10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists are often dominated by songs played on the previous night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.
This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1079.
MICKY DOLENZ: Circle Sky
For a very long time, I've wanted an episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio to spotlight Micky Dolenz as a Featured Performer. I can't explain why it took me so long to get around to following through with that intent, but the release of Dolenz's stunning new album Dolenz Sings Nesmith, a collection that offers Mr. Mick covering 14 songs written by his friend and coworker Michael Nesmith, moved the notion to an urgent Do It NOW!! status.
There are rules in place that govern how many tracks we can play by a specific act in a single show: Four. That's it. You can't pull off a proper Feature with just four songs. Fortunately, Micky's long career has provided enough varied rockin' DBAs for us to get the job done in this case. Four songs by Micky with his most famous combo, The Monkees. A bunch of other limited-use billings. And four solo tracks.
We've been playing "Different Drum," the first single off Dolenz Sings Nesmith, and I knew I wanted to close the main part of this week's show with that. I wanted to play "Many Years," a track from Micky's 2012 album Remember. I wanted to play a side from his 2016 7a Records single "Chance Of A Lifetime"/"Livin' On Lies," opting for the latter. I wanted to play a lot more of Micky's solo recordings, especially some of his '70s and '80s single sides, but we couldn't do that. Four is the number. The number is four. It made more sense to open and close the show with Dolenz Sings Nesmith. "Different Drum" at the end. "Circle Sky" at the beginning.
"Circle Sky" was performed live by The Monkees in their bitter and brilliant 1968 film Head, with Nesmith singing lead. Dolenz Sings Nesmith producer Christian Nesmith came up with a decidedly different arrangement of the song for this album, employing an approach based on traditional Indian music. The result is mesmerizing, and congruent with the memory of Micky in the audience at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (as seen in Monterey Pop), smiling the widest smile ever as he applauded the performance by Ravi Shankar. There was no other choice: TIRnRR's Micky Dolenz Feature had to begin with "Circle Sky."
MICKY DOLENZ WITH CIRCE LINK AND CHRISTIAN NESMITH: Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)/Good Morning, Good Morning
The original Head soundtrack included two of Dolenz's finest vocal performances: "As We Go Along" and "Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)." The latter is my favorite Monkees track, an absolute gem written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and the subject of a chapter in my eventual book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). The song is represented on this week's playlist by a sublime acoustic live take, credited to Micky Dolenz with Circe Link and Christian Nesmith. And calling it sublime is selling it short.
This "Porpoise Song" segues seamlessly into a cover of The Beatles' "Good Morning, Good Morning" that I may prefer to the Sgt. Pepper original. That's not a knock against The Beatles (my # 1 top group all-time), but merely an acknowledgement of the fact that the Fabs didn't have Circe Link and Micky's sister Coco Dolenz on backing vocals.
(The Beatles' version of "Good Morning, Good Morning" was heard briefly at the beginning of the final episode of The Monkees TV series, an episode directed by Micky. It is one of very few instances of The Beatles allowing one of their tracks to be used in a TV series: Mad Men's use of "Tomorrow Never Knows" is the only other example I can think of. The Beatles liked The Monkees.
The feeling was mutual.
MICKY DOLENZ AND PETER TORK (OF THE MONKEES): That Was Then, This Is Now
Managing a record store at the time of resurgent Monkeemania in 1986 offered the unique buzz of talking to young record-buyers in active pursuit of LPs and 45s by this group they'd seen on MTV. The timing could have been better--there wasn't a lot of Monkees product in print--but I enjoyed being there to advise the new fans on what was available at retail, and to help them identify some of the Monkees songs that MTV had taught them. Rhino Records had begun a licensing deal that would eventually see all of The Monkees' original LPs reissued. And Arista Records, which controlled the catalog at the time, was keen to capitalize with a greatest-hits set, Then And Now...The Best Of The Monkees.
Even working in record retail, the first I heard that there would also be new Monkees tracks was when my upstairs neighbor Cheryl mentioned it to me. She heard it on the radio. See? Always listen to the radio. Also, like, listen to girls. Then And Now would include not one, not two, but THREE brand-new Monkees recordings. HuzZAH!
The new single was "That Was Then, This Is Now," a song written by Vance Brescia and originally recorded by his own ace garage-pop combo The Mosquitos. I don't remember if I heard the song before buying it, but I for damned sure bought it at my very first oppotunity. And I loved it. NEW MUSIC FROM THE MONKEES!
Except...it wasn't credited to The Monkees.
Three of the four Monkees--Micky, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones, with Nesmith abstaining--had already announced a reunion tour. But "That Was Then, This Is Now" was credited to "Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork (of The Monkees)." Davy's name was conspicuous by its absence. He wanted nothing to do with the song, nor its new Then And Now LP companions "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" and "Kicks" (an undistinguished cover of the Paul Revere and the Raiders hit).
So The Monkees' 1986 return to the Top 20 on Billboard's Hot 100 wasn't technically by The Monkees. Technically. It's as much a Monkees record as anything on The Monkees or More Of The Monkees albums, and as much a Monkees record as 1971's non-hit "Do It In The Name Of Love," which was credited to Mickey [sic] Dolenz and Davy Jones. The billing amounts to an asterisk, I guess. However you credit it, it was The Monkees' final Top 20 single.
DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE & HART: You Didn't Feel That Way Last Night (Don't You Remember)
The idea of a Monkees reunion was first approached around 1976, ten years after the birth of The Monkees. Nesmith declined, and Tork later said that he wasn't asked to participate (though reports of that vary). Instead, Dolenz and Jones wound up partnering with Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, the songwriting team responsible for a number of well-loved Monkees ditties, from "Last Train To Clarksville" through "Valleri." Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart. The guys who wrote 'em and the guys who sang 'em.
