Head (The Monkees album)
1968 soundtrack album by the Monkees From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Head is the sixth studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1968 by Colgems Records, and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album primarily consists of musique concrète pieces assembled from the film's dialogue, while the six new songs encompass genres such as psychedelic music, lo-fi, acid rock and Broadway theatre.
| Head | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | December 1, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | December 9, 1967–August 3, 1968 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 29:17 | |||
| Label | Colgems | |||
| Producer | ||||
| The Monkees chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Head | ||||
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Composition
Summarize
Perspective
After the TV series The Monkees ended in the Spring of 1968, the band regrouped and wrote the film Head with screenwriter Jack Nicholson,[1] who later coordinated the soundtrack album, editing dialogue excerpts from the film into the album's composition.[2] The album approximates the flow of the movie and includes large portions of the dialogue.[3] CriterionCast has suggested that the album's composition was influenced by Frank Zappa's Lumpy Gravy (1967).[4] Regarding the album's composition, Peter Tork said, "Nicholson made it different from the movie. There's a line in the movie where Zappa says, 'That's pretty white.' Then there's another line in the movie that was not juxtaposed in the movie, but Nicholson put them together in the [soundtrack album], when Mike says, 'And the same thing goes for Christmas' [...] that was very important and wonderful that he assembled the record differently from the movie [...] It was a different artistic experience."[2]
PopMatters described Head as "a hypnogogic hallucination of a 60's pop record" whose composition encompassed musique concrète pieces and six new songs in the genres of psychedelic, Broadway and lo-fi rock.[5] It was the first Monkees album to not include a song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.[1] Some of the album showcases the songwriting skills of band members, particularly Tork, whose acid rock song "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?" and the "Eastern-flavored" song "Can You Dig It?" were described by AllMusic as being "not only among the best of the six original compositions on the soundtrack, but also among his finest Monkees offerings, period."[1]
Release
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In 1986, Rhino Entertainment repressed vinyl record copies of the album.[5] In 1994, the album was reissued on compact disc with six bonus tracks, including a live version of "Circle Sky", and an alternate version of "Daddy's Song" featuring Michael Nesmith on vocals instead of Davy Jones.[6] In 2010, Rhino reissued the album in a deluxe box set on three compact discs.[5] The following year, Rhino Handmade reissued Head on vinyl for the first time since its original 1968 release.[5]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| MusicHound | [7] |
MusicHound described Head as a "trippy little souvenir of the times".[7] AllMusic wrote that, "Without question, both the movie and album are the most adventurous and in many ways most fulfilling undertaking to have been born of the Monkees' multimedia manufactured project."[1] PopMatters called Head "an almost accidental youngster's gateway to the avant-garde; there is a clear line for clued-in pre-teens leading from Head's 'Opening Ceremony' and 'Swami—Plus Strings, Etc.' to the Beatles' 'Revolution 9', and from there to Yoko Ono, Stockhausen, Krautrock, postpunk, and a million other directions."[5] In 2013, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 25 in their list of "The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time".[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening Ceremony" | 1:19 | |
| 2. | "Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) | Micky Dolenz | 2:56 |
| 3. | "Ditty Diego—War Chant" (Jack Nicholson, Robert Rafelson) | Dolenz, Jones, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork | 1:27 |
| 4. | "Circle Sky" (Nesmith) | Nesmith | 2:32 |
| 5. | "Supplicio" | 0:49 | |
| 6. | "Can You Dig It?" (Tork) | Dolenz | 3:19 |
| 7. | "Gravy" | 0:05 |
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Superstitious" | 0:06 | |
| 2. | "As We Go Along" (King, Toni Stern) | Dolenz | 3:53 |
| 3. | "Dandruff?" | 0:40 | |
| 4. | "Daddy's Song" (Harry Nilsson) | Jones | 2:29 |
| 5. | "Poll" | 1:12 | |
| 6. | "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?" (Tork) | Tork | 2:37 |
| 7. | "Swami—Plus Strings, Etc." (Ken Thorne) | 5:18 |
Selected personnel
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Perspective
Credits adapted from Rhino Handmade 2010 "Deluxe Edition" box set.[9]
The Monkees
- Micky Dolenz – lead vocals (2–3, 6, 9)
- David Jones – backing vocals (2, 13), lead vocals (3, 11)
- Michael Nesmith – lead vocals (3–4), guitar (4), organ (4), percussion (4), acoustic guitar (11), electric guitar (11)
- Peter Tork – lead vocals (3, 13), guitar (6, 13), backing vocals (13)
Additional musicians
- Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – guitar (2, 9)
- Leon Russell – keyboards (2)
- Ralph Schuckett – keyboards (2)
- Doug Lubahn – electric bass (2)
- Max Bennett – upright bass (2)
- Jim Hughart – upright bass (2)
- Jerry Scheff – upright bass (2)
- Russ Titelman – cymbals (2)
- Michel Rubini – piano (3)
- Eddie Hoh – drums (4, 11), percussion (4), unknown (6)
- Ry Cooder – guitar (9)
- Carole King – guitar (9)
- Neil Young – guitar (9)
- Earl Palmer – drums (9)
- Russ Titelman – unknown (9)
- Harry Nilsson – piano (11)
- Keith Allison – guitar (11)
- Pete Candoli – trumpet (11)
- Buddy Childers – trumpet (11)
- Tony Terran – trumpet (11)
- Eleanor Slatkin – cello (11)
- Stephen Stills – guitar (13)
- Dewey Martin – drums (13)
Unconfirmed personnel and duties
- Keith Allison – guitar (4)
- Peter Tork – other instruments (6)
- Dewey Martin or Buddy Miles – drums (6)
- Denny Bruce – percussion (9)
- Stu Williamson – flugelhorn solo (11)
Technical
- The Monkees – producers (1, 3–14)
- Gerry Goffin – producer (2)
- Russ Titelman – conductor (2)
- Jack Nitzsche – arranger (2, 9)
- Shorty Rogers – arranger (11)
- Ken Thorne – arranger (14), conductor (14)
- Jack Nicholson – album coordinator
A more comprehensive listing of personnel can be found at Discogs.
Charts
Album
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | "Porpoise Song" | Billboard Hot 100 | 62[13] |
References
Sources
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