Monkees - Missing Links 3 (21 tracks) +Album Reviews

QUANTITY OVER QUALITY BUT STILL A VERY GOOD QUANTITY!

Jared Insell | Canada | 05/03/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Quantity over quality of recordings seem to be what grace the third volume of the Monkees popular Missing Links series. Not to take anything away from this great compilation of rarities for it is still essential for all fans of The Monkees music. There are actually some superb gems between others tracks that range from standard to trivial. That is what makes Missing Links 3 a uneven hodge podge of great Monkees songs.The album kicks off appropriately with the TV version of The MONKEES THEME. Suprisingly this is the first time the actual version you heard every week back in the 60's has been released on CD! The rest of this compilation is filled with some excellent unreleased David Jones and Peter Tork tracks, Nesmith with the usual collection of great country rock songs, a few excellent Micky Dolenz outtakes and the rest of the album is trivial filler that was questionable for release. The filler are tracks like KELLOGG'S JINGLE, WE'LL BE BACK IN A MINUTE #1 AND #2, and TEMA DEI MONKEES which is the Monkees theme in Italian. Nesmith offers us his standard of excellence with songs like PROPINQUITY(I'VE JUST BEGUN TO CARE) one of his finest love songs, the funky LITTLE RED RIDER and the bouncy HOLLYWOOD both of these as well as PROPINQUITY are early takes from Nesmith's solo years. We also get a polished studio version of CIRCLE SKY where the vocals can actually be heard. Nez covers a classic with the eerie HOW INSENSITIVE. The final track here is Nesmith's experiment with gospel music called ANGEL BAND. Sadly this one doesn't really work but it's one of the few failures of Nez. Jones has some suprisingly good material here! PENNY MUSIC fits well in with his form of broadway rock and it's catchy too! He shows of soul in the upbeat r&b hook, LOOK DOWN. He also sings a nice early version of SHE HANGS OUT which has some contrversey around it (see my Headquarters review for further info). LOVE TO LOVE is his final track here which is an excellent Neil Diamond track and I don't know if anyone could do it better than Davy! Micky Dolenz material here has some good stuff and some bad. The first track here is an early 1966 version of THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS which was recorded again later in 1968. This early version is okay but I find it too choppy sounding. YOU'RE SO GOOD is his next track which shows the Monkees venturing further into r&b music. A lot of people find this track disappointing however I thought it was pretty good. Sure the lyrics are pretty stupid but the song itself has a great beat. Two demos here really do justice for Micky musically here. The charming MIDNIGHT TRAIN and SHE'LL BE THERE demos are just Micky on guitar singing with his sister Coco. SHAKE `EM UP is somewhat similar DW WASHBURN which is necessarily breath taking but still fun. The last two tracks here of Mick's are excellent though. STEAM ENGINE is a fantastic 1969 outtake which for whatever reason never made commercial release. It sounds like the Monkees doing punk rock or something. The TV version of ZOR AND ZAM (the stark arrangemed version) finally makes it's appearance on an album. I still cannot figure out which version of this track is better but both are fantastic. Even thoguh he has only two songs here, the Peter Tork tracks are some of the best he ever did for the group on this album. TEAR THE TOP RIGHT OFF MY HEAD should have been released on `The Birds and The Bees And The Monkees' and the haunting MERRY GO ROUND definetly deserved a commercial release back in 1968 as well. Bottom line: It may not be the best of the three volumes but Missing Links 3 has some essential tracks that make this well, an essential cd for Monkees fans. It brings out many musical styles the Monkees toyed with from 1966-1970. This is a great compilation. Highly recommended!"

So much range in one album

Kay | Bucktown, PA USA | 07/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't as good as Missing Links 2, but still great. At last, the far better tv version of the Monkees theme is here. The great little "We'll Be Back in a Minute" jingles are interesting, and I use them on my answering machine. "Propinquity" is a beautiful Mike tune. "Penny Music" is a great little tune that's somewhat Broadwayesque. "Tear the Top..." is so much fun and one of the best Peter Tork songs. "Little Red Rider" is just more great Nesmith and it has the best ending I've ever heard for a song. "You're So Good" is a little disappointing, and "Look Down" is Davy's best vocal performance on a recording. "Hollywood" is more Nesmith. "Midnight Train" and "She'll Be There" are 2 great Micky songs he sings w/ sis Coco. "She Hangs Out" is better than the Pisces version. "Shake 'Em Up" is along the same lines as D.W. Washburn, but better. "Circle Sky" is a great studio version. "Steam Engine" is WONDERFUL! Micky's great, story's great, lyrics are great, instruments are great. "Love to Love" is a greatly missed Neil Diamond song, and better than I'm a Believer. "How Insensitive" is another wonderful Nesmith sung tune. "Merry Go Round" is classic Peter and very haunting. "Angel Band" is a disappointment, one of the few for Papa Nez. "Zor And Zam" is the tv version, which was always much better than the studio version. "Tema Dei Monkees" is just fun. Unfortunate that the bulk of this material didn't get out in the mainstream back in the 60's. Probably would've given this understated band more credit to their name."

