Welcome To AlbumLinerNotes.com
"The #1 Archive of Liner Notes in the World!"
Your Subtitle text
Head
To download this album via iTunes, click here:
To buy this album from Amazon.com, click here: Head (1968 Film)
_________________________________________________________________
1. OPENING CEREMONY
2. PORPOISE SONG (THEME FROM “HEAD”) – The Monkees
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
MICKY DOLENZ: lead & backing vocals
DAVID JONES: backing vocals
KEN BLOOM & DANNY KORTCHMAR: guitar
LEON RUSSELL & RALPH SCHUCKETT: keyboards
DOUGLAS LUBAHN: electric bass
MIKE NEY: drums
WILLIAM HINSHAW & JULES JACOB: horns
GREGORY BEMKO, DAVID FILERMAN, JAN KELLY & JACQUELINE LUSTGARTEN: cello
MAX BENNETT, CLYDE “WHITEY” HOGGAN, JIM HUGHART & JERRY SCHEFF: string bass
JACK NITZSCHE: arrangement
RUSS TITLEMAN: conductor
JOHN R. HOENIG: percussion
Recorded at California Recorders, Hollywood, February 26 & 28, 1968
Also issued as Colgems single #1031, October 5, 1968; Pop #62
3. DITTY DIEGO – WAR CHANT – The Monkees
(Jack Nicholson/Robert Rafelson)
MICKY DOLENZ, DAVID JONES, MICHAEL NESMITH & PETER TORK: vocals
MICHEL RUBINI: piano
Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, August 3, 1968
4. CIRCLE SKY – The Monkees
(Michael Nesmith)
MICHAEL NESMITH: vocal & organ
KEITH ALLISON & BILL CHADWICK: guitar
RICHARD DEY & JOHN GROSS: bass
EDDIE HOH: drums
Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, December 9 & 17, 1967 & January 6 & 8, 1968
5. SUPPLICO
6. CAN YOU DIG IT – The Monkees
(Peter Tork)
MICKY DOLENZ: vocals
PETER TORK: electric rhythm guitar
LANCE WAKELY: lead acoustic guitar & bass
DEWEY MARTIN: drums
MICHAEL A. GLASS: percussion
Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, January 28 & February 1, 1968,
and RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, January 29, 30, 31 & March 8, 1968
7. GRAVY
8. SUPERSTITIOUS
9. AS WE GO ALONG – The Monkees
(Carole King/Toni Sterns)
MICKY DOLENZ: vocals
KEN BLOOM, RY COODER, CAROLE KING, DANNY KORTCHMAR & NEIL YOUNG: guitar
HARVEY NEWMARK: bass
EARL PALMER: drums
DENNIS BRUCE: percussion
JACK NITZSCHE: arrangement
JOHN HOENIG, TONY McCASHEN & RUSS TITLEMAN: unknown
Unknown organ & flute
Recorded at Wally Heider’s, Hollywood, May 30, 1968,
and Original Sound, Hollywood, August 1, 1968
Also issued as Colgems single #1031, October 5, 1967; Pop #106
10. DANDRUFF?
11. DADDY’S SONG – The Monkees
(Harry Nilsson)
DAVID JONES: vocal
KEITH ALLISON, BILL CHADWICK & MICHAEL NESMITH: guitar
MICHEL RUBINI: piano
RICHARD DEY: bass
EDDIE HOH: drums
PETE CANDOLI, MARION CHILDERS & ANTHONY TERRAN: trumpet
RICHARD LEITH & LEWIS McCREARY: trombone
JUSTIN DiTULLIO, RAPHAEL KRAMER, EMMET SARGEANT & ELEANOR SLATKIN: cello
BRENDAN CAHILL: percussion
Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, January 10, 16, 19 & March 1, 1968, and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, April 4, 1968
12. POLL
13. LONG TITLE: DO I HAVE TO DO THIS ALL OVER AGAIN – The Monkees
(Peter Tork)
PETER TORK: vocals & guitar
LANCE WAKELY: bass
DEWEY MARTIN: drums
Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, January 20, 28 & February 1, 3, 4, 5, 10 & 14, 1968; RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, January 22, 27 & February 12, 1968, and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, January 25 & 26, 1968
