"Monkees in the Ring"

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I noticed a couple things yester-day when I watched "Monkees in the Ring."

There's a running gag where the Monkees mis-name a character, saying "Shylock" instead of "Sholto."  I'm not sure, but I think this is a reference to the character Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.  I haven't read it for a couple years, but from what I remember Shylock - like Sholto - is something of a scheming character.  He's definitely the antagonist in the play.

The other thing I noticed is that in the background of a scene, Peter plays a bit of Bach on the banjo.  It's commonly referred to as "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," but originally, the melody is in the 7th and 10th movements of Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147.

"Monkees in the Ring"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees in the Ring" - the twentieth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (30 January 1967).  It was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "Laugh" and "I'll Be Back up on My Feet."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "A shady promoter enters Davy into the ring as an unlikely boxing champion."

"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"

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A couple days ago, I learned the organ part in "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You."  I don't think that the organ part itself is worth recording and posting, but - provided I figured it out correctly - it has an interesting feature.

It alternates between two pairs of notes.  For instance, after "Girl," it's A & C, Bb & D, and then back to A & C.  After "I don't wanna fight," it moves down for F & A, G & Bb, and then back to F & A.  After "I'm a little bit wrong," it's back to A & C and Bb & D, and after "You're a little bit right," it's back to F & A and G & Bb.  It continues that way throughout the rest of the chorus.

Those two pairs of notes have a note in common: A & C and F & A have A in common, and Bb & D and G & Bb have Bb in common.  So, musically, there's an element that's "A little bit me" and "A little bit you too."

"The Audition (Find the Monkees)"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Audition (Find the Monkees)" - the nineteenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (23 January 1967).  It was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, directed by Richard Nunis, and featured the songs "Sweet Young Thing," "Papa Gene's Blues," and "I'm a Believer."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The Monkees try to impress TV producer Hubbell Benson who is looking for a group to star in his show."

To demonstrate the recent HD restoration of the footage, this full episode is on the Monkees' YouTube channel:

"I Was a Teenage Monster"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "I Was a Teenage Monster" - the eighteenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (16 January 1967).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Dave Evans, directed by Sidney Miller, and featured the song "Your Auntie Grizelda."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "When a mad scientist creates a mod monster he hires The Monkees to make him rock'n'roll."

"I'm a Believer"

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A couple days ago, I figured out the electric piano solo in "I'm a Believer."  I wanted to try to figure out the chords though, so I didn't have to record just the solo.  Yester-day, I got the chords and also the electric guitar part (most of it, at least; I'm not sure of the extent to which it doubles the acoustic guitar chords).  But the organ part is probably the most distinctive musical feature of the song, and it didn't seem right to record the song without it, so last night I learned that too.

I'm limited as far as organ sounds go (because I'm using my dad's old Yahama keyboard from the mid-1990s; I'm saving up for a Nord keyboard so I can use their sample library), so the organ part sounds more like a Hammond than a Vox Continental (which I think is what the original recording has).  I could have been more precise in the acoustic guitar part too; it stops short about a measure after "Not a trace / Of doubt in my mind," but I neglected to do that and instead let it ring out.

I found the electric piano solo really interesting.  It's only four notes, but they have the same intervals as the recurring phrase in "Money (That's What I Want)" (although I have to admit that I'm familiar only with the Beatles' version).  Here, the notes are D F F# G, and in "Money," there're E G G# A.  The rhythms are different, but the sequence of notes is somewhat similar.  I'm not sure if that's coincidental or not.

"Hold on Girl"

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A couple days ago, I learned the introductory keyboard part for "Hold on Girl."  It shows up again later in the song, and it's expanded a bit at the end (although I haven't workt on that yet).

I'm not positive of what instrument this is played on (and since the personnel on the recording are unknown, apparently so are what instruments are present), but I think it's clavichord.  That's what I used anyway (well, the fake clavichord setting on my keyboard).  There's something of a tremolo effect (particularly in the lower register), which rules out electric piano, and there's a darker timbre, which makes me think it's clavichord rather than harpsichord.

