The Monkees (well three of ‘em) on Rosie O’Donnell show
While we’re still in the festive mood there is this which I found just quite extraordinary and the song itself about which there is much discussion . . . . . . . There was more to The Monkees than people thought you know!
Riu riu chiu, la guarda ribera;Dios guardo el lobo de nuestra cordera,Dios guardo el lobo de neustra cordera.El lobo rabioso la quiso morder,Mas Dios poderoso la supo defender;Quisola hazer que no pudiese pecar,Ni aun original esta Virgen no tuviera.Riu, riu chiu...Este qu'es nacido es el gran monarca,Christo patriarca de carne vestido;Hemos redemido con se hazer chiquito,Aunqu'era infinito, finito se hiziera.Riu, riu chiu...
The villancico is attributed by some sources[1] to Mateo Flecha the Elder, who died in 1553; it has also been described as anonymous.[2] The song also bears a strong resemblance to another villancico, Falalanlera, by Bartomeu Càrceres, an Aragonese composer.[3] It is known from a single source, the Cancionero de Upsala, published in 1556 in Venice; a unique copy is preserved at the library of the University of Uppsala. The song appears as the fortieth song of that collection.[4] Daniel R. Melamed described the song as "redoubtable", and mentions it as a contender for the best known piece of Renaissance music.[5]The apparently nonsense syllables ríu ríu chíu are often taken to represent the song of a nightingale,[6] while the context and etymology are compatible with the call of a kingfisher.[7]Riu translates as river in the Catalan language, in agreement with the birth place of the accredited composer, and was translated as river by The Monkees, where the roaring river prevented a wolf from crossing to attack sheep.
HEY, HEY . . . . . . . . .
"The Monkees released their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., on November 6, 1967, through Colgems Records. The second album in which the band exerted creative control, it marked a departure from its predecessor Headquarters by featuring hired studio musicians in a more prominent role, with drummer Eddie Hoh playing on nearly every single song on the album. The band still performed the majority of the instruments, with Mike Nesmith's guitar and Peter Tork's keyboards prominently featured in the album, but that move signaled that the group was losing interest in playing in their own records a mere six months after they began to do so. This loss of interest became apparent as, when sessions for a new album started the very next month, producer Chip Douglas was gone and the band had diverted to their old method of recording: completely performed by studio musicians, and with a single Monkee coming in to record lead vocals. The only difference was that before, those sessions would be produced by Boyce & Hart or somebody like Jeff Barry or Carole King, and this time around they were produced by the band members themselves. Sure, they still retained the creative control Nesmith and Tork so yearned for, but the togetherness and unity of something like Headquarters was long gone. And with the TV show coming to an end, the writing seemed on the wall."
Through the Looking GlassWe Were Made for Each OtherWriting WrongsI'll Be Back Upon My FeetValleriLady's Baby-Magnolia SimmsP.O. Box 9847Tapioca TundraAuntie's Municipal CourtAlvinThe Girl I Left Behind MeZor and Zam
Sounds like Mike Nesmith to me! Both vocally and guitar picking style
Great guitar and arrangement of the song and whilst early not everything was written by others or indeed played by The Wrecking Crew or similar
Thanks to O My Soul as per for the heads up on this beautiful track ,. . . . . . . . .
As I have mentioned before being in touch with folk on Facebook has great benefits and John French of Captain Beefheart Magic Band fame is one such in question and yesterday he posted this account in memory of Mike Nesmith.
"When we moved to RCA Studios from Sunset Sound Studios, we went from an 8 - track to a 4 - track studio because Richard Perry, producer, was fresh out of engineering school. It was a series of bad decisions which eventually led to Safe As Milk being, really, in my estimation, a sonically weak album. I digress, however. The Monkees just happen to be at RCA studios at the time recording "Headquarters." I heard that this was the first album where they actually had the chance to play their own music rather than studio musicians ( probably the Wrecking Crew) being hired to do it for them. During break ( most of the sessions were during the day, although it was hard to tell because there were no windows for obvious reasons), we often ran into Mike Nesmith. He was a very friendly, outgoing, and soft-spoken guy. His pride and joy was his brand new black Buick Riviera, which was always parked in the underground parking lot. I recall him showing us his car and then we all sat inside and smoked weed together. I sat in the back seat, right corner, and I couldn't help but contemplate the fact that millions of kids watched the Monkees on their TV show, and if their parents had seen video of this moment, it probably would have ruined the group. A few months down the road, we were booked at a small club on Sunset Boulevard. This was while we were working on "The Mirror Man Sessions" material. We arrived at the club, and it was such a small place that they didn't even have an in-house PA. After the Mt. Tamalpais debacle earlier in the year, the best we could do in L.A. was this kind of place. Don decided to call Mike Nesmith, who showed up about 30 minutes later with his small personal PA that the Monkees used for rehearsals. We actually bombed big time that night. Don decided to play guitar -- my acoustic electric in fact -- and basically just produced a lot of noise through a Fender Dual Showman. I was playing so hard that I broke the kick drum head, so spent most of the night with no kick. We could have used this as a "rehearsal" at least, for the upcoming album, but it would have been an instrumental set, as Don didn't have any idea yet what he was going to sing to the music. I didn't really get any kind of take on what reaction Nesmith had to the night, but we did help him pack up his tiny PA. All I could think was, "How nice of him to do this for us." The Monkees were HUGE at this time.
R.I.P. Michael Nesmith -- thanks for being a true human being."
John French ‘Drumbo’ The Magic Band
Some nice Monkee business over at the library . . . . . . .bookstore . . . . .well you know where over at HQ with Pisces Aquarius Capricorn Jones and unsurpassed masters featuring The Birds The Bees And The Monkees
Hell's teeth this Christmas is looking grim as news comes in of Michael Nesmith passing away at 78
Colour footage from the “Last Train To Clarksville” radio contest.
Monkee appearances start at around 6:00.
I love this and the music no matter where it comes from or who plays upon it is really cool
Now I have said before about the Monkees and how I rushed home after my paper round in the evenings to watch them on the teatime TV spot . . . . . but this is absolutely fascinating and there will be folks who say it is all The Wrecking Crew or the Candy Store Prophets and they didn't play their instruments, well eventually they did and much of this could, I say, could, have been written by Mike Nesmith here Youtube has the details such as they have them WMG (on behalf of Rhino (Pure) tracks listed as :
Of You - The Monkees (vocals by Mike)
This Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day - The Monkees (this doesn't seem to be on there to these ears)
Last Train to Clarksville (Original Stereo Version; 2006 Remaster) - The Monkees
The radio show? Don't know . . . . .don't really care except that they kept it in the vaults somewhere, as indeed will I. Some of the instrumental tracks here are just plain delightful!
Check it out
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| Julie Newmar and Peter Tork in The Monkees (1966) |
