Month: June 2026

The Monkees Celebrate Ten Years of “Good Times” with Two Excellent Reissues – A Deluxe 2 CD Set and A 180-Gram Vinyl Lp

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Anniversaries are a funny thing, at least music-related anniversaries.

Practically every day of the week the anniversary of some album or another comes up but sometimes it’s well worth taking the time in looking back on a particular album or event.

On May 29th, one such anniversary came about and to me it’s well worth celebrating; the 10th anniversary of The Monkees 50th anniversary release “Good Times!” (wrap your head around that). The album is being celebrated with a new 2 CD deluxe edition with bonus tracks plus a Rhino Reserve 180-gram single vinyl version available online at https://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/ or at indie record stores.

The 2 CD Deluxe edition features the original “Good Times!” album on CD 1 and CD 2 contains four bonus tracks issued at the time on various specialty releases (“Terrifying”, “Me & Magdalena (Version 2)”, “A Better World” and “Love’s What I Want”) but collected here on CD for the first time plus the whole “Good Times!” album in instrumental form newly remixed in 2026.

The Rhino Reserve 180-gram single vinyl contains a wonderfully newly remastered version of the “Good Times!” album sans any bonus tracks or instrumentals.

It took me a bit to get both of these items as they were ordered from Warner Brothers online Monkees store and boy they sure take their time to ship but it was worth the wait.

Here are my thoughts on both:

2 CD Set:

I love the new 2 CD version of this album. I’d say the mastering is a bit hot but overall very enjoyable. I especially love the bonus tracks being made available on CD as they are probably four of my favorite songs on the entire record. I think this mastering is a bit more detailed than the original but also a tad louder.

My two nitpicks that I do have are one, where is the Spanish version of “Me & Magdalena” that Mike Nesmith himself mentioned recording and two, I would have loved the bonus tracks on Disc 1 and just the instrumentals on Disc 2 but those are small things as overall I love having this new 2 CD version.

I actually enjoyed listening to the instrumentals a lot which is something I wasn’t expecting. I think the new remix of these instrumentals is a bit more dynamic than the regular album and a fun listen. I will definitely give it a spin again in the near future that’s for sure.

I’ve read online that come fans are just meh about this new CD set but having the bonus tracks on CD in one place is enough for me to make purchasing this new set a must.

The Rhino Reserve 180-gram Vinyl Reissue:

Now this one surprised me. I think that the mastering on this new vinyl version of the album is superb; very dynamic, great sound on the vocals and listening to it through the first time was almost like hearing the album for the first time it was that good.

It’s much more dynamic sounding and less loud than the CD version and my pressing was dead quiet and sounded as good as I’ve heard any recent vinyl reissue sound. If you were only going to buy one of these two new incarnations of “Good Times!” and you aren’t interested in the CD bonus tracks this is the best I’ve ever heard this album sound.

All I can say is that this new mastering sounds very analog; very warm and detailed and makes it sound more like a record of the 1960s than it even sounded before – which a good thing in my book.

Even if you own the previous vinyl versions of this album it’s well worth tracking this one down as to me it’s the clear winner sound wise. I also love the care in which this new vinyl version is packaged especially the nice inner and outer sleeves – a nice touch.

Well that’s all for now. Just a quick look at these new 10th Anniversary version of The Monkees “Good Times!” and as usual you can check out photos of both above and below.

Until next time be well and Happy Monkeeing around if you so chose to do so!

Dungeon Station: A Look Inside a Few Physical Format Variants of Paul McCartney’s “The Boys of Dungeon Lane”

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Seeing as how this blog is a celebration of physical media, today I thought I’d share with you some of the physical formats I bought for the new Paul McCartney album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane”.

Having just been released last Friday you’d think I’d have all the variations I was going to get but most of the variations available come form different stores and Websites so it took a bit of time to locate and receive the variants I bought.

