Daydream Believer and Other Hits

Performer: Monkees
Distributor: WEA Strategic Marketing

Notes: While it may have gone unnoticed due to generic and less than enticing cover art, Daydream Believer and Other Hits contains more -- albeit only slightly -- than ten recycled Monkees tracks. This 1998 budget CD is the companion to I'm a Believer and Other Hits. Both compilations contain the A- and B-sides of three Monkees singles as well a lone previously unreleased track -- although the songs are programmed in a seemingly random fashion. The contents of this release include the "Pleasant Valley Sunday"/"Words," "Valleri"/"Tapioca Tundra," and "D.W. Washburn"/"It's Nice to Be With You" 45s, as well as the A-sides of the "Daydream Believer," "Good Clean Fun," and "Oh My My" 7" releases. "You Can't Tie a Mustang Down" -- a bubblegum rocker featuring a Davy Jones vocal -- makes its debut here. The track was cut during an ill-fated recording session that record producer Don Kirshner held with only Jones, basically in an effort to hijack the Monkees project for himself. Politics aside, the song is not very good and is more akin to something the Archies might have had a go at. By the time that these later singles were issued, most of the album mixes were also used on the 45s. There are a few differences worth noting, however. The most obvious are on "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Tapioca Tundra," and the title track, "Daydream Believer." In these cases, subtle yet significant alterations can be heard -- evident mainly on the vocals, as they were usually cut long after the instrumental backing tracks. While I'm a Believer and Other Hits remained in print for several years, Daydream Believer and Other Hits was deleted from Flashback's catalog shortly after being issued. The rarity of the disc has made what should have been a six-dollar impulse item at Wal-Mart into one of the most absurdly and astronomically priced of "budget" rarities. Enthusiasts with more disposable income than common sense are advised to search online auctions for their chances at paying too much for too little on Daydream Believer and Other Hits. ~ Lindsay Planer

One of the most memorable '60s US pop groups, the Monkees were put together by US television producers to play members of a pop band based on the Beatles. They were critcized as a pre-fabricated outfit, but the passage of time has left behind much of the critical drubbing, leaving in its place some great, catchy pop music. By the late '60s HEADQUARTERS, BEES & THE MONKEES, and their musical/cinematic classic HEAD, showed a proper band writing, recording, and producing their own records while garnering commercial and critical success. Michael Nesmith went on to pioneering work in country-rock and music video, while the rest of the band reunited periodically over the years to the delight of an unflagging fanbase.

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