The Monkees Tale

Though they were initially reviled by hipsters and Beatles fans alike for their admittedly manufactured origins, like the Beatles, upon whom they were modeled, the 1960s pop group the Monkees turned out to be greater than the sum of their parts. The band's wildly successful TV show, patterned on the Beatles' movies, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and HELP!, was hip and often surreally inventive, and its members' personalities were attractive and witty. In fact, as Eric Lefcowitz shows in his history of the band, THE MONKEES TALE, their ... Read More

Though they were initially reviled by hipsters and Beatles fans alike for their admittedly manufactured origins, like the Beatles, upon whom they were modeled, the 1960s pop group the Monkees turned out to be greater than the sum of their parts. The band's wildly successful TV show, patterned on the Beatles' movies, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and HELP!, was hip and often surreally inventive, and its members' personalities were attractive and witty. In fact, as Eric Lefcowitz shows in his history of the band, THE MONKEES TALE, their intelligence and talent was their downfall, leading them to rapidly outgrow the confines of their teenybopper origins. Their later albums, like PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN & JONES LTD. and HEADQUARTERS, found them writing their own songs and often playing their own instruments (after some argument with their producers), and were small gems of pop psychedelia. TALE is a detailed and knowledgeable examination of the Monkees phenomenon, written with the aid of all the band's members, who provide many insights into the business decisions and politics behind the music. It also includes a wealth of contemporary photographs, plus a filmography and discography. Read Less