They were an immediately popular live act. That popularity did not translate into record sales, as their eponymous album attracted neither oldies fans nor new pop fans. A collection of mostly original songs and one goofy cover of The Coasters' "Along Came Jones," the album has its moments, but it's not a record I'm prepared to champion. My favorite DHJB&H track is "You Didn't Feel That Way Last Night (Don't You Remember)," a blatant copy of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone." Boyce and Hart wrote 'em both, and I figure it's okay to plagiarize yourself.
STARSHIP: It's Amazing To Me
Not the Starship you might be thinking of. Different Starship. Honest to God, if that lot wants to build a city, they should do it elsewhere. No. NO!! This particular Starship was Micky Dolenz and Michael Lloyd, a duo which released just one single in 1972. Lloyd would later produce the three new Then And Now tracks mentioned above. The A-side of Starship's lone 45 featured Mr. Lloyd singing "Johnny B. Goode," and Micky sang the ballad "It's Amazing To Me" on the flip.
CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode
Hey, speaking of "Johnny B. Goode." As intrepid TIRnRR listener Bruce Gordon pointed out during this week's show, "Man, after all these years, this song is still over-the-top exciting." Bruce knows his stuff. When Micky Dolenz auditioned for The Monkees in '65 or so, he played "Johnny B. Goode" on guitar. Micky also knows his stuff.
THE CHECKERED HEARTS: My Best Friend's Girl
We've been playing the music of the ever-fabulous Lisa Mychols since her days with The Masticators (and in many subsequent solo and group incarnations). We've played Hillary Burton's work with her group honeychain and with the latter-day lineup of The Pandoras. We've played Lisa and Hillary together both as Nushu. Now, they're together both again as The Checkered Hearts, with an EP called Joystick due out pretty soon (but not soon enough). The EP's release is heralded by this cover of The Cars' new wave pop stalwart "My Best Friend's Girl." While Dana and I remain mystified by the notion of any erstwhile girl- or boyfriend moving on from Lisa or Hillary, we remain delighted to play their records on the radio.
BILL LLOYD: Kissed Your Sister
As we've been playing "Any Second Now," the first single off Johnathan Pushkar's new album Compositions, Dana's been struck by the great idea that Johnathan oughtta cover "Kiss Your Sister," a song from Bill Lloyd's 2004 album Back To Even. I concur. Bill's already given his blessing, so: Johnathan! Get to WORK!
RENAISSANCE: Carpet Of The Sun
My embrace of punk in the late '70s left me with little patience for anything resembling progressive rock. My friend Beth loved Renaissance, and although I had no specific objection to them, I couldn't really be bothered with something so far removed from my preferred soundtrack of The Ramones. Never mind that the group was originally formed by two former members of British Invasion greats The Yardbirds (though both Keith Relf and Jim McCarty had left Renaissance by the end of 1970 anyway), and never mind that singer Annie Haslam was drop-dead gorgeous. I was a sullen teen. I had an image to uphold.
Well, better late than never. A recent YouTube dive brought me to a 1977 clip of Renaissance on TV's The Midnight Special, performing "Carpet Of The Sun." I adored the song, and bought it the next day. It may wind up as the only Renaissance song I ever own, but one never knows. "Northern Lights" was okay, right? I remember that one. Maybe I should get that one, too. Maybe I should listen afresh. That circa-'78 sullen teen doesn't live here anymore.
THE MONKEES: Pleasant Valley Sunday
Micky sang lead on so, so many great Monkees tracks, and limiting ourselves to just four of them was a challenge. "As We Go Along?" "I'm A Believer?" "Last Train To Clarksville?" "The Girl I Knew Somewhere?" "Words?" "Goin' Down?" "For Pete's Sake?" That's not even a preface to a long list of worthy possibilities issued under the Monkees brand name.
But we made our selections. We had other Dolenz performances of "Porpoise Song," "Steppin' Stone," and "Randy Scouse Git," and we allowed one Monkees cover with The Flashcubes' version of "She." Dana's fondness of "Sometime In The Morning" made that one an obvious choice. The underrated "Oh My My" is my lovely wife Brenda's favorite Monkees track, so that was in. I wanted to include something from 2016's triumphant Good Times! sessions, and opted for the non-album "Terrifying," a track in dire need of much wider exposure and acclaim. That left room for one classic Monkees track from the '60s.
And it had to be "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Book it. This is what I wrote about the song in a previous post detailing my 25 favorite Monkees tracks:
"If we had to pick one track to represent The Monkees, my choice would be "Pleasant Valley Sunday, " the second best song that Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote for the group. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" is the definitive Monkees track, with a mix of contributions from The Monkees themselves and their studio pals--Micky on the lead vocal (with Davy and Michael singin' along), Michael on electric guitar, Peter on piano, Davy on percussion, plus bassist Chip Douglas, drummer "Fast" Eddie Hoh, and Bill Chadwick (the latter on acoustic guitar)--performing a track from one of Don Kirshner's favorite songwriting teams, but all engaged in the track to a degree and in a manner that could not have been possible when Kirshner was in charge. Some have condemned the lyrics as too pat and predictable in their dismissal of suburban values, and there's some merit in that criticism. It doesn't matter. The song is perfect, the performance is pristine. The local rock group down the street is working hard to learn their song...and succeeding in that effort beyond anyone's wildest dream."
And here's to one of the voices of that local rock group down the street. This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio humbly salutes Micky Dolenz.
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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
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Volume 3: download
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