Drawn from previous posts, this is not part of my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), though the book does contain a pretty emphatic sermon on behalf of the Monkees' "Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)."
An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!
This superb track was a mere B-side, friends. They don't make throwaways like they used to.
Written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, "Words" has been one of my favorite Monkees tracks since the mid '70s, when I discovered there were Monkees songs above and beyond the handful I'd known since the previous decade. I've told the story elsewhere, so suffice it to say that cable TV reruns of The Monkees led me to the bulk of my most cherished Monkees cuts.
"Words" was one of the kingpins, along with "The Door Into Summer," "Daily Nightly," "Love Is Only Sleeping," and "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?," all from the group's 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. I love the way the bass line on "Words" seems to coil like a cobra poised to strike, the shimmering, mesmerizing vibe, the pounding throb as it heads near the chorus, the sheer majesty of Micky Dolenz's vocal, and...and...
...and Peter Tork.
Tork did not take many lead vocal turns in the official Monkees canon. Vault raids in subsequent decades would exhume a few additional Tork-sung artifacts, and our Peter would much later deliver his best-ever vocal on "Wasn't Born To Follow," contained on the group's 2016 triumph Good Times! But in the midst of original Monkeemania, producers deemed his singing pitchy, and didn't use him. Tork's voice is really heard but four times on that era's records: Warbling the silly novelty number "Your Auntie Grizelda" on More Of The Monkees, rocking his own "Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again" on the Head soundtrack, trading leads with Davy Jones on the Headquarters track "Shades Of Grey," and doing the same thing with Dolenz on "Words."
"Words" was and remains my pick of the bunch.
"Words" was first done by the Leaves (of "Hey Joe" fame) in 1966. In between the Leaves and Pisces, a Boyce and Hart-produced Monkees version of the song had been used on the TV show. The remake on Pisces replaces Boyce and Hart's studio musicians with Tork and fellow Monkee Michael Nesmith, plus Jones on percussion, producer Chip Douglas on bass, and Fast Eddie Hoh on drums. The musical performance is hypnotic, Micky's voice is as terrific as always, and he mixes well with Peter in the back-and-forth leads.
The track's visual image was established by the TV show's video of the song, with a switched instrumentation line-up of Monkees--Tork on guitar, Nesmith on bass, Jones on drums, Dolenz with tambourine in hand--somberly miming and lip-syncing with brooding intensity. On record, the alternating lead vocals by Micky and Peter spit out the venom of a spurned, mistreated victim of passion, discarded by a cruel mistress. Chip Douglas's bass writhes and coils like a deadly serpent, Tork's keyboards heighten the sense of menace, and freakin' wind chimes add a deceptively pretty veneer as the singers' hearts break.
Irrevocably.
Sticks and stones? Words that never were true can hurt pretty efficiently in their own right. Strange voices in my ear. Sing it, Micky. Sing it, Peter. And play, magic fingers. Whether we're believers or just steppin' stones, we listen to the band.
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My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here.
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