Headquarters

just no. why did they even make this? i would’ve given this a 1 if not for zilch!! that minute and six seconds cut through the other hour of monotonous jangly guitar. if i want to listen to fun sixties music id just listen to the beach boys.

Nesmith's songs are my favorites of the bunch, along with Dolenz's "Randy Scouse Git", which has a surprisingly badass chorus. I definitely lie somewhere in between the two extreme stances that people generally tend to take on this group ("they're a complete fucking joke" vs. "they're one of the best, most misunderstood bands of all-time"); I doubt I'll ever be a full convert, but most of this is perfectly listenable at worst and quite good at best. 3.5/5

not bad but ive just heard better versions of this sound. they do get weird points for zilch.

For the Beatles fans who thought the white album went too hard, there was this album from the Monkees to fall back on. My favorite part was discovering the origin of Mistadobalina.

These guys deserve some stars for being the best thing on Nick-at-Night

Eh, no thanks. Nice harmonies and all that, but I don't really listen to music for the harmonies. I did, however, listen to the whole album, so it's an automatic 3 for these guys.

I own this on vinyl and have been a fan for awhile. I like that the Monkees set a bit of a template for boy bands. They were selected for screen tests and didn't play the instruments on the first two albums or write anything. They wrestled creative control on this one and it turns out they were good. And interested in country music flavor. It kind of set a path forward for later "products" like Justin Timberlake or Harry Styles to push the boundaries of the genres where they made their fame. Also, I'll Spend My Life with You is a great song.

Some great stuff on here, even if most of the band's biggest hits aren't. Guessing it belongs on the list because it's the one where they seized creative control. I'll again recommend the Andrew Hickey podcast episodes on the Monkees: https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-144-last-train-to-clarksville-by-the-monkees/ and https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-162-daydream-believer-by-the-monkees/. The Bob Dobalina throwaway is weirdly hypnotic.

3/5 - So, if I didn't know this was The Monkees, I'd say "what is this obvious Beatles rip-off trash?" Now, because the group was conceived as such, and it's clearly intentional, does that give it a pass? Sort of, I guess?? I didn't entirely hate this, but I also know that I didn't like it either.

Shure, it's my generation. Sorry - I CAN surwive without listening!

Strange album! Some of these tracks were 5 star, some were certainly 1 or 2 stars. This generally sounded like a poor Beatles imitation, but a few tracks will be going on 'the playlist'

Nah

I thought it would never end. While there is some nostalgia there, it’s just not my jam. 2

Beatles like group, not bad, but over helmed after several listening sessions.

monkey.

This was alright

This was fine, but I want to know WHO WAS ASKING FOR A DELUXE EDITION OF THIS? Way too many extras here, it was unnecessary except to the most fervent fans. 2.5/5 overall which is generous (at least today)

Just fell flat for me.

I was 8 when this record was released and watched the Monkees show on TV. Taste in music has changed a lot😊. This sounds very "manufactured". I am sure there were rooms of poor souls churning out lyrics and music for bands like The Monkees.

Well, this is more songs than I'd thought The Monkees ever recorded in total. Why is this here again? They were a parody band. If they qualify, there had better be some Weird Al Yankovic in this list.

big ol bucket of meh.

soo so long, but it’s pretty good and fun and nice and nice to listen with all the windows open running around the whole house but it’s loud enough and you don’t need to hear every word these men say anyway kind of music

I imagine this was a lot better in the 1960s.

Ah.....a moment down memory lane for me. When their music comes on there is no way you don't recognize that it's the monkees. They have their own sound that nobody else does.

Terrible songs.

Fun and enjoyable, but not my jam. I can tell they tried hard to get away from their early image.

BiedaBeatlesi. Nie są oryginalni, nie są odważni, wszystko wydaje się zrobione na łapu-capu. 5/10.

Silliness throughout.

I was a huge fan of The Monkees show when I was a kid. This was the 70s when local stations ran repeats. I had a greatest hits cassette I wore out. While I do enjoy many of their songs, they did break any ground. They were very much in line with the sound of the day and relied on songwriters to help them out.

Oh, I love The Monkees, so it pains me to say that I wasn't very impressed. I know there's humour, but lots of the approach seems quite earnest and the production lacks oomph. Side 1 was wishy-washy and even twee in places. Side 2 got going a bit more, and I liked For Pete's Sake and Sunny Girlfriend; it finishes with a bang, at least, with Randy Scouse Git. Nice harmonies and happy memories of the fabulous TV show, but not really a memorable experience overall.

Beetje Beatle vibes

Loved it.

A decent proto-country rock album of its time.

Nah

The Beatles from Temu/Wish.

Can see why they were a big 60’s name, very much paved the way for Pop and Rock.

