Here is the next volume of this continuing series, showcasing the acts on the Colgems record label.
The volume includes music by Stanley Myers, the Monkees, P.K. Limited, Paula Wayne, and the Fountain of Youth.
The volume opens with some film music from the little seen "Otley." This single incorrectly lists Alex Keenan as the performer of this song, but Keenan did the single's A side only (see Volume 6).
The Monkees check in with four songs on this volume. The bubble had pretty much burst by this point, what with the show completed and their movie, "Head," leaving the whole project in shambles. But the show was now part of the Saturday Morning kids show lineup, and the Monkees name still carried some value. Thus, even though "Tear Drop City" is a letdown from its close cousin "Last Train to Clarksville" and the "Head" film music, it still is pretty catchy. "A Man Without a Dream" might be Davy Jones' finest vocal performance as a Monkee, and then there was "Listen to the Band," which might be the Monkees' absolute best song. Michael Nesmith valued this song so much he re-recorded it twice--as part of the Monkees special "33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee" in a longer version and as part of his band project after the Monkees with the First National Band. "Someday Man" is also catchy, but not that memorable. Incredibly, all of these songs made the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, attesting that the Pre-Fab Four wasn't dead ,,, at least not yet ,,, even though Peter Tork was no longer a member of the band at this time.
Paula Wayne continued to notch some really good, but little heard tunes by this time, and the single included here, "Denver to L.A." and "You With the Darkness On Your Mind" was perhaps her best all-around 45 release.
P.K. Limited have two songs on this collection: "Oh What a Fool I've Been" and "She'd Be Mine," and along with the Monkees, they remained with the record label until the bitter end.
And then there was the Fountain of Youth. Again, I say, how the heck didn't these guys become big hitmakers? I have no answer, other than to say that "Liza Jane" and "Witness People" should have done the trick, but didn't. Personally, I think people looked at their output as being filled with nothing but Monkees rejects, but I can't agree; their singles are filled with unique "Sunshine Pop" that was as good as it got, but I just don't think people "got" it.
You can access this music at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/albumania
More next month.