"Mary, Mary"

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After I listened to More of the Monkees a few days ago, I figured out the bass part for "Mary, Mary."  I was going to record it, but most of the bass part is just the same figure repeated over and over, and I thought that would get boring.

In lieu of that, here's the phrase in notation:

Hopefully that's proof enough that I learned it.

"Take a Giant Step"

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When I went looking into that drum rhythm in "Take a Giant Step," I sort of accidentally learned the bass part too.  My recording has just the first two verses, but the rest of the part is essentially the same (there might be some variation near the end).  This also gave me an opportunity to finally record the glockenspiel part I learnt back in September, but the fake glockenspiel setting on my keyboard sounds a bit too clunky for my liking.

"Your Auntie Grizelda"

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Yester-day I listened to More of the Monkees because it was the fiftieth anniversary of its release.  I noticed something about "Your Auntie Grizelda."  After the lines in the verses, there's a drum part with this rhythm:

This sounded familiar to me because the same drum rhythm is in "Take a Giant Step."  It's during the instrumental section, with the first occurrence at about 1:39.

I referenced Sandoval's day-by-day book The Monkees and found that while the personnel on "Your Auntie Grizelda" are unknown, it was recorded in New York.  Since "Take a Giant Step" was recorded in Los Angeles, so I think it's safe to say that the songs feature two different groups of musicians (coincidentally, "Your Auntie Grizelda" was recorded the same day that the "Last Train to Clarksville" b/w "Take a Giant Step" single was issued in the U.K. - 14 October 1966).  The songs were written by different people too:  "Take a Giant Step" is by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and "Your Auntie Grizelda" is by Jack Keller and Diane Hilderbrand.

So it seems that it's just coincidence that both songs have the same drum rhythm.

More of the Monkees

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Manufactured Monkees:

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, the Monkees' second album - More of the Monkees (Colgems COM-102 [mono], COS-102 [stereo]) - was released fifty years ago this month (January 1967).  The U.K. release (RCA SF 7868) followed on 25 March. 

Side One: 

1. "She"
2. "When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)"
3. "Mary, Mary"
4. "Hold on Girl"
5. "Your Auntie Grizelda"
6. "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" 

Side Two: 

1. "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)"
2. "The Kind of Girl I Could Love"
3. "The Day We Fall in Love"
4. "Sometime in the Morning"
5. "Laugh"
6. "I'm a Believer"

According to the trivia on the third disc of season one of The Monkees, More of the Monkees was released the day after "The Case of the Missing Monkee" aired:

Since "The Case of the Missing Monkee" aired on 9 January 1967, this would make the release date of More of the Monkees 10 January 1967, fifty years ago to-day.

"The Case of the Missing Monkee"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Case of the Missing Monkee" - the seventeenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (9 January 1967).  It was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, directed by Robert Rafelson, and featured the song "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "Peter stumbles into a plot to kidnap an esteemed professor and shortly thereafter stumbles out of sight." 

"Salesman"

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One of my sub-projects this year is to figure out a bass part for a song on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones, Ltd. every month.  A couple days ago, I got most of the bass part (the verses and about half of the bridge) and all of the chords for "Salesman."  Right before I recorded this, I figured out the rest of the bass part during the bridge.

My recording ends right before the little drum solo.  When the other instruments come back in, there's some more variety in the bass part, but I haven't figured that out yet.

More of the Monkees

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, the Monkees' second album - More of the Monkees (Colgems COM-102 [mono], COS-102 [stereo]) - was released fifty years ago this month (January 1967).  The U.K. release (RCA SF 7868) followed on 25 March.

Side One:

1. "She"
2. "When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)"
3. "Mary, Mary"
4. "Hold on Girl"
5. "Your Auntie Grizelda"
6. "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"

Side Two:

1. "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)"
2. "The Kind of Girl I Could Love"
3. "The Day We Fall in Love"
4. "Sometime in the Morning"
5. "Laugh"
6. "I'm a Believer"