I think I just like 60's pop VS pop in other decades because this album was better than I thought it was gonna be. Was it great? No. Was it terribly bad? Also No. It was cookie cutter 60's pop and also kinda sounded like a Beatles rip off in some spots and frankly could be worse. Net, net i'm not a believer but i'm also not a hater... Lastly, this cover art is not helping with their image.

Carbon copy of The Beatles. They have SEVEN albums on the list, why include this?

Stark contast to The Who album I just reviewed from the same year. This one definitely felt more saccharine and had less raw rock elements. Still enjoyable but definitely less willing to take risks. Overall- 2.5 to 3 out of 5

I love the Monkees! I grew up on these songs. The music of the Wrecking Crew never fails to impress. I love Micky's voice the most, but the original "Girl That I Knew Somewhere" sung by Nesmith really hits. Did the album need ten other versions of the song? Eh. The album as a whole is so much fun. Quintessential 60's pop that utilizes modalities and instruments that are very indicative of the decade. It brings you to another time, yet still timeless. I have so many favorites from this album. A lot of them are life-long loves of mine. "For Pete's Sake," "Randy Scouse Git," and "All of Your Toys" are the top.

I only really know the big hits by the Monkees so wasn’t fully sure what to expect. Starting off with You Told Me, I’m getting early Beatles vibes a lot here, I guess they’re around the same era. There’s some really nice melodies and vocal harmonies shown here such as “I’ll Spend My Life With You”. Thematically it doesn’t deviate too much from the love song/broken heart topics which often is the only thing bands used to sing about (I mentioned early Beatles who are an example of this, until they really progressed later on). It’s nice to hear the slightly slower paced “Shades of Gray” which is a little more ballad-like. Nice piano lines featured here, and lyrics I think everyone can relate to. Though there are quite a few nice songs here – it’s not quite doing enough different for me. Notable tracks for me: Shades of Gray, You Just May Be The One, No Time.

I found this a little boring. Nothing was a stand out.

smells like the beatles but less catchy. makes me want to listen to a better artist, like the beatles. Would I listen again: No Deserves to be on the list: No 2.4

It was a delight to hear their musical experiments.

Very good, nicely produced & performed album.

I enjoy sunny 60s pop music enough to get behind this, but I think I would tire of it if not for that fact.

I’m sure it has its time, I just couldn’t find mine.

Bit of a snooze unfortunately

I really thought zilch was like a sketch from bobs burgers and thought my phone was broken. This isn't bad, but crazy that it's their only album they wrote and performed on. Like all the other albums are written by someone else and performed by session musicians. I think maybe they're a big influence for t Swift.

Forgettable, sadly.

Didn’t realise they sounded so much like the Beatles. Feel good music

Id rather just listen to the Beatles…

Kinda generic for the time period. Not the worst album but boring, bland and repetitive. The vocals also annoy me too much sometimes. THIRTY-SIX SONGS OH HELL NAW. I feel like people only liked this back then cuz if you bought it you BOUGHT it. You were stuck with it. You were forced to listen to it. To like it eventually. I would've given it to a friend as a gift. Well, they wouldn't be my friend anymore after that, but hey it's better than having to listen to this in full ever again.

boooooring

Very good. 4. Beatles-esque.

5/10

Album 1054 of 1089 Headquarters- The Monkees (1967) Rating : 4 / 5 I’ve always enjoyed The Monkees. I liked the TV show when I was younger and, over time, came to appreciate the music on its own. I put aside all the “not a real band” chatter years ago. When they took control of their name and their recordings, they proved they absolutely belonged in the conversation. Headquarters is a good example of that. This was them stepping up and playing their own instruments, steering the ship themselves, and showing that they weren’t just a studio creation. And it works. Classic tunes. Great vocals. Some nice guitar and bass work woven throughout. But for me, it’s mostly about the style. They captured that specific slice of the ’60s perfectly. Their sound has a way of putting you right back there - bright, melodic, slightly playful, but still sincere. I even caught a little bit of Harry Nilsson flavor in spots. Could just be that era’s shared sensibility, but there’s something in the melodies and phrasing that gave me that vibe. It’s not earth-shattering. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel. But if you like The Monkees, this album delivers exactly what you’d hope it would. And sometimes that’s more than enough.

Every Simpson joke suddenly makes sense.

I love The Byrds. I love The Beatles. I love The Who. I even kind of love The Monkees but this collection so uninteresting that I can't make myself care about it.

Meh, pretty disposable 60s pop for the most part.

Ok but nothing special. Can’t help seeing them as a fake Beatles!!

Definitely enjoyed some of the tracks but found it mismatched, generic and a bit of an irritating listen after a couple songs

This may not be among the list of the greatest albums ever, but I still love it. They were such a fun group and this was a very enjoyable listen.

