The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees

The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees is the fifth studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1968 by Colgems Records. It was the first album released after the cancellation of their TV show and subsequently was their first not to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, peaking at No. 3, and their first not to chart in the UK, with their four previous efforts all having reached the top ten. The album has sold over a million copies.

History
While 1968 presented several misfortunes for the band (their eponymous television series was canceled; their first motion picture project, Head, failed at the box office; and, in December, Peter Tork left the group), The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees proved to be another successful album, yielding the group's sixth million-selling single in "Valleri" and yet another No. 1 in "Daydream Believer", written by former Kingston Trio member John Stewart. "Tapioca Tundra", an experimental piece of poetry put to music by Nesmith, charted well as the B-side to "Valleri" and reached No. 34.

After gaining complete artistic control over their musical direction and being allowed to play instruments on their own records in early 1967, the success of that year's Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. began to somewhat rebuff the critics who viewed the Monkees as a band of talentless individuals who were simply lucky enough to gain recognition through their "manufactured" origins.

After the Pisces album, however, the desire and focus to remain as a complete band unit in the studio evaporated, and each individual band member began to produce his own sessions with his own selected studio musicians, often at entirely different studios around the Los Angeles area. According to Chip Douglas, producer of the Monkees' previous two albums, "Peter kind of drifted away first, and then everybody did. Everyone wanted to do their own songs and produce them the way they wanted to hear them." An agreement was made to label all finished efforts as "Produced by the Monkees" but, in reality, beyond a few exceptions the recordings featured on The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees reverted to the recording process of the first two albums (fewer group dynamics), except now each band member was fully in charge of the sessions. Douglas fully expected to continue as the band's representative in the studio, but found the individual Monkees more interested in exploring their diverse musical backgrounds with their own friends and associates rather than relying on him as the central figure. "I was ready to do that Boyce & Hart song 'P.O. Box 9847' – it sort of had that 'Paperback Writer' feel on the demo. We passed on it for Pisces, and I began to think, 'Well, we should do that one now.' Then somebody said, 'Chip, we're not working with you anymore; we're gonna do our own thing.'"

While being credited as the producers, in reality the Monkees were assisted in the studio by Colgems' president, and head of Screen Gems-Columbia Publishing, Lester Sill, jazz musician and arranger Shorty Rogers, or future manager and later MCA vice president Brendan Cahill. "At that point their contract read that they were to be credited as producers on any product of theirs that came out", Rogers recalls. "Brendan Cahill and I really did all the studio work and production with Lester Sill. When we finished the album, Lester said, 'We'll put you down as producers', but The Monkees didn't want it, so that went by the wayside."

Davy Jones' Broadway rock, Michael Nesmith's country and western leanings and psychedelic experiments, and the rock and soul of Micky Dolenz made for a diverse album. Several of Peter Tork's compositions were considered for release on Birds; however, they were all rejected (for reasons unknown). Aside from playing piano on "Daydream Believer", he did not participate in the making of the record at all. Veteran Monkees tunesmiths Boyce and Hart returned to the fold to contribute the psychedelic "P.O. Box 9847", as well as a new version of "Valleri".

Artwork
The front cover of the album shows a shadow box that contains some memorabilia from the 1940s through 1960s, including a Cootie bug, a popgun, a fan that folds out into a paper flower, ceramic birds, various paper flowers and stick flowers (which were popular in 1968). Alan Wolsky, whose agency created the cover, put a picture of himself in the bottom center square, partially obscured by some flowers. The rear cover contains the term "MIJACOGEO" alongside Micky's photo, a term that is an acronym for the members of Micky's family (Micky, Janelle, Coco and George, respectively). Another quirk was that while Davy and Peter signed autographs in a traditional manner on their rear cover photos, Michael Nesmith signed "Carlisle Wheeling" to be superimposed onto his picture. This was the title of a song that did not make it on to any Monkees release at that time. However, it appeared on his post-Monkees album Loose Salute (1970) with the First National Band, having been renamed "Conversations". The song also was later released on various Monkees rarities collections.

Release
The rare U.S. mono album (COM-109) was released in a limited quantity, as mono albums were being phased out by 1968, and has become a highly sought item for its unique mixes that differ from the common stereo versions. Mono copies from Australia, India, Israel, Mexico and Puerto Rico are known to have the same mix as the U.S. There may be others as well. Most countries' mono versions — including the UK's — feature a "fold-down" mix where the stereo channels are reduced to one monaural channel (a mono version of the stereo mix).

On February 8, 2010, Rhino Records' Rhino Handmade released a three-CD boxed set reissue of the album. It was made available only online directly from Rhino. The set is housed in a 7 inch by 7 inch box with a 3D lenticular cover. It contains the original stereo and U.S. mono versions of the album in miniature vinyl replica sleeves, over 60 demos, rehearsals and outtakes from the original album's sessions, a commemorative pin and a booklet of essays and session information by Monkees historian Andrew Sandoval. The first 1,000 orders include a bonus vinyl single featuring two more unreleased tracks, acoustic versions of "St. Matthew" and "Lady's Baby".

The mono mix was re-released in October 2014 by Friday Music, as part of The Monkees in Mono box set. This pressing features messages in the dead wax reading "Thanks to the Monkees" and "In memory of Davy Jones" on sides 1 and 2, respectively.

