The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday

I always felt the Monkees  had a bad rap. Of course, they weren't as great as the Beatles or the Bob Dylan, and they were artificially assembled. But they had access some of music's greatest talents, so produced an array of irresistible crafted pop classics.

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" was one such case, written by the legendary partnership of Gerry Goffin / Carole King. Their success had seen them to move to the leafy suburbs of  Pleasant Valley Way in New Jersey, but Goffin was ready to take a swipe at this affluent conformity.

The Monkees were recruited primarily as actors to play a moptop Beatlesque group for a TV series. Following its runaway success, they quickly rebelled against their oppressive workload (4 albums in 13 months), ousting producer Don Kirshner, grabbing artistic control and (the outrage!) playing on their own records.

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" is very much biting the hand that fed them,  satirising life in the suburbs, a key Monkees demographic, even from the meta opening "The local rock group down the street  / Is trying hard to learn their song". It quickly paints a battle of consumerism and pride, involving roses, lawns, tvs and barbecues, witheringly describing it as "status symbol land". All this good living can only "numb my soul".

Typically this critique was encapsulated in a poppy three minutes with a singalong tatatata part. The sound could hardly be more middle period Beatles (either "Paperback Writer" or "I Want to Tell You"). The new producer Chip Douglas (from the Turtles), was key, as he played the bass line, and guided Nesmith's doubled tracked lead guitar. There was also a piano part for Tork, and Davy Jones reverted to his beloved maracas. On this occasion Mickey Dolenz took lead vocal. They also fought against it being too pretty, with reverb and echo as it fades to the end.

The Monkees were evolving, and their teenybopper fans would be stunned by Jimi Hendrix (temporarily) opening their concerts and the surreal craziness of the "Head" movie.

We should ignore their roots, and accept the Monkees as a great pop band, with "Pleasant Valley Sunday" as one of their highpoints.

Hear Now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boJlejbuyw0   and there is also the intriguing slower demo from Carole King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtyqPzeso5A

Hear Next -  There are plenty of Monkees' compilations, all of which cover hits.