The Headquarters Sessions

Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork were already accomplished musicians. I think it is incorrect to define them as actors, as only Davy, and Mickey were. To treat a musician like Peter Tork who could play more instruments than your average musician, like some novice is an insult. He, nor Mike were in no way, "actors" struggling to play in these sessions. They were doing what they lived, and breathed their whole life for outside of The Monkees. Perhaps it would be fair to say they were not experts in studio sessions with one another. Regardless, this is great stuff, and makes us appreciate the end result even more so. I love hearing raw trials, errors, outtakes, and live ideas in the studio. A true Materpiece of a Gem.

Their first REAL album where The Monkees became a REAL band! This album lets you hear how hard Mike, Mickey, Peter and Davy worked in the studio to get everything just right. The banter between takes is pretty fun to listen to as well. It would have been nice to see an episode of THE MONKEES where you see them in the studio writing, practicing and recording their songs for this album.

This set, as revelatory in its own "minor" way as the "Pet Sounds Sesions" box, demythologizes the ludicrous assumption that the Monkees couldn't play their instruments (yawn). What you hear here is the potential for a tremendous group of musicians with a great sense of humor and a very grounded approach to what they both were and were not capable of. Peter Tork's sensibility is especially evident, and I find myself listening to his hypnotic demo of "Can You Dig It" over and over, despite all the little mistakes. Mickey Dolenz was a pretty terrible drummer, yet his enthusiasm so exceeds his limitations that his tendency to bash his kit mercilessly is effectively irrelevent (never mind his unparalled vocal expressivity). One of Mike Nesmith's greatest songs, the as-good-as-the-Beatles "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," is so rigorously worked by the band, that it's hard to imagine other, allegedly "authentic" bands investing so much effort in their output (Jefferson Airplane, perhaps?). There was so much untapped potential in the Monkees that it's a shame so many forces consipred against them. These guys were great.

Understand what we have here...a blueprint for an album, put together by four very young men who have a point to prove. Fans of the Monkees should appreciate this intimate look at the creative process, and the barebones production that they were able to assemble into some catchy pop tunes. After taking a critical beating when it was "discovered" that the group did not play most of the instruments on their first two multi platinum albums, the Monkees staged a revolt. The four of them went into the studio without the producers and session musicians featured in their previous efforts. The result is "Headquarters". As far as singles go on this album, "No Time" (written by the Monkees, but "given" to a favorite sound engineer *Hank Cicalo* ), "For Pete's Sake" (written by Peter Tork), "Randy Scouse Git" (written by Micky Dolenz), and "You Just May Be The One" (written by Mike Nesmith) show proof positive that the four actors brought together to make a TV show could in fact function as a "real" band. The fact that this album featured the Monkees on almost every instrument (with only minor background assistance from others) forever shuts the door on the claim that they were "imitation musicians". The Rhino produced "Headquarters Sessions" gives a very interesting behind the scenes look at the evolution of the group, and the nuts and bolts construction of the original album. The subsequent "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones" album is a superior overall effort, because after "Headquarters" hit # 1 (which it did for one week in 1967), the band realized they were better when they used studio collaborators like virtually every other rock group of the day. Nesmith has grown into an accomplished artist and businessman, and Tork and Dolenz continue to prove their chops on stages across the country to this day. The Monkees were for real, and critics who say otherwise just aren't very bright.

I had such really high expectations when this came out, and when i finally got it, well i was kind of let down, it basically is just what it says headquarter sessions.....so you will not hear alot of unreleased tunes....just the guys going thru some of the backing tracks.....alot of this album is just instrumental and nothing really all that special. In fact there are maybe only 2 or 3 vocal songs on here that we haven't heard before.....and one different version of randy scouse git, which is intresting to listen to. So all in all save your money and only get tracks: 13, 41

it is some what ok but i've never heard them just this album.

1967 was perhaps on the greatest years in Rock N' Roll history. The Beatles were about to release "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"; Brian Wilson was working on "Smile"; Jim Morrison and "The Doors" got banned on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the Summer of Love was about to take America by storm. Yet for my money, the story of "Headquarters" tops them all. After great success with such hits as "Last Train To Clarksville" and "I'm A Believer" it seemed that "The Monkees" could do no wrong. When word got out that other musicians played on their records , they were crucified by the media. To prove their critics wrong, they became a self-contained group. Hear the process on this special album that saw limited release. Be a "fly on the wall" as "The Monkees" create some of their best music. Download this album while you can.