NOTE:
Monkees have had their fair share of greatest hits packages
over the years: some with bonus tracks, others simply trying to
cherry-pick the best overall introduction of the Monkees to the
curious. There are various levels of interest for people, and Rhino
has been repackaging the Monkees' hits in several various formats for all
types of interest levels, with an overall high level of success. So,
beginning at a beginner's level, and moving up from there, here are the
greatest hits:
Essentials (June 4, 2002) Rhino 76057 [CD]
1. (Theme From) The Monkees
(Boyce/Hart) - 2:19 2. Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart) -
2:47 3. I Wanna Be
Free (Boyce/Hart) - 2:25 4. I'm a Believer (Diamond) - 2:45 5. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (Boyce/Hart) - 2:21 6.
A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit
You (Diamond) - 2:49 7. Pleasant Valley Sunday
(Goffin/King) - 3:16 8. Words (Boyce/Hart) - 2:51 9. Daydream Believer (Stewart) - 3:00 10. Valleri (Boyce/Hart) - 2:21 11. Porpoise Song {Theme from "Head"} (Goffin/King) -
4:11 12. For Pete's
Sake (Richards/Tork) -
2:11
You'll hear
lots of fans disparage budget packages like this. With 79
minutes of space available on a compact disc, to many it seems a
crime to put just 12 songs at barely over 35 minutes when there are
so many other great Monkees songs that could be included and open
the eyes of the unbelievers. But I know lots of people who
just know the hits, and just want the hits. Sometimes people
are just looking for the one song they remember from when they were
young, and most likely, the song they're looking for is on
here. Not a bad apple in the bunch among these twelve smashes,
and I can't even say that for some of the other single-disc
collections. If you're just barely familiar with the Monkees,
and what you hear on the radio sounds like what you're after, then
this disc is for you, and you'll be happy with it. On the
other hand, if you're looking for a meatier bite of Monkee madness,
and hope to find a collection with the hits and just a little bit
more to savor, then pass this by, since there are other single-disc
collections at the same price that will offer you more. This
disc is for beginnners only. For the rest of
us...
Daydream Believer and Other
Hits (March 17, 1998) Rhino Flashback 75242
[CD]
1.
Daydream Believer 2.
D.W. Washburn 3.
Tapioca Tundra 4.
Words 5. Pleasant
Valley Sunday 6.
Valleri 7. It's Nice
to Be With You 8. Good
Clean Fun 9. Oh My
My 10. You Can't Tie a
Mustang Down
Rhino did a
great disservice to fans when it put out two budget collections of
Monkees music whose sole purchasing point was a single, unreleased
track. The first of these, "Daydream Believer and Other Hits"
is a mess of selection and sequencing. Yeah, there's "Daydream
Believer" as well as "Words," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Valleri"
among the hits, but then to intersplice these songs with "D.W.
Washburn," "Tapioca Tundra," "It's Nice To Be With You" and "Oh My
My" makes one wonder just what Rhino's definition of 'hits'
is. (Or perhaps what its definition of "is" is - but we'll
discuss that another time.) The fact that this disc (and the
following one) are perhaps the only ones casual shoppers will find
in the discount bins is discouraging, and misleading, but most
annoying is the single unreleased track "You Can't Tie A Mustang
Down," which is a forgettable rocker with Micky taking lead vocal,
but why make collectors shell out for nine tracks they already have
for the one they don't?? Especially when Rhino has spent such
care in putting together the "Missing Links" CD's for just that
purpose? So what we really have here is a CD that's too spotty
for the casual listener and too ridiculous for the fans. Which
brings us to...
I'm A Believer and
Other Hits (June 29, 1997) Rhino Flashback 72883
[CD]
1.
I'm a Believer 2. Girl I Knew Somewhere 3.
Shades of Gray 4. Cuddly Toy 5. Little Bit Me, A
Little Bit You 6. Heart and
Soul 7.
Someday Man
8. Ceiling in My
Room 9.
Listen to the
Band 10.
I'm Not Your Stepping Stone
The other half
of this diabolical duo: "I'm A Believer and Other Hits," which as a
compilation is much better in its song selection, but again tacks on
an otherwise unavailable track, the stupifying "Ceiling In My Room"
which even fans will find a tedious listen. But otherwise,
this bargain basement CD is fine, with tracks culled from
everywhere: from the earliest, ("Girl I Knew Somewhere") to the 1997
single "Heart and Soul." It's not that the songs are bad on
this collection, but there's no real theme, and not all of
the tracks were even on singles, much less were "hits," so again,
this is deceptive marketing and a shoddy way to treat fans who might
want to hear "Ceiling In My Room" just for curiousities' sake by
making them shell out several dollars for a sub-par track. I have to
say it: This is one of the reasons that fans justify trading mp3's
on the internet, it's piracy, sure, but it's just as mercenary to
expect collectors to pay for the same songs over and over and over
to get the one track they don't have.
