Four-man band The Monkees may have appeared on the scene 50 years ago, but they’ve come out with a new album, Good Times!, which features songs written by other artists in addition to their own creations.
Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, XTC, Fountains of Wayne and many more contributed to the group’s first collection of music in multiple decades.
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Three of the original Monkees are back — Davy Jones died of a heart attack in 2012 — for Good Times: Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. Currently, Dolenz and Tork are on a two-man tour celebrating their 50th anniversary. (They hit Casino Rama in Ontario on Friday, June 3, and the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, BC on Sept. 4.)
According to many (surprisingly raving) reviews, among them the Boston Globe and the New York Times, the rock band is back playing their signature sound: unadulterated 1960s simplicity, with fluffy lyrics and lightheartedness. It seems the Monkees aren’t monkeying around with this new material.
From Rolling Stone:
“The Monkees’ first album in nearly 20 years is also their best since the Sixties. It’s a labor of love — not just for the three surviving lads, but for all the Monkeemaniacs pitching in. It nails the classic summer-jangle Monkees sound, with seriously fantastic new tunes.”
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From the Boston Globe:
“The surviving Monkees seize their moment as songwriters, perhaps to prove they were underrated. Little Girl, by Tork, is a wandering, eccentric waltz that would have been at home in the late 1960s, and I Know What I Know, by Nesmith, testifies to love and vulnerability over simple piano chords. But the Monkees want to leave their listeners with the band’s lighthearted essence. The album’s conclusion is I Was There (and I’m Told I Had a Good Time) by Dolenz and Schlesinger, all piano and backbeat like the Beatles with Billy Preston. Dolenz sings as if there’s no reason to take anything too seriously. Fifty years later, the Monkees are still endearing.”
From The Independent:
“All told, probably The Monkees’ best album, after their hits compilation.”
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