This first document of the Monkees live in concert is a mixed affair.  On the plus side, the four lads play with undisguised energy, and perform with aplomb in front of an extremely enthusiastic audience.  The sheer amount of sound coming from the crowd is astounding, making it a dubious prospect that many of them even heard what the Monkees were playing!  Plus, the band plays a broad selection of both their hits and take time for individual moments that showcase each band member, with Mike performing "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover," Davy belting out "Gonna Build A Mountain," Micky doing the Ray Charles standard "I Got A Woman," and Peter picking his way through the banjo instrumental "Cripple Creek."  Otherwise, it's the hits they play, and even though they've only been together a year, there's a heapin' handful of them, as you can see from the tracklist above.  The main problem with this recording is twofold: first the sheer primitiveness of the technology at the time made live recordings very difficult.  Balances are off, audience noise is often overwhelming, every glitch is captured, with no attempt at cleaning up the sound in the studio later.  I suppose it creates a "you are there" atmosphere, but for casual listening, it's very distracting.  Second, and probably most damning, is the garage-rock sound the Monkees had when they played live.  Those fans looking for a sound at all similar to what's on their studio albums will be mightily disappointed, since those sounds were made by slick session players for the most part, and instead of trying to recreate that sound live, the Monkees just, well... churn them out.  Micky's playing is powerful, but uncrafted, and the twin guitar sound of Mike and Peter lacks any sort of nuance or polish.  (Of course I doubt that nuance would even be discernable at these decibel levels) but again, for listening pleasure, it's a bit like hearing two trash can lids being banged together.  Lots of fans like the raw nature of "Live 1967," but for me, I find it's the one album I don't listen to.

Rhino Handmade, who put out the wondeful "Headquarters Sessions" in a limited edition 3-CD box set, had such success with it that they decided to go ahead and release ALL of the Monkees live recordings from the final three shows of an extended U.S. & U.K tour.  These were the August 25, 1967 in Seattle, Washington, August 26, 1967 in Portland, Oregon, and August 27, 1967 in Spokane, Washington - which were recorded by RCA Records, presumably for eventual release.  Rhino has gone ahead and remixed the original master tapes on CD's two, three and four into Stereo, but that doesn't really help much, it's still over four hours of the Monkees banging away at their hits, and for this box set, it's banging away OVER and OVER and OVER again.  Completists may rejoice at the presence of so much Monkees history being made available, but there are so many recording gaffs, microphone bumps, off-key notes, and sheer noise that listening to the whole box set in one sitting may well produce a hangover of immense proportions.  I mean, you have to ask yourself: does anyone really need four live takes of "Auntie Grizelda?"  I would've much preferred to have Rhino do another sessions box of say, "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd." than this monster.  The booklet is also unfortunately skimpy on information, inserting black and white photographs of the pre-Fab four instead.  For sale in a limited edition run of 3500 from Rhino Handmade.

The critical success of their joint album together made a tour sound very appealing, and on paper it looks very good: have the two prominent lead singers of the Monkees join the two prominent songwriters for the Monkees and voila!  You have the closest thing to a Monkees reunion concert you can get!  Unfortunately, this particular recording is a mess, with thin instrumention, lackluster performances, and an overall air of exhaustion setting into the procedings that's palpable.  Sure, they're all smiling in the cover picture, but Micky and Davy weren't on speaking terms by the time they rolled into Japan after a long, grueling tour, and despite the good vibes that the music should have presented, it sounds cheap, somewhat sloppy, and on the verge of an implosion.  Still, there's some good to be had on the disc, with a propulsive medley of Monkees hits (Valleri/Daydream Believer/A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You), and an always welcome "Pleasant Valley Sunday."  On the other hand, the Boyce and Hart songs don't have the same snap for me, and Micky seems to be slurring his way through some songs, and other songs, like "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" the group almost seem to be choking on their own machismo.  I would suggest buying this only if you've already listened to all the Monkees albums and are searching for something more.

For sheer enjoyment, this double-album commemorating the Monkees 20th anniversary in 1986 simply can't be beat.  The concert, which was available only for a limited time on LP and CD, is wonderful, with an energetic, varied track selection containing many songs recorded live for the first time, including "Cuddly Toy," "For Pete's Sake," "She," "Shades of Gray," "Valleri" and much more.  The band is tight and polished, a far cry from the first shows the Monkees every played, and if it sounds a bit "sythesized" well, this IS 1986 when the recording took place, and although it dates the sound on some numbers, it also creates a fresh take on the old standards, and that's a good thing in my opinion.   Listeners would never guess at the tensions that were erupting in the group during this tour, since the mood on stage is always polished and professional.  I for one, would like to call on Rhino, who currently owns the Monkees catalog, to acquire the tapes for this concert and reissue it as a double-CD on their handmade label, since it's a rare album to find, and I'm sure it would be snapped up by many fans.

Am I the only one who's surprised that this tour was the first ever professionally filmed concert the Monkees have ever had?  Although a lot of people criticized the releasing of this truncated CD from a concert that was around two hours long, I find it as enjoyable a greatest hits live document as you're likely to find.  It begins with a Vegas style fanfare of the Monkees theme, which doesn't bode well, but then the band fires up and the show really gets into high gear.  The Monkees, who at the time were all in the mid-fifties, still sound great, with Micky's voice still able to soar and pop with the best singers out there, he sounds amazing on every song, with the pleasant surprise of "Porpoise Song" [Theme from HEAD"] added to the play list.  Peter Tork really gets to shine here, with a first ever live recording of "Can You Dig It?" while Davy gets to shine in his Brady Bunch hit "Girl."  It's a tight, high-energy show, giving fans exactly what they want, a warm, professional reunion of old friends.  Unfortunately, unknown to those same fans, according to reports Peter Tork was fired by Micky and Davy shortly after this concert was filmed due to disagreements about future commitments, which leads us to... 

This CD, which was only available through booths at the concerts is almost identical to the Live Summer Tour above in both sound and performance, with one notable exception: Peter Tork is no longer part of the tour.  Fired just after the concert recorded above, Davy and Micky go it alone here for the first time since "Changes" in 1970.  Substituted for Peter's songs are the "Oliver Medley" "Since I Fell For You," "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," which Davy performs, and "Goin' Down" and "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" for Micky.  It's a sad commentary on the personalities of the Monkees that despite their greatest professional sucesses coming when they band together, their personalities always seem to get in the way of working for extended periods of time.  But for an interesting bit of Monkee history, and otherwise a fine, fun concert document.  This CD can still be found on eBay occasionally, or at collector shows.