Monkees : New Box Set Just Announced!

[brainwashed]

Anybody get the new Headquarters SDE box set yet? Wondering what your opinions on the new set might be.

I got it last Friday. It's a very nice set indeed. The remixed album, from the multi-tracks (the original master tapes are MIA) is wonderful. Much fuller and punchier than previous releases. Some songs have their natural endings instead of fadeouts as well. Most songs have the bass and drums centered. The outtakes and session takes are nicely presented and show a "new" band working hard at their craft. Lots and lots of backing tracks, including the January 1967 Jeff Barry sessions. These were the session commissioned by Don Kirshner who wanted to maintain artistic control even though the Monkees wanted to have more say in material used and of course wanted to play their own music. Some of the songs have potential, (Sugar Man, Love Is On The Way) strangely, the one's chosen to have vocal overdubs (Sally, You Can't Tie A Mustang Down, If I Learned to Play The Violin) are amongst the weakest of them all.

There's not a whole lot NEW on this set, but some things are worth mentioning. The Gold Star Studios demos of All Of Your Toys and The Girl I Knew Somewhere have never been released prior to this set. Once again, they show the Monkees put in some serious rehearsal time to become a real band. Both are from acetate, but are very enjoyable and historical. Another surprising addition is a Davy demo of Until It's Time For You To Go, with Mike on acoustic guitar. Mike's version follows, but he sings it in a high register that is a bit TOO high. Davy gives a very strong performance of this Buffy Saint-Marie classic.

One caveat, the vocals on Gotta Give It Time are vintage 2016 vocals from Micky and Mike, not contemporary 1967 vocals (never recorded). That being said, the remix is superior to the version used on the Good Times album.

The packaging is exemplary. The box is appr. 7 3/4" square. Has a deep well for the CDs, 45 and nice booklet with lots of previously unseen photos and wonderful notes by Andrew Sandoval. A very enjoyable release. A solid A from me. Ron

[HannibalTwin8]

Anybody get the new Headquarters SDE box set yet? Wondering what your opinions on the new set might be.

I got it last Friday. It's a very nice set indeed. The remixed album, from the multi-tracks (the original master tapes are MIA) is wonderful. Much fuller and punchier than previous releases. Some songs have their natural endings instead of fadeouts as well. Most songs have the bass and drums centered. The outtakes and session takes are nicely presented and show a "new" band working hard at their craft. Lots and lots of backing tracks, including the January 1967 Jeff Barry sessions. These were the session commissioned by Don Kirshner who wanted to maintain artistic control even though the Monkees wanted to have more say in material used and of course wanted to play their own music. Some of the songs have potential, (Sugar Man, Love Is On The Way) strangely, the one's chosen to have vocal overdubs (Sally, You Can't Tie A Mustang Down, If I Learned to Play The Violin) are amongst the weakest of them all.

There's not a whole lot NEW on this set, but some things are worth mentioning. The Gold Star Studios demos of All Of Your Toys and The Girl I Knew Somewhere have never been released prior to this set. Once again, they show the Monkees put in some serious rehearsal time to become a real band. Both are from acetate, but are very enjoyable and historical. Another surprising addition is a Davy demo of Until It's Time For You To Go, with Mike on acoustic guitar. Mike's version follows, but he sings it in a high register that is a bit TOO high. Davy gives a very strong performance of this Buffy Saint-Marie classic.

One caveat, the vocals on Gotta Give It Time are vintage 2016 vocals from Micky and Mike, not contemporary 1967 vocals (never recorded). That being said, the remix is superior to the version used on the Good Times album.

The packaging is exemplary. The box is appr. 7 3/4" square. Has a deep well for the CDs, 45 and nice booklet with lots of previously unseen photos and wonderful notes by Andrew Sandoval. A very enjoyable release. A solid A from me. Ron

Nice in-depth review, brainwashed! So the Master Tapes are MIA? I did not know that. What have they been using for all other re-issues of HQ? I know I have the 1990s(?) era CD, the 2 CD Deluxe Edition, and comp box sets (Music Box, Listen To The Band) with Headquarters songs. Think I remember LTTB having remixes throughout.

[brainwashed]

Anybody get the new Headquarters SDE box set yet? Wondering what your opinions on the new set might be.

I got it last Friday. It's a very nice set indeed. The remixed album, from the multi-tracks (the original master tapes are MIA) is wonderful. Much fuller and punchier than previous releases. Some songs have their natural endings instead of fadeouts as well. Most songs have the bass and drums centered. The outtakes and session takes are nicely presented and show a "new" band working hard at their craft. Lots and lots of backing tracks, including the January 1967 Jeff Barry sessions. These were the session commissioned by Don Kirshner who wanted to maintain artistic control even though the Monkees wanted to have more say in material used and of course wanted to play their own music. Some of the songs have potential, (Sugar Man, Love Is On The Way) strangely, the one's chosen to have vocal overdubs (Sally, You Can't Tie A Mustang Down, If I Learned to Play The Violin) are amongst the weakest of them all.

There's not a whole lot NEW on this set, but some things are worth mentioning. The Gold Star Studios demos of All Of Your Toys and The Girl I Knew Somewhere have never been released prior to this set. Once again, they show the Monkees put in some serious rehearsal time to become a real band. Both are from acetate, but are very enjoyable and historical. Another surprising addition is a Davy demo of Until It's Time For You To Go, with Mike on acoustic guitar. Mike's version follows, but he sings it in a high register that is a bit TOO high. Davy gives a very strong performance of this Buffy Saint-Marie classic.

One caveat, the vocals on Gotta Give It Time are vintage 2016 vocals from Micky and Mike, not contemporary 1967 vocals (never recorded). That being said, the remix is superior to the version used on the Good Times album.