Franchement c'est calamiteux. J'ai rien contre les Monkees ni leur musique et j'ai globalement apprécié les sonorités mais sortir ça en 1967 juste avant Sergent Pepper fait de lui un album extrêmement daté avec des sonorités beaucoup trop Red Beatles voir même plagié. C'est très dommage mais c'est une trop grande deception pour ne pas s'en indigner.

122/1001 First listen. No hits on here that I recognize. A jaunty little album that could grow on you if given a chance. This gets more interesting at the back end of the album. 4/10

Heel nice

When I was in elementary school the Monkees were the thing. The show, the 1st few albums, the singles were all over the radio. Kinda started my musical journey. Anyway in hindsight I now know the Monkees were a made up band with studio musicians playing other peoples songs. This album wasn't up to the original Monkees that I remember from my youth.

Very very fun. As the “I’m a believer” band I expected this to be more mindless pop and was so happy to see that if I’d been young when this came out it would’ve been on REPEAT. Love when an album just has a bunch of clips the band fucking around in the studio.

This was a hard one to get through, I can’t lie.

Surprisingly really enjoyable. 3.5/5

the zilch song made me want to kill them

good ol album classic loved it. You can really see the infleunce of the beatles in them like for some of the songs you couldn't tell if they were in fact the beatles or the monkees. Zilch was so cool and I also like how calm some of the songs were in comparison to the other songs you were more rock and roll influenced

Immediately the Beatles mimicry in the songwriting is obvious. As the kids these days would say, these are the Fab Four’s “reheated nachos” (a term I can’t wait to never hear again but invoke here regardless). The accents are American and the tunes themselves are not as gripping, but it’s a close enough aping to be a not unpleasant listen. Uncompelling and sometimes saccharine and bothersome. The trading off on vocals was weirdly jarring.

As a child of the 80s raised on 60s pop, I never quite knew which story to believe about the Monkees. And I’m not sure I really care, I like the songs. Yes they are Beatles imitators but 1) aren’t we all and 2) at their best, they are a bit more relaxed than the Beatles, letting out a different side of the sound. This album is just a 3 for me because I don’t hear anything absolutely essential in it, but I enjoy it nevertheless.

This was fun.

What the frick is this album cover.

Good for them for fighting to record their own songs and play their own instruments. Most importantly, who the hell knew we have the Monkees to thank for the genius that is Del the Funky Homosapien's Mr. Bob Dobalina! I did not know that weird, wild stuff!

Imagine having hit television AND music careers -- and yet always being a pop culture punchline for the silly excess of the mid 60s? Discovering this album was an unexpected win for me. I loved it. And I'm not afraid to admit that to others. I love the Monkees? I guess I love the Monkees. Gonna go lay down now and contemplate that one.

C-side Beatles.

The execution, deliberate and subtly innovative, raises up a modest set. Tork’s banjo on the opener is a good example; not in your face, but slightly deranged.

Affable nonsense, vaguely folky, vaguely rocky, vaguely psychedelic; harpsichords and harmonies. Remind you of anyone? "Zilch" and the bizarre shout out to Alf Garnett alone place these funky simiiformes slightly above "Pet Sounds" in my estimation.

Nice

Really good score of an album for sure

Band of labradors make palatable pop.

I don't think I needed to listen to a joke corporate Beatles rip-off act before I died. It's not the worst thing ever, but it's just a bit frustrating that the author thought the goddamn Monkees were important enough to put on this list. Dumb. 2/5

The Monkees were more than just "faces" for other people's music, particularly Nesmith and Tork. And I love that they were able to wrest control from their previous producer and write and perform their own music. The songs on here are good, but they are not great. I understand that the album was high on the charts in the summer of 1967, but it wasn't even the Monkees' best-selling album that year! And it doesn't have a single hit (not that hits are everything, but for a band like the Monkees, you would expect that). This is good music, but it doesn't belong on this list.

It't the Monkees. Ok, never liked them much and never understood their popularity. Ok as background but nothing more.

Awww, the Monkees! My childhood favorites, I really enjoyed this

Like the Beatles/beach boys

It was a very playful and fun album to me. Some points docked for the absolute insane length. However I never felt bored which is incredible.

3/5 Each song felt different, though I do think they sounded a lot like the Beatles. I loved the songs Zilch and Jericho because it showcased the playfulness of the band. They really seemed to have fun with this album and I can appreciate that.

Inconsequential bubblegum, although I think Dolenz has a strong voice, and is probably the best writer of the bunch too (Randy Scouse Git is the standout track)

It’s such a great story that they learned to actually play the instruments, took over control for this album, and then made a series of classic songs. So cool

More 60s shite! Nothing great here, Beatles did it better and even then I find them listenable at best most of the time.