Then &
Now... The Best Of The Monkees Arista AL9-8432 [LP] / Arista A2CD-8432
[CD]
1. (Theme from) The Monkees
2. Last Train To Clarksville 3, Take A Giant Step 4. (I'm Not Your) Stepping
Stone 5. She 6. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit
You 7. I'm A
Believer 8. Look Out (Here Comes
Tomorrow) 9. Sometime In The
Morning 10. The Girl I Knew
Somewhere 11. Randy Scouse
Git 12. You Just May Be The
One 13. For Pete's
Sake 14. Pleasant Valley
Sunday 15. What Am I Doing
Hangin' Round
16. Words
17. Goin' Down
18. Daydream Believer
19. Valleri
20. D.W. Washburn
21. Porpoise Song (Theme from Head) 22. Listen To The Band 23. That Was Then, This Is
Now 24. Anytime, Anyplace,
Anywhere 25.
Kicks
Strangely enough, although
Rhino has done a bang up job on the Monkees catalog reissues and box
sets, I still consider this disc put out by Arista to be the best
single-disc introduction to the Monkees that has ever been
produced. The track selection is mostly (more on that later)
flawless, with one awesome pop song after another flowing easily
from beginning to end. The sound on this release is muted
compared to what's available now, but otherwise, if I were to make
my own CD of fun tracks to listen to by the Monkees, it would look
remarkably like this one, and I think that word "fun" is the
key. Arista wasn't concerned with making the Monkees
"respectable" and "important" which Rhino seems to thrive on; (and
which I think they deserve), this package was designed to cash in on
Baby Boomer sentiment coupled with GenX interest in the group that
was sparked by MTV in the mid-eighties. So Arista put together
the most familiar, radio-friendly package they could, filled it to
the brim and tacked on three new songs which amazingly enough,
didn't pale in comparison to what had come before, (with the glaring
exception of "Kicks" - a poorly realized cover of an old Paul Revere
and the Raiders hit song.) But "That Was Then, This Is Now"
and "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" are totally fun, retro tracks that
Micky totally rocks on. And not all of the tracks are the dusty, old
familiars either: "D.W. Washburn" would hardly be called a familiar
track by most Monkees fans, but here it fits perfectly as
a friendly little aside, sounding more like the Beatles' "When I'm
Sixty-Four" than ever before in this context. A fine package, and
somewhat rare and hard to find now.
The Monkees Greatest
Hits (Nov. 1995)
Rhino 72190 [CD]
1.
(Theme From) The Monkees 2. Last Train to Clarksville 3. I
Wanna Be Free 4. I'm a Believer 5. (I'm Not Your) Steppin'
Stone 6. Mary, Mary 7. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
8. The Girl I Knew Somewhere 9. Randy Scouse Git 10.
Pleasant Valley Sunday 11. Words 12. Daydream Believer
13. Goin' Down 14. Valleri 15. D.W. Washburn 16.
It’s Nice to Be With You 17. Porpoise Song (Theme From "Head")
18. Listen to the Band 19. That Was Then, This Is Now
20. Heart and Soul
When it came Rhino's turn
to put together a greatest hits package after gaining control of the
Monkees complete catalog, they didn't change much from the very
successful Arista album. Most of the songs are the same on
each disc, and as single CD's they both work very well in doling out
the most familiar hits with a chosen selection of lesser-known album
tracks to "broaden the minds" of the consumers. But where the
Arista package added tracks of listenable interest, here Rhino seems
to be more mindful of giving equal credit to each Monkee (with the
notable exception of Peter Tork, who is nowhere to be found here,
except in the cover picture.) So for extra tracks we have
"It's Nice To Be With You," by Davy, "Listen To The Band" by Mike,
and the 1987 track from "Pool It" - "Heart and Soul" which features
Micky. To my mind, none of these tracks add a thing to the
collection; "Nice To Be With You" is utterly forgettable tripe
courtesy of Davy Jones Constipated Ballads, Inc., "Listen To The
Band" is powerful, but seems to heavy-handed in the midst of the
other songs, and "Heart And Soul" isn't nearly as fun as "Anytime,
Anyplace, Anywhere" from Arista's hits package. So overall,
you get a good dollop of the hits, and some off-key choices that mar
an otherwise fine package.
