UPDATE: There will be a Target Exclusive version (street date 10/19) which will include two bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are "Riu Chiu" and "Christmas Is My Time of Year". Link has been added to the post.
 | 1. Unwrap You At Christmas 2. What Would Santa Do 3. Mele Kalikimaka 4. House Of Broken Gingerbread 5. The Christmas Song 6. Christmas Party 7. Jesus Christ 8. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 9. Silver Bells 10. Wonderful Christmastime 11. Snowfall 12. Angels We Have Heard On High 13. Merry Christmas, Baby |
The Monkees celebrate the season with their first ever Christmas album, featuring new vocals by Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. The late Davy Jones' unmistakable voice - taken from vintage recordings - also appears on two songs. The Monkees put their unmistakeable stamp on Christmas classics like "The Christmas Song", "Silver Bells", "Wonderful Christmastime" and the new song "What Would Santa Do?" . In addition, Christmas Party includes new songs written by Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Andy Partridge (XTC), and Peter Buck (REM).
Having grown up with The Monkees, you could have colored me skeptical when, in 2016, I heard they had a new album coming out. The Monkees always had that sweet sound, but they were always a mess, even then. Though the final products (records and TV show) were produced to perfection, on a personal level they mixed about as well as oil and water. Their comeback in the 70s? Please. A comeback in 2016? I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.
But then "Good Times" actually came out. And even a brief :30 second clip sounded amazing. They totally pulled it off. Nope, never would have called it, but they actually put out an album that was musically solid and a lot of fun, And it sounded like The Monkees, not a bunch of old geezers trying to hold onto their youth. And they even seemed to be having fun! So now you tell me The Monkees have recorded a Christmas album? Well, now, I'm a believer.
For "Christmas Party", Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne was brought back to produce. It was Schlesinger at the helm for "Good Times". Check. They brought in a crop of top musicians and songwriters at the top of their game--Andy Partridge of XTC, Peter Buck of REM, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5--just as they'd done for "Good Times". Check. For "Christmas Party" they rescued vocal tracks from the late Davy Jones as they'd done for "Love To Love" on "Good Times". Check. They even somehow convinced Mike Nesmith to participate again. Check and checkmate. Clearly they know a winning formula when they hear it.
As on "Good Times", Mickey Dolenz does most of the heavy lifting, vocally. Mike Nesmith takes the lead on "The Christmas Song" and "Snowfall". Davy's two songs from the archives are "Mele Kalikimaka" and "Silver Bells", the "archives", in this case, being Davy's solo Christmas album (they kept the vocals, lost the rest, and recorded Monkees music around him). No one really knows how much singing Peter Tork contributed (if they know, they ain't talking), but he definitely contributed. Hey hey, it's The Monkees!
The idea of a Christmas album has been kicked around by the boys since their earliest days, but they could never get on the same page and one never made it beyond the "kick around" stage. The music for "Christmas Party" was recorded earlier this year. There's no vinyl as yet because Rhino really wanted to get the record out this year and the vinyl production houses, experiencing a bit of a back-log, could not promise delivery before January. But you know that that will be coming as well. In the meantime, The Monkees' "Christmas Party" will be out on CD and digitally on October 12, and is available for pre-order now.
But then "Good Times" actually came out. And even a brief :30 second clip sounded amazing. They totally pulled it off. Nope, never would have called it, but they actually put out an album that was musically solid and a lot of fun, And it sounded like The Monkees, not a bunch of old geezers trying to hold onto their youth. And they even seemed to be having fun! So now you tell me The Monkees have recorded a Christmas album? Well, now, I'm a believer.
For "Christmas Party", Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne was brought back to produce. It was Schlesinger at the helm for "Good Times". Check. They brought in a crop of top musicians and songwriters at the top of their game--Andy Partridge of XTC, Peter Buck of REM, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5--just as they'd done for "Good Times". Check. For "Christmas Party" they rescued vocal tracks from the late Davy Jones as they'd done for "Love To Love" on "Good Times". Check. They even somehow convinced Mike Nesmith to participate again. Check and checkmate. Clearly they know a winning formula when they hear it.
As on "Good Times", Mickey Dolenz does most of the heavy lifting, vocally. Mike Nesmith takes the lead on "The Christmas Song" and "Snowfall". Davy's two songs from the archives are "Mele Kalikimaka" and "Silver Bells", the "archives", in this case, being Davy's solo Christmas album (they kept the vocals, lost the rest, and recorded Monkees music around him). No one really knows how much singing Peter Tork contributed (if they know, they ain't talking), but he definitely contributed. Hey hey, it's The Monkees!
The idea of a Christmas album has been kicked around by the boys since their earliest days, but they could never get on the same page and one never made it beyond the "kick around" stage. The music for "Christmas Party" was recorded earlier this year. There's no vinyl as yet because Rhino really wanted to get the record out this year and the vinyl production houses, experiencing a bit of a back-log, could not promise delivery before January. But you know that that will be coming as well. In the meantime, The Monkees' "Christmas Party" will be out on CD and digitally on October 12, and is available for pre-order now.
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