Rating: *** (3 out of 4)

Availability: Widely Available

Fun fact to know and tell: The first of the original made-for-TV group to throw in the towel was Peter Tork, the folk singer from the Village scene who, with his lanky charm, goofy smile, and knack for delivering even the strangest line with a straight face, played the innocent goofball of the four.

At the time that Peter Tork left the group, The Monkees had been planning a double album similar in concept to The Beatles (commonly known as The White Album). The two-record set would feature one side produced independently by each member of the group. Essentially, each member would have half of a solo album by the end. But with the sudden absence of one of their members, The Monkees scrapped the original plan and switched to a single album with one third of the time dedicated to each member. The result is The Monkees Present (or simply, Present).

The album is notable for many interesting tracks, such as some of the earliest country rock from the inimitable Michael Nesmith, "Good Clean Fun," "Never Tell a Woman Yes," "Listen to the Band," and "Oklahoma Backroom Dancer." The idea behind Mike Nesmith's country rock sound was similar to rockabilly, only backwards. Rockabilly was rock played with a country sensibility, while country rock was country with a rock sensibility. This album marks his last album with the original incarnation of The Monkees and consists of more work than he has contributed to an album since. He chose to sit out the first reunion, Pool It! and only to offer a little bit of original work on Justus. These days, Papa Nez hangs out around The Video Ranch.

Even Davy Jones, the old Musical Theatre actor, has some very strong music, such as the fast and loose "Looking for the Good Times," the all-out silliness of "Ladies Aid Society," and the eerie "French Song." Prior to joining The Monkees, Davy Jones had enjoyed a run on the stage, playing roles such as The Artful Dodger in Oliver! His distinctly British and youthful voice has some interesting and powerful vocals for once, instead of the pop shlock he is usually associated with in the history of The Monkees.

So that leaves us with poor, neglected Mickey Dolenz.

What can one say about Mickey Dolenz? In the series, he was always painfully obvious as the only Monkee who was familiar with the phrase "play to the camera." He has always been a cartoon, and not a particularly funny one. The word "Sincerity" is nowhere in his vocabulary, as proven by his autobiography I'm a Believer: My Life of Music, Monkees, and Madness. The result of giving him a third of an album to play with is a flat attempt at artistry, featuring such songs as the fairly-decent "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" and the scandalous "Mommy and Daddy," notorious for having been censored in order to keep from corrupting the youth of America. Perhaps the easiest song of his to stomach on this album is his lullaby, "Pillow Time." Sure, it's shlocky, but it's a lullaby. What do you expect?

Because this is a Rhino re-release, this CD carries some interesting features. If anybody should be the model for modern companies re-releasing old material, Rhino should be that model. The CD features all new liner notes written by The Monkees, as well as no fewer than five previously un-released tracks, including the original, less horn-heavy version of "Listen to the Band" and the unreleased "Calico Girlfriend Samba," obviously a work in progress at the time, but good fun nonetheless. It also includes Davy Jones reading a poem called "The Good Earth" and the (gasp!) uncut version of "Mommy and Daddy." Oh, and the radio promo for the album. It's hardly worth mentioning.

The opinions expressed in the above reviews are those of Glen Williams and may not represent the views of slac.com or any of its members. Compliments, complaints, and comments should be addressed to gandalf@tricon.net

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