Now there are a plethora of variants out there – enough to make you go bankrupt, trust me – but I chose to buy just, just mind you, two CD versions and two vinyl versions (see photos above and below). It’s kind of mind blowing to see just how many variations there are for sale but lucky I stopped at just these four. Really, that’s good for me. I know, I know but I am getting better.

(Note: Just so you can peruse the various versions available, there’s a handy chart that details all of the variants for “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” courtesy of Beatlesblogger.com: https://beatlesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dungeon-lane-variations-215.jpeg)

The ones I bought are (drum roll please):

“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” – regular issue CD

“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” – Target exclusive CD with lyric card (smaller, different photo collage than the vinyl)

“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” – Gatefold cover, black vinyl issue, paulmccartney.com Exclusive

“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” – Target exclusive red vinyl issue with lyric card (larger, different photo collage than the CD)

I didn’t receive the vinyl copies until yesterday so I based my last blog review of the album on the CD version I got last Friday. Now that I own the vinyl I must say the vinyl issue may be the way to go as it’s a better listen. It sounds more open and dynamic and my pressings sound very quiet and quite good.

Now that I own the red vinyl, I’m glad that I got at least one of the colored vinyl issues. I certainly don’t need all of the various colors but the red vinyl matches the sleeve well and looks and sounds great. I also like that the gatefold and the red vinyl covers are different.

The gatefold sleeve has a pure white with embossed writing (ala the “White Album”) and I love that inside the gatefold the photo collage is spread out and easy to see. By the way the inner sleeve of the red vinyl version has the same photo collages but they are on the inner sleeve, one on each side. It’s much easier to see the collage all as one spread on the gatefold so it’s nice having both.

Truth be told I was very tempted to order the green vinyl exclusive from paulmccartney.com but with the shipping added it was too cost prohibitive – at least for now lol.

Well, that’s all I have today. I just wanted to share some groovy photos of the variants that I own (currently) and share the link above for the list of the complete variants from Beatlesblogger.com – a truly great Website for Beatles info.

And who knows if I decide on another variant I’ll be sure to post it here as well.

Until next time be well and see you soon!

Paul McCartney’s Latest Solo Album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” Proves McCartney is Still at the Top of His Game

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Last Friday, Paul McCartney released his much anticipated new solo album called "The Boys of Dungeon Lane". 

To say I was excited to hear it is an understatement. After reading a lot of pre-release buzz and glowing reviews I was practically giddy when I finally had a CD copy in my hands by noon on Friday.

And that's when something strange happened. I popped the CD in my player and gave it a spin. I enjoyed the first listen but was left with a feeling of being underwhelmed - initially.

A couple of the tracks - "As You Lie There" and "Mountain Top" - grabbed me on the first go but others left me feeling that yeah, it's a good but not great album. As is the case with many a McCartney album sometimes my first impressions change. And with "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" they certainly did - A LOT.

Since so many people had so many good things to say about the this album I decided to give it a few more spins over the weekend and see where I landed on the album by Monday.

Like many of McCartney's solo albums the songs on "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" snuck up on me gradually. By the fourth time through the little nuances in arrangement like the mellotron popping up every so often or the orchestration or the vocal effects began to make even the simplest song seem dreamlike and interesting. 

For example, the song "Ripples in the Pond" seemed just okay the first time through but the subtle instrument choices and languid feel to the song won me over and by the fourth time through it just really gelled with me.

I was really surprised by how much the album blossomed for me with each new listen. By the second time through many songs jumped out to me when they had seemed so low key the first time through. I've definitely felt this way about some of McCartneys other solo albums and honestly those albums that this has happened with have ended up being some of my favorite McCartney albums in his canon.

I have a sneaky suspicion that this will be one of those McCartney albums for me that will stand the test of time.

I also feel that McCartney is at his best when writing about the common man in simple ways and making them sound extraordinary through the music and arrangement of the song. He has a way with making a simple song shine by how he arranges and performs the song. I'm glad producer Andrew Watt has managed to make McCartney sound like McCartney yet gives the songs a sonic edge that sounds vintage and modern at the same time.