14. SWAMI – PLUS STRINGS (KEN THORNE), ETC.
Bonus Selections:
15. DITTY DIEGO – WAR CHANT (Previously unissued version) – The Monkees
(Jack Nicholson/Robert Rafelson)
MICKY DOLENZ, DAVID JONES, MICHAEL NESMITH & PETER TORK: vocals
Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, July 25, 1968
16. CIRCLE SKY (Live version) – The Monkees
(Michael Nesmith)
MICHAEL NESMITH: vocals & guitar
DAVID JONES: organ & percussion
PETER TORK: bass
MICKY DOLENZ: drums
Recorded at Valley Auditorium, Salt Lake City, May 21, 1968
17. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU (Previously unissued)
– The Monkees
(Patty Smith Hill/Mildred Hill)
MICKY DOLENZ, DAVID JONES & PETER TORK: vocals
MICHAEL NESMITH: organ
Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, August 3, 1968
18. CAN YOU DIG IT (Previously unissued mix)
– The Monkees
(Peter Tork)
PETER TORK: vocals & electric rhythm guitar
LANCE WAKELY: lead acoustic guitar & bass
DEWEY MARTIN: drums
MICHAEL A. GLASS: percussion
Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, January 28 & February 1, 1968,
and RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, January 29, 30, 31, and March 8, 1968
19. DADDY’S SONG (Previously unissued mix)
– The Monkees
(Harry Nilsson)
MICHAEL NESMITH: vocal, guitar
KEITH ALLISON & BILL CHADWICK: guitar
MICHEL RUBINI: piano
RICHARD DEY: bass
EDDIE HOH: drums
PETE CANDOLI, MARION CHILDERS & ANTHONY TERRAN: trumpet
RICHARD LEITH & LEWIS McCREARY: trombone
JUSTIN DiTULLIO, RAPHAEL KRAMER, EMMET SARGEANT & ELEANOR SLATKIN: cello
BRENDAN CAHILL: percussion
Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, January 10, 16, 19 & March 1, 1968, and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, April 4, 1968
20. HEAD RADIO SPOT
____________________________________________________
NOTE: Numbers in italic (following original single release information) denote peak positions on Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart – courtesy BPI Communications and Joel Whitburn’s Record Research Publications.
Head (tracks 1-14) was originally issued as Colgems #5008, December 1, 1968
____________________________________________________
Head was The Monkees’ sixth album release and the soundtrack to their sole feature film outing. Shot in various locations between February and May 1968, the movie Head was the furthest possible extension on the cinema verité experiments and improvised setups in the Monkees series. However, in stark contrast to their television show’s increasingly predictable plot lines, Head’s lack of story provided a patchwork of fragmented vignettes – a satirical history of film, the origins of The Monkees, and inevitably, the ‘60s.
Peter Tork explained the motives behind the creation of this groundbreaking, format-free vehicle: “We wanted to do something special. Something a little extraordinary. Something not quite normal. We really didn’t want to make another episode of the television show. I saw the movie of McHale’s Navy, and it was absurd to watch an hour-and-a-half version of a half-hour episode. Basically, you didn’t get a sense that there was anything else going into it – they just wrote a longer script.
“The four of us, Bert Schneider, Bob, and Jack Nicholson all went to Ojai (California) and talked about what we did and didn’t want. We sort of found a common ground. What exactly that was, we wound up leaving to Bob and Jack – the exact script of the movie was basically their idea.”
Although there has been some debate over the screenwriting credits for Head, Micky Dolenz concurs with Tork, adding: “We all wanted to do something different than a 90-minute version of the show. Which, in retrospect, would have been a lot more commercial. But then again, we wouldn’t have this strange little cult movie, which I’m very proud of.”
The accompanying soundtrack to the film, like its parent feature, was an avant-garde release. Packaged in a heavy mylar sleeve – designed to reflect the buyer’s own head – the record featured just six songs cut into a collage of dialogue and sounds assembled by Jack Nicholson.
For Tork, Head ranks second only to Headquarters as his favorite Monkees long-player: “It’s the most diverse and trippiest,” he says. “It was really all about trips – going someplace. You know, we used the word in those days very specifically – ‘trippy’ meant not just spacey, but actually involved in some kind of adventure as opposed to plodding along. The first four albums were no trip at all – they didn’t go anywhere. There were those little interludes on Headquarters – ‘Band 6’ and ‘Zilch’ – which were a lot of fun. And I thought actually ‘Randy Scouse Git’ was pretty much of a trip. But Head – that was something special.
