More of the Monkees?

As the trio of Monkees goes out on tour once again, Rhino has acknowledged that they are planning on releasing an "everything but the kitchen sink" three-CD version of the first Monkees LP.

It should be out late this year, and a formal announcement about the release is supposed to be made the week of March 24.

Stay tuned!

The Monkees Present Has Arrived!

Finally, after way too long a wait, the Monkees "Present" three-CD box set--with bonus 45 rpm single, has arrived in mailboxes.

The set, which I think is the best of the post-Peter Tork Monkees LPs, features the original album plus numerous outtakes, alternate versions and never-before-released music.

For a mini-review of the set, please go to http://rantingravingblog.blogspot.com/.

The Monkees Present Deluxe Box Set

It's finally here.

After a relatively long wait, the next set in the line of Rhino's Deluxe Bot Sets of the Monkees' albums can now be ordered at this address:

http://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/the-monkees-present-deluxe.html

Monkees.com is taking pre-orders for the set, which should be out at the end of July.

Those who bought amped-up tickets to the Monkees' concerts will receive the set as part of their purchase; others can buy it separately.

P.S.: On July 1, it was announced that the box set would not be released until August 13.

According to the Monkees' Live Almanac, at http://www.monkeesconcerts.com/1/category/monkees%20present%20deluxe%20edition/1.html
here are the tracks on the set:

DISC ONE:1 Little Girl 
2 Good Clean Fun 
3 If I Knew 
4 Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye 
5 Never Tell A Woman Yes 
6 Looking For The Good Times 
7 Ladies Aid Society 
8 Listen To The Band (fake stereo mix) 
9 French Song 
10 Mommy And Daddy 
11 Oklahoma Backroom Dancer 
12 Pillow Time 
13 Time And Time Again (November 1969 stereo mix) 
14 Down The Highway (November 1969 stereo mix) 
15 Steam Engine (November 1969 stereo mix) 
16 If You Have The Time (November 1969 stereo mix) 
17 Angel Band (November 1969 stereo mix) 
18 Rose Marie (November 1969 stereo mix) 
19 I Never Thought It Peculiar (No strings & backing vocals - August 1969) 
20 Of You (November 1969 stereo mix) 
21 Kicking Stones (1969 mix) 
22 If I Knew (Bill & Davy's stereo mix) 
23 The Crippled Lion (November 1969 stereo mix) 
24 My Storybook Of You (Tommy & Bobby's stereo mix) 
25 Carlisle Wheeling (November 1969 stereo mix) 
26 French Song (LP master with alternate ending - stereo) 
27 Hollywood (stereo) 
28 My Storybook Of You ("New" 1969 stereo mix) 
29 Circle Sky ("New" 1969 stereo mix) 
30 Kool Aid spot

DISC TWO:1 The Monkees Present radio spot 
2 If I Knew (TV Mix mono) 
3 Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye (mono) 
4 Looking For The Good Times (mono) 
5 Ladies Aid Society (1969 mono mix) 
6 Listen To The Band (single mix) 
7 French Song (TV mix mono) 
8 Mommy & Daddy (1969 mono mix) 
9 Circle Sky (1969 "New" mono mix) 
10 Penny Music (TV mix mono) 
11 Apples, Peaches, Bananas And Pears (1969 mono mix) 
12 Of You (1969 mono mix) 
13 I Never Thought It Peculiar (1969 mono mix without overdubs) 
14 Kicking Stones (1969 mono mix) 
15 Listen To The Band (LP version true mono mix) 
16 If You Have The Time (1969 mono mix without Moog) 
17 Midnight Train (TV mix mono) 
18 My Storybook Of You (mono) 
19 Steam Engine (1969 rough stereo mix) 
20 Time And Time Again (November 1969 mono mix) 
21 Mommy & Daddy (7/1/69) stereo mix 3 
22 I Never Thought It Peculiar (September 1969 mono mix with overdubs) 
23 Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye (July 1969 stereo mix) 
24 If You Have The Time (1969 mono mix with Moog) 
25 Mommy & Daddy (7/2/69) stereo mix 
26 Time And Time Again (November 1969 alternate mono mix) 
27 Monkees Greatest Hits radio spot

