Track Listing

1. You Told Me
2. I'll Spend My Life With You
3. Forget That Girl
4. Band 6
5. You Just May Be the One
6. Shades of Gray
7. I Can't Get Her off My Mind
8. For Pete's Sake
9. Mr. Webster
10. Sunny Girlfriend
11. Zilch
12. No Time
13. Early Morning Blues and Greens
14. Randy Scouse Git
15. All of Your Toys [Alternate Mix][#][*]
16. Girl I Knew Somewhere [Alternate Version][#][*]
17. Peter Gunn's Gun [#][*]
18. Jericho [#][*]
19. Nine Times Blue [#][*][Demo Version]
20. Pillow Time [#][*][Demo Version]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136775 in Music
• Released on: 1995-01-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

Damn Right They Can Play!!
After escaping from the oily clutches of Donnie Krishner,the Monkees went into Goldstar studios in Hollywood determined to prove to the world that they were a bonafide group,and could play their own instruments.What resulted was HEADQUARTERS,a unique blend of rawness and beauty;all four Monkees thrashing it out in the studio with very few guest musicians.All group members shine on this release:Mike Nesmith provides some selfpenned classics (SUNNY GIRLFRIEND,YOU JUST MAY BE THE ONE);Davy Jones contributes his best vocals(SHADES OF GREY,EARLY MORNING BLUES AND GREENS, FORGET THAT GIRL);Mickey Dolenz pens two Monkee milestones(NO TIME,RANDY SCOUSE GIT);not only does Peter Tork give us the future closing theme(FOR PETE'S SAKE),he also shares a beautiful song with Davy(SHADES OF GREY).The playing on this album is honest and pure and it sounds as if the boys are having a great time(BAND 6,ZILCH,JERICHO,PILLOW TIME[written by Mickey's mother],PETER GUNN'S GUN).Just when you think you've heard it all,Mike chimes in with a demo(and supreme)version of his country ballad NINE TIMES BLUE.Chip Douglas does an excellent job at producing HEADQUARTERS(and even writes FORGET THAT GIRL).For 11 weeks thisalbum was in the number two position on th Billboard charts(behind SGT.PEPPER);as it fully deserved to be.If any of your friends claim that the Monkees were were just hype,play them HEADQUARTERS and then tell them to shut up!

The Best
If you are looking for the best Monkees album, in my opinion, this is definitely it. This is the first album after Don Kirshner was fired, which meant the Monkees were finally allowed to have more creative control and play their own instruments. Just from listening to this album, you could tell the amount of excitement and enjoyment that was put forth into making it. The sad thing is that Headquarters often gets overlooked because it hit number 1 for one week, then Sgt. Pepper's came out by the Beatles and immediately took over that position. Also, there were no singles released in the US off this album. However, every song is high quality, and I think the Monkees best work. Here is my review of the songs:

1. "You Told Me" - A Perfect way to start off the album. This is a classic Mike song that features some great banjo playing from Peter. One of my favorite Monkees songs. 10/10

2. "I'll Spend My Life With You" - This is a Boyce/Hart song that was originally recorded for an earlier Monkees album. It's a slow song that features some great vocals from Micky. In my opinion this song can be overlooked, because it's sandwiched between two amazing songs. 8/10

3. "Forget That Girl" - This song was written by Chip Douglas, and has some good vocals from Davy. Very catchy song. 9/10

4. "Band 6" - Not really a song, but just a short session of the Monkees practicing in the studio.

5. "You Just May Be The One" - Another excellent Mike song, which had been recorded earlier and featured in some Monkees episodes. This version, with them playing their instruments, is much better, and really has a classic Monkees sound. 10/10

6. "Shades Of Gray" - This is sort of a "grown up" song for the Monkees, with great lyrics that were much different from their bubblegum image. Also features a small amount of Peter vocals. 10/10

7. "I Can't Get Her Off My Mind" - Probably my least favorite song on the album (not that it's bad, but there had to be one). I think it's a little more bubble gum sounding, and kind of takes away from the rest of the album. 7/10

8. "For Pete's Sake" - Classic Monkees song, written by Peter, and perhaps the most well known on the album. It was used for the end credits in season 2 of the TV show. 10/10

9. "Mr. Webster" - Not a bad song, but not one of the standouts on the album. It's a slow song that tells a story. It features a whole lot of tambourine from Davy. 7/10

10. "Sunny Girlfriend" - Mike really puts out some great songs on this album. This has his classic country rock sound. Great song. 9/10

11. "Zilch" - Not really a song, but just a bunch of spoken words by the Monkees. Kind of entertaining.

12. "No Time" - They pick it up with a very rockin' tune here. Perhaps one of the fastest and most catchy songs on the album. I've always enjoyed it. 10/10

13. "Early Morning Blues and Greenes" - A slow, kind of toasty, Davy song, which may be another one that gets overlooked, being sandwiched between two great songs. 8/10

14. "Randy Scouse Git" - This was released as a single, and became a hit in the UK under the name "Alternate Title". This was written by Micky at a party the Beatles threw for them, and may be one of the most cult Monkee favorites. They definitely show that they are trying to shed their bubble gum image with the lyrics in this song. 10/10

This cd also features some fairly solid bonus tracks. There is a version of Mike singing "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", and a different version of "Nine Times Blue". Also, the band playing the theme from "Peter Gunn's Gun", which sounds pretty good, and some studio hyjinks in the track "Jericho". The best bonus track is "All Of Your Toys", which was at one point going to be a single for them. It's a very good song.

Altogether, I think this is definitely the Monkees best album, and I'm sure most people will agree.

More than just bubblegum
Alright, I admit to being egregiously biased in favor of the Monkees. I grew up on the bubblegum quartet, slept with pictures of Davy Jones under my pillow and took a tambourine with me to Kindergarten... but this album has stood the test of time! Finally Don Kirschner was given the boot and Mike Nesmith's demands that the boys could finally play their own instruments was granted. The result? An uneven album which still contains several outstanding songs. Miraculaously, it still sounds great after thirty years.

Nesmith's two contributions are stellar: You Told Me is better than many of the filler Beatles songs and You May Just be the One holds up brilliantly. Forget That Girl ranks up there with some of the better songs from the Mama's and the Papa's and Shades of Gray sounds eerily like a George Martin produced disc (complete with French horn solo!) Of course there are the obligatory throw-away songs, but on the whole, this is a quality album and one that was number two on the Billboard charts to Sergeant Pepper for a lofty six months.

Considering the Monkees were still a neophtye band assembled solely for TV purposes, this is a quality disc from an underrated band. It's more than bubblegum, folks, there is some genuinely fine music on this album. Honest.