20 Greatest Hits (June
22, 1999) Audiophile Records APH102811
[CD]
1. The
Monkees(Theme From) 2. Last Train To Clarksville 3. I'm A
Believer 4. Steppin' Stone(I'm Not) 5. A Little Bit Me, A
Little Bit You 6. The Girl I Knew Somewhere 7. Pleasant
Valley Sunday 8. Words 9. Daydream Beliver 10. Valleri
11. Tapioca Tundra 12. D.W. Washburn 13. It's Nice To Be
With You 14. Porpoise Song 15. Tear Drop City 16. Listen
To The Band 17. Someday My Man 18. Good Clean Fun 19. Oh
My My 20. Take A Giant
Step
This imported disc from
England claims to be a "gold" disc, with super-bit mapping, making
it the only Monkees CD to receive such high-class treatment, but
don't believe it. A mid-priced CD that has a curious track
selection, the well-known hits are here, along with some baffling
filler: in addition to the annoying "It's Nice To Be With You" are
the completely non-hits of "Tear Drop City," "Someday My Man," "Oh
My My," and the renamed for UK audiences version of Randy Scouse
Git: "Good Clean Fun." Wow. So someone has to tell me,
were these last five songs really hits in the UK, or is someone just
pulling my leg? Anyway you look at it, the songs on this disc
really veer all over the place when compared to their early hits of
the sixties, which fill up the first half of the CD. I can't
imagine anyone really thinking that these are the big hits, but hey,
you know what P.T. Barnum said...
The Best Of The Monkees
(April 29, 2003) Rhino 73875
[CD]
1. (Theme From) The Monkees (Boyce/Hart) -
2:18 2. Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart)
- 2:46 3. I Wanna Be Free (Boyce/Hart) - 2:24
4. Papa Gene's Blues (Nesmith) - 1:59
5. I'm a Believer (Diamond) - 2:46
6. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (Boyce/Hart)
- 2:24 7. She (Boyce/Hart) - 2:39
8. Mary, Mary (Nesmith) - 2:17
9. Your Auntie Grizelda (Hildebrand/Keller) -
2:28 10. Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
(Diamond) - 2:15 11. Sometime in the Morning
(Goffin/King) - 2:28 12. A Little Bit Me, A
Little Bit You (Diamond) - 2:47 13. The Girl I
Knew Somewhere (Nesmith) - 2:34 14. Shades of
Grey (Mann/Weil) - 3:21 15. Randy Scouse Git
(Dolenz) - 2:33 16. For Pete's Sake
(Richards/Tork) - 2:10 17. You Just May Be the
One (Nesmith) - 2:03 18. Pleasant Valley
Sunday (Goffin/King) - 3:15 19. Words
(Boyce/Hart) - 2:51 20. Daydream Believer
(Stewart) - 2:59 21. Goin' Down
(Dolenz/Hildebrand/Jones/Nesmith/Tork) - 4:23
22. What Am I Doing Hangin' Around?
(Castleman/Murphey) - 3:07 23. Valleri
(Boyce/Hart) - 2:20 24. Porpoise Song [Single
Version] (Goffin/King) - 4:10 25. Listen to
the Band (Nesmith) - 2:28 26. (Theme From) The
Monkees [*] (Boyce/Hart) - 1:25 27. I'm a
Believer [*] (Diamond) - 3:13 28. (I'm Not
Your) Steppin' Stone [*] (Boyce/Hart) - 2:49
29. Pleasant Valley Sunday [*] (Goffin/King) -
3:39 30. Daydream Believer [*] (Stewart) -
3:13
Well, after the runaway
success of The Beatles "1" a whole slew of other CD's began
appearing, hoping to tap into the same money well that the Beatles
hits package did, and Rhino, despite having a Monkees hits CD on the
market, and still available, just had to jump on the bandwagon with
"The Best Of The Monkees." A curious CD for a couple of reasons:
first, squeezed into the 25 tracks on the first CD are some
head-scratchers - since when is "Auntie Grizelda" considers one of
the Monkees 'best?' If so, then I'm missing something, because even
among the Monkees' novelty songs, it rates pretty darn low for me.