Last, But Not Least

Rocker84 | Buffalo, NY | 05/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This cd was the last release of the Missing Links collections. Although I don't think it's quite as good as volume two, there are some great rarities on here. Any Monkees fan will definitely enjoy this one. Here is my review of the songs:

1. "(Theme From) The Monkees" - This is the version of this song that was used as the intro to the tv show. It's cool to see this released, because this version had never been on an album before. 9/10

2. "Kellogg's Jingle" - You can hear this song in many of the Monkees episodes, right after the intro. Just a short jingle, but it's pretty cool.

3. "We'll Be Back In A Minute" - Just another short jingle type song. It was apparently used on reruns of the Monkees tv show.

4. "Through The Looking Glass" - Here is the first full song of the cd. This is a very good version of this Boyce/Hart song. I think it's just as good if not better than the version used on Instant Replay. 8/10

5. "Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)" - Yet another solid unreleased Mike song (the Missing Links cd's are filled with them). Has that classic Mike country sound, and I believe he used this song on one of his solo albums. 8/10

6. "Penny Music" - Ouch! is all I could say to describe this song. Has sort of a catchy tune, but Davy's voice just sounds very off. 3/10

7. "Tear The Top Right Off My Head" - This is a very good Peter song. You could actually hear Micky and Peter perform part of this in the "Hitting The High Seas" Monkees episode. It's one of my favorites on the cd, and Peter just always gives it his all. 9/10

8. "Little Red Rider" - Another great unreleased Mike song, and another one that I think he used in his solo career. Good work by Mike. 9/10

9. "You're So Good" - I usually always like Micky songs, but this one just isn't very good. It doesn't even sound like a typical Monkees song, kind of odd. 4/10

10. "Look Down" - I find this to be one of the better songs on the cd. Good performance by Davy, and maybe if re-recorded, I could see it having been on an album. 8/10

11. "Hollywood" - Ok song, not one of my favorite Mike ones. I'm usually a fan of the Mike country/country-rock stuff, but this one's a little too much country for me. 6/10

12. "Midnight Train" - Decent Miky song, that is slightly different from the version used on Changes. You could hear a lot of Micky's sister in this version. Another song that's not really typical Monkees style, but it's ok. 6/10

13. "She Hangs Out" - This is a good Davy song, but I don't like this version even close to as much as the album version. It's just a little too slow for me. 6/10

14. "Shake 'Em Up" - This song has almost the same style as "You're So Good". It just doesn't sound very good, and it's really odd. 3/10

15. "Circle Sky" - This version isn't quite as good as the live version, but it's better than the album version. It's very similar to the album version, except Mike's vocals are actually audible. Great rockin' Mike song though. 8/10

16. "Steam Engine" - It has a pretty catchy chorus...I usually find myself singing along with it. But altogether, it's kind of an average song I could live without. 6/10

17. "Love To Love" - This is an obvious Neil Diamond song, which sounds very similar to the other one's he wrote for the Monkees. It's probably the best song on this cd, and easily could have been used on one of their albums. 10/10

18. "She'll Be There" - It doesn't sound like this song was finished to me, but it has good lyrics, and great vocals from Micky. I think a finished recording could have been album quality. 8/10

19. "How Insensitive" - Might be my least favorite Mike song. It's another one that's just a little too country, and I'm not a fan of the vocals. 5/10

20. "Merry Go Round" - Another solid Peter song, that has a very addictive sound to it. 8/10

21. "Angel Band" - See "How Insensitive". 5/10

22. "Zor and Zam" - This was the version used on the tv show...it's a great song, but the album version is a little more intense, and a little better I think. 8/10

23. "We'll Be Back In A Minute" - Just a slightly different version from the song above.

24. "Tema Dei Monkees" - Simply (Theme From) The Monkees in Italian. Kind of neat.

As you could see, it's not the best cd, but it is a nice collection to have, with many quality songs."

GREAT rarities!

Rocker84 | 07/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have long been a Monkees fan and when I recieved this CD I went crazy! Micky's version of "Steam Engine" is amazing and filled with power...Davy's "Look Down" is a peppy self esteem type anthem...Peter's "Tear the Top off of my Head" is good, but I like the quick little version on the TV show better. Mike's "Little Red Rider", in my own opinion, is the best song on the CD. Upbeat, and is just an amazingly written song musically. THIS IS A GREAT MONKEES COMPILATION!"

We may be comin' to your town.

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 02/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the third CD in the collection of Monkees rarities. It's a solid collection. It features previously unreleased songs and alternate versions of previously released songs. Lots of good songs, especially the ones by Michael Nesmith. I also like "Tear the Top Right Off My Head" and "Steam Engine" a lot. There are a few somewhat weak songs, but not too many. This CD is a real treat for Monkeemaniacs."

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