Also, McCartney's vocals on this record are much stronger than on his last two solo albums. Older sounding for sure but that suits the songs and is not distracting in the least. Very well done and well performed songs on this set!

There are a lot of Beatles influences as well as Wings to give these songs not only a lyrically reflective tone but a musically reflective tone as well. A really nice combo that makes this album shine.

My thoughts on each track of the album:

As You Lie There  - what a great opening track! On the first listen I thought it was good. On the second listen I thought it was very good and by the third and fourth listen I thought it was superb. A lot of twists and turns in this track but McCartney's vocal is wonderful which really made me excited to hear the rest of the album. Love all the textures in the music. This first track alone is one of the best tracks he's done since the "Flaming Pie" album.

Lost Horizon - this is a solid track which I really enjoy. Not my favorite on the album but a good track with nice vocals

Days We Left Behind - I'd have to say this is one of my all-time favorite McCartney songs of recent years. Poignant, well executed and his older voice suits it to a T. Great song.

Ripples in a Pond - this is another one of the highlights of the album for me. This song to me is "Chaos" meets "New" as far as McCartney albums go. Bouncy with a Wings feel this track would make a great single if radio would play it. The production and arrangement choices really enhance the song

Mountain Top - another highlight of the album for me. This song about a girl from Glastonbury who was tripping on mushrooms really evokes The Beatles, Wings and McCartney's most recent work; a terrific blend of all his work to date and is a superb track. This one is a wild ride and one of the more interesting tracks he's made since going solo.

Down South - a fun track, this is a very simple song which I enjoy, not my favorite on the album but very solid.

We Two - Another solid track, very reminiscent of McCartneys "New" era, a very low-key love song. Lovely pop song which McCartney excels at.

Come Inside - I absolutely love this song another highlight of the album for me. This is very reminiscent of a Wings song mixed with his early 2000s work; fast-paced, rocky with  great vocals. Terrific. Love, love the vocals on this one. McCartney is really pulling off the rock vocals on this album more so than his last two albums for sure.

Never Know - love this track. It features a slight psychedelic edge with the instrumentation. Low-key love song that really evokes the "Magical Mystery Tour" era. Lovely song with great backing vocals. Love the flutes near the end.

Home to Us (with Ringo Starr) - I like the song a lot. It took a while to grow on me. The first couple listens I thought it was okay. But by the fourth listen it's really grown on me. Love the lyrics, very reflective in a fun way and Ringo's voice is terrific along with Paul's.

Life Can Be Hard - another absolute highlight of the album for me. To me it's very reminiscent of one of my favorite recent McCartney tracks "English Tea" but with a mix of Beach Boys backing vocals along with a slight psychedelic feel, terrific. Bouncy and positive with a great arrangement.

First Star of the Night - One of my favorite songs on the record. Features a great bass line and soothing lyrics with lovely backing vocals. A sweet and comforting song. Very languid and beautiful.

Salesman Saint - I absolutely adore this song. The salesman and saint in the lyrics are about his mom and dad. I absolutely love the '40s instrumental bursts near the end of this song. Such a great track. It took a couple of listens to really get this song into my veins but I really like it a lot now.

Momma Gets By - this song is the perfect ending to the album. To me it sounds like "My Valentine" from the "Kisses" album of recent years but with an absolutely wonderful arrangement of strings near the end of the song and wonderfully reflective lyrics. Superb.

Well there's my two cents on Paul McCartney's "The Boys of Dungeon Lane". It really is a wonderful record. Moving, reflective, rocking, languid and dreamlike are the words that sum this album up for me.

Now that I've gotten acquainted with these songs and they have made a home in my heart and brain I look forward to listening to it often. My criteria for a good album is one that I want to listen to again and again and this album fits that criteria in spades.

Until next time be well and see you soon!