The Monkees: Peter Tork (vocals, guitar); Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz (vocals).
Additional personnel: Dan Sawyer (acoustic guitar); Mark Christian, Lou Natkin (guitar); Jim Thompson (saxophone); Andy Cahan (piano); Mike Egizi (keyboards, programming); George Hawkins, Davey Faragher, Dave Sutton (bass); Curly Smith (drums); Craig Ostbo, Roger Bechirian (percussion).
Originally released on Rhino (70706). Includes liner notes by Harold Bronson.
In 1986, The Monkees' TV show was resurrected on MTV, and the band went from being a rock-hipster joke to a well-respected example of classic '60s pop. A greatest hits collection, featuring three new tracks by Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, and a full slate of reissues of the band's original albums all sold well, and a concert tour was a big success. And so three of the Monkees--Michael Nesmith declined to participate--went into the studio to record a full reunion album.
The results were, surprisingly, not dire in the least. Choosing postpunk veteran Roger Bechirian (Elvis Costello, The Undertones) to produce helped keep the '80s-style slickness at manageable levels, and also improved the choice of covers--a version of Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" is particularly inspired. Apart from a few missteps (though no more than on most of the group's '60s albums), not bad at all.
