Track Listing

1. (Theme From) The Monkees
2. Last Train to Clarksville
3. I Wanna Be Free
4. I'm a Believer
5. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone [Single Version]
6. Mary, Mary
7. Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
8. Girl I Knew Somewhere
9. Randy Scouse Git
10. Pleasant Valley Sunday [Single Version]
11. Words [Single Version]
12. Daydream Believer
13. Goin' Down
14. Valleri
15. D.W. Washburn
16. It's Nice to Be With You
17. Porpoise Song [Single Version]
18. Listen to the Band [Single Version]
19. That Was Then, This Is Now - Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork
20. Heart and Soul

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6098 in Music
• Brand: MONKEES
• Released on: 1995-10-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Album Description
Budget-priced, 20 track retrospective featuring '(ThemeFrom) The Monkees' and all 11 of their top 40 hits from the'60s: 'D.W. Washburn', 'Tapioca Tundra', 'Valleri','Daydream Believer', 'Words', 'Pleasant Valley Sunday','Last Train To Clarksville', 'I'm A

Amazon.com
Unless you're a snob, a good Monkees collection belongs on your shelves, not too far from discs by the Turtles, the Lovin' Spoonful, and other avatars of clean, occasionally rocking '60s Top 40 pop. Greatest Hits is a more than generous stack, bringing together not only the obvious megahits ("I'm a Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," the incredibly propulsive "Valleri") but also a number of tunes that had the bad luck to fall on the wrong side of the act's swift rise and fall. Foremost among these is "Porpoise Song," a lyrically incomprehensible Goffin/King stab at psychedelia that's at once a crass cash-in and one of the loveliest, most fragile sounds to emerge from the American hippie dream. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

OK...But there are better Monkees
This is an odd collection to call "Greatest Hits". It doesn't contain a complete collection of singles... Its debatable whether an album-only track like 'I Wanna Be Free' deserves inclusion over say, 'For Pete's Sake', or 'Cuddly Toy'. Likewise, 'D.W. Washburn' -- which was assuredly never a hit -- stands out from the rest of the tracks like a pothole in the road.

If you?re a completist, you may want to buy this if only because its the only single disc that contains 'Washburn' and 'Its Nice To Be With You'.

If you?re looking for a single-disc collection of the best Monkees songs, go for 'Best of The Monkees" which has 25 songs on one disc, and a much more balanced selection of songs that represented The Monkees's best work from their original run.

Desert Island Disc #1
When asked the hypothetical question, what if you were stranded on a desert island with a portable CD player and could only have one CD, which CD would you want? Without hesitation, my answer is "The Monkees Greatest Hits." Their upbeat music has stood the test of time very well. I have very fond memories of watching their TV show as a young man growing up in the sixties. The Monkees had the best songwriters providing them with hits, and Mike Nesmith developed into a fine songwriter in his own right. Mike's voice was well suited for the brand of country rock he pioneered. Micky Dolenz had the perfect voice for rock and roll, and quickly developed into a decent drummer. Davy Jones was an accomplished actor who ably handled the pop tunes and ballads. Peter Tork's voice and guitar style seem best suited to folk music. Although he only provided the occasional lead vocal, as a trained musician, Peter always provided fine musical backing. The Monkees may have started out as a fictitious group assembled for a TV series, but they evolved into a real band. I feel that Rhino's compilation is the best single-disc collection of the Monkees.

1. "(Theme From) The Monkees" - The unforgettable theme song from their TV series is the obvious choice for the first song on this collection.

2. "Last Train To Clarksville" - Their first hit, written by Boyce and Hart, has one of the best opening guitar riffs in rock history.

3. "I Wanna Be Free" - A melodic ballad sung by Davy Jones, warning his female fans not to fall in love with him.

4. "I'm A Believer" - A #1 smash hit, written by Neil Diamond. One of the best hit songs from the sixties, period.

5. "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" - A socially conscious song, with a scorching lead vocal by Micky Dolenz.

6. "Mary, Mary" - Another melodic masterpiece sung by Micky.

7. "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" - Another tune penned by Neil Diamond, with Davy Jones on lead vocal.

8. "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" - A perfect pop song about a lost love. Micky sings lead and Mike Nesmith provides backing vocals.

9. "Randy Scouse Git" - A fine song written by none other than Micky Dolenz. By the way, Randy Scouse Git is a vulgar English phrase describing a very stupid person.

10. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" - Gerry Goffin and Carole King's condemnation of suburbia sounds celebratory when performed by the Monkees.

11. "Words" - Written by Boyce and Hart, this songs features Micky on lead vocals, with Peter Tork providing backing vocals.

12. "Daydream Believer" - "Cheer up, sleepy Jean. Oh, what can it mean to a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?" Davy Jones manages to make sense of nonsensical lyrics. It's the best song he ever performed with the group.

13. "Goin' Down" - A jazzy blues number, with Micky performing vocal gymnastics that rivaled the best scat singers.

14. "Valleri" - A very melodic tune with great guitar riffs. Originally featured on an episode of the Monkees TV show, it's popularity with viewers prompted the record company to release it as a single.

15. "D.W. Washburn" - A novelty number written by Lieber and Stoller, who also wrote many hit songs for Elvis Presley. Micky infuses the vocals with his good natured humor.

16. "It's Nice To Be With You" - A nice ballad, pleasantly performed by Davy Jones.

17. "Porpoise Song" - This Goffin/King song was the theme to the Monkees' movie Head. Micky Dolenz did not manage to make sense of nonsensical lyrics. For that matter, the movie didn't make much sense.

18. "Listen To The Band" - Mike Nesmith wrote and sang lead on this outstanding song. At the time, it seemed to be the final hit song from the Monkees.

19. "That Was Then, This Is Now" - Credited to Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork only, the song title was a sly reference to the glory days of the Monkees and foreshadowed their imminent reunion.

20. "Heart And Soul" - This hit song further solidified the triumphant return of the Monkees and is the obvious choice for the last song on this collection.

LONG LIVE THE MONKEES!

Not All The Essentials, But All The Essential Essentials
As we have seen through numerous attempts since 1969 (the year of the Monkees' very first 'hits' collection ever released), the Monkees simply had too many charted hits and equally famous album cuts to be covered in a single collection, so no one-disc set could ever give you all the essentials. However, this particular collection will give you almost all the, er, essential essentials. I question the omission of 'For Pete's Sake'and 'She,' but the wise move by Rhino to include the actual single versions of certain songs (for their first time on CD) attests that logical thought went into this collection.

If you're just looking for the basic hits, this is a good way to go. I will say though that if you want to go a little deeper, the Anthology paints a bigger overall picture (and collects most of the missing essentials.)