Aborted track listing
The original track lineup for the album, compiled in March 1968, included the following songs:

Side one
 * 1) "Through the Looking Glass"
 * 2) "We Were Made for Each Other"
 * 3) "Writing Wrongs"
 * 4) "I'll Be Back Up on My Feet"
 * 5) "Valleri"
 * 6) "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again"

Side two
 * 1) "Dream World"
 * 2) "P.O. Box 9847"
 * 3) "Tapioca Tundra"
 * 4) "The Poster"
 * 5) "Alvin"
 * 6) "Daydream Believer"
 * 7) "Zor and Zam"

Personnel
Credits adapted from Rhino Handmade 2010 "Deluxe Edition" box set.

The Monkees
 * Davy Jones – lead vocals (1, 3, 5, 8, 11)
 * Micky Dolenz – lead vocals (2, 7, 9, 12), backing vocal harmony (5), percussion (12)
 * Michael Nesmith – harmony vocals (2), guitar (2, 4–6, 10), percussion (2, 4), lead vocals (4, 6, 10), keyboards (6)
 * Peter Tork – piano (5)

Additional musicians


 * Mike Deasy – guitar (1, 3, 7–8)
 * Al Hendrickson – guitar (1, 3)
 * Gerry McGee – guitar (1, 3, 9, 11)
 * Don Randi – harpsichord (1), organ (8)
 * Max Bennett – bass guitar (1, 3, 7, 10, 12)
 * Earl Palmer – drums (1, 3, 7, 10)
 * George Kast – violin (1, 3, 5, 8, 12)
 * Sam Freed – violin (1, 3)
 * Nathan Kaproff – violin (1, 3, 5, 8, 12)
 * Marvin Limonick – violin (1, 3, 8)
 * Alexander Murray – violin (1, 3, 5, 8, 12)
 * Erno Neufeld – violin (1, 3, 5, 8, 12)
 * Marie Fera – cello (1, 3)
 * Edgar Lustgarten – cello (1)
 * Jacquelyn Lustgarten – cello (1, 3)
 * Fredrick Seykora – cello (1)
 * Buddy Childers – trumpet (1, 3, 7–8, 12)
 * Jack Sheldon – trumpet (1, 3, 8, 12)
 * George Roberts – trombone (1)
 * John Cave – horn (1)
 * David Duke – horn (1, 3)
 * Arthur Maebe – horn (1)
 * Keith Allison – guitar (2, 12), background vocals (2)
 * Bill Chadwick – guitar (2, 12), background vocals (2)
 * Rick Dey – bass guitar (2, 6, 12)
 * Eddie Hoh – drums (2, 4–6, 12), percussion (6, 12)
 * James Burton – guitar (3)
 * Michael Melvoin – harpsichord (3, 7), piano (12)
 * Milt Holland – percussion (2, 7, 12), mallets (2), drums (12)
 * Jerry Williams – percussion (2), mallets (2)
 * Kurt Reher – cello (3)
 * Eleanor Slatkin – cello (3)
 * Lewis McCreary – trombone (3, 7–8, 10–12)
 * Vincent DeRosa – horn (3)
 * Richard Perissi – horn (3)
 * Chip Douglas – bass guitar (5, 12), percussion (5), piano (5)
 * Bill Martin – percussion (5)
 * Pete Candoli – trumpet (5)
 * Al Porcino – trumpet (5)
 * Manny Stevens – trumpet (5), piccolo trumpet (5)
 * Richard Noel – trombone (5)
 * Richard Leith – bass trombone (5), trombone (8, 12)
 * Philip Teele – bass trombone (5)
 * Dennis Budimir – guitar (7)
 * Al Casey – guitar (7–8)
 * Stan Levey – percussion (7, 12), drums (12)
 * Bill Hood – sax (7)
 * Ollie Mitchell – trumpet (7, 10–11)
 * Lou Blackburn – trombone (7)
 * Howard Roberts – guitar (8)
 * Lyle Rytz – bass guitar (8)
 * Hal Blaine – drums (8, 12), percussion (12)
 * Gary Coleman – percussion (8), mallets (8)
 * Gene Estes – percussion (8), mallets (8)
 * Clyde Reasinger – trumpet (8, 12)
 * Anthony Terran – trumpet (8, 12)
 * Milt Bernhart – trombone (8, 12)
 * Frank Rosolino – trombone (8, 12)
 * John Lowe – sax (8, 12), woodwind (8)
 * Ambrose Russo – violin (8, 12)
 * Louie Shelton – guitar (9, 11)
 * Joe Osborn – bass guitar (9, 11)
 * Bobby Hart – tack piano (9)
 * Billy Lewis – drums (9, 11), percussion (9), tambourine (11)
 * Victor Arno – violin (9)
 * Jack Pepper – violin (9)
 * Philip Goldberg – viola (9)
 * Ray Kelley – cello (9)
 * Paul T. Smith – tack piano (10)
 * Jim Horn – sax (10–11)
 * Jack Nimitz – baritone sax (10)
 * Jay Migliori – sax (11)
 * Roy V. Caton – trumpet (11)

Unconfirmed personnel and duties
 * Milt Holland or Jerry Williams – tambourine (1)
 * Harry Nilsson – unknown (2)
 * Other instruments (4)
 * Additional backing vocals (7–9, 11)
 * Tabla, marxophone, handclaps (9)
 * Henry Diltz – unknown (12)

Technical
 * The Monkees – producers
 * Chip Douglas – producer
 * Henry Lewy – recording engineer
 * Hank Cicalo – recording engineer
 * Pete Abbott – recording engineer
 * Shorty Rogers – arranger (1, 3, 5, 7–8, 10, 12)
 * Don McGinnis – string arrangement (9), horn arrangement (11)
 * Lester Sill – music supervisor
 * Alan Wolsky & Friends – cover design