7a Records celebrates the recorded legacy of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart

5/28/2022

In 1975, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork gathered together to consider several offers to reunite The Monkees. "We met up at my house, up in the Hollywood Hills," Micky told Monkees historian Andrew Sandoval in a previously published interview. "I think it was William Morris [agency] or something expressed an interest in putting the act back together. Everybody was very enthusiastic about it on the surface. You know, 'Oh great, great idea,' but when it got down to the nitty-gritty there were too many conflicting feelings and attitudes. Actually I remember it being really exciting. We all got together for the first time in quite a few years in the same room and there was a hell of a buzz."

Despite friendly discussions between the ex-Monkees during this time period, the group ultimately did not reform. "They wanted to do something different and new," said Jones of Nesmith and Tork to Steve Hoffman in September 1976. "They forgot the audience has been waiting out there for The Monkees to return." However, Micky and Davy were interested in teaming up once again and instead turned to Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart was the idea of Christian DeWalden, a music publisher, producer, and friend of Bobby Hart. Boyce & Hart were responsible for writing and producing some of The Monkees' greatest hits ("Last Train to Clarksville," "Steppin' Stone," "Valleri"), and had a successful recording career of their own. The foursome created a new act and toured as The Great Golden Hits of The Monkees - The Guys Who Wrote 'Em and the Guys Who Sang 'Em. Their concert show combined Monkees classics, new material, and Boyce & Hart hits. "It was based on the idea of having the guys who wrote a lot of songs and the guys who sang them perform together," Davy explained in 1975. "So we talked about it and agreed and went into rehearsals for three weeks, and then we went to St. Louis and pulled 22,000 kids in two shows." The Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart act would record and perform together through 1976.

This July, 7a Records will officially re-release the recorded legacy of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. The UK-based label, headed by Glenn Gretlund, will deliver a 2-CD and 2-LP deluxe edition of the group's 1976 studio album originally issued by Capitol Records, along with Concert in Japan, taped in Tokyo that same year, which was ultimately released in that country in 1981 (and later on compact disc by the label Varese Sarabande in 1996).

Both albums are remastered from the original tapes. The CD edition will include a 40-page booklet with brand new liner notes and previously unseen photographs, while the LP edition will be housed in a gatefold sleeve on green, yellow, and black "quad" vinyl.

Various media outlets have reported on 7a's revival of the long out of print Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart albums, the latest in a very busy year for the label:

Second Disc: I Remember the Feeling: 7a Records Reissues Studio and Live Albums from Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart

Broadway World: 7a Records to Release New Albums by Dolenz, Jones, and Boyce & Hart

Here's a sneak peak at the rear covers for the vinyl and compact disc editions:

Dolenz Jones Boyce Hart vinyl 7a back cover

(Click images to enlarge)

Pre-Order Now!

Double Compact Disc

Amazon

Deep Discount

Autographed by Micky Dolenz

180 Gram Quad Vinyl

Amazon

Deep Discount

Autographed by Micky Dolenz

13 Comments

Lord High 'n Low

5/29/2022 10:47:45

Would love to hear the story how the master tapes were finally found. Very happy to see these LPs being given the royal treatment!

Jen

5/29/2022 21:24:29

Anyone know why the cover art was slightly altered? The original font for the Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart album title has been changed.

Johnny Written

5/29/2022 21:43:35

Probably because the old font type was crap. The reissue looks much better.

Mary

5/30/2022 10:28:47

Not sure about why the font was changed, but at least this cover is closer to the original overall. The CD from the mid-2000s used an alternate cover that was very ugly with the 4 guys' big heads in an airplane.

Wade

5/30/2022 11:20:16

Johnny, I agree. No idea what the real reason for the changes are, but the new font is a massive improvement for what has always been a 3rd rate (and extremely dated & ugly) album cover. They also cropped the photo a little bit more, which helps to hide their hideous clothing. The changes are relatively small, but the "freshening up" was really needed in this instance. Sometimes, change is good.

Steve

5/29/2022 22:23:47

As a longtime fan I have always heard about an extended version of "Sail on Sailor" from this album. Does this really exist and if so why wasn't it included as a bonus since the masters have been found?

5/30/2022 10:30:33

I might be wrong with my answer. I saw this somewhere online. Something that the master for the extended version was not found. Please correct me here if this is incorrect.

5/30/2022 10:35:10

Thanks to 7A and thank you here for sharing this news. This release will be a huge improvement over the CD release from 06 or so? That CD release was just a needle drop from an LP. I look forward to getting this DJBH album!

Kevin

6/19/2022 02:59:21

I believe that Capitol misfiled the master or maybe Bobby Hart Has it! I heard it and have a bad mp3 of it and the extra verse is sung by Micky but I have always noticed, his vocal is too soft. You really have to listen close to get the lyrics. Still, I wonder if any effort was put into looking for it. I am STILL blown away that this will be from the original master tapes! I have 2 Japan copies that sound amazing and 2 sealed US albums! I guess you'd say, this album blew me away when it came out! "Moonfire" still amazes me. Micky's vocal is incredible!

Jeff

5/30/2022 14:56:52

The Holy Grail of 7A releases for me. I was always dismayed when in interviews Ian expressed no interest in trying to get this released. Thank you Glenn for seeing this through! One of my favorite Monkees albums (yep, other than the group name, I see no difference between this record and say, the 1st Monkees album; even has some of the same musicians). I’m hoping the liner notes are written by Mark Kleiner, who I assume has a lots information to pull from given that he was working on a DJB&H book at one point. Would really like to see Mark turn that into a full book that takes up where Andrew’s Day by Day left off.

Frodis

5/30/2022 15:36:29

Thank you Glenn and all at 7a Records for bringing us these awesome releases. As a longtime Monkees fan, I am truly thankful to have a label like this that fills in the missing links, so to speak, of the solo work of Micky, Nez, David, and Peter, while also offering contemporary things like "Dolenz Sings Nesmith."

Though I'm not really a fan of the DJBH album, I have the CD on pre-order from Deep Discount. The packaging, liner notes and overall presentation of anything 7a makes it worth the purchase.

Would be interested in seeing some more Peter Tork stuff from 7a, like a collection of demos that he did for the Sire label in 1980 or so. The "Pool It" producer Roger Bechirian said in an interview with Mark Kleiner last summer that Peter brought a lot of great stuff to the table for that album. I'd love to hear any of those songs, along with demos from the Peter Tork Project. While we're at it, can 7a license from Rhino and let Bechirian remix "Pool It"??

Here are some other wish list items for 7a projects:

1. Davy's "Incredible" album with bonus tracks Hanging by a Thread and Don't Go

2. Dolenz Sings Nesmith Volume II (a must!)

3. A remix of the Monkees "20th Anniversary Tour" live album

4. Some live albums from the recent tours as Andrew Sandoval has noted he has tapes

Thank you again 7a and Live Almanac!

Scott

6/4/2022 21:51:03

Was so excited when this came out. Solid album (but could do without the “Radio DJBH” theme.
Would have loved a follow-up.
Weren’t there any unreleased tracks amongst the original masters?
Thanks 7a for the release.

Tom B

6/13/2022 00:14:40

I could be wrong here, but perhaps there is a release of “Jones, Dolenz, Tork The 20th Anniversary Tour”

This is an album that was relatively limited in release. This would be AWESOME after getting the 7A treatment.