Head --- The Monkees

This is a strange choice, but I have been listening to it lately. Strangely it is not as bad as I remembered it. It is an example of a pop group trying to be heavy. Kind of the Monkees trying to record Sgt. Pepper. It has lots of filler. Little comic bits that are mildly entertaining but wear thin quickly. The real songs aren't as bad as might be expected.

Lets face it, in their day the Monkees were a decent pop band. They recorded lots of tight little commercial ditties. There was nothing wrong with that. Who cares if they didn't play their own instruments on the recordings? They were fun. Try to beat Pleasant Valley Sunday as an upbeat song of that era.

This album is another matter. It is in reality the soundtrack of the failed attempt at a movie. The movie fails to hold up at all. But the music behind it is a different matter. The album opens with a Goffin/king song, Porpoise Song. You almost feel you are under water. it is light and swirling all at the same time.

Mike Nesmith adds Circle sky. he always was the most creative force in the band. This effort as a songwriter adds to his reputation. Later releases have a live version which is superior to the studio recording. It is alive and throbbing, but not heavy.

Davey Jones brings things to halt with Harry Nilsson's Daddy's Song. It is much what you would expect from Jones and his Broadway musical experience. But it doesn't really fit in here. it is all wrong.

Peter Tork contributes a couple of songs. Can You Dig it? and do I have to do this all over again. Both are worthy efforts. Can You Dig It? is mellow and trippy. Do I Have To do This All Over Again rocks out unabashedly. It shows the Monkees as decent musicians for that era.

The real treasure of the album is As We Go Along, another Carole King song. It is soft and inspiring. Very listenable and deserving more attention than it got.

Overall, Head is a mixed bag. Forget all the studio extras and voice-over strange sounds and pare this down to the music and it isn't bad at all. In the time of the White Album and Vanilla Fudge and Cheap thrills, the Monkees released a decent effort that is still enjoyable all these years later. Could we have admitted that then?