Cheap Yank keech. Enjoyed the TV show as a kid, but felt betrayed when it came out they were only actors!

Uh oh! You failed your perception check, and got fooled by the Beatles Mimic. Take 4d4 psychic damage, and you are Charmed by their empty songs.

Dollar Store Beatles.

Mr Dobalina

Temu Beatles

Beatles aber verspielter.

Kind of a snooze. Or maybe I wasn't really in the mood for it. Either way, I didn't like it that much.

The only justification for having this in the list is a reminder that empty and generic casting bands aren't such a recent invention.

Kinda cringe lowk

Estuvo divertido

meh

OK, I obviously know The Monkees (thanks to MTV in the late '80s) but what an odd album choice - scanning the track titles I don't recognize ANY of these. It's been a while since I've made this complaint, but... I have no problem including The Monkees in this project - 1001 albums is a LOT of albums - but I can't imagine that TWO Monkees albums need to be included, and if I had to choose I think I would go with one of their albums with hits on it. (Were these guys really that big in the UK?) The Monkees were a fascinating phenomenon. I enjoyed their show as a kid and I still enjoy a lot of their music. Some interesting trivia from the Wikipedia page: "The album was released on May 22, 1967, and charted at No. 1 in the U.S., only to be replaced the following week by the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; it then began a run of 11 consecutive weeks at the No. 2 position as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Headquarters became the two top-selling records during the "Summer of Love" period."

Not offensive, not anything special. Sounds like a Beatles rip-off. Probably won't come back to this one.

Never listened to a Monkees album before. It's a lot of fun and a surprise for me that Mistadobalina was actually based on Zilch.

I know of the band and their most famous song but other than that this is new to me. Its kind of exactly what I expected, fun rock music from long ago. The age really shows and I can clearly hear the inspiration it left for later bands. Not something I would choose to listen to when later bands in the genre has made it better in my opinion.

This album was really good. Zilch was an awesome twist

"The Monkees weren't about music, Marge. They were about rebellion, about political and social upheaval!"

I can’t believe it’s not Beatles! I like my Brit pop how I like my processed meats; heavily manufactured. Wait, which one is supposed to be Paul?

This is pretty enjoyable. They're pretty much just diet Beatles.

These guys weren't bad

come on man

loved this one!

Pretty solid. Something between the doors and the beatles.

passively enjoyable! high 3. they had some interesting ideas but the album wasn't as engaging as others released around this time

I know this might seem unfair, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is a pale copy of The Beatles. I mean, I understand that people dug it at the time. I also understand it has been influential. I just don’t think I’ll get the urge to listen again. At least now I know where Mr Dobalina came from.

4 1/2 A very listenable album.

Absolutely insipid, as expected. I didn't like them when they were on re-run TV when I was a kid, and it looks like I still don't like them. Almost feel bad for them, given how they were controlled by the producers and song writers. The cool thing was the origin of Mister Bob Dobalina, which was sampled on Del the Funky Homosapien on Mistadobalina in 1992!

No time for you, Monkees, I got lots of better things to do.

Very 60s version of the Monkees, but none of their big hits.

i liked it! it's like discovering an early beatles album that I somehow hadn't heard before. although I could have done with out accidentally listenining to the complete deluxe edition which included another 25 tracks

Fun. I guess.

The first album The Monkees "really" played. I'm honestly impressed. Very catchy 60s pop tunes, but this album also has some wild moments and it makes the whole thing seem like just a bunch of guys having a grand ole time making music, and I love that. "Band 6" is really odd, some out of time off sync no chemistry blooper then playing a stock tv music lick. But even stranger, "Zilch" appears and totally blows my mind. That's something Zappa would put on his record (and did, on his debut no less), not something I'd expect one of the biggest pop bands in America to do. Almost all these songs are amazing in their own way, but "Randy Scouse Git" absolutely wipes the floor with them. One of my favorite songs

Good album, like the general sound. Nostalgic and fun.

Ihan menevää 60-luvun pop rockia.

Oavsett om dom heter BTS på 2020talet, New Kids On The Block på 80/90talet, Bay City Rollers på 70talet eller The Monkees på 60talet förtjärnar fabricerade band ihopsatta på grund av eller tack vare utseende aldrig något annat än en etta

Den här är musik som inte känns nödvändig, men den gör heller ingen skada.

60-talets Hanna Montana. Om jag förstått rätt har de här gått vidare från TV-serien de skapades för, till att göra ett album mer utifrån sina egna premisser och med till viss del egenskrivet material. Och visst det stabil 60-talspop. Varken mer eller mindre. You just me be the one och rökaren No time sticker ut på uppsidan. Gillar även banjoplocket på inledande You told me. Svag, men ändock en trea.

