LOVE IS ONLY SLEEPING

Listen to LOVE IS ONLY SLEEPING by The Monkees.

A lot has written about the beleaguered Monkees. You can already tell which camp I'm in from my choice of adjective in the previous sentence. I don't intend to add to this non-debate today. Suffice it to say, the Monkees were a classic Folk Rock group, and a group they were. All of them (um, except Jones) had spent time on the folk circuit and, in the wake of A Hard Day's Night, they wanted to become pop stars. Badly. I think we can all dig their position.

Anyway, they recorded some admirable singles, many of which are pretty hot. They also made a couple of good albums, most notably (I think) Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Today's song, 1967's "Love is Only Sleeping", is a great little Mann-Weil song. Although it strives to be little more than a Beatles pastiche, the Monkees (and their--this time--invited session men) take it to a pretty cool level. That's right baby boomers, put your stupid condescension aside and dig the Monkees!

P.S., thanks to my pal David for taking me on an elevator ride with Dolenz (who lives in his building)! That was a treat.

Photo: Santa Monica Parking Lot.