The packaging is exemplary. The box is appr. 7 3/4" square. Has a deep well for the CDs, 45 and nice booklet with lots of previously unseen photos and wonderful notes by Andrew Sandoval. A very enjoyable release. A solid A from me. Ron

Nice in-depth review, brainwashed! So the Master Tapes are MIA? I did not know that. What have they been using for all other re-issues of HQ? I know I have the 1990s(?) era CD, the 2 CD Deluxe Edition, and comp box sets (Music Box, Listen To The Band) with Headquarters songs. Think I remember LTTB having remixes throughout.

According to the liner notes they've used backup safety copies and of course multi-track tapes when remixes have been done in the past. Ron

[jpgrcat007]

hxxps://oldrockerbr.blogspot.com/


Beach Boys, & another surprise there also

[Rickenbacker325]

The Headquarters remix needs to be boxed up and shipped to Giles and his crew so they can hear how a proper remix should be done….I was pleasantly surprised when I heard it and was very easy on the ears

[moptophugger]

hxxps://oldrockerbr.blogspot.com/


Beach Boys, & another surprise there also

Nothing is there

[Kwai Chang]

Blurred lines???
How about The Monkees showing up on the pretense of Righteousness?!?
They're HEAR!!! I have always rated the HEADQUARTERS album as the 4th or 5th on a list of relevance status. I just heard the remixed album and I am pleased to report that The Monkees are BACK!!! For all the things that they are or aren't, I never thought they would be leading the charge on something like sonic upgrade of a mediocre title. But, don't take my word for it. EVERYONE will finally realize that greatness can lie dormant until the proper escape route is determined. Just know that HEADQUARTERS is now going to demonstrate what Beatles fans thought they had been privy to...but WEREN'T. Who knows the reasons! Who CARES??? This remix slapped me in the face immediately. I instantly tried to ignore the sensation. You know...the feeling that you are FINALLY hearing something the way it always should have been heard. Yet, it is undeniable that your ears are saying "we've NEVER heard this!". The automatic ignore-reflex keeps clicking on and it is happening again and again. As you realize that it's time to stop ignoring the music, the first song comes to an end. Why am I not in harmony with this? It's only a remix! NOW...you're starting to see how this will end. Familiar 55 year old record sounds brand new. By way of a remix, I realize this album is better than I had ever appreciated. I guess we shouldn't dwell on the preconceived notions that can invade the mind regarding the final judgement of a brand new experience that I thought I knew. Four actors have plenty of obligation to keep themselves busy as they star in a TV series about a fictitious band whose members are named after the real-life actors portraying them. I can already see how this is only going to cause resentment where a NON-fictitious band is concurrently remixing their own albums but fail to reveal the newness found in this remix of HEADQUARTERS.
Still reading??? It is now time to stop being influenced by the opinions of others. If you like The Monkees, please check out the album in question. I am going to play it again. Surely, I am deceived. Surely, this should be happening with The Beatles remixes. They're a real group!
The four Kings Of EMI are sitting stately on the floor and nevermind the furthermore, the plea is self-defense!
Zilch! Mister dabble-eena...Mister Giles Dabble-eena!
Love is understanding...don't you know that this is true!
It's in everything we do!
PLAY IT!!!
KC

[Rickenbacker325]

Blurred lines???
How about The Monkees showing up on the pretense of Righteousness?!?
They're HEAR!!! I have always rated the HEADQUARTERS album as the 4th or 5th on a list of relevance status. I just heard the remixed album and I am pleased to report that The Monkees are BACK!!! For all the things that they are or aren't, I never thought they would be leading the charge on something like sonic upgrade of a mediocre title. But, don't take my word for it. EVERYONE will finally realize that greatness can lie dormant until the proper escape route is determined. Just know that HEADQUARTERS is now going to demonstrate what Beatles fans thought they had been privy to...but WEREN'T. Who knows the reasons! Who CARES??? This remix slapped me in the face immediately. I instantly tried to ignore the sensation. You know...the feeling that you are FINALLY hearing something the way it always should have been heard. Yet, it is undeniable that your ears are saying "we've NEVER heard this!". The automatic ignore-reflex keeps clicking on and it is happening again and again. As you realize that it's time to stop ignoring the music, the first song comes to an end. Why am I not in harmony with this? It's only a remix! NOW...you're starting to see how this will end. Familiar 55 year old record sounds brand new. By way of a remix, I realize this album is better than I had ever appreciated. I guess we shouldn't dwell on the preconceived notions that can invade the mind regarding the final judgement of a brand new experience that I thought I knew. Four actors have plenty of obligation to keep themselves busy as they star in a TV series about a fictitious band whose members are named after the real-life actors portraying them. I can already see how this is only going to cause resentment where a NON-fictitious band is concurrently remixing their own albums but fail to reveal the newness found in this remix of HEADQUARTERS.
Still reading??? It is now time to stop being influenced by the opinions of others. If you like The Monkees, please check out the album in question. I am going to play it again. Surely, I am deceived. Surely, this should be happening with The Beatles remixes. They're a real group!
The four Kings Of EMI are sitting stately on the floor and nevermind the furthermore, the plea is self-defense!
Zilch! Mister dabble-eena...Mister Giles Dabble-eena!
Love is understanding...don't you know that this is true!
It's in everything we do!
PLAY IT!!!
KC

Yes, what he said!

[Darth Kybiel]

So how much on this is different from the four disc Headquarters Rhino handmade set years ago?

[jpgrcat007]

hxxps://oldrockerbr.blogspot.com/


Beach Boys, & Monkees, another surprise there also

Someone upped 3 CD 2000 Headquarters Sessions set, very recently at the site, above

There are some goodies there, like Pink Floyds 16 CD set from 2011, etc