higher key with the more commercial voice of Micky Dolenz on vocals instead of Nesmith. "All Of Your Toys" and the Nesmith sung rendition of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" languished in the vaults until 1987 and 1995, respectively.
Here ya go. Dig in. 
"All Of Your Toys":
"The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (Nesmith Vocal Version):
"The Girl I Knew Somewhere" (45/Micky Dolenz Vocal Version):
"The Girl I Knew Somewhere" by Gary Owen:


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Counterfeit Beatles Box Sets

Image
For those who are unaware, it seems the market has been flooded with homemade copies of the following box sets: 1. The Beatles Stereo Box: 2. The Beatles In Mono Box: 3. The Beatles U.S. Albums: There is also the Japan Box  but I have not heard of any fakes yet (I am sure it's only a matter of time): I have seen a counterfeit  "U.S. Albums" and it's pathetic. The covers were all off center, the CD's looked like garbage, no inner sleeves, the gatefold albums were a disaster and the sticker with the "Yesterday...And Today" trunk cover was separate from the CD. What made it worse is the thing was obviously hand-cut with scissors. Ridiculous. Sad that so many people would/will never notice. The first of the  red lights  are the third party people selling these at discount prices. If you are looking for that bargain through these offers, send the seller an inquiry asking if the set is legitimate and to provide photos. This
Read more

I'll Cry Instead - The Beatles (1964)

Image
In June, 1964, United Artists' released their soundtrack to " A Hard Day's Night" . They were very anxious to get this LP out, so- excepting "Can't Buy Me Love" - EMI sent them rough mono mixes of all the songs. Meanwhile, Capitol Records- the label The Beatles were signed to in pretty much all the western hemisphere- somehow lost the rights to this gold mine of an album. They decided to release a "semi-soundtrack" with an album titled "Something New" . The company was also sent the same rough mono mixes of the tunes featured in the flick- plus one which was supposed to be in the movie....... ......and that song was "I'll Cry Instead" .  This Country-Rock flavored tune was originally going to be used during the police chase scene but director Richard Lester felt it wasn't quite right. Instead, he decided to repeat the hit "Can't Buy Me Love" . He also (stupidly) cut "You Can't Do Tha
Read more

"Here Comes The Sun" - The Blue Meanies Live At "Beatles Blast, 2019"

Image
I haven't posted here for nearly 4 years. Today, I thought I'd showcase one of my favorite videos of us Blue Meanies performing at the St. George Theater, Staten Island, NY. It was filmed in 2019 at our annual Beatles Blast as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the "Abbey Road" album. A lot has happened since my last post. On May 11, 2019, we lost our drummer, JT, at the age of 69. Hence the reason this video features our original, and now permanent, drummer Drew Paradine. This was one month after JT had passed and- as a tribute- Drew played JT's Gretsch drum set.  Anyway, pump it up and sing along to our rendition of "Here Comes The Sun" ......which I dedicated to my Norwegian wife, Mette!
Read more