Headquarters

iTunes Review

Time has shown that the Monkees were more than faux Beatles or Byrds. The so-called Pre-Fab Four may have been a TV series creation, but their records were often works of genuine inspiration and artistic ambition. The group lobbied hard to play their own instruments in the studio, and with Headquarters (1967) they got their wish. With ace pop producer Chip Douglas at the helm, Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith took long strides towards proving themselves as a bona fide pop/rock band on this eclectic album. Nesmith especially stands out as a songwriter here, contributing the psychedelic-tinged “You Just May Be The One” and the countrified “You Told Me.” Dolenz romps through the lovably goofy “Randy Scouse Git,” while Tork shines with the utopian “For Pete’s Sake.” “Early Morning Blues And Greens” (a quaintly alienated tune) and “Shades Of Gray” (a thought-provoking look at moral ambiguity) feature Jones’ nicely nuanced vocals. Four decades later, Headquarters holds up better than many supposedly hipper albums of its era. Far from being disposable teenybopper fare, this album demonstrates why the Monkees remain a beloved pop/rock combo.