Mer 60-talspop. Inte dåligt. Inte unikt på något vis. Ett gott hantverk. Stark tvåa.

Look how fun it is to be a Monkee! We often hold hands and kick our boots out with big grins because we love to Monkee around. We made a record! So fun! A harmless and mildly pleasant tour through a Beatlesesque simulacrum.

14 songs, 31 minutes. Cannot say that there are many bangers on this one, but it was a pleasant listen.

I can’t get past the silly parody version of The Monkees. These songs sound like burlesques of 60s sounds.

This third Monkees album saw the band get out from under the studios and really make their own album, showing that they were a very competent group. Doesn't have the hits of the earlier records but still a pretty good listen

i don’t like when albums on spotify don’t have the original version, i don’t wanna listen to the super duper deluxe version plus 80 extra songs, jst give me what came out in 1963, anyway i did rly like what did come out in 1963 the original couple of songs were great

First listen Saved 2/14 Top track: You Told Me

Some very pleasant songs here some of which move away from the goofiness for which they were known until this point.

A good listen and I am always pleasantly surprised at how listenable The Monkees are.

There is just always something very endearing and fun about The Monkees. But that’s probably part of conditioning from their TV programme as an 80s kid (did BBC or ITV re-run their shows, can’t remember?). There’s not many real quality songs in there, but their Beatles meets Jefferson Airplane style is nice on my ear. Also, I’ve never thought about it before but Micky Dolenz is definitely the best singer of the gang. His Randy Scouse Git is also the pick of the bunch.

This album suffers form a severe case of "averageness". It's not bad - the music is fine, there's some interesting moments here and there... but it's pretty underwhelming stuff, especially considering what else was happening in the late 60s musically. It's no secret that this band started as a manufactured cookie-cutter Beatles parody, but by this point I'd argue this isn't the case anymore. They're becoming a band in their own right. I got pretty bored listening to this, until "Zilch" happened - at which point it was a song's worth of confusion, and then back to the boredom. I will say, (though it's not on this album) more bands need their own theme song. I think that would be fun.

This was apparently the first album they wrote and performed themselves. It shows. The songs are very pedestrian.

“-Mamãe, quero ouvir Rubber Soul! -Filho, nós temos Rubber Soul em casa… -Rubber Soul em casa: The Monkees - Headquarters [1967]” Farpas à parte, é um disco pop inofensivo, mas altamente plástico e nem um pouco original. Por mais que grande parte das melodias sejam suficientemente agradáveis, o álbum não me faz sentir absolutamente nada. Seria um ótimo presente, na época, para algum adolescente sem gosto tão definido, ele certamente ouviria e decoraria todas as canções aqui… Mas em pleno 2026, eu falho em ver qualquer motivo pra voltar atrás e ouvir Headquarters. Não é um álbum ruim, mas certamente é um álbum esquecível e inconsequente. No grande escopo da magnânima década de 1960, acaba sendo a definição de “mediano”. 2/5

This one's fun and rather interesting, with a fair bit more depth than I expected based upon listening to my mom's "Best of the Monkees" collection as a kid. I listened to this one with her, and she reminisced about the different tracks as they played, which really elevated the experience for me. It's a good one. Favorite track: let's say "For Pete's Sake," it was the one Mom liked the most, so it goes on the playlist in her honor :)

Def long asf 🕕 ! But it's a vibe and I'm loving the choice of instruments and lyrics !

I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this. I don’t even know where to start. The album is four hours long. That’s four hours of my life I can never get back that I just sat at my work desk completely miserable. I obviously went to Wikipedia to see what the actual track listing was cause this happens from time to time where you need to look up the actual track listing cause the only version available will be an extended deluxe cut or something. Well imagine my shock and horror when it was revealed that the full album is FOUR HOURS LONG. Why do The Monkees hate us so? What have we done to anger you The Monkees?!? Why has God forsaken us?!? I understand that if you are a HARDCORE Monkees fan you might want to listen to “studio dialogue” but the average person stumbling across this album DOES NOT WANT THAT. It honestly comes across as narcissistic and grating. Like would I wanna buy an album that was this long that had this many demos and unfinished ideas and mindless studio noises but it was released by Ween? Yah guilty as charged I would pay a lot of money for that, and yes I should be ashamed of myself. But seriously for this to be a serious studio release is fucking bold to say the least. I can prove that I was patient and actually sat through the whole thing cause I was actually STUNNED to learn the sample for the song “Mistadobalina” is actually from this album. Which was a crazy moment where I thought the music streaming service jumped back to my normal playlist cause I couldn’t believe this album had THAT sample. Which I can admit was cool but it’s only cool because of Del the fuck homosapien, the album doesn’t get “points” for someone else making a cool song out of the dumpster fire that is this trash heap of an album. I know calling an album a flaming trash heap may sound dramatic but the fact that this was released in this state feels like they just expect people to shovel this down without any sense of flare or fan fare. I genuinely felt insulted by this album, like my time wasn’t important. The album says to you “fuck you good sir, you must be a Monkees fan to be listening to this album so I’m just going to shut directly into your ear canal, you wouldn’t even know any better…you are listening to The Monkees”. Also the final slap in the face is when you get to the final track after FOUR HOURS and it’s The Monkees singing that they have no time…no time for me?!? So Mr. The Monkees, I believe it is I who has no time for you!! And how dare you think otherwise you pompous narcissistic ass of a band. Literally this album was the only time I ever questioned why I was even doing this list, and if I even wanted to continue. Thankfully I can say this list doesn’t normally try and shovel crap down your throat but this is one of the rare occasions where it does. If it was possible I’d give this album a lover score than a 1.

