Then I saw your announcement … now I’m a believer!
With the online announcement yesterday of the impending release (December 15, 2017 through Monkees.com) of the 3 CD Super Deluxe version of The Monkees second album called “More of the Monkees”, I thought this might be a good time to take a stroll down memory lane.
My memory lane.
You see, the “More of the Monkees” album holds a special place in my musical memory as it’s the first album that I remember ever really loving. Though I actually called it the “She” album for years as that was my favorite Monkees song and first track on the record.
Anyway, I remember playing this album to death as a child. And when I say child I mean child; 6 to 9 months old lol – no kidding! I fell early into my Monkees/record/music habit!
Actually to be totally truthful it was my oldest brothers copy of “More of the Monkees” that I played constantly and which he says I “scratched”, I say loved, to death.
That album is one of the many Monkees related memories my oldest brother and I share along with constantly fighting over replacing that very record.
Which leads me to another early memory. When I was three years old and my father, who rarely took me or my siblings shopping, took a few of us to an Ayr-Way store.
Anyone remember Ayr-Way? For those who aren’t familiar (or aren’t from the Midwest), Ayr-Way was a discount store that I believe was owned by L.S. Ayres and was very much a precursor to Target stores.
I don’t remember much about that shopping trip only that I wanted a copy of a record. Guess which one? Wait for it!
Yep you got it, I distinctly remember torturing my father in an Ayr-Way store in 1969 at the tender age of three until he bought me a copy of “More of the Monkees”. Stereo copy in fact.
I obviously eagle-eyed a copy of it in the record section – even then I could smell a record at ten paces lol – and I suppose I threw a bit of a fit asking him to buy it for me.
Well my father caved in and as soon as I got home my older brother pilfered the record from my greedy little hands saying I ruined his copy (true) so he should get this nice brand new one.
Well of course I wasn’t going to let the album go without a fight so for a few years we fought about this and the many other records (mostly Monkees of course) of his I played or scratched, or loved, or whatever.
So over the years, after not being able to buy any Monkees records, as they went out of print in the early 1970s, I still exhibit somewhat of a Pavlovian response whenever I see a copy of any Monkees record for sale, especially “More of the Monkees”!
My knee jerk reaction is to reach for the wallet. And as you can see I’ve bought my fair share of copies of this album (see photos) and will soon be adding the Super Deluxe CD set as well!
I can’t wait to hear what’s in store on the new and definitive version of this life long musical friend and will report back with my impressions of the Super Deluxe “More of the Monkees” set here when I get it next month.
So, until then, here’s to another round of “More of the Monkees” and check out some of my favorite versions that I own – so far:
(Oh and by the way, check out those groovy JCPenney clothes The Monkees are wearing on the cover of “More of the Monkees”. I swear my oldest brother had one of those shirts lol!)
From the above photo, I have:
- a U.S. mono copy still in the shrink wrap
- a rare stereo copy from 1970 with the redesigned Colgems logo on the back and an RE after the COS-102 designating a reissue
- a 2006 Deluxe 2 CD version of “More of the Monkees” put out by Rhino Records with tons of bonus tracks, soon to be superseded by the Super Deluxe version coming out in December
- a 1994 Rhino single CD release featuring a few choice bonus tracks
- a 2011 Rhino reissue without bonus tracks but featuring the stereo mastering from the 2006 Deluxe set
- a green vinyl copy from the 2016 Monkees Classic Album Collection 10 Lp box set (featuring all colored vinyl)
From below I have:
- My prized “More of the Monkees” vinyl – a jukebox 33 and 1/3 EP (extended play) copy featuring six songs from the album, a nice cardboard mini sleeve and jukebox strips
- a mono UK pressing of the album
- the hype sticker and card that came with the 1994 Rhino CD of the album
Records, CDs and Music: 