"An Alternative History of The Monkees (1967-1969)" by Brian Marchese

12/1/2016

This is the eleventh in a series of guest articles (and in this instance, a podcast) that have been submitted to The Monkees Live Almanac in celebration of the group's 50th Anniversary.

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Earlier this year, the host of the Where's That Sound Coming From? podcast, Brian Marchese, contacted me after I had solicited contributions from guest authors to celebrate The Monkees' 50th Anniversary. Brian was knocking around a few ideas, and after several starts and re-starts, he settled on a podcast presentation that proposes an "alternate" history of The Monkees, largely centered around the group's fifth LP, The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees. Here's Brian's description of the podcast:

Truth is at least as strange as fiction. Fact intertwines with my flights of fancy in this episode. At its core is an analysis of the fifth album The Monkees SHOULD have released. I was asked to contribute something to the excellent blog, Monkees Live Almanac, back in May of this year to help celebrate the band's 50th Anniversary. I thought about it intermittently for two months, wrote it sporadically over the course of the next two months, and recorded/produced it in fits and starts over the last two months. And here it is.

Monkees fans are really going to enjoy this podcast, and the Live Almanac would like to say a big thank you to Brian for all of his hard work and dedication in presenting this project!

Be sure to visit the Where's That Sound Coming From? podcast on Facebook, too!

9 Comments

Dan

12/2/2016 11:54:17

This was thoroughly enjoyable and a pleasure to listen to! Ah, what could have been...

Anyhow, I now have a brand new way to listen to The Birds The Bees and The Monkees... er... Changes

Brian link

12/2/2016 14:48:46

Hold up! I'm re-posting the podcast because I noticed one little mess up toward the end--you may have noticed 20 seconds of silence with about 5 minutes left in the podcast. Just a careless oversight. It's a cleverly edited bit from the Hy Lit interview. Anyway, the episode may be down for a few hours, but check back late Friday. Should be there again. And hopefully the taking down and re-posting doesn't mess anything up on anyone's end. Thanks!

Jack

12/2/2016 16:00:12

I listened last night - what fun! The incidentals were neat, too. Loved the backing tracks, "Head" bits, and other things sprinkled throughout. And I'm making a playlist to mirror your alternate "Birds" LP. Thanks for the show, and thanks to the Live Almanac. I visit every day! (By the way, I really hope the guest authors continue to contribute - they've been a lot of fun to read this year.)

Mike Q

12/2/2016 18:50:32

Brian's podcast is always a joy, but he's really outdone himself with this one. Hope more regular releases in 2017 are a possibility.

Jeff

12/3/2016 01:53:30

This was phenomenal. The literate insight into the songs was the most enjoyable element for me. And the comparisons to similar tracks by other artists was incredibly enlightening. Any chance we could get Brian to indicate the exact source of each track, so that we can use the same mixes he used when putting this together for ourselves? Some were obvious to me, some not. Bravo, and more please.

Brian Marchese link

12/3/2016 17:08:31

The sources for the alt. BB+M.
And thanks for the props!! It was fun.
And I will try to do more next year....TRY being the operative word...:)

War Games (Version One) 2:13 (The Birds, The Bees & The Raritees)

Auntie's Municipal Court (Mike's Vocal) 4:09 The Birds, The Bees & The Raritees)

TEAR THE TOP RIGHT OFF MY HEAD (Micky's Vocal) 1:55 The Monkees THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES (mono)

Carlisle Wheeling (First Recorded Version) 3:33 The Monkees Music Box (Disc 3)

Seeger's Theme (Electric Version) 0:42 The Birds, The Bees & The Raritees

Come on In 3:11 The Monkees Missing Links, Vol. 2

Magnolia Simms 3:48 The Monkees THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES (stereo))

Zor and Zam 2:13 The Monkees THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES (stereo))

MERRY GO ROUND (1968 Mono Mix) 1:43 THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES (mono)

My Share of the Sidewalk (1968 Stereo Mix) 3:01 THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES (stereo))

Tapioca Tundra (1967 Alternate Stereo Mix) 3:03 The Birds, The Bees & The Raritees

P.O. Box 9847 (1968 Alternate Stereo Mix) 3:22 The Birds, The Bees & The Raritees

Lady's Baby 2:27 The Birds, The Bees & The Raritees

Rosemarie (Alternate Stereo Mix) 2:36 The Monkees Instant Replay Sessions

Writing Wrongs 5:09 The Monkees THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES (stereo))

12/4/2016 03:43:05

Thanks, Brian! I'm about to start listening to my new "Changes '68" playlist!

larry gonzalez

12/11/2016 18:53:47

I just finished listening to the podcast. Fantastic! Like others who have commented, I just put the "Changes" playlist on my itunes. Now, if only I could find Peter's side of the "Presents" album.

12/23/2016 14:53:07

You can listen to Peter's side of the Present album by doing the following: Cue up the 33-1/3 "Listen to the Band" Jam, Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive", "Dark Star" from Live Dead, "Voodoo Chile" (the 15 minute one) by Jimi Hendrix, "Halleluwah" by Can, and "Southern Man" from CSNY's Four Way Street and play them all simultaneously...
..and don't call me in the morning.. ;)

"An Alternative History of The Monkees (1967-1969)" by Brian Marchese

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"An Alternative History of The Monkees (1967-1969)" by Brian Marchese

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Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart returns