"Shades Of Gray" is included as a pleasant surprise for me, but
again, hardly the first song that springs to mind as part of the
Monkees absolute best. Then there are other choices, like "What Am I
Doing Hangin''Round?" and "Papa Gene's Blues" which is a fine track
from Papa Nez, but again, in the whole of the Monkees output, is it
one of the 25 absolute best? Methinks not, but hey, nobody asked me.
So again it seems to me that Rhino misses the boat on creating a
really listenable greatest hits package for the Monkees, despite
having the whole enchilada at their disposal. But fans might want to
snap this up for another curio: a second CD of five karioke-encoded
backing tracks, which when played in a karioke player, displays the
lyrics to the song and all those wannabe Monkees out there can
pretend they're shaking up up with Davy (or whoever.) Well,
enough of the single discs. Not satisfying enough? Still
not sure if you want to take the plunge and invest in a box
set? Then this next title is for you:
The Monkees Anthology
(Apr. 28, 1998) Rhino 75269 [CD]
DISC 1: 1.
Monkees, (Theme From) The 2. Last Train To Clarksville 3.
Take A Giant Step 4. I Wanna Be Free 5. Papa Gene's Blues
6. Saturday's Child 7. Sweet Young Thing 8. I'm A
Believer 9. Steppin' Stone, (I'm Not Your) - (single version)
10. She 11. Mary, Mary 12. Your Auntie Grizelda 13.
Sometime In The Morning 14. Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
15. I'll Be Back
On My Feet - (TV version) 16. Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You, A
17. All Of Your Toys 18. Girl I Knew Somewhere, The 19.
You Told Me 20. Forget That Girl 21. You Just May Be The One
22. Shades Of Gray 23. For Pete's Sake 24. Randy Scouse
Git 25. No Time
DISC 2: 1. Pleasant Valley Sunday
- (single version) 2. Words - (single version) 3. Daydream
Believer 4. Goin' Down 5. Door Into Summer, The 6.
Cuddly Toy 7. Love Is Only Sleeping 8. What Am I Doing
Hangin' Round? 9. Star Collector 10. Valleri 11.
Auntie's Municipal Court 12. Zor And Zam 13. Porpoise Song
(Theme From "Head") - (single version) 14. As We Go Along
15. Circle Sky - (live) 16. Through The Looking Glass
17. You And I 18. While I Cry 19. Listen To The Band -
(single version) 20. Good Clean Fun 21. Mommy And Daddy
22. Oh My My 23. That Was Then, This Is Now - Micky
Dolenz/Peter Tork 24. Heart & Soul 25. You And
I
Although it bears the same name as The Beatles
Anthology trilogy, the Monkees Anthology is NOT a collection of
studio outtakes and rarities. It's nothing more than a bridge
between Rhino's single- CD collections, and the four disc box sets.
Talk about catering to every person's need! I imagine that
there are folks out there who discover that after hearing a greatest
hits package, they are craving more, but simply can't justify
shelling out for a deluxe box set. Well, this set is for you! Not
only does it have all the hits, but a very generous, albeit
condensed overview of the Monkees entire career, touching upon some
album tracks from 1966 through 1996. It comes with a thoughtfully
annotated booklet with photos and track commentary, super-cool and
groovy holographic packaging, and wunnerful, wunnerful sound. Who
could ask for anything more? Actually, I'm betting that Rhino
is hoping that people who listen to this set will shell out for the
more expansive box set, or better still, have a total relapse
into Monkeemania and purchase Rhino's entire catalog of Monkee
merchandise! But for this reviewer, it's a fine set on its own,
despite the ever abominable presence of the abhorred "Auntie
Grizelda." This is a great double-disc collection for any
medium-Monkee fan, and may satisfy all your Monkee needs.
