New Upload: The Complete Colgems Singles (Vol. 8)

Here is the latest in the series of Colgems singles compilations. On this volume, the music of the Monkees, New Establishment, P.K. Limited, and Alex Keenan are spotlighted.

The end was coming closer for the Colgems label in the fall of 1969, but the label trudged on with a number of high-quality singles releases. The Monkees came out with one of their most interesting singles during this period. Although "Good Clean Fun" and "Mommy and Daddy" generated little interest, Michael Nesmith, in his last hurrah as a member of the Pre-Fab Four, and Micky Dolenz continued to show that they weren't just good musicians, they were fine songwriters too.

The New Establishment was a pop folk group which offered a lot of promise, so much so that a Colgems album was planned for them, but never materialized. Their tunes on this volume--led off by their charted "Sunday's Gonna Come On Tuesday," and followed by "Baby the Rain Must Fall," "I'll Build a Bridge," and the oft-covered theme song to the TV show Here Come the Brides, "Seattle," demonstrated that they were a talented group, and an album probably would have been a good one.

Alex Keenan was a staff writer, and had been on several soundtracks, and his song "One Day of Your Life" could have, and should have, been a smash. However, superstar Andy Williams also covered this song, and his version is the most popular. However, Keenan's version was a major hit in Hawaii. The flip, "Power of Your Mind," is another pretty good tune.

As the days of Colgems were being counted down, P.K. Limited, along with the Monkees, became the label's last sustaining act. Whether recording soundtrack music or 45s, the duo did what they could to keep the train rolling. "Forget About Me," "Child of the West Wind," and "Ain't No Way," off the Getting Straight movie soundtrack, showed a lot of high quality, but the Colgems monicker was sinking, and the label's acts were sinking with it.

You can get these files at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/albumania

Happy Colgems Vacation

My family and I just returned from vacation in Orlando, Fla. We had a great time, although it wasn't really swimming weather.

I just wanted to let you know that I am back for another action-packed year at the Colgems blog.

The next post will be on or about January 15, so stay tuned.