Music Box [Box]

Performer: Monkees
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Monkees: David Jones, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz. Producers include: Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Jack Keller, Jeff Barry, Gerry Coffin. Compilation producer: Andrew Sandoval, Bill Inglot. Includes a 96 page booklet with liner notes by Andrew Sandoval. Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot (Digiprep). It's hard not to wonder why the four-disc Music Box even exists. After all, Rhino has not only released definitive reissues of all of the Monkees' studio albums, complete with bonus tracks, but the label has a series devoted to rarities (Missing Links), a single-disc greatest hits album, a double-disc anthology, and another four-disc box, Listen to the Band, which is excellent. So where does that leave Music Box? Well, it is "reconfigured" into a booklike box, which must appeal to somebody, but more importantly, it tries to pull off a nifty trick -- providing an exhaustive overview for the casual listener, while filling in the holes for those serious fans who only have the proper reissued albums. On both counts, this works well. Let's get the basics out of the way: This sounds great, and Andrew Sandoval's liner notes are terrific, particularly the song-by-song breakdown that not only includes the Monkees' reflections, but also those of various producers and songwriters. Then, there's the song selection, which is impeccable for the first three discs, which devote a year each to 1966, 1967, and 1968, blending hits with rarities, album versions, and alternate takes, never once seeming like a sop to collectors. The fourth disc is a little more problematic, just because it spans from 1969 to 1996, containing reunion tracks that some fans may rather not hear, but it still has more than enough minor gems that will please the dedicated. And, when it gets right down to it, Music Box succeeds on two counts: Everyone who needs to plug in gaps will be satisfied with this (plus they'll like the fine flow of the songs) and, more importantly, this is a wonderful choice for anyone looking for a good, thorough overview of the Monkees' best, delving far deeper than the hits. It doesn't really trump Listen to the Band, but it's nearly an equal. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Q (6/01, pp.133-4) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Anthologizes their entire career, retaining a striking potency....To recap: pop group is formed for TV show, briefly does what it's told, and then breaks free and makes some of the most evocative music of its era..."

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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