A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality Part 5

One album that Michelle 66 did not make in her "Alternate Reality" project was the soundtrack to HEAD. In her "alternate reality" the film was never made. However, I felt that HEAD was too important a part of Monkee-ology to exclude it from an alternate reality. So, I created the alternate reality HEAD album. For the most part I stuck to the original but made a few changes. First, I leaned more towards film versions of the songs instead of the ones originally released on the album. For example, there is the obvious choice of the live version of "Circle Sky" instead of the studio one but how about the normal speed Ditty Diego instead of the one that constantly changes speed? I did it. I also included an alternate version of "Daddy's Song" that differs from the film version but still has the slow, a Capella section that wasn't on the original album. My favorite change is the mix of both the original Micky version and the then unreleased Peter version of "Can You Dig It?". I wanted to keep true to the film but I really liked Peter's vocal as an "alternate reality" track. The solution was to combine them together. The lengths did not match up at first but I did some fancy editing to make the ending a little more "psychedelic" and managed to make sure they ended together. The other difference comes in the song order. I chose to put "Happy Birthday" on the album but put it before "Can You Dig It?" instead of before "Long Title" where it appears in the film. I also took away "Swami Plus Strings" and put in the radio spots which I called "Outro/Intro" to make it one continuous listening experience that has no beginning and no end.

1. Opening Ceremony
2. Porpoise Song
3. Ditty Diego War Chant
4. Circle Sky (Live)
5. Happy Birthday
6. Can You Dig It?
7. Gravy
8. Superstitious
9. As We Go Along
10. Dandruff?
11. Daddy's Song
12. Poll
13. Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?
14. Outro/Intro

As you can see, when it came to the cover, I kept it simple . It is by no means anywhere near the quality of Michelle 66's art work so I chose to go simpler rather than try to keep up with her. It may not be the greatest cover art, but it is what it is. Also, I chose not to make a back cover or a label. I couldn't figure out what to do for a back cover and I didn't want to embarrass myself trying to recreate a Colgems label as well as Michelle 66. Maybe in the future. Feel free to add your own back cover or label if you come up with an idea. For now, enjoy the Alternate Reality HEAD Soundtrack!

The Monkees-HEAD Alternate Reality LP