May 172016
I am tired of death, politics, and the disastrous start for my Minnesota Twins. So let’s get happy and get ready for the best of summer of our lives with The Monkees’ new single, written by one Andy Partridge!
Whaddaya think? That Micky Dolenz has friends in high places!
It’s a lost Dukes of Stratosphear song! I like it, but man, it doesn’t sound a bit like a Monkees song, maybe a Boyce & Hart single.
I can dig it.
I’m really curious how much Partridge had to do with this. It doesn’t sound like he just wrote it, but rather like he wrote, played arranged, and produced, although there is a high sheen to the overall sound that he might not typically go for. I heard this on WFMU this week on Mike Shelley’s #1 Hit show. It’s reminiscent of Mayor of Simpleton. While I think its more pleasant than essential, I’m glad to see Partridge is still out there making stuff.
How dare you suggest the Monkees didn’t play on their own record! Don’t you realize how much integrity Mike Nesmith upholds?
Why, that’s nearly as great as The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead! (If you know what I mean.)
We still put on Mayor of Simpleton at our house on a semi-regular basis, and that’s what I thought when I heard this too.
They’ve been able to get some high-powered help for this new record. I’ve not really studied this, but for some reason I thought Davy Jones sang more lead vocals than he actually did — he seems to have done more maracas shaking than actual vocals? Is Dolenz the MVP of the band?
Mickey Dolenz is absolutely the MVP of the band. If you think a song by them is cheesy, 9 out of 10 times it was sung by Davy. IF you think it’s great, 7 out of ten times it was sung by Mickey. And then there is that drumming…
Apropos of this thread, has anyone listened to the Marc Maron interview of Todd Rundgren. The last ten minutes or so are devoted to Todd’s fairly scathing comments on the Skylarking episode and Partridge, although he does give some credit to him as a writer. He goes on at great length about what a spoiled baby he is. The capper to his story is the new “polarity corrected” version of the album which Todd claims is just some bullshit imagined by Andy to discredit Rundgren. Although I do agree that the there may be something to the claim that there was some problem with the original version, the new one seems to have corrected a certain hollowness, Rundgren does make some pretty compelling points regarding Partridge’s tendency to overthink and overwork things. So now we’ve heard them both claim that the other one has a tendency to crawl up his own ass…and they both seem to be right.
If there are 9 more cuts like this, I’ll be buying another Monkees record after 50 years!
I’ve saved the download of that episode the last month with the aim of crafting an entire thread about those final 10 minutes! That was better than what I could have made up. The funny thing is, for as much of a baby as Partridge was over all that, I generally support his take on losing control, having all those added parts weeded out by Rundgren, etc. What I LOVE about XTC is their tendency toward cramming the frame with more ideas than anyone should have to hear at once. What I’ve NEVER loved about Skylarking is how few opportunities for aural overload exist in the grooves. All that said, I loved how open Rundgren was about his mixed feelings on Partridge and the band. Really great, weird stuff.
I actually bought a Dolenz solo album a couple of years ago based on hearing this cool cover of Good Morning Good Morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_2uJbwY6A
It turned out to be the best thing on the album, but the guy’s a very good singer.
He was always my favorite Monkee based on his voice, his hair, and his comedy chops. The last 2 haven’t aged as well, with that tightly pulled and greased ponytail and the lack of relevancy of the Jimmy Cagney-type characters he’d fall into, but he’s the coolest singer in the band. I know my close, personal friend Andyr always cites him as a serious inspiration.
It was one of the best times I’ve had listening to a guy with a Philadelphia accent talk about music for an hour!
Also, by the way, if what you love about XTC is “their tendency toward cramming the frame with more ideas than anyone should have to hear at once”, shouldn’t you LOVE Oranges and Lemons? That has always struck me as Partridge’s gleeful revenge and counter-reaction to the restraints imposed on him by Rundgren, however, I recall you’re not too fond of that one either.
I do get your point on Skylarking, but would you concede that Todd’s analysis of their commercial problems were insightful and borne out by the record’s relative success?
I like both Skylarking as well as the antithetical Oranges and Lemons because of what they reveal about Andy and his buddies.
Oh yeah, Rundgren made good points and made the most of the band’s commercial possibilities in that age. The big problems with Oranges & Lemons, which has a couple of songs I like, is the amount of boring songs and the production, which is both fussy and glossy. The Big Express, on the other hand, is totally fussy, but it’s chomping at the bit.
There is another Andy Partridge cut on the album, albeit only available on the Japanese CD or the (upcoming) Barnes & Noble only vinyl.
http://theseconddisc.com/2016/05/27/review-monkees-good-times/