No, you are the Messiah!

"Porpoise Song" is possibly The Monkees finest musical moment in terms of production and music.  Carol King outdid herself in capturing the sad aftermath of the Summer of Love, and her partner Gerry Goffin took George Martin and "I Am The Walrus" to the next level.   The final coda - only on the 45rpm single - is awash in organ, chimes and strings.  As far as I know, Micky Dolenz is the  only actual Monkee on the track.  It is a true one-off, never to be replicated.  I barely remember it from back in the day but it has become a dear favorite.

By the time this was released The Monkees TV show had been canceled and the subversive movie Head was about to crash in the theaters, quite literally.     Preceded by the top 5 showing of "Valeri", then the unfortunate release of "D. W. Washburn", "Porpoise Song" would only climb to 62 on the charts.  Peter Tork ditched the group soon thereafter.  The writing was on the wall but the remaining three held together for a couple more LPs.

I have all the time in the world

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.

Standing In A Landslide

In 1968 Michael Nesmith recorded a slew of his songs in Nashville with the apparent intent of including them on an upcoming Monkees LP.   For reasons unknown to me almost none of these tunes had an official releases while the Monkees were still a working entity.   Many would later be covered on Nesmith's fine 1970s solo records.   "Listen To The Band" was one of the few exceptions and was released as a single in 1969.

Many years later Rhino records obtained exclusive license to release a gigantic backlog of unreleased Monkees material.   Between three Missing Links sets and expanded releases of the original albums almost everything they recorded is now available.  Among the gems recorded in Nashville is "St Matthew", a semi psychedelic country number with phased vocals and killer twangy guitar.  Like many Nesmith lyrics these are bathed in pathos. On the surface they tell the story of a woman who lives life in the fast lane, but underneath there lies a sadness that belies the upbeat arrangement that encircles the song.

She walks around on brass rings that never touch her feet
She speaks in conversations that never are complete
And looking over past things that she has never done
She calls herself, "St Matthew" when she is on the run 

The emptiness in her eyes was cruel to see

With a blog named after my favorite Monkees' song, one would think I would have posted an entry about this band long before now.  For most of my adult life I enjoyed their hit singles but had no knowledge of their albums.  Only in the last few years have I made that leap, and in the process discovered several things.  (1) Mike Nesmith is a top notch song writer.  (2) They recorded dozens of songs that were never officially released until long after they broke up, and many of these are some of the best music they ever committed to tape.  (3)  They could actually play their instruments, although that really only occurred for a couple of LPs in the middle of their career. (4) I don't care that many of their songs were recorded with session musicians.   I love most of it regardless.

That said it is about time I featured them in some blog posts, so here goes.

According to Wikipedia "Love Is Only Sleeping" was planned as the preceding single to the Pisces, Aquarius, Carpicorn & Jones Ltd. LP, but "was canceled due to fears that the title of the A-side might be too risqué".   It was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill, of course one of the top notch songwriting duos of all time.  I just love the syncopated guitar riff and Mike's Texas drawl.  And to top it off it ends in a flurry of psychedelic feedback.