bellino lo riascolterò

Esperava mais, pelas coisas avulsas que conheço da banda, desde os tempos de adolescência em que os via na TV. Achei as composições pouco inspiradas e nada cativantes ou memoráveis.

Да, наверное это не самая гениальная музыка, где-то устаревшая (даже для 1967), где-то слишком пародийная, местами туповатая, но это та музыка, которую я люблю. Лучшая песня: Early Morning Blues And Greens

sayer tgl le singe

Sympa sans plus

On dirait une parodie des Beatles, et ça tombe bien le groupe a été créé pour être une parodie des Beatles

I used to watch reruns of their show when I was a kid, so I was actually looking forward to hearing some songs I hadn’t heard before. But even back then, I knew they were mainly lightweight Beatle wannabes. And this album did nothing to change that perception. In fact, it made me almost wish they had thrown in some of the more familiar hits to make it a bit more fun to listen to. Their hits are a little more distinctive than what’s represented here.

This group is YA, but it’s good YA; and their foolishness is not lost on this one who saw a bunch of their reruns. Their personality comes out in stereo.

It's pretty OK. Happy fun music of its era. Zilch is annoying.

just fun silly late sixties pop. Songs about hanging out with that gal you fancy, I think it culminates in I Cant Get Her Off My Mind. Its all simple but thats because it doesnt have to be complicated for what is it. Except for Band 6. Literally slapping around instruments for 40 seconds.

Just a bunch of silly pop songs. The Monkees sound like they had a lot of fun making this album. Pretty harmless overall

Hey we’re the Monkees we’re like the Beatles but if they were Monkees Same shit different band. There is no innovation in the beatles-like genre

Very nice

It is hard not to like the Monkees. For those of us old enough to grow up with the television show and the years of re-runs it is interesting to hear these tracks in remastered sound. Always catchy with a good sense of melody Nesmith’s writing is first class for the folk pop that is the centering force for these tracks. While Headquarters is a lengthy and solid effort, not all of it works. The genius of the Monkees was that they were made for small bites- not a whole pie. You can have too much of a good thing. The fact that the TV band were talented musicians was not surprising if you watched the show. The fact that they were able to carry this album off by themselves demonstrates that they were all very talented. Not my thing but well executed. 3/5

At least it's only 30 minutes long.

Not keen

Pleasant enough

There are worse bands to do an impression of. It's a 2.5 rounded up.

Derivative

It's ok, passable Beatles impression

All that fighting for creative control, and this is what they made? Boring folk-rock. The story's better than the album.

The opposite to James Brown? Glad they did it. But not gonna listen to it again.

All sounds the same

I feel like this list is mocking me.

i hate anything that remotely sounds like baroque pop or sunshine pop. 1.04

I don't know about you guys but I am just loving this homoerotic album cover

Perfectly fine 60s pop- lacks the depth and ‘tude of their contemporaries though. 2.5

Not gonna pretend like this isn't a really charming aping of the Beatles in their poppier era (though there are no John and George vocal copycats here), plus harmonies that remind of the Beach Boys.

11. forgettable

It's alright. Came out, what, right after "Pet Sounds" and at the same time as "Sgt Pepper's"? In a vacuum, pretty solid, but otherwise sounds like a Beach Boys knock off. Not lovin' it overall, but there's a couple decent tracks. "For Pete's Sake" and "Forget That Girl" stand out, imo.

Lovely stuff

- I found this album to be too honkey tonk, twee (e.g., I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind, Forget That Girl), annoying (e.g., Zilch, Band 6), and dated. - I really disliked the second half of the album, except the last song. The album was pretty short (listened to the version with 14 songs), but I still wanted it to be about half as long. I listened to it a few times, and the only thing I remember is Bob Dobalina, and that’s because it’s been sampled. - Unpopular opinion, but I like their super produced manufactured pop stuff better. This felt like they were trying to copy the better bands that were around, but it fell flat - this album lacks the depth and musicality of its contemporaries. The vocals and lyrics are pretty pitchy and weak, too (e.g., For Pete’s Sake, Forget That Girl). - I think I liked the bass the most out of everything, and some pretty enough keyboard on Shades of Gray.