DISC THREE:1 Little Girl (take 7) 
2 Calico Girlfriend 
3 If I Knew (take 11) 
4 You're So Good (alternate mix) 
5 Little Red Rider (alternate mix) 
6 If You Have The Time (take 4) 
7 Music Bridge "We'll Be Back In A Minute" (take 12) 
8 Listen To The Band (alternate stereo mix) 
9 French Song (take 3) 
10 Mommy And Daddy (May 13, 1969 stereo mix 9) 
11 How Insensitive 
12 Pillow Time (Takes 8 & 9) 
13 How Can I Tell You 
14 Thank You My Friend (backing track - take 4) 
15 Time And Time Again (take 1) 
16 Good Afternoon (take 14) 
17 Opening Night 
18 Lynn Harper (backing track - take 8) 
19 Music Bridge "We'll Be Back In A Minute" (take 18) 
20 The Good Earth (alternate take) 
21 London Bridge (backing track - take 4) 
22 Music Bridge "We'll Be Back In A Minute" (version three) 
23 A Bus That Never Comes (backing track - take 9) 
24 Omega (backing track - take 8) 
25 13 Is Not Our Lucky Number (backing track) 
26 Michigan Blackhawk (backing track - take 4) 
27 Little Tommy Blues (backing track - take 5) 
28 Till Then (backing track - take 2)

VINYL 45:A Good Clean Fun (alternate mix with extra percussion)
B Mommy & Daddy (7/10/69) mono mix

"Three-Kees" Announce Their Newest Tour

The three surviving Monkees--Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith--have announced a followup to their successful tour of late last year.

The will supposedly be hitting stops in places that they hadn't visited on the first tour, as well as common places in different venues, such as on Long Island.

Here is the link to read up on the newest tour: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-reveal-u-s-summer-tour-dates-20130429#ixzz2RqqZNGIE .

Here are the tour dates, and tickets for all the dates go on sale on Friday, May 3.

7/15 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
7/16 Citi Performing Arts Center, Boston, MA
7/17 Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ
7/19 NYCB Theatre at Westbury, Westbury, NY
7/20 Mann Music Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
7/21 Warner Theatre, Washington, D.C.
7/23 Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh, NC
7/24 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
7/26 St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, FL
7/27 Mizner Park Amphitheatre, Boca Raton, FL
7/28 Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
7/31 Long Center, Austin, TX
8/1 Arena Theatre, Houston, TX
8/2 Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie, TX
8/3 Brady Theater, Tulsa, OK
8/5 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
8/9 Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ
8/10 Green Valley Events Center, Henderson, NV
8/11 Humphreys, San Diego, CA
8/12 Terrace Theatre, Long Beach, CA
8/14 Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
8/15 Uptown Theatre, Napa, CA
8/17 Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
8/18 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR

Annette Funicello, Guest Star in "Head," Passes

Lovely Annette Funicello, the former Mouseketeer who was the star of the beach movie genre in the 1960s, passed away yesterday at age 70 from the effect of muscular dystrophy.

Although little more than a footnote in her career, she was one of the guest stars of the Monkees' film, "Head."

Here, she is with Davy Jones.

My own personal tribute to Annette can be found at the following address:

http://rantingravingblog.blogspot.com/.

Monkees to Tour in Summer 2013

With the success of their short tour this winter, is it any surprise that they will once again tour together, this time during the summer?

According to this report, they will hit spots this time that they didn't in their earlier get together.

http://www.monkees.net/monkees-to-tour-in-summer-2013/

Jewel Akens Passes

Former Colgems Records artist Jewel Akens passed away at age 79 after complications from back surgery.

Although he was best known for his hit "The Birds and the Bees," Akens recorded two singles for Colgems afterward, never hitting the Hot 100 with either of them: No. 1099, September 1967, "Born a Loser"/"Little Bitty Pretty One" and No. 1025, July 1968, "It's a Sin To Tell a Lie"/"You Better Move On."

He had a long career that stretched through the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, propelled by his one-hit wonder status.