For many years my least favorite Monkee was Davy Jones. Not because of his voice, I just did not care for the songs that I associated with him. Only late in the game did I discover that towards the end of the band - after Peter left - he had developed a knack for finding good songs by interesting songwriters and assisted with producing them. Probably my favorite of those twilight years Davy songs is "Someday Man". Originally released as the b-side to Mike's awesome "Listen To The Band", it never made it on an original Monkees LP. Written by songmeisters Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, it has fine bass line that drives the verses along with an understated horn arrangement. Then that killer chorus comes in and I get a big smile on my face. The more I listen to this the more I like it.
Shel Talmy, 1937-2024
8 hours ago
4 comments:
It fits in nicely with the "sunshine pop" of its time, Mister Pleasant, and I can see why It would leave you with a smile on your face. Not that it's relevant to most people, but I wonder if it was originally released in mono?
Hi Marie. You hit the nail on the head. Yes indeed this is a great example of late 60's sunshine pop. There are both mono and stereo versions available on the deluxe "Instant Replay" release, but I bet you are correct that the mono was what was released on the original 45 single.
Ah, Davy. I was a Davy girl, and adored everything he did. Which was probably because I was still secretly in love with Paul McCartney and Peter Noone and Davy was the only British member of the Monkees. But in the years since I've been delighted to learn that whereas the "creators" of the Monkees intended Davy to be the lead singer, the four guys immediately bonded and then rebelled, declaring that Mickey had the real rock 'n' roll voice (Davy was too Broadway musical, Mike too country) and Davy willingly ceded lead vocals to Mickey. The Monkees are too often written off as a made-for-TV pop group, but it being the late 1960s, they in fact resisted the star-making machine as much as possible. (A nod here to Ray Davies of the Kinks and his "Starmaker" show that became the LP "The Kinks Presents A Soap Opera.") I'm still a Davy girl, though, and I cry whenever I hear "Sometime in the Morning." And also "Cuddly Toy," but that's also because it was written by Harry Nilsson, who's another story altogether. (But was one of Mickey Dolenz's bestest friends -- what goes around comes around....)
Ah yes, Cuddly Toy is a great song but frankly the lyrics are a bit creepy. I had never heard that Davy was intended to be the primary lead singer. Glad that those duties were spread around because Mike and Micky have there own special charms.
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