“Nicholson coordinated the soundtrack, but he made it different from the movie. There’s a line where Zappa says, ‘That song was pretty white.’ Nicholson juxtaposed it with another line in the movie when Mike says, ‘…and the same thing goes for Christmas.’ That’s funny! It was a different trip from the movie, and I thought that was very important and wonderful, that he did assemble the record differently. It was a different artistic experience.”
Kicking off the musical proceedings is Goffin & King’s mesmerizing “Porpoise Song (Theme From ‘Head’), ” which remains a remarkably cryptic composition for the hit-driven duo. The main group of musicians who performed the musical backing on this track were at the time part of Clear Light, a band whose self-titled 1967 Elektra album was a much-hyped but relatively unsuccessful release. Clear Light’s guitarist, Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, went on to become one of the West Coast’s most in-demand session men during the ‘70s. Kortchmar’s credits are countless, but some of his best-known work can be found on recordings by Jackson Browne, Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.
Although “Porpoise Song” was labeled the film’s theme song, Head’s anthem was surely the “Ditty Diego – War Chant.” Originally titled “Movie Jingle,” this short satirical piece was penned by Jack Nicholson and Robert Rafelson to poke fun at The Monkees’ pre-fabricated image. Not coincidently, part of the real-life subplot of Head was Raybert Productions’ goal to destroy The Monkees’ career as teen idols in the process of making the film. According to Nicholson biographer Patrick McGillan in his book Jack’s Life, these destructive ploys were not restricted to the film’s sardonic script and jingle. During production on Head, Bob Rafelson would attempt to dispirit The Monkees via a subtle campaign of derision. McGillan notes: “The director would put on an LP by more high-voltage rockers, the Electric Flag or Neil Young, and bait (Davy) Jones with the comment, ‘That’s real rock ‘n’ roll, man!’”
Tork observes, “Basically, the movie Head is not the story of The Monkees’ release, it is Rafelson’s idea of who The Monkees are. Nobody comes off too good in this movie. If you look carefully, Davy gets called a ‘Manchester midget genie,’ Micky is a blithering space case, I am some Indian wise man’s mouthpiece who doesn’t know what he’s doing, and Mike is a con man. That’s because Rafelson is a cynic – he has a low view of life, and he doesn’t mind spewing it in your face. He thinks life sucks, and if you don’t think it sucks, then you’re a fool. The movie is not pure bad by any stretch. But finally, the point of it is pretty grim. The way Head ends is, if we’re not trapped into a black box, we’re trapped in a mobile pool of water.” Included for the first time on this reissue is an early version of the jingle with extra lines and no vari-speed effects.
Despite the producers’ seeming efforts to dissolve The Monkees as a group, the band’s most assertive performance as a unit is featured in Head, though not originally on its soundtrack album. Michael Nesmith’s super-charged “Circle Sky” was first recorded in late 1967, by Nes and his usual studio cohorts (including Raider Keith Allison, future Merry-Go-Round member Richard Dey, and longtime group sidekick Bill Chadwick). Later, when the film’s script specifically called for a concert scene, The Monkees were recorded before a live audience in Salt Lake City performing the song.
Michael is very specific about its conception: “I was thinking of what would be a good, simple, aggressive rock ‘n’ roll tune that The Monkees could play. It was written around the concept of The Monkees playing as a band.”
Less specific are Nesmith’s free-form poetry-style lyrics, which are largely indecipherable. This is especially evident on the soundtrack album’s substituted studio cut, where Nesmith’s vocals are buried in the mix, rendering them virtually inaudible.
Of the non-sequitor lyrics Nesmith states, “A good example is ‘Hamilton smiling down,’ which refers to the name of the music stand I was sitting in front of. They were made-up lyrics to represent a collage of the time, and of The Monkees playing as a band. That’s one of the reasons it’s one of the best things The Monkees did as a band, very simple power-trio stuff.” Nonetheless, The Monkees’ outstanding live take was passed over when the soundtrack was assembled. Nesmith remains baffled by this change: “I don’t have any idea how that happened. I think that The Monkees always played it better. I can’t remember a studio version being better than the way we played it live, because live it was just pure unbridled energy.” As a bonus, both the live and studio versions of “Circle Sky” are featured on this reissue.
