Episode V: The Kirshner Strikes Back. Don Kirshner was a music industry veteran, co-owning the Aldon Music publishing company which had many of the biggest Brill Building stars under its wings. In 1966, Kirshner became the musical supervisor for The Monkees TV show - his job was to pump out hits, and it's easy to argue that he did just that. Of course, this came at a price - our group of rebels was increasingly upset at their lack of musical input, feeling that Don did not reciprocate their musical ideas. These tensions came to a head with the release of the "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" single, b/w "She Hangs Out," where Kirshner went back on a promise to the group to release one of their self-recorded songs as a B-Side ("The Girl I Knew Somewhere") - Kirshner was let go from the project shortly after. After the Monkees embarrassment, Kirshner wanted to make sure such an incident of a band rising up against him would never. Happen. Again. Luckily, the job's a whole lot easier when the group is a cartoon.
You often hear the term "bubblegum" slung around at The Monkees, especially with their earlier recordings (I even saw one person refer to Head as bubblegum. Really.). For what it's worth, I find their recordings to be too earnest and lively sounding to be true-blue bubblegum - it helps that songs like "Last Train to Clarksville," "She," "Steppin' Stone," or Nesmith compositions like "Papa Gene's Blues" or "Mary, Mary" don't sound like bubblegum records. Why do I bring this all up? Because The Archies are bubblegum. True blue, chewy chewy, disposable bubblegum. The Jeff Barry hivemind can only get you so far, and when he's giving us second-rate material like "Seventeen Ain't Young" and "You Make Me Wanna Dance" it certainly doesn't help matters - clearly, Barry was saving the top-shelf stuff like "Oh My My" and "99 Pounds" for the Monkees' Changes album, but that's a review for another day. Much of this album sounds like stillborn pop tunes that can barely capture enough of a rock thrill for children to whine to their parents to buy the damn record - bubblegum at its finest!
Of course, for such a poor batting average, somehow Barry manages every now and then. "I'm in Love" easily takes home the trophy on this one - maybe it's just because, in comparison to everything else on this album, it's got a pretty rocking instrumental. Same goes for "Hide & Seek," even if the lyrics are complete dribble. "Truck Driver" is fine enough, although I haven't a reason to ever really listen to it again. And, of course, "Bang Shang-A-Lang" became a hit off of shopping the record around to radio stations - I'm sure having a weekly television show to promote the songs helped sales (sound familiar?). Unfortunately, for every almost decent song you get schlock - see the patronizing "Seventeen Ain't Young," and "Ride, Ride, Ride," which really does sound like they're trying too hard at this point.
Give it to Don Kirshner - he got back at The Monkees. By 1968, the group was going belly-up, meanwhile you have Kirshner getting the hits that he desired so. Maybe so, but unlike the Monkees there's no gold under the "Sugar, Sugar" or "Bang Shang-A-Lang," no "Tapioca Tundra" or "Don't Call on Me" waiting for me under the obvious moments - if there is, than I certainly haven't heard them. Out of every pop act I've heard in my two years of reviewing, none have been so quickly in one ear and out the other quite like The Archies - maybe that's impressive in some way.
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Listen to The Archies.
shut up
ReplyDeletedon't plan on it - i have a review coming out soon
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