User Reviews

Maybe there is a lesson with the Monkees and the way critics often treat artists? The Monkees were a rock band in the late 60's. Everyone can agree that they were assembled, by NBC, to capitalize on the young audiences of that era. The four members of the band were brought together, initially, in 'try outs' or auditions and they were selected by the producers, who were looking to make some rather large bucks from the teen and preteen music lovers. In other words, the Monkees didn't put in their dues at the Cavern Club or played an endless string of dive bars, or worse, hoping to be 'discovered'. They came together as a marketing plan. There was a certain cynicism to their assembly, into a band. They were, at least at first, just actors playing roles. But, pretty soon it all changed. They had a string of huge hits, they had a highly-rated TV show, and they went to the top of the pops and stayed on top for a good period of time. They went on tour as the marquee act, and Hendrix opened for them. I was a kid, back then, and let me tell you they were very, very effective communicators of young teen and preteen angst. They sang to us with their singles and albums and they talked to us with their highly-rated television show. Kids like me loved them, and there were a bazillion Boomer kids like me. The week their album Headquarters was released my neighbor got it before me. I remember me, my two brothers and my friend with the album and his younger brother leaning on the back of his folk's buick as we talked about the songs on that album. We were so young and our heroes had released their latest. We talked like old men, though the oldest of us was 13. A few days later somebody's older sister put me down, after she found out that I liked the Monkees. She said I should be listening to Phil Ochs, and educate myself about some other reality. But, I had the monkees running in my head by then and it was all about that guitar break in Saturday's Child or that beautiful vocal in I want to be free, or that Beatlesque middle eight in the last train to clarksville. I moved ahead a long time ago, but that early time with the Monkees was something I will always honor. When I was in High School their song listen to the band grabbed a lot of us and shook us until we realized that our 60's had ended and our 70's had begun and it was a time to reflect. I'm writing this as Peter Tork's death was just announced. I reached back and watched this Movie, Hey Hey we're the Monkees. It's a very solid soundtrack to my youth, and I still enjoy every instant of it. If you want to dip into how it was, then, watch it.