LOS ANGELES - The Monkees are ready to have some fun this year as the iconic band celebrates its 50th anniversary with a tour and the group's first new album in 20 years, appropriately titled GOOD TIMES!.
GOOD TIMES! features all three surviving band members - Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. The unmistakable voice of the late Davy Jones is also included with a vintage vocal featured on one song. To produce the new album, the band found the perfect musical co-conspirator in Grammy® and Emmy®-winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne, Ivy). GOOD TIMES! will be available May 27 on CD ($13.98) and digitally, with a vinyl version ($21.98) coming out on August 12.
Much like The Monkees' early albums, GOOD TIMES! features tracks written specifically for the band by some of the music world's most gifted songwriters, including Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Andy Partridge (XTC), and Zach Rogue (Rogue Wave). The album also includes songwriting contributions by Nesmith ("I Know What I Know") and Tork as well as producer Schlesinger.
To help bring the anniversary full circle, The Monkees completed songs for GOOD TIMES! that were originally recorded and written for the group during the 60s, including "Love To Love" by Neil Diamond, which features a vintage vocal by Jones. Harry Nilsson wrote the title track "Good Times!" which he recorded at a session with Nesmith in January 1968. The production was never completed, so the band returned to the original session tape (featuring Nilsson's guide vocal) and have created a duet with his close friend Dolenz. "Good Times!" will mark the first time Dolenz and Nilsson have sung together since Dolenz' May 1973 single "Daybreak." Other vintage 1960's tracks included on GOOD TIMES! feature L.A.'s famed "Wrecking Crew" of session musicians.
"This is one of the most exciting Monkee projects I've been involved in for decades!" says Dolenz. "Working with Adam Schlesinger has been a pure delight and the opportunity to sing a duet with my old buddy, Harry Nilsson, is just beyond cool!"
In addition to the new album, Dolenz and Tork will launch a Monkees 50th Anniversary Tour on May 18. The jaunt boasts nearly 50 North American dates through the end of the year including a homecoming gig at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles on September 16. Tickets go on sale February 12 and all tickets purchased through Ticketmaster will come with a digital download of GOOD TIMES!.
In other Monkees news, the band will release the entire series of "The Monkees" television show on Blu-ray for the very first time. All 58 episodes have been painstakingly restored in high-definition from the original film negatives. The 10-disc Blu-ray collection also includes the 1968 cult-classic "Head," along with many never-before-seen outtakes from the film.
Limited to 10,000 individually numbered pieces, the set will be available April 29 and can be purchased exclusively at Monkees.com for $199.98.
During the band's time together, The Monkees amassed a dozen Top 40 hits, including a trio of tunes that soared to #1. Between September 1966 and December 1967, "Last Train To Clarksville," "I'm A Believer," and "Daydream Believer" collectively occupied the top position for 12 weeks. Sales of their LPs were more phenomenal still: The Monkees occupied the #1 position for 13 consecutive weeks, and More Of The Monkees for 18 weeks. Both Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. went to the top as well, for a four-in-a-row feat in the incomprehensible space of 13 months. The final tally: 16 million albums and 7.5 million singles sold in a mere 2 1/2 years.
GOOD TIMES!
Partial Track Listing (with songwriters noted)
Final Version To Be Announced Soon
"Good Times!" (Harry Nilsson)
"You Bring The Summer" (Andy Partridge)
"Terrifying" (Zach Rogue)
"Me & Magdalena" (Ben Gibbard)
"She Makes Me Laugh" (Rivers Cuomo)
"Love To Love" (Neil Diamond)
"I Know What I Know" (Michael Nesmith)
THE MONKEES
Tour Dates
May
18 Fort Myers, FL Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
19 Melbourne, FL King Center for the Performing Arts
20 Tampa, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
21 Atlanta, GA Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater
24 Charlotte, NC Blumenthal PAC - Belk Theater
26 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
27 Boston, MA The Wilbur Theatre
28 Philadelphia, PA Keswick Theatre
29 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre
June
1 New York, NY The Town Hall
3 Toronto, ON Casino Rama - Entertainment Centre
4 Windsor, ON The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
5 Cleveland, OH Hard Rock Live Northfield Park
7 Fort Wayne, IN Foellinger Theatre
10 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace Theatre
11 Hammond, IN The Venue At Horseshoe Casino
12 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
14 Dayton, OH Rose Music Center at The Heights
28 Dallas, TX AT&T PAC - Winspear Opera House
30 Tulsa, OK Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - The Joint
July
1 Mayetta, KS Prairie Band Casino & Resort - Grand Lakes Ballroom
16 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
22 Hot Springs, AR Oaklawn Racing and Gaming - Finish Line Theater
September
14 Tucson, AZ Fox Tucson Theatre
15 Phoenix, AZ Mesa Arts Center - Ikeda Theater
16 Los Angeles, CA Pantages Theatre
17 Las Vegas, NV Primm Valley Casino Resorts - Star of the Desert Arena
20 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
21 Modesto, CA Gallo Center For The Arts
23 Lincoln City, OR Chinook Winds Casino Resort
24 Lincoln City, OR Chinook Winds Casino Resort
25 Seattle, WA The Moore Theatre
October
1 Biloxi, MS Hard Rock Live Biloxi
22 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
29 Shippensburg, PA Shippensburg University - H. Ric Luhrs PAC
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