Luthiery Laboratories

I actually had this album, what a blast from the past!

Who remembers the Monkees? When I was a little kid, this show was in syndication every day after school. I loved the slapstick. At the end of every episode was a music video that I didn't really appreciate then. Here is the intro to the show:

The Monkees were a made-up band put together by producer Don Kirschner to cash in on Beatlemania. They weren't supposed to be musicians at all, but actors playing musicians. Actually, they were musicians, or became musicians, that was the start of the trouble for the band.

The Monkees had some of the best songwriters and studio musicians in the business backing them. That's why their music holds up a lot better than a lot of other Sixties stuff. For example, who can name more than two songs by Jefferson Airplane?

The four boys ultimately wanted to be a real band. But Don Kirschner wanted absolute control. So they split with him, and the show ended. A theatrical movie Head was a commercial failure, but is worth watching for any fan. Head was their chance to finally say what they really wanted to say. Unfortunately, Head alienated their teenage-girl fanbase, and just confused everyone else.

The Monkees also gave Jimi Hendrix a big break - they took him on tour as their opening act. Monkees fans didn't know what to make of Hendrix, and he soon left the tour. The Monkees were one of the best bands of the 1960s, even if they weren't completely real, and their music will last a lot longer than much of the drug-addled nonsense of that era.

12/10/21: RIP Mike Nesmith