50 years ago this month, in June of 1970, The Monkees, or what was left of them, released what would become the final album of their original era of their existence, Changes. After a mere 5 years, they had gone from the staggering heights of screaming teen heart-throb superstars to plunging to the level of "red-headed stepchild" of pop culture. Dismissed, reviled and ridiculed, they'd fizzle out like a dud firework. Or did they?
After the wild success of their first 4 LPs and two seasons of the TV show, things started to take a turn in 1968 with the double whammy of a feature film box office disaster, HEAD, followed up with an ill conceived and somewhat nightmarish variety special, 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee. It was all too much for Peter Tork, who split after the TV special was filmed, but they soldiered on as a trio through a couple more LPs and a smattering of TV guest appearances on things like Hollywood Squares and the Johnny Cash show. By the end of 1969. however, it was enough for Michael Nesmith, who was the next to depart and move on to a more creatively fulfilling solo career.
With the proper "musicians" (and control freaks) out of the picture, the two "actors" of the group, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones, were looking to rekindle their chart success and, not being driven by the need to have that full say in their material, reverted to the format of the group prior to the creative "revolt" and musical director, Don Kirshner's dismissal. They went back to the record label's stable of pop song-smiths and Wrecking Crew studio musicians and put together another "pre-fab" style LP, the kind they'd been so successful with on their first two LPs. But the bloom was too far off the rose by this point to score any chart success and the commercial failure of the album put the final nail in the Monkees coffin. Jones and Dolenz went their separate ways, thus ending the initial lifespan of the group.
But what kind of album do we actually have in this swansong? It took me a long time to give it any attention or consideration. I'd always dismissed it as the last gasp of a dying concept. It was the last album from the original era that I bothered to add to my library and I only initially did so out of my obsessive-compulsive habit of wanting "completeness". When I collect a band, I like to get EVERYTHING they did, good, bad and ugly, and I assumed this album pretty much tagging only two out of three of those attributes and you can guess which ones.
When I finally got around to giving it a proper, objective listen, what I discovered was that it is actually a rather nicely crafted bit of bubblegum pop music. Firstly, you've got the vocal talents of Micky Dolenz. I don't care what anyone says, but I consider him one of the great vocal talents to emerge from the 1960s. And then there's still good songwriting talent coming to bare on the record. Andy Kim and Jeff Barry contributed most of the songs to the album and there are some great tunes in the bunch. Ticket on a Ferry Ride is a sublimely beautiful bit of pop confectionery. Even Dolenz contributes a spry tune in the form of Midnight Train, though I must say that the album version pales in comparison to the a-cappella demo version he did with sister Coco. She was Dolenz's secret weapon throughout his career and it's no wonder she's still a critical part of his touring entourage to this day, solo or with The Monkees. With a similar vocal tone, but slightly higher range, she was often the vocal "flying buttress" that helped lift Micky up to the heights he might not have fully scaled on his own.
Ultimately, while this may not be The Monkees best, it is definitely not their worst (Pool It takes that "honor"). What it is, is a beautifully crafted, neglected pop album with more good to it than bad and worthy of a second look for fans of the group who want to dig a bit deeper than the obvious hits. It was the last chapter in the first part of their story, but it wasn't a tragic one.