Peter Tork made his most significant musical contribution on the Head soundtrack. The first of Tork’s two included tracks was “Can You Dig It” – an outstanding cut – which was inspired by Tork’s study of the Tao Te Ching and originally recorded with Peter handling all the vocals. However, when the song became part of the soundtrack, Micky took over as lead singer. Tork recalls, “It was Bert’s decision. Because it fell into place in the movie right after Micky’s desert scene, they wanted him to be the lead singer on the song, so I put him on it – no big thing. That’s the way we did it. The first song Mike ever produced he had Micky sing lead on, because Micky was the lead singer. Neither Mike then, nor I later, thought twice about it. It wasn’t until later on that we thought, ‘We should do this ourselves, because it’s our song.’ We didn’t have any of that proprietary interest until afterwards.” The original mix featuring Tork on lead vocals has been included as a bonus on this reissue.
“As We Go Along” was Carole King’s second wondrous composition tendered for Head. Like “Porpoise Song,” the recording featured a stellar crew of musical personnel, including Ry Cooder, Neil Young, and the author herself on guitar. “As We Go Along” is memorable to Micky Dolenz for another reason entirely: “I remember that because it was a bitch to sing. It was in 5/4 time or some bizarre signature, and I had a lot of trouble picking it up. Typically, we didn’t have a lot of time to rehearse this stuff. But I love it, and it’s still one of my favorites.” Adds Tork: “Carole King – an astonishing creature. ‘Porpoise Song’ is a great song, but I think ‘As We Go Along’ is even better.”
Davy Jones’ showpiece in Head was “Daddy’s Song” composed by the late Harry Nilsson. In the film, Jones performs the song with choreographer Toni Basil (who had a hit record of her own with “Mickey” in 1982). Although the track was undoubtedly molded to suit Jones’ “Broadway-rock” style, “Daddy’s Song” was originally cut at a Mike Nesmith session. Making its first appearance on this reissue is the original Nesmith take, which gives further insight into Mike’s interest in the music of the Roaring ‘20s.
Tork’s final offering on Head was “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again.” The song would also be Peter’s last release with The Monkees. He would leave the group at the end of 1968. As Tork explains, the reason for his departure was rooted in The Monkees’ early musical struggles: “I’d always had deep doubts, ever since the session for ‘Last Train To Clarksville.’ I walked in there with my guitar and Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart looked at me with derision and scorn, like, ‘Guitar in your hand, you fool!’ That was the end of it for me. Right there I was done with The Monkees in large measure.
“I struggled against it with some success at one point. But after Headquarters nobody wanted to be a recording group anymore. I did what I could, but I didn’t feel like there was any reason for me to be there anymore. I wanted to be in a rock group.”
Tork did form a group after The Monkees, named Release, but none of the band’s recorded efforts managed to escape Tork’s hillside mansion practice room. “We recorded some demos,” Peter says, “but I think they’re lost. It was just a garage band – no particular skill or charm. I also did a demo for Atlantic Records – Ahmet Ertegun gave me a session to see how I would do, but it wasn’t good enough.”
The highly idiosyncratic Head was a box office disaster when released in November 1968. Part of the problem was Raybert’s subliminal marketing plan, which made no mention of The Monkees, nor of the fact that Head was a motion picture. “We were all in it together, we were trying to shake off the old Monkee image,” says Tork. “But I think Bert and Bob had given up on The Monkees at this point. They collapsed, and that’s why Head didn’t do anything. It was their publicity decision to have advertising consultant John Brockman’s face on the poster, and those two-minute commercials for Head that were so avant-garde as to be positively repulsive. I think those were very conscious decisions to deep-six the movie and the entire project. Bert said to me the point was to destroy The Monkees. Charitably, you could say that this point was to break our bubblegum image, but less charitably he wanted to be done with the project.” Brockman’s unorthodox ad campaign is evidenced on the final track of this disc, which is a mantra-like radio promo for the film with just three words – “Head coming soon” – chanted ad infinitum.
The soundtrack album for Head fared only slightly better. Issued on December 1, 1968, the record had been delayed considerably due to manufacturing defects on the album’s elaborate cover. Tork feels part of the problem with the soundtrack’s chart failure was Colgems’ choice for the lead-off single: “They made a decision to release ‘Porpoise Song’ as the single from the album and for the movie. I think it was premature. If they had released any of the other songs, then ‘Porpoise Song’ would have been a good one to come back with . In retrospect, you can tell it wasn’t right.” Head still wound up charting for 15 weeks, eventually peaking at #45.