What strikes me most here is that NONE of the big Monkees hits are on this record, yet it remains SOLID. Really enjoyed this one, which was new to me.

Great sound, def hear the McCartney/Davies influence. Honestly hadn’t listened to the Monkees before. More than a TV band.

Music for kindergarteners vibe I kinda like it, it's fun, but man, I ain't a kid.

It's fine, but it's just a copy of something better. The thing is, the era of The Beatles they're imitating was The Beatles' weakest.

What a strange “artist” to add to this list. No thanks.

Sounded very Beatles like, upbeat, fun

There are some catchy songs here. I like the story of The Monkees, and they do have some legitimately good songs. They were never groundbreaking but were able to perform songs that were good examples of what was popular at the time.

3.5

Monkees *Headquarters* First thing this has two of my favorite monkey songs on there "Randy Scouse Git" (my absolute favorite of theirs) "For Pete's Sake". One thing I noticed listening to this is you can tell that it was recorded about the same time that *Surrealistic Pillow* was released there are a lot of Jefferson Airplane-isms throughout the album. Honestly I didn't think much of the first side it starts off really good with a Nesmith tune, but the rest of the side sounds like pretty typical TV show Monkees fare. Side two is where it really starts getting interesting, and the JA influence really takes over. That side opens and closes with my two favorites as I said and but I also liked "Mr Webster" and "No Time" (which although credited to the engineer, it was born out of an improv jam.) I also kind of like "Zilch" at least I like the way it was starting. I wish they had kept it tight instead of just letting it fall apart naturaly. It would have been nice if they had went back to it and kind of perfected that little overlapping vocal rhythm they had going on. I've always been a quasi Monkees fan, most of their straight albums hit me between 3 and 3½★s during their television stretch. This one Rises slightly above that. (8.15) ★★★★

A nice biy of 60s pop music, but just like The Monkees is a strange group in th first place, it is also difficult to judge the merrit of their aøbumd. 4 stars

3.5/5

The Monkees are a better band than most people give them credit for. Mike Nesmith in particular is almost wasted in the band, as he was churning out better jangly Americana than the Byrds were. As is the case with most Monkees releases, his songs shine here -- "You Told Me", "You May Just Be the One", and "Sunny Girlfriend" are all great. Micky Dolenz also shines on a couple of cool originals too, in "No Time" and "Randy Scouse Git". Sure they sound suspiciously like Paul McCartney songs, but they're still pretty rockin'. Then there's Davy Jones. The one member of the band with questionable musical talent who's every appearance is a crime against good music. The Davy Jones stuff definitely holds this back. 3.5 stars.

4.5

Eww you like the Monkees?! You know they don’t even write their own songs… oh wait they do start writing some of their own songs and playing their own instruments at this point. Still sucks.

Ahh, The Monkees. A band from my childhood. The original manufactured boy band. Created purely for a TV program, they couldn't even play their instruments when they were formed. But they soon became a phenomenon of the age. With top level song writers like Neil Diamond, they couldn't miss. And although I know several songs on this album, Shades Of Grey stands out as one of my favourites. Part of me wants to give it a 4, but does it stand out as influential enough? The band were trail blazers for sure, but..... No I can't do it, it just won't cut it with the other albums I have given a 4. It pains me but its a 3

Maybe I’m just old and cynical. But this must have been a cash grab, surfing off their TV fame. There’s nothing there of any musical merit. Just a complete jumble of songs and style. Most of it cringey as.

There's no famous big hits on here. Oh it's the album they wrote and performed themselves! They obviously didn't think they needed the help of Neil Diamond any more. Sadly us listeners believe they did.

Listening to this it's easy to see why the first couple albums used session musicians and ghost writers

The songs were ok. I imagine at the time it was a big step for them.

No standouts

I loved the Monkees, the television was part of my childhood. But this album has to be the pits. Its a shame this album was chosen for 1001.

Maybe it’s because I was not alive back in the 60s when The Monkees were a pop phenomenon, but I’m having a hard time to know why this particular album must be listened before I die. Don’t they have more iconic records?

Ya it was better than I expected.

This is what I would expect of a group originally brought together to resemble the Beatles and capitalize on their momentum. It’s playful and Beatles-esque, with a pretty middle of the road late 60s sound. I could have done with more songs like “no time”.

*Started out great and fun but then slowed down too much as the album went on.

