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https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/the-riff/there-is-more-to-the-monkees-than-meets-the-eye-cc9f3da71967>
"Micky Dolenz has often said that The Monkees is a television show about a
band. That is how it started, but over the years, it evolved into an actual
band with additional members.
I've always been impressed by The Monkees' catalog. Their records were so
diverse: bubblegum, country rock, psychedelia, vaudeville, garage rock, comedy,
pure pop, political, experimental…
The television show often depicted the band using Gretsch guitars, drums, and a
Vox organ. They were presented as a self-contained group, just as The Beatles
or The Who were. The news of how the band used studio musicians on their hit
records caused a scandal, even though it was a common practice used by other
hit bands of the day.
This led to The Monkees recording their third album without outside musicians.
However, the physical demands of filming a television show and then making a
full-length Hollywood movie proved to be too much, and the band returned to
using studio musicians to record their backing tracks.
As record sales boomed, the rigors of the road became too much for Peter Tork,
who left the band in 1968. Michael Nesmith followed shortly after. The
remaining two Monkees called it quits in 1970 after their final album,
Changes.
When The Monkees reformed as a trio in the late 1980s, their instrumentation
consisted of electronic drums, synthesizers, and pointy guitars. That sound is
just as dated today as the neon blazers and mullet haircuts they wore. As they
played to stadium crowds after MTV dusted off the original episodes in an
improbable comeback, it would have seemed odd if they had not updated their
sound and look from their heyday. The giant crowds were excited to see the
group together again, even without Michael Nesmith.
As the band continued to perform, auxiliary musicians rounded out the
performances. Somewhere in the early 2000s, Andrew Sandoval had a vision. He
wanted a Monkees live show to be a multimedia experience with video clips and
photos. He also felt the sound of the original records was such an important
part of their success that they should try to replicate it onstage. The backing
band became just as crucial to the sound as the principal singers were."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
