ELVIS MONTH 2010: The King Finds His Alternate Roots

After the massive success of Aloha From Hawaii, the Elvis bandwagon was once again rolling full tilt. Eager to make sure that the King stayed in the public eye, RCA released "Raised On Rock/For Ol' Times Sake". It was comprised of songs recorded at the Stax Studios in Memphis in July of 1973. Though the album boasted an intense picture of Elvis rocking out in concert, the album failed to live up to it's misleading name. It was a different album than what people had anticipated. There are a few rockers in the mix but most of them end up being a kind of funk/soul/easy listening mash up. It still managed to sell over a million copies worldwide. Over the years, many people have thought what it would have been like if the album had a little bit more of an edge. As more and more session tapes emerged from various sources, that wonder has turned into "alternate versions" of what that album could have been. Today I present one of those alternate versions for you. Here is "Raised On Rock: The Alternate Album". Enjoy!

Elvis Presley- Raised On Rock: The Alternate Album

A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality Part 7

Here is yet another in our series of "Alternate Reality" Monkees LPs. This time around, we take a look at what could have happened if Mike didn't leave the band and stayed on to release "Changes" with Micky and Davy before they all called it quits. The result is a noticeably changed album featuring a completely different set of songs due to the involvement from Mike. Michelle 66's cover art for this is super cool. She used the same picture that was used on the real release and just kept in Mike. (the original picture was a photo taken on their 1969 tour with Sam and the Goodtimers). The one change I made to this album was a switch with the second track. Her original track listing had "Down The Highway" as the second track. While this was a track that may have been recorded by Nesmith during his Monkees days, there is no evidence of it anywhere. In it's place I put Mike's "Michigan Blackhawke". Other than that, I have kept her original concept.


1. Oh My My
2. Michigan Blackhawke
3. If You Have The Time
4. I Love You Better
5. Little Red Rider
6. Time and Time Again
7. Steam Engine
8. Love to Love
9. If I Ever Get To Saginaw Again
10. Do You Feel It Too?
11. Midnight Train
12. Angel Band




As with the other alternate reality LPs, Michelle 66's original art contained "Bonus Tracks" on the mini-LP. Once again I chose to keep it "bonus track free" to make it feel more like a legitimate release from the 60s. And as with the others, many of the tracks used are alternate takes and recordings. Enjoy!

The Monkees-Changes Alternate Reality LP

To see the original artwork that was put together by Michelle 66, head over to her Flicker page. Drop her a line and tell her the Dartman sent you!

A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality Part 6

Here is the 6th Monkees Alternate Reality LP. This time around we have a slightly different version of "The Monkees Present". The original concept for that album was that it would be a double album and each Monkee would have one complete side to devote to whatever they wanted to record. When Peter announced that he was leaving, the concept changed to the remaining three each getting a side and the remaining side would be a collaboration. In the end, as we all know, the entire concept went out the window and it just became a regular single album with 12 tracks. In the "Alternate Reality", however, Peter has not yet left the group and the original concept became a reality! Michelle 66's artwork was based on the idea of each Monkee releasing their own album (kind of like when all the members of KISS released their solo albums). This is a great idea but the problem for me was that most of the tracks that she listed, particularly on Micky and Peter's albums, are non-existent. For example, her version of Micky's solo LP was basically a collection of compositions played on the Moog synthesizer. As far as I know, there are no recordings of this type of stuff and if there are, they have yet to see the light of day. As a result, I chose to go with the original 4 sided concept and used most of the original "Present" tracks along with a lot of tracks that were not released on the original albums. I thought of the cover art as being a gatefold cover with, like the records inside, each Monkee getting a side. In the "alternate reality" the album was released in four different covers with each Monkee getting a chance for his cover to be on the front.




1. Good Clean Fun
2. Never Tell A Woman Yes
3. The Crippled Lion
4. Oklahoma Backroom Dancer
5. Calico Girlfriend
6. Listen To The Band









1. Through The Looking Glass
2. Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye
3. Shake 'Em Up
4. She'll Be There
5. Rosemarie
6. Pillow Time









1. Changes
2. If I Learned To Play The Violin
3. You Can't Tie A Mustang Down
4. Looking For The Good Times
5. Ceiling In My Room
6. 99 Pounds









1. Alvin
2. Seeger's Theme
3. Come On In
4. Tear The Top Right Off My Head
5. Lady's Baby
6. Merry Go Round


For the production, each Monkee was in charge of his six tracks that would make up the side of the album. They could use whatever material they wanted and could use whomever they wanted on the tracks. Some of the tracks, particularly Davy's, show a collaboration between two of them. This is because they simply asked each other to be on their tracks. This is all so geeky but all so much fun as well. Anyway, here's the "Alternate Reality" version of The Monkees Present. Enjoy!

The Monkees Present Alternate Reality LP 1
The Monkees Present Alternate Reality LP 2

To see the original artwork that was put together by Michelle 66, head over to her Flicker page. Drop her a line and tell her the Dartman sent you!

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

A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality Part 4

Continuing on with the "Alternate Reality" series on Monkees LPs, today we feature the Alternate Reality "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, LTD.". As with "Headquarters", the track listing comes from an authentic early line-up, keeping it close to the original (you can't mess with perfection!). The one huge difference was the omission of "Love Is Only Sleeping". This was because in the "alternate reality", that song was the non-LP single (as it was originally supposed to be for real). Also, the joke announcement recorded by Peter is added to the top of the track line-up. Originally, this was perceived as too much of an in-joke and it was left off of the album. Here in the "alternate reality", it gets the green light and is released.

1. Special Announcement
2. She Hangs Out
3. Salesman
4. Cuddly Toy
5. Words
6. Don't Call On Me
7. Goin' Down
8. The Door Into Summer
9. Hard To Believe
10. What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?
11. Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky/Pleasant Valley Sunday
12. Daily Nightly
13. Star Collector

As with the other alternate reality LPs, Michelle 66's original art contained "Bonus Tracks" on the mini-LP. Once again I chose to keep it "bonus track free" to make it feel more like a legitimate release from the 60s. And as with the others, many of the tracks used are alternate takes and recordings. Enjoy!

The Monkees-Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, LTD. Alternate Reality LP

To see the original artwork that was put together by Michelle 66, head over to her Flicker page. Drop her a line and tell her the Dartman sent you!

A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality Part 3

Moving forward with the "Alternate Reality" LPs put together by Michelle 66, today we have the alternate reality Headquarters. The original lineup of tracks for the album slightly differed from the line up actually used. The original lineup was printed in the accompanying booklet for "Headquarters Sessions" released by Rhino Hand Made back in 2000. Michelle 66 used that as the basis for her vision of the alternate reality version of the album. I took it one step further. Originally, A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You was supposed to appear on the album but the master tape never arrived from New York in time to be used on the album. It turned out to be a good thing as it was the only song that the Monkees did not have a hand in producing or recording. It would have been completely out of place with the rest of the album. Using this mentality, I removed the track from the listing and in its place put "All of Your Toys". The reason behind this was that it was recorded by the boys during the Headquarters sessions and it keeps the feel of the album in tact. Other than that, I stuck to the original song lineup.

1. For Pete's Sake
2. I’ll Spend My Life With You
3. Forget That Girl
4. You Just May Be The One
5. Shades of Gray
6. All Of Your Toys
7. Band 6
8. Sunny Girlfriend
9. Mr. Webster
10. You Told Me
11. The Girl I Knew Somewhere
12. Zilch
13. Early Morning Blues & Greens
14. Randy Scouse Git

Also of note on this "alternate reality" LP is that it is presented in MONO rather than STEREO as we have done with the last two. And as before, I have not included Michelle's "Bonus Tracks" to keep in step with the pure feeling of a legitimate "Alternate Reality" from the 60s. Enjoy!

The Monkees-Headquarters Alternate Reality LP

To see the original artwork that was put together by Michelle 66, head over to her Flicker page. Drop her a line and tell her the Dartman sent you!

A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality Part 2

Continuing with my collaboration with Michelle 66, I present to you the second "Alternate Reality" LP from the Monkees. In this alternate reality, "More Of The Monkees" features only tracks produced by Boyce & Hart / Nesmith (ala the first LP). But, what to do with all of the quality tracks produced by Jeff Barry at the same time? After all, Don Kirshner would never let the boys not release "I'm A Believer"! Well, in the alternate reality timeline, Colgems released a *third* Monkees' album in March 1967. It was a "quickie" to cash in again. Whereas in the real world, the Monkees were angry at the release of their second album without their knowledge, in this alternate reality they wouldn't care about the release of a "third album" as they were working on Headquarters at the time of it's release. It all makes perfect alternate reality sense!

1. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
2. Mary, Mary
3. When Love Comes Knockin’ (At Your Door)
4. Do Not Ask For Love
5. Your Auntie Grizelda
6. I’ll Be Back Up On My Feet
7. Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
8. The Kind Of Girl I Could Love
9. She Hangs Out
10. Sometime In The Morning
11. Laugh
12. I’m A Believer

As with the last alternate reality LP, Michelle 66's original art contained "Bonus Tracks" on the mini-LP. Once again I chose to keep it "bonus track free" to make it feel more like a legitimate release from the 60s. And as with the alternate reality More of The Monkees, many of the tracks used are alternate takes and recordings. Enjoy!

The Monkees' Third Album Alternate Reality LP

To see the original artwork that was put together by Michelle 66, head over to her Flicker page. Drop her a line and tell her the Dartman sent you!

A Month of Monkees: An Alternate Reality

About a month ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to a photo set on Flicker called "Monkees Alternate Reality Mini-LPs". The photo set was a bunch of Monkees albums had they been released in an alternate reality. They were all really cool and were created by an artist named Michelle 66. They started with More of The Monkees and continued on with The Monkees Third Album (an album not released in this reality but in an alternate reality), Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, LTD, Present and Changes. All of the albums were different from the actual releases. Some were just a changing of the song order and cover art while others were complete recreations of the albums as well as completely new albums that did not exist. I was intrigued with these albums and contacted the artist to ask if I could could put these albums together in real life and offer them on the World of Wonder. After a volley back and forth of ideas about how I could present them, she gave me her kind permission to use her art as well as her concept. So all month long I will be featuring these "alternate reality" LPs right here on the World of Wonder! For the most part, I stuck to her original plans with a few minor changes here and there. I also came up with a few "alternate reality" LPs of my own! Today I present the first one for you: More of The Monkees!

As Monkee fans may know, after Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart finished work on the songs for the Monkees' first LP, they started recording a lot more for future use - including the inevitable second LP. But for some reason, Don Kirshner brought in other producers (most notably Jeff Barry), and Boyce and Hart's involvement with the Monkees was curtailed - with only two of their songs appearing on the real "More of the Monkees". This Alternate Reality LP imagines how "More Of The Monkees" might have been different if Boyce & Hart had continued to be the primary songwriters and producers. It follows the same basic structure as the first LP: most of the LP by Boyce & Hart, and two songs produced by Mike Nesmith.

1. She
2. I'll Spend My Life With You
3. Hold On Girl
4. Through the Looking Glass
5. You Just May Be The One
6. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
7. Valleri
8. Mr. Webster
9. Don't Listen To Linda
10. Apples, Peaches, Bananas and Pears
11. I Don't Think You Know Me
12. Words

In the original art work of the "alternate reality" More of The Monkees, Michelle 66 added "Bonus Tracks" to her own mini-lp. I opted not to include bonus tracks but instead remained pure to an original "alternate reality" release. Also, not all of these songs are the original versions that were officially released in the 60s. Many of them are alternate takes or recordings. Again, adding to the whole "alternate reality" concept. Here it is for you now. Enjoy! (and keep a look out for all of the others throughout the month!)

The Monkees-More of The Monkees Alternate Reality LP

BTW, for those of you who want to see the original Flicker collection, you can find them here. Drop her a line and tell her the Dartman sent you!