Who else had this bootleg that was released by Bird Brain Records? An audience recording with an undesirable sound quality, Live In Los Angeles could be found in record shops that would carry less than official merchandise. Though the tape source is dubious, the boot does capture a near exuberant audience throughout the duration of the show, especially when Nez showed up for the encore that night. As someone who is generally a fan of live recordings, I've always been frustrated by the lack of official live albums by The Monkees. We had the '86 live album, the two 1967 releases, Live Summer Tour (an incomplete documentation of the 2001 show on the King Biscuit label), and that's been about it. There were others, like the ones sold at the concert merchandise booths on the 2001 and 2002 tours, but those were not Rhino sanctioned official offerings. (The 2001 live CD is especially horrendous, featuring, of all things, canned applause!)
Take a moment to refresh your memory of the 1987 setlist. And how about the 1989 shows that featured an unplugged set? What about the Justus shows with all four Monkees in the UK in 1997?! It would have been great for these tours to have been officially documented. (And by the way, who dropped the ball when it came to having the ultra-successful 1986 tour filmed for video release? I still can't figure that one.) Perhaps at the top of my list would be live recordings from the previous three tours, which fans have widely praised as some of the group's best performances. How about a box set for this request, Rhino? We'll be ready to purchase. Drop them an email and let them know you're interested.
13 Comments
JJ Lloyd
3/4/2014 14:32:55
I have this album! I don't remember where I got it (very likely at a store in Dallas)... I've had it for well over 20 years now. And I totally agree that more live albums should have been made. The 1987, 1989 and 1997 tours were ideal for documenting. Too bad it'll likely never happen. As for a live box set for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 tours.... heck yeah!! I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
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AndrewA
3/5/2014 01:09:23
I had this album too, but on my the Monkees logo wasn't painted over. I rmbr thinking what a horrible sounding record but atleast I get to kinda hear Nesmith with the Monkees. I also bought a Who at the BBC bootleg by Bird Brain Records which was equally horrible sounding.
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JJ Lloyd
3/5/2014 09:37:57
Yes, the sound quality on this LP is definitely horrible. Not too long after I got it, I learned to look for "soundboard recording" on any bootlegs I was interested in. I've gotten quite a few.... Stones, The Who, Tom Petty, Eagles.... since then, and those all sound great. Never have been able to find a good Monkees one though.
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Troy
3/5/2014 13:16:10
A live box set is an absolute no-brainer! There's plenty in the vaults. COME ON RHINO! :)
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Paris Stachtiaris
3/5/2014 16:54:06
There is a sound board recording when Mike Nesmith appeared at the Greek Theatre with Davy, Micky, and Peter in 1986. I believe the source of it was when MTV video taped the encore. I know that Gary Strobl video taped 7 show in 1997 when "The Monkees" toured the UK with Michael Nesmith. Davy Jones wanted to use Gary's footage and mix it with a sound board recording from one of the shows (Which he didn't have and was looking for) and release a DVD for the fans. Unfortunately Davy died. I heard Rhino has recordings from the Billboard Show from 1996 and probably the entire Salt Lake City concert that was recorded for "Head". I believe, but I'm not certain Davy recorded some shows from 2011 tour. I heard that all or most of the shows from the 2012 tour were recorded but unfortunately none from 2013 Monkees tour recorded because of Mike Nesmith.
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Toby
3/10/2014 02:59:48
Because of Mike? He was in both the 2012 and 2013 tours so what was the difference? Possible related.... why were none of Mike's songs used for the TV film Daydream Believers? Perhaps he refused to license his songs because he didn't approve of the film's content?
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Tony
3/5/2014 17:41:57
Wouldn't "Live Summer Tour" from 2001 be considered a solid, legit release? The tour itself wasn't as strong as some before or since, but it was a high quality recording. Far better than the "Live from Las Vegas" CD from earlier in 2001.
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Monkees Live Almanac
3/5/2014 22:00:19
Definitely! In my haste, I left it out. (I updated the post to reflect this information.)
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readr
6/25/2014 16:57:30
I have this one. I haven't played it in 25 years, I suspect it's mint. Though I know there are better sources for this show now, so it's more of a nice collectable now.
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Monkees Live Almanac
6/26/2014 16:59:54
Agreed on the '89 Amsterdam show having good audio. It's high time someone goes through all the tapes in the group's possession, soundboards, etc., and do something with them!
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Paris Stachtiaris
1/18/2017 11:43:47
Gary Strobl didn't plug into the soundboard when he taped those shows in the UK. My guess is he didn't have long enough cables from the soundboard to where he set up to shoot those shows. He told me that his external microphone from his camera picked up the Monkees vocals from his spot.
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