DISC 1: 1. Monkees, (Theme From) The 2. Last Train To Clarksville 3. Take A Giant Step 4. Saturday's Child 5. I Wanna Be Free 6. Papa Gene's Blues 7. Sweet Young Thing 8. Gonna Buy Me A Dog 9. All The King's Horses 10. I'm A Believer 11. Steppin' Stone, (I'm Not Your) 12. She 13. Mary, Mary 14. Your Auntie Grizelda 15. Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) 16. Sometime In The Morning 17. I Don't Think You Know Me - (alternate version, previously unreleased) 18. I'll Spend My Life With You - (alternate version, previously unreleased) 19. I'll Be Back Up On My Feet DISC 2: 1. Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You, A 2. Girl I Knew Somewhere, The 3. She Hangs Out 4. All Of Your Toys 5. Love To Love 6. You Told Me 7. Forget That Girl 8. You Just May Be The One 9. Shades Of Gray 10. For Pete's Sake 11. No Time 12. Randy Scouse Git 13. Pleasant Valley Sunday 14. Words

15. Daydream Believer 16. Goin' Down 17. Salesman 18. Door Into Summer, The 19. Love Is Only Sleeping 20. Cuddly Toy 21. What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round? 22. Daily Nightly 23. Star Collector 24. Steppin' Stone, (I'm Not Your) - (live, previously unreleased) DISC 3: 1. Valleri 2. Tapioca Tundra 3. P.O. Box 9847 4. Auntie's Municipal Court 5. Zor And Zam 6. Nine Times Blue 7. Tear The Top Right Off Of My Head - (previously unreleased) 8. Carlisle Wheeling 9. D.W. Washburn 10. It's Nice To Be With You 11. St. Matthew 12. Porpoise Song 13. As We Go Along 14. Circle Sky - (live) 15. Can You Dig It 16. Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again 17. Tear Drop City 18. Man Without A Dream, A 19. Through The Looking Glass 20. I Won't Be The Same Without Her 21. You And I 22. While I Cry DISC 4: 1. Listen To The Band 2. Someday Man 3. Good Clean Fun 4. Mommy And Daddy 5. Looking For The Good Times 6. Some Of Shelly's Blues 7. Steam Engine 8. Oh My My 9. I Love You Better 10. Do It In The Name Of Love 11. That Was Then, This Is Now 12. Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere 13. Heart And Soul 14. Gettin' In 15. Every Step Of The Way

The first box set that Rhino produced was a fine way to re-introduce record-buyers to the depth and breadth of the Monkees catalog. "Listen To The Band" was the first Monkees album that I purchased, long before I started gathering the albums, and I was stunned by what I heard here: the album tracks that slipped through the cracks of greatest hits packages and radio play-lists; the incredible invention on the 1967-1968 era when Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz were at their creative peak; the sheer variety of music the Monkees had produced! I had no idea of how sophisticated some of their music was. It was a revelation to me. I was also turned on to how different each Monkee was personally, just by listening to their songs. With most groups, the sound is homogenous, due to the fact that they work together to make a single sound; but the Monkees sound was distinct - individual voices that nevertheless seemed to blend into a unique whole. This was different than anything I'd ever heard before. The box was laid out in more or less chronological order, and it was interesting to see the progression (and eventual regression) that the band's career took. Laid out like this, with good sound, fine liner notes, and thoughtful track selection, I was able to get my first, good taste of the Monkees, and it left me wanting more. It's not a perfect document - the third and fourth discs I found I hardly ever listened to; Rhino attempted to give equal weight to all of the albums, and some albums are in reality more worthy than others, and was it really a good idea to end the set with "Every Step of the Way?" Perhaps that's the reason that Rhino eventually decided in 2001 to upgrade to a new box set, "Music Box," which is truly a better compilation. But "Listen to the Band" will always have a soft space in my heart for turning me on to the Monkees.

Rhino Handmade not only have access to all of the master tapes of the Monkees, but their studio sessions as well, and in 2000 put together this one-of-a-kind 3-CD box set which documents the only time all four Monkees got together in the studio and recorded an album.   This is standard for other groups, like the Beatles (whose Anthology series is the obvious impetus for projects like this), but for the Monkees, whose studio tracks were up 'til then the product of studio session players, "Headquarters" marked not only their first time working all together in the studio, but their first proper album as a self-contained group.  They were at a creative high, feeling the freedom of being able to choose and record whatever they chose, and not having to be dictated to about what songs to sing.  Listening in at their sessions here is a revealing look at how four disparate personalities fused together for just once to make something they all believed in.  Included in this incredible set are working demos for songs that would appear on Headquarters; some tracks that were composed and demoed, but set aside for later albums (Can You Dig It and Midnight Train receive their first tryouts here); rehearsals, backing tracks, studio chatter, and to put the icing on the cake the original sparkling mono master of the finished product.  Apparently the Monkees didn't approve of this box set being produced, so you won't find any interviews with them included in the booklet, but there is an excellent 40-page booklet with notes by Andrew Sandoval, who manages to cover all the bases in his essay.  The only real stumper left is why the fabulous song "All Of Your Toys" was nixed while the fun, but inconsequential "Zilch" was included.  What's surprising about listening to the tapes is that there's very little guesswork involved in how the album should sound or what eventual songs were to be included.  The band seems to have a strong sense of how Headquarters should be, and although there are moments of goofing off (these are the Monkees, after all) they remain remarkably focused and driven.  It's a great box, and unfortunately (for new fans) all 4,500 limited edition sets are now sold out.

The perfect box set, in my opinion.  Where the first box, "Listen To The Band" weighed a little heavy on weaker tracks, "Music Box" is really an attempt to create a comprehensive box set that even casual fans of the Monkees will enjoy, while hard-core fans will love the sound, extensive liner notes and the flow of the tracks.  Because the Monkees have so much material to choose from, both mono and stereo, single and album mixes, unreleased quality music and more, the biggest obstacle facing a compiler is simply this: how to juggle a balanced retrospective, while keeping it interesting, even when the quality of songs starts to fade?  Rhino got around this by simply choosing what they considered the best of everything.  Ninety-nine songs, from the earliest: ["The Monkees" theme] to the latest: ["You and I" from Justus]; from the most inspired: ["All Of Your Toys"] to the most inane ["Ditty Diego War Chant"]. They've even managed to avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls (although they've still included "Your Auntie Grizelda" and "Shorty Blackwell" which almost made me take off half a star), and pick the best, most convincing proof that the Monkees deserve their place as icons of the sixties.  The sixty-page booklet contains loads of information, pictures, track-by-track commentary, a fine discography, history and general overview, and the music itself has been remastered into pristine condition, even better than the sound on the "Listen To The Band" box.  So, unless you feel that you only need the hits, this box set is just a heapin' helping of Monkees that no fan of pop music should be without.