Monkees romps redubbed with new music

So, the Monkees have a new album out. Yes, those Monkees of the 1960s sitcom (and the ones in my profile picture). Even crazier, the album is actually pretty good. 

There were two previous reunion albums -- in the '80s and '90s -- but both albums made the mistake of trying to sound "modern," which ironically instantly dated them. The producers of the new album Good Times have wisely styled it to sound more the classic '60s material. 

Anyway, back in the day, whenever the Monkees had a new album out, the reruns would get different songs dubbed into the soundtrack during the "romps" (the part of the show where the Monkees would run away from the monsters or spies or whatever, or just generally cavort around). So "I'm a Believer" might get dubbed over with "Pleasant Valley Sunday" or what have you.

So some enterprising fan editors have taken clips of the old series and dubbed Good Times songs into them.

I actually thought of the same thing, but I've been too busy with a new job to do anything about it. But others have been doing pretty good with their own work.

There have been so many, I don't want to overwhelm this thread with them. But here's my favorite dub so far, because it fits so well. If anyone's interested, I'll post some more.

This romp, from the episode "I Was a Teenage Monster" (Season 1, episode 18), originally featured the Peter Tork song "Your Auntie Grizelda," but now features Micky Dolenz's "Gotta Give It Time," which is a new take on an unfinished track from 1967:

I'm glad you launched this as I noticed the new album pop up in Rolling Stone and a couple other rags.
The critics are all praising this to the moon, but the two main singers were Davy and Mickey.
Peter could never sing for shit, and Mike, talented as he was, was forever relegated to George Harrison status.
Davy being RIP, how does Mickey's voice sound?


I had the vinyl, the show was silly fun, and I have the 20 track CD.
Agree with you on their later released.  They were "product" and lacked hooks.

Anyway, did you get and can you personally recommend the new album?
I hate being duped by some dewy eyed, nostalgic dreamer, gushing about a promo.

Well, I can't guarantee I'm not blinded by nostalgia, but I like this album a lot. I've listened to it several times now. There's not really a bad track in the bunch.

As for Micky's voice, he sounds to me like he's giving his all, like he's confident in the material this time and he realizes this is the last chance to prove the group had relevance. I love the way he belts out songs like "She Makes Me Laugh" and "You Bring the Summer." I couldn't have asked for more from him. 

Mike's two best contributions are "Me & Magdalena," a wistful country number (with superb backing vocals from Micky), and "Birth of an Accidental Hipster," a nod to the group's more psychedelic numbers. They're both outstanding. 

Peter has certainly always been a better musician than a vocalist, but he does a very nice job on "Wasn't Born to Follow." His "Little Girl" might be the weakest track, but even that one is still listenable. 


Since Davy couldn't be directly involved, the group took one of Davy's lesser-known tracks, "Love to Love" (written by Neil Diamond), and added new backing vocals to it. 

Indeed, the album has never-before-released vintage songs by Boyce & Hart, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, and Harry Nilsson, all helping to add to a true "Monkees album" feel.  

If you want to sample the album before purchasing, Rhino Records has released the entire album on the band's official YouTube channel, where they can get advertising revenue for posting it. Here's the playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE1ikzLAnSJwkb7_nnGl3Ih1MKFyGQK8d


This playlist doesn't include some tracks that are exclusive to Barnes & Noble, FYE, etc.

If you listen to it, I'd be very interested to know what you think!

And while I'm at it, here's "You Bring the Summer," which unfortunately is cut a little short because of the romp it's dubbed into, but it's still worth a look (and listen):

A cute morning show recap for those of us who weren't around for the group's heyday: