A Month of Monkees: A Deck of Monkees

Trading cards were huge when I was a kid. I spent many an allowance on Star Wars cards and Battlestar Galactica cards, Gong Show cards, the list goes on and on. As time has past, I still have a large collection of trading cards. Most of them are from the 70s and 80s but around 9 years ago I started to get back into the collecting ring and managed to collect several sets from the 90s. One of these sets was a set put out by RHINO Records to coincide with their release of The Monkees' albums. They were printed by a company called Cornerstone and featured great pictures as well as some really cool facts on the backs. Over the course of the month, I will be delivering these cards to you in "packs" of 9 cards, posting 2 "packs" at a time. Each "pack" contains both the fronts and backs of the cards so that , if you feel inclined to do so, you can print them out and have a tangible trading card. Another cool idea that I thought of was to print them onto sticker paper and then you'll have your own unique Monkees stickers. Or you can just store them on your hard drive. The options are virtually limitless! (no pun intended). Here are the first two "packs". Enjoy!

The Monkees Trading Cards 1-9

The Monkees Trading Cards 10-18

A Month of Monkees: A Tail of 4 Monkees plus Boyce and Hart

Back in the 80s, my cousin and I were in collector's heaven. Being die hard Monkees fans, we hit the jackpot due to the giant comeback of the band in 1986. Suddenly, items that were once impossible to find began to pop up everywhere. This was still before the internet and e-bay and all of that jazz so we actually had to go to stores and record conventions to find these items. Between the two of us, we had everything that you could think of and then some. While we both had many items, there were still some that I had that she didn't and some she had that I didn't. One if these items was a picture disc titled "Tails of The Monkees". It was touted as an "unreleased live recording". Basically, it was a bootleg. The catch was that the live tracks were not "The Monkees" but "Dolenz Jones Boyce and Hart". These were low quality dubs from the live album that was released in Japan in the 70s. The coolest part of the album is the interviews with Mike and Davy from Armed Forces radio. To hear Mike Nesmith talk about The Monkees is hard to come by and this album has him telling all. I still do not own this album and just recently borrowed it from my cousin so that I could digitize it and then share it with you as part of A Month of Monkees. Here it is for you now. Special thanks to my cousin, Erika, for helping me out with this one. Enjoy!

Tails of The Monkees

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!

A Month of Monkees: August 12 - September 12

September 12 marks the 43 anniversary of the premiere of The Monkees. Since the Monkees were the winners of the poll of "What artist would you like to see more of at the World of Wonder" I thought it would be fitting to do an entire month of Monkees posts culminating on the anniversary! We have so many goodies in store for you! And we're starting it off with a radio broadcast from January 20, 1967. The Monkees were on their first concert tour at the time and it became part of the tour to go to a local radio station and have the boys take over the airwaves for a few hours to advertise for the show that night. If you have ever seen the episode of the series entitled "Monkees On Tour" you get to see a little bit of what that was like. Now you get to hear what it was like as well. Here they are taking over KRUX in Phoenix, Arizona. The Monkees (Micky, Davy and Mike - Peter was "sick" back at the hotel) take over the airwaves from Bob Shannon and play their own songs as well as songs from the Stones, the Beatles and other great acts that were topping the charts back then. They also give their highly amusing "farm report" and invite everyone listening back to their hotel for a party that night. This of course escalates into more than they bargained for when they start receiving calls from a very nervous hotel manager. This is a great piece of history. Here for you now is The Monkees on the Bob Shannon Show, KRUX, Phoenix, AZ from January 20, 1967. Enjoy!

The Monkees on The Bob Shannon Show, KRUX Phoenix, 1/20/67

Super 8 Theater Presents: The Marx Brothers

Here is the Castle Films' Digest Version of The Marx Brothers' classic, "Duck Soup" entitled, "This Is War...?" Enjoy!

More From The Original "Girl Next Door"

Back in January, I posted Barbi Benton's debut album, "Barbi Doll". It was well received but in the past week, it somehow managed to become the second most popular download in the World of Wonder with a whopping 19,000 downloads! It was a complete surprise to me and I made sure to quadruple check both the figures and my eye sight! Alas, it has become extremely popular. As a result, we here at The World of Wonder, since we are committed to giving the people what they want, have decided to post her second album. If you remember the post in January, I had stated that she had a top five hit on the country charts in 1975 with "Brass Buckles". Well, this is the album that features that hit song. It's interesting to note that her first album was called "Barbi Doll" and this one is self titled. Most people would have done it the other way. Once again, this album is on the Playboy label and upon listening to it, you too may ask if the album would ever have gotten made if it weren't for Barbi's "extracurricular activities" at the Playboy Mansion. Though I do find it more listenable than her first. Decide for yourself when you listen to "Barbi Benton". Enjoy!

Barbi Benton

BONUS: For those of you who missed the first album, here it is:
Barbi Benton - Barbi Doll

BONUS BONUS: Here is the original poster that was included in her first album:



PS - Sorry about the lack of posts lately, I have been busy getting ready for a really special feature coming up in the World of Wonder. Stay tuned as this is going to be a big deal. It will all start next week. Stay tuned!!!!!

I Before E Except After C

Charlie Brown holds a unique spot in pop culture. Like Mickey Mouse, everyone on the planet knows who he is. Back in the day, it was one of the highlights of any holiday to make sure you were home and watching when the Charlie Brown special for that season was on. Back then, there were no VCRS or DVDS or DVRS. There was just the television and if you missed the special that year, you had to wait a whole year to get your chance to see it again. In addition to the holiday specials, the Peanuts gang branched out into films with the 1969 film, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown". It was the first of what would become many feature films starring Charlie Brown and the gang. It is of course the story of our anti-hero. Charlie Brown and his many attempts at being appreciated. He actually gets it when he wins the local spelling bee and heads to the national finals. Of course, at the finals he loses all that he has gained when he misspells the one word that he above all others should know: beagle. And thus, the cycle begins anew. What was so great about all of the Peanuts specials and films that were done in the 60s and 70s was the amazing musical score by Vince Guaraldi. The music consisted mostly of uptempo jazz tunes that had been heard since some of the earliest Peanuts television specials aired back in 1965; however, for A Boy Named Charlie Brown, they were given a more "theatrical" treatment, with lusher horn-filled arrangements. Guaraldi was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on A Boy Named Charlie Brown. The film also included several songs sung by the cast: Failure Face (sung by Lucy and the other girls to discourage Charlie Brown from entering the spelling bee), I Before E Except After C (sung by Charlie Brown and Linus while studying for the spelling bee), and Champion Charlie Brown (sung by the entire cast after Charlie wins the school spelling bee). This was a first as all of the music with exception of the traditional Christmas carols sung in the first special was instrumental. Rod McKuen wrote and sang the title song. He also wrote Failure Face and Champion Charlie Brown. The film also features a Jew's harp, which Snoopy plays to help Charlie with his spelling. For many, it was their first and probably only time they would ever see that instrument and the film has become so associated with the Jews Harp that Snoopy appears on the box for the instrument which is sometimes referred to as "Snoopy's Harp". Here for you now is that incredible soundtrack album featuring Vince Guaraldi. Another great thing about this abum is that it plays more like a story record as it features dialogue from the film interspersed with the music. Here is "A Boy Named Charlie Brown". Enjoy!

A Boy Named Charlie Brown OST

Interesting Side Note: A Boy Named Charlie Brown features the instantly recognizable voice of Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown. The film marked the last time he would voice the character.

Classic TV Episode of The Month: McHale's Navy