TMS Retro: From Rubber Soul to More of the Monkees

(Bernard Yeszin)

As someone who became invested in the works and mythos of the Monkees way later in life than I really should have; let me tell you how actually fascinating it was to discover the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in their discography. Most surprising, and still a bit baffling, to me is that their 1967 sophomore LP, ‘More of the Monkees’ is almost unanimously agreed by fans to be their absolute worst record in the 1960s. Now, I had a hard time believing this, with three of their classic hits, ‘I’m a Believer,’ ‘Steppin’ Stone,’ and ‘Mary, Mary,’ on the track listing; as well as listener favorites like ‘She,’ ‘When Love Comes Knockin,’’ ‘Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)’ and ‘Sometime in the Morning.’ Even less exposed songs such as ‘The Kind of Girl I Could Love’ and ‘Laugh’ are pretty good tunes. Granted, there is one track I do think is terrible and should have been abandoned during production: ‘The Day We Fall in Love’ with teen heartthrob Davy Jones on lead vocals. But beyond that, I really didn’t get it. These guys had music legends Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka & Carole Bayer Sager and the Monkees’ favorite songwriting team, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, composing songs for them.

Then I soon discovered the singer-songwriter of the Monkees, a mercurial Michael Nesmith, once went as far as to claim ‘More of the Monkees’ was “probably the worst album in the world” [as referenced in Eric Lefcowitz’s 2011 book Monkee Business]. This is a hilariously over the top statement at first, until you read into the making of the record, and learn the whole thing was organized and released without the group’s approval. I’m guessing most Monkees fans are expressing their consideration to Mike’s feelings by not supporting an unethically released LP. But even with the understandable grudge held at their label, Colgems, and their divisive music supervisor, Don Kirshner, I still feel Mike’s comment is a bit harsh. When I first listened to ‘More of the Monkees,’ my first impression was that this is actually a decent break-up pop album. Some moments even made me recall one of the original, legendary break-up albums: ‘Rubber Soul’ by the Beatles from 1965.

(Robert Freeman)

Avid classic rock aficionados will already note the intentional homage to the cover art of ‘Rubber Soul’ on the ‘More of the Monkees’ own cover. Released a little over a year after ‘Rubber Soul’ in January 1967, ‘MOTM’ also has the common distinction of being a popular record about romantic frustration and lost love. This includes catchy melodies, beautiful vocals, stellar studio production, earworm guitar riffs and basslines, and—unfortunately—some slightly outdated lyrics. Unless you single out the final track of ‘Rubber Soul,’ ‘Run for Your Life,’ in which every lyric is incredibly outdated. I think a lot of us know what it feels like to be in a dissolving romance or dysfunctional relationship, but when it comes to the words of break-up songs from the classic rock scene, the songwriters’ age and era can become very obvious occasionally. Especially on a LP like ‘Rubber Soul,’ where the polarizing John Lennon, sardonic George Harrison, and even the usually merry Paul McCartney, aren’t afraid to take their bitterness out on their lady loves at the time. We get some influential acoustics like John’s ‘Norwegian Wood,’ ‘Girl’ and Paul’s ‘Michelle,’ or the lovely harmoniousness of John’s ‘Nowhere Man’ and ‘In My Life;’ but also the tartness of Paul’s ‘You Won’t See Me’ and ‘I’m Looking Through You’ and George’s ‘Think for Yourself.’

Mike Nesmith has his share of casually sexist lyrics from his 1960s songwriting that’s hard to ignore, as much as I like him as an artist. On Mike’s ‘Mary, Mary’ [sung by Monkees vocalist Micky Dolenz] it’s a bit easier to forgive a line or two which causes pause, but for John’s ‘Run for Your Life,’ not so much. The former is a pop tune about a young man’s apprehension to accept a young lady leaving him, while the latter sounds like a stalker promising to attack their prey. I know some Beatles fans like to think this was one of those songs from the POV of a character created by the songwriter, especially as the opening line is a direct reference to Elvis Presley’s 1955 single ‘Let’s Play House.’ But even John was calling ‘Run for Your Life’ his worst song as early as a 1970 Rolling Stone interview.

(Guy Webster)

About a year after I got into the Monkees, I became invested in another 1960s contemporary, the Byrds. Again, I found another album that reminded me of ‘Rubber Soul,’ this time ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ These similarities are highly coincidental though, as ‘RS’ and ‘TTT’ were both released the first week of December 1965. ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ is the second and final Byrds LP featuring Gene Clark as an official member, and it’s a good example of why I now consider him the king of break-up songs. Whether it’s the soft, somberness of ‘Set You Free This Time’ saying goodbye to a lover, or the ode to the loser in a love triangle in ‘The World Turns All Around Her.’ Gene knew how to write a song where the protagonist is aware of his flaws and shortcomings as well as the girlfriend’s. His ‘If You’re Gone’ is a quiet beg for the girl to not leave, while Byrds lead guitarist and arranger, Roger McGuinn, co-composes one of his best efforts with ‘It Won’t Be Wrong.’ ‘Satisfied Mind’ is the band’s first foray into country music, and we get two token Bob Dylan covers with ‘Lay Down Your Weary Tune’ and ‘The Times They are a-Changin,’’ [though the latter is surprisingly underwhelming]. One of the best songs from the recording sessions, Gene’s ‘She Don’t Care About Time,’ wasn’t even included on the album and resorted to a B-side for the single of the iconic title track for some reason.

For better or worse, sometimes the flawed pieces of art are the most interesting and memorable, which might be the case with ‘Rubber Soul,’ ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ and ‘More of the Monkees.’