After Head, the group completed one last project as a foursome, the equally bewildering 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee NBC television special. This production, their first without Raybert – who were then busy readying their next feature, Easy Rider – was fraught with problems, including an NBC strike. When the program was finally scheduled on April 14, 1969, after several delays, the network dealt it a death blow by sending this offbeat spectacular head-to-head with the 1969 Oscar presentation. “NBC was angry with us at that point,” Tork explains. “The interesting thing about 33 1/3 is that it’s essentially the same story as Head. I think it’s the story that wanted to be told. I think 33 1/3 is more human. It’s not as powerful an artistic achievement by any stretch of the imagination.”
Although Head essentially marked the end of The Monkees’ career as popular artists, the film and its music are still among The Monkees’ favorite creations. In closing, Tork says, “It was great to break loose with it. There’s some funny stuff in it, some brilliant scenes. You look at Head now and there’s an awful lot of stuff in there that would beguile you away from the basic view of the movie – it’s like a time capsule. It’s really interesting from that point of view.”
– Andrew Sandoval
____________________________________________________
THE CAST
MICKY DOLENZ
DAVY JONES
MIKE NESMITH
PETER TORK
ANNETTE FUNICELLO. . . . Minnie
TIMOTHY CAREY. . . . . . . . .Lord High ‘n Low
T.C. JONES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. & Mrs. Ace
introducing
SONNY LISTON. . . . . . . . . . Extra
RAY NITSCHKE. . . . . . . . . . Private One
CAROL DODA. . . . . . . . . . . .Sally Silicone
FRANK ZAPPA. . . . . . . . . . . The Critic
and
VICTOR MATURE. . . . . . . .The Big Victor
____________________________________________________MICKY DOLENZ
DAVY JONES
MIKE NESMITH
PETER TORK
ANNETTE FUNICELLO. . . . Minnie
TIMOTHY CAREY. . . . . . . . .Lord High ‘n Low
T.C. JONES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. & Mrs. Ace
introducing
SONNY LISTON. . . . . . . . . . Extra
RAY NITSCHKE. . . . . . . . . . Private One
CAROL DODA. . . . . . . . . . . .Sally Silicone
FRANK ZAPPA. . . . . . . . . . . The Critic
and
VICTOR MATURE. . . . . . . .The Big Victor
Incidental Music Composed & Conducted by KEN THORNE
ALBUM PRODUCED BY THE MONKEES
except “Porpoise Song” Produced by GERRY GOFFIN
Original Album Coordinator: JACK NICHOLSON
Produced for Reissue by ANDREW SANDOVAL & BILL INGLOT
Executive Producer: HAROLD BRONSON
Project Coordination: PATRICK MILLIGAN
Remastering: BILL INGLOT & KEN PERRY
Reissue Art Direction: COCO SHINOMIYA
Design: RACHEL GUTEK
Photos on inside inlay: HENRY DILTZ
Special Thanks: PETER TORK, MICKY DOLENZ, MICHAEL NESMITH, DAVID JONES, PAUL WILLIAMS, KEVIN SCHMID, RICHARD WEIZE
_________________________________________________________________
THE COMPLETE MONKEES CATALOG AVAILABLE ON RHINO:
The Monkees (R2 71790)
More Of The Monkees (R2 71791) [available late 1994]
Headquarters (R2 71792) [available early 1995]
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (R2 71793) [available early 1995]
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (R2 71794)
Head (R2 71795) [available late 1994]
Instant Replay (R2 71796) [available early 1995]
The Monkees Present (R2 71797) [available late 1994]
Changes (R2 71798)
Listen To The Band [box set] (R2/R4 70566)
Live (1967) (R2/R4 70139)
Missing Links (R2/R4 70150)
Missing Links, Vol. 2 (R2/R4 70903)
Pool It (R2/R4 70706)
AND FROM RHINO HOME VIDEO:
Heart & Soul (R3 1601)
GET ON THE RHINO MAILING LIST
Receive our special MAIL ORDER catalog featuring over a thousand critically acclaimed Rhino compact discs and cassettes. Send one dollar (check or money order, payable to Rhino Records Inc.) along with your name and address to: Rhino Catalog, 10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025-4900.
This Reissue/Compilation (P) & © 1994 Rhino Records Inc., 10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025-4900.
