Monkees: Anthology CD

The Monkees: Michael Nesmith (vocals, acoustic, electric, 12-string & pedal steel guitars, organ); Peter Tork (vocals, guitar, electric guitar, banjo, harpsichord, piano, keyboards, organ, bass); Davy Jones (vocals, guitar, tambourine, organ, percussion, maracas, chimes, tree); Mickey Dolenz (vocals, zither, drums, tympani, wood block).
Additional personnel includes: Tommy Boyce (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Wayne Erwin, Gerry McGee, Louie Shelton (acoustic & electric guitars); Chip Douglas (guitar, bass); Glen Campbell, Ry Cooder, Carole King, Danny Kortchmar, Neil Young (guitar); Leon Russell (keyboards); Larry Knechtel (bass); Hal Blaine (drums, percussion); Harry Nilsson.
Producers include: Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Jack Keller, Michael Nesmith, Jeff Barry.
Compilation producers: Andrew Sandoval, Bill Inglot.
Engineers include: David Hassinger, Hank Cicalo, Ray Hall, Al Pachucki.
Includes liner notes by Andrew Sandoval.
Monkees: Michael Nesmith (vocals, guitar); Peter Tork (vocals, piano, bass guitar); Micky Dolenz (vocals, drums); Davy Jones (vocals).
Rhino's Listen to the Band box set was for the collectors, and their terrific 20-song Greatest Hits was for the casual fans. Their third attempt at a Monkees compilation, the double-disc Anthology falls somewhere in between. Over the course of an exhausting 56 tracks, all of the group's hits are hauled out again, with such fine album tracks as "She," "Take a Giant Step," "Your Auntie Grizelda," "You Just May Be the One," and "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round" added for good measure. On the surface of things, this seems like a good thing, but the set is padded out with lesser album cuts and latter-day tracks from their three reunion albums that makes Anthology more of a chore than a pleasure. Since there are no genuine rarities here, it won't quite appeal to collectors, and since Greatest Hits suits the purposes of the average fans, it remains a mystery just who this set is for, even if it is loaded with good music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
A slimmed-down two-disc version of the four-disc box set LISTEN TO THE BAND, ANTHOLOGY is the Monkees collection for the average fan. Collecting all the Prefab Four's singles, and selected album tracks from "Theme From The Monkees" and "Last Train To Clarksville" together with the best tracks from their '80s reunion, the selection sticks mostly to the familiar. More obscure cuts are available in the three excellent volumes of MISSING LINKS.
There's no arguing with the quality, though; Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith have classic pop voices, and the songwriting is uniformly outstanding. The demands of a weekly television show meant that the Monkees recorded more classic pop songs in the '60s than just about any band save the Beatles. In a post-Milli Vanilli world where questions about the Monkees' authenticity are pretty much moot, ANTHOLOGY can be enjoyed on its own abundant merits.

2 Cds