The Monkees Present
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The Monkees Present (also known as The Monkees Present Micky, David, Michael) is The Monkees' eighth album.
By the time recording had begun in earnest for this album, the Monkees had passed their popularity peak, and as Screen Gems cared less and less about the Monkees' activities, the members were given more control over the creation of this, the second album released after the departure of Peter Tork, and the last to feature Michael Nesmith until 1996's Justus. Unlike Instant Replay, all but two of the songs were brand new, and the album was accompanied by a strong advertising push (including a cross promotion with Kool-Aid) and a tour with 'Sam & The Goodtimers' - a seven-piece R&B backing band. This was their last attempt at commercial viability, reaching only #100 on Billboard weekly. Shortly after the album's release, Nesmith announced that he was leaving the group for a solo career.
The original plan was to release a double album which devoted one side to each member of the group, who by now were recording virtually as solo artists, but with Tork now gone, and record sales waning, the decision was made to pare the track selection down to a single disc.
The album featured two singles, ""Listen To The Band", b/w the non-LP song "Someday Man"; and "Good Clean Fun" b/w "Mommy And Daddy", which upon release in September 1969 reached #82 in USA, but failed to chart in the UK. Both singles gave the Monkees their last hits in Australia, reaching #15 and #26 respectively.
Original album track listing
Side 1
- "Little Girl" (Micky Dolenz) *
- "Good Clean Fun" (Michael Nesmith) *
- "If I Knew" (Bill Chadwick/David Jones) *
- "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" (Micky Dolenz/Ric Klein) *
- "Never Tell A Woman Yes" (Michael Nesmith)
- "Looking For The Good Times" (Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart) *
Side 2
- "Ladies Aid Society" (Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart)
- "Listen To The Band" (Michael Nesmith) *
- "French Song" (Bill Chadwick) *
- "Mommy and Daddy" (Micky Dolenz)
- "Oklahoma Backroom Dancer" (Michael Martin Murphey) *
- "Pillow Time" (Janelle Scott/Matt Willis)
Note: Tracks marked with * were featured on the CBS & ABC reruns of The Monkees from 1969 to 1972.
The Material
"Ladies Aid Society", with its falsetto choruses, is a Boyce and Hart composition left over from 1966 which was an attempt to capture the same spirit of pastoral, suburban Britain that The Kinks did. "Looking For the Good Times", another leftover Boyce and Hart tune from 1966, is highlighted by Micky and Davy sharing vocals.
Davy's Songs
After Instant Replay, Davy returns to light ballads, singing "If I Knew" and "French Song", with lounge-like instrumentation on the latter.
Mike's Songs
Mike's "Listen to the Band", though not a huge hit at the time, has become a sort of theme for the group. Though Nesmith claims the lyrics weren't a plea to be judged on musical merit, people nonetheless chose to view them that way. Rhino even chose the song's title as the name of their 1991 Monkees box set. Mike would later re-record it with 'The First National Band'. Ironically, "Listen to the Band" was originally performed with Peter Tork on their NBC TV Special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee early that same year. That version differs greatly from the single or album release.
"Good Clean Fun" is a country-rock/rockabilly number; as with many Nesmith tunes the title has no obvious relation to the lyrics.
"Oklahoma Backroom Dancer", another Mike tune, boasts a honky-tonk piano and an upbeat rhythm.
"Never Tell a Woman Yes", a lilting piano-driven tale of a man who passes on a woman's invitation to travel with her, regrets it when he finds out she's rich, and then ultimately gets rewarded when she comes to find him after having been robbed by another man.
Micky's Songs
Micky's songwriting potential comes to a head with "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye", "Little Girl", and "Mommy and Daddy", the latter of which Peter later said he was sorry to have missed.
"Mommy and Daddy" finds Micky overtly tackling the political issue of the treatment of American Indians. The album version was dramatically toned down from the original, which also touched on drug use, war, sexual reproduction, social ignorance and the JFK assassination.
Micky also offers up "Little Girl", a fast-paced, jazzy tune, and the harmonica-driven "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye". "Pillow Time", a jazzy fairytale lullaby, co-written by Micky's mother.
1995 Rhino reissue CD bonus tracks
There are two original tracks, two alternate versions, and an advertisement.
- "Calico Girlfriend Samba" (Previously Unissued) (Michael Nesmith)
- "The Good Earth" (Previously Unissued)
- "Listen to the Band" (Single version)
- "Mommy and Daddy" (Previously Unissued Alternate Mix)
- "Monkees Present Radio Promo"
"Calico Girlfriend Samba" is an uptempo track that Mike reused on his solo debut, Magnetic South. "The Good Earth" is an anonymous poem dramatically recited by Davy. "Listen to the Band" is presented in a highly similar earlier version. The original version of Mommy and Daddy (mentioned above) is also included.
Finally, there is a contemporary radio ad for the album aimed squarely at a younger audience tired of parents and authority figures who don't understand them.