The Definitive Monkees
(2001) WEA 8573 86692-2 [CD]
CD ONE - (Theme from) The Monkees /
Last Train To Clarksville / Take A Giant Step / Saturday's Child /
I'm A Believer / I Wanna Be Free / (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone /
She / A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You / Mary Mary / The Girl I
Knew Somewhere / Look-out Here Comes Tomorrow / Shades Of Gray /
Sometime In The Morning / For Pete's Sake / Forget That Girl / Randy
Scouse Git / You Just May Be The One / Pleasant Valley Sunday /
Words / Daydream Believer / Goin' Down / What Am I Doing Hangin'
'Round / Cuddly Toy / Valleri / Porpoise Song (Theme From Head) /
Listen To The Band / That Was Then, This Is Now / Heart and
Soul
BONUS CD - Tema Dei Monkees / So Goes
Love / Teeny Tiny Gnome / Mr.Webster (Alt.Version) / Hold On Girl
(Alt. Version) / Apples, Peaches and Pears / Love To Love
(alt.version) / Midnight Train (demo Version) / She'll Be There /
Riu Chiu / Circle Sky (Alt. Mix) / Merry Go Round / War Games /
Seeger's Theme / Party / Shake 'em Up / Rosemarie / Propinquity
(I've Just Begun To Care) / Look Down / The Crippled Lion /
Hollywood / How Insensitive / Michigan Blackhawk / My Share Of The
Sidewalk / If You Have The Time / Time and Time Again / Storybook Of
You / You're So Good / Steam Engine (Alt Mix) / Angel Band / Little
Red
Rider
What
an odd duck this double CD is! Equal parts greatest hits
and rarieties making this a decidedly mixed-bag for fans who are
looking for "just-the-hits." The first CD is actually one of
the better sequenced hits packages I've seen: with all of the
well-known singles alongside some truly worthy album tracks, I think
this CD rivals any other for song selection and
playability. The second CD, which boasts of having the
rarest of rare Monkees songs, is more problematic: yeah, "Tema Dei
Monkees" and "Teeny Tiny Gnome" are probably among the rarest of
Monkees artifacts (though everything here can be found on Rhino's
Missing Links trilogy), but that's for good reason: they're not the
best rarities the Monkees have in their vaults! Why not
include "All Of Your Toys," or "If I Ever Get To Saginaw
Again?" I'm not sure what the compilers were thinking - it
seems to me that listening enjoyement should come above all else
when putting together a disc, who cares how rare a track is if you
only want to listen to it once? I think the play back value of
the second CD brings this set down a lot, so I'm only giving it a
qualified recommendation. The packaging is very nice, and I'm
finding LOTS of these being hawked on eBay for much less than the
$32.00 asking price, so I'm figuring that these are going to be
piling up in storehouses, otherwise, consider it a good purchase for
the first CD, and use the second disc to remind you how good the
first one is.
The Monkees: 36 All-Time Favorites (2002) EDI/Timeless [CD]
Disc 1 1. (Theme From) The
Monkees 2. Last Train To Clarksville 3. Tomorrow's Gonna Be
Another Day 4. Papa Gene's Blues 5. When Love Comes Knockin'
(At Your Door) 6. I Wanna Be Free 7. Take A Giant Step 8.
Sweet Young Thing 9. She 10. Your Auntie Grizelda 11. Mary,
Mary 12. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
Disc 2 1. I'm A Believer 2.
Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) 3. Forget That Girl 4. You Just
May Be The One 5. Shades Of Gray 6. Sunny Girlfriend 7.
Early Morning Blues And Greens 8. Cuddly Toy 9. Words 10.
Listen To The Band 11. What Am I Doing Hanging Around? 12.
Daydream Believer
Disc 3 1. Valleri 2. Porpoise
Song (Theme From Head) 3. Daddy's Song 4. She Hangs Out 5.
Saturday's Child 6. Tapioca Tundra 7. Salesman 8. Star
Collector 9. You Told Me 10. For Pete's Sake 11. Dream
World 12. Goin' Down
As a music collection, this three-CD,
budge set, really isn't that bad: I don't have major problems with any of
the tracks included; the sound is on par with other collections (although
less stellar than the Rhino releases); and for the money, it's a great set
for novices. Favorites even manages to touch on most of the bases of
the Monkees timeline, from later LP entries like "Star Collector,"
"Porpoise Song," "Lilsten To The Band" and "Tapioca Tundra" to thier
biggest hits, "Last Train To Clarksville," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin'
Stone," "I'm A Believer," and "Daydream Believer" - it even carries
"Valleri" and "Saturday's Child" - which might have been overlooked on
similar budget sets. Of course there are some problems with this
collection - for one thing, the CD's each run about 30 minutes long, it
could've been trimmed down to a two-CD set for even less price, but for
some reason, the general public seems to think that more CD's mean more
music! And there's no liner notes to speak of, just the track
listing on the back cover. But of course, you don't purchase a set
like this expecting quality, just good music at a low, low price, and this
set delivers that competently. And the music here is almost without
exception, some of the best that the 1960s had to offer, so if you can
track down this set (usually found on eBay or some of the budget CD
catalogs which sometimes find their way into my mailbox), you might want
to splurge on this for a friend who is still unaware of the magic of the
Monkees.