Lenora's Reviews

Missing Links, Volume 1

Tk 1. "Apples, Peaches, Bananas, and Pears": This is a cute kiddie song. I kinda like it but it's not one of my favorites. I often am drawn to the pop and rock n roll style stuff. But I do like this one. Micky's singing is great. I love the drums (I'm noticing the drumming style more and more now that I'm studying percussion).

Tk 2. "If You Have the Time": Cutesy Davy song, but it has an "up" beat and I kinda like it. Not a whole lot, but I do like it.

Tk 3. "I Don't Think You Know Me" (Mike's version): Mike does this song well. Now that I have heard all three singers (Micky, Mike, and Peter) I can say that -- I can't decide which I like best! They're all so good. Mike sings very smoothly here, better than he usually sings. Micky's backing vocals are unbelievable (as always). Micky's version is sung with a certain style that I can't really describe, but it's the same kind of tone to his voice that makes me prefer his version of "Can You Dig It" over Peter's. Peter's isn't as polished but his "heart is on his sleeve" shall we say. His emotion is very evident. I love this song, period. All of the versions of it.

Tk 4. "Party": I like the music and the beat, but the song as a whole just doesn't suit my tastes. It's not a sappy Davy song, but rather a very upbeat song that normally I would probably like but this particular one just doesn't hit me right.

Tk 5. "Carlisle Wheeling": Like I said in my Instant Replay review, this is one Mike song I really like, from the first listen. I kinda like the soft tapping at the beginning before he starts counting off and then starts singing (ok, maybe that's cause I'm a drummer)

Tk 6. "Storybook of You": This one *is* a sappy Davy song, and therefore, I don't like it. I don't know what it is but sappy Davy songs just rub me the wrong way.

Tk 7. "Rosemarie": I like this a lot better than the bonus track from Instant Replay. It's a lot more polished. I adore the horns! Micky's singing is great, but not very strong. This version sounds a lot more like him than the other one did. However, this still isn't quite a finished work in my view. If I were putting together an album, I'd tell Micky to work on this a little more before I'd release it.

Tk 8. "My Share of the Sidewalk": Great horns! I kinda like this one. Davy's singing is pretty good here.

Tk 9. "All of Your Toys": I love Peter counting off in German at the start -- it's so cute! Micky's singing in this just melts me, I don't know why. :-) It's a very upbeat song, with some great drumming. This has a very dance-type beat -- just makes you wanna get up and dance!

Tk 10. "Nine Times Blue": Oh, this is one of my faves! I love every version. I first heard the bonus track on Headquarters, and that is still my fave. Second fave would have to be the way it was sung on the Johnny Cash show, because Micky's backing vocals were to die for (and even though I've only sat and watched that tape three or four times, I always find myself singing Micky's part when I have the HQ version on). I like this version a lot too, with Mike doing backing vocals.

Tk 11. "So Goes Love": Wasn't this originally intended to be used in an episode? I have to check my box set book. It's *way* too sappy for my tastes, and for some reason this screams Beatles to me (and I have heard all of maybe two Beatles songs in my life, so I don't know why I would think this sounds Beatlesque). To sum it up, yick.

Tk 12. "Teeny Tiny Gnome": Another cutesy kiddie song. The little "boing"s are cute. Micky's singing is once again great, but not really strong. The backup vocals are very well done.

Tk 13. "Of You": The blending of Mike and Micky's (on backups) voices is great, but overall I don't really like this song a whole lot.

Tk 14. "War Games": Yick. Davy-penned, and as usual, not to my liking.

Tk 15. "Lady's Baby": I thought before listening to this that it would not appeal to me, because I do not like the bonus track version from BBM, but I do really like this. I think it may have been the baby sounds on the other version. This is much smoother without those sounds.

Tk 16. "Time and Time Again": Sappy Davy song. The rhythm doesn't hit me right, and the music is good, but too sappy for my tastes. Davy's singing is good, though.

OVERALL: This is a pretty neat album. This is the first Missing Links CD I've heard, and I really like it. I'm even more anxious to hear ML2 and ML3 now. There are some sappy Davy songs in here that I don't like, but overall it's a great CD! I love hearing these songs that weren't originally chosen for the 9 original Monkees albums. It's interesting to hear these wonderful pieces that weren't thought to be good enough for an album (I'm thinking mainly of "I Don't Think You Know Me", "Lady's Baby", "Nine Times Blue", "All of Your Toys" and "Carlisle Wheeling").

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Created by Lenora McCoy

Last updated 15 JUN 98

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