1968 proved to showcase the world's greatest career suicide - a spectacular fizzling out the likes of which are amongst a league of its own. The Monkees, by the summer of that year, were already slipping - The Birds, the Bees & The Monkees already failed to top the charts, peaking at number three, and the following non-album single "D.W. Washburn" b/w "It's Nice to Be With You" lost steam at number 19 on the Hot 100, and it doesn't help that the single is retroactively pretty derided. By the end of the year, though, the Monkees had begun their biggest project - a full-length film, written by show creator Bob Rafelson and a still unknown Jack Nicholson, one year short of Easy Rider. Unfortunately, Head, both album and soundtrack, were nothing short of failures. The movie made $16,000 back on a $750,000 budget, thoroughly confused and alienated the group's teenage fanbase while also getting virtually no attention from a mature audience; meanwhile, the album peaked at number 45, with the accompanying "Porpoise Song" b/w "As We Go Along" single stalling at 62. It's all a damn shame, as the movie is a psychedelic, plotless classic, and the album showcases what may very well be some of the cleanest crop of songs the group ever cut.
Head failed in part because it was one big middle-finger to their old, clean cut image - to reference the movie a bit, the opening showcases singer Micky Dolenz jumping from a bridge in what is very much a metaphorical suicide. Some of these elements of shattering the group's own image find their way into the Jack Nicholson-assembled album, as well - the "Ditty Diego" chant is an acknowledgement of their manufactured, fake image that had been thrown at the group since their conception. Other moments like the Davy Jones sung "Daddy's Song" feel like subversion done at its finest. In contrast to the typically sugary and cutesy love songs that Davy would sing over (see "We Were Made for Each Other" on The Birds, the Bees), "Daddy's Song" is a vaudevillian number about the song's lead singer, his father's abandonment, and the ensuing emotional trauma that followed the event, penned by pop genius Harry Nilsson (whose own father abandoned him as a kid). Many elements of the soundtrack play like a darker, more out-there take on what The Monkees had been doing just a year prior, and it truly does shatter every preconception of the group.
Of course, their talent for pop has not been lost - that single I mentioned, "Porpoise Song" b/w "As We Go Along" appears on this album, and I believe it stands as The Monkees swan song. Each side is a beautifully penned, somewhat resonant pop song, with the latter probably standing as my single favorite from the group to this day. Both also carry what may be Micky Dolenz's best singing on any Monkees album or song, and considering he also has the mysterious Peter Tork moment "Can You Dig It," that's saying something. Did I mention Peter Tork? His two songs here take home the trophy as well, with "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?" easily standing as one of his best compositions with the group, complete with driving rhythm, wailing guitars, and a grooving bassline - both are up there with other great psychedelic folk rockers from the likes of Buffalo Springfield or The Byrds. Mike Nesmith also doesn't disappoint with his "Circle Sky" song, one of the heaviest rockers of the group's career, even if I do prefer the live version from the film.
By the end of the year, it was over. In the middle of filming for their television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee, Peter Tork told the group he was leaving after filming concluded. Head, in many ways, plays to the grand finality of the group - a glorious, weird, wonderful final statement for everyone to bow with. Every member brings their best foot forward, be it with performances, writing, or playing, and the result is an incredibly concise, psychedelic wonder that barely lasts half an hour. The golden age of the Monkees ended here, but what a way to end.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Head.
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