In celebration of the 60th (yes, you heard right, 60th!) anniversary of The Monkees TV show hitting the airwaves a brand new CD/Blu-Ray/Vinyl set called “The Monkees – Made for TV: Favorite Episodes and Biggest Hits From Season 1” has just recently been released by Rhino Records.

I know a lot of fans have mixed feelings about buying this set because A) they feel it has nothing really new to offer and B) the price is a bit steep for music and video they mostly already own and truthfully I can see their point.

While yes, most of the mono TV mixes included in this new set have been made available previously through Rhino Records Deluxe CD issues of The Monkees catalog albums and while the TV episodes in this set have been previously available as part of The Monkees Complete TV show box set there is one thing that this set has going for it in spades and that’s the sound quality – it’s superb!

You see, after listening to the vinyl and 2 CDs in this set I’m happy to report that the mastering of the music here is some of the best mastering of Monkees music I’ve ever heard and well worth the price of tracking this set down if you’re a big fan of the group.

I myself had mixed feelings when this set was first announced but I thought I’d take a chance and see if there perhaps might be a new mastering of the music. I also really liked the concept of releasing only the songs that were part of the TV series first season and not the albums so that sold it for me though I did think about it for a few days before I ordered it.

Thank goodness I did as it’s a great set!

When I first played the vinyl album in the set I was struck immediately by how damn good these mono TV mixes sound. This set was mastered by the renowned Bernie Grundman and he did a wonderful job of making these mixes sound full and clear as well as warm and punchy.

I believe Andrew Sandoval, who was responsible for getting these mixes transferred from the original mag tracks of the TV show episodes, made sure to get the best transfers he could sound wise of these mixes as they only exist on the original episodes and not on mono studio tape masters.

Honestly the set is worth it alone for the vinyl album as it’s a great selection of songs and really pops out of the speakers but thankfully the sound of the 2 CDs in the set is just as superb as the vinyl.

I was particularly impressed by the sound of the songs that were a part of the Missing Links series (“You Just May Be the One”, “I’ll Be Back Upon My Feet”, “I Wanna Be Free (fast version)”, “All the Kings Horses”).

“You Just May Be the One” in particular stood out as having a much better lower end and now sounds as full as the later “Headquarters” re-recording. I always thought the TV version sounded a bit flat in comparison buy it now sounds just as full and lively as the later take and is a real joy to listen to and stands up well to the remake.

All of the songs on the 2 CD set, though being the regular studio stereo versions and not the TV mixes, sound just as good as the Missing Links songs and will be played quite often by me as I think they sound better than any previous versions of this material released before on CD.

As for the TV episodes they look just as fantastic as the Complete Monkees series set released through Rhino’s Monkees.com but if you have that set then there really is no difference as they are the same HD transfers.

The set also comes in lovely hardback book style cover with a four-page insert with great new liner notes provided by Andrew Sandoval.

Well there you go. As usual you can see photos above and below of this set and while it has only received a lukewarm reception from fans I myself think it’s a great celebration of the shows 60th anniversary!

If you don’t own the Complete Monkees Series box then it’s a must have as the ten TV episodes in this set look astonishing and it’s the only way to get them in HD in physical form now as the TV box is out of print.

Until next time be healthy and safe and see you next time!