I did not at all expect to dislike this album as much as I did. My experience with the Monkees, though limited, has been mostly positive, with the few tracks I remember off More of The Monkees and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. being quite fond in my memory. This album gave me the ick in a way I did not expect a psychedelic pop album could. Aside from For Pete's Sake and Randy Scouse Git, almost every track made me actively cringe while listening to it. I don't know exactly what it is, if it's their slightly off singing, the questionable lyrics, or the whimsical yet generic psychedelic pop behind them, I just could not get into this album for the life of me. It was rather disappointing, especially given this is the only Monkees album on the list, I expected at least something I could bear to stomach. sheesh...

I had always thought that The Monkees were a fraud. That they didn’t actually play their music, and they were a “poverty Beatles”. And while that is partly true, as they didn’t play on their first few albums, this was the first one where they did. And it’s actually quite good. Who would have thought that if you give people creative control and losses the corporate noose, that they could actually come up with some really good songs? Novel idea… Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with this album. I didn’t want to like it, but I did. You can’t deny good songwriting, and their previous fraudulent activities weren’t really any fault of their own. We’ll say they acted under duress.

Inoffensive, I guess!

Like a Beatles parody...?

I like the Monkees. This was ok. Maybe they should have stuck to studio musicians.

it was ok, but nothing especially distinctive standing out about it

Boring pop songs. Nothing special.

"Headquarters" is the third studio album by American pop rock band the Monkees. It was the first Monkees' album in which the four members played the instruments and wrote much of the material themselves following a struggle over their music with their supervisor, Don Kirschner. The album was produced by Chip Douglass and the bandmembers included Michael Nesmith (vocals, guitars, organ), Peter Tonk (banjo, vocals, guitars, organ, piano, bass), Mickey Dolenz (vocals, drums, zither, guitar, tympani, woodblocks) and Davy Jones (vocals, percussion, maracas, tambourine). Commercially, the album hit #1 on the US Billboard Chart and #2 on the UK Album Chart. The album opens with "You Told Me." Acoustic guitar, a constant, rapid drum beat. Nesmith on lead vocals confronting a lover after hearing she's cheating on him and then decides to leave her. Pyschedelic guitar, very Beatles-esque. The next song, "I'll Spend My Life With You," takes a country turn with a pedal steel guitar and the beat. It's slower with Dolenz on vocals. Jones on the all important tambourine, a necessity in 60's music. Bass rumbling starts "You Just May Be the One." Start-stop drumming. Nesmith on lead vocals hoping to find the one Beautiful harmony backing vocal chorus . A nice melody. A great song. In fact, I think the entire Guided by Voices' catalog is based on this song. No less stellar is the next song, "Shades of Grey." It's the only song with session musicians and we get strings and horns. Turk and Jones are co-lead vocalists. Female backing vocals. Very baroque. "For Pete's Sake" amps it up a bit being the most rockin' song on the album. A quick beat and echoing vocals. Very 1960's. The album closes with Dolenz on vocals in "Randy Scouse Git," a song about his experience on an England trip. The song bounces back and forth between a Beatles-like "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Do" bouncy piano and loud drums, guitar slashes and angry vocals. The album has elements of pyschedelic pop, country, dreamy pop, baroque and rock. Lots of different instruments are used including tympani, zither, tambourine pedal steel guitar, organ, horns, strings, and piano besides the standard rock ones. The lead vocals switch among the four lead vocalists. Excellent backing vocals and harmonies. The lyrics are focused on relationships and commenting on the Monkees and the lack of respect as serious musicians. The music is firmly placed in 1960's and recalling the Beatles, the Mamas and Papas, Little Richard, Simon & Garfunkel and the Who. Overall, this is a solid set of songs which I enjoyed quite s bit. A definite recommendation for anyone who likes 1960's pop-rock.

All I could think about was the scene from the simpsons episode where Marge had a monkees lunch box and the other girl told her the monkees don’t even write their own songs. Great value Beatles but still pretty enjoyable.

Zuhause, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Was ne megastarke Platte.

Bland bubblegum pop

I hate jam session albums. Did not like it.

Why is this even on the list? A fabricated band played by actors

The only reason it didn't get 1 was because it was interesting to get a "behind the scenes" look.

Not bad enough to drop under 3 but this 60’s hippy-glee pop just doesn’t hit for me.

Not great

Ah, the satirical version of The Beatles, and dare I say I really loved it. Almost every song is catchy in its own right. It's main problem is, it ends too soon. Favorite Track: "Randy Scouse Git".

Nop

the third album by historically famous pop band, the monkees. this album is the first time where the men settled on having full control with their work, after some creative differences with their producer. compared to other bands of the era, mainly the beatles, i haven't heard a whole lot of the monkees i'll admit. happy to report that this album was worth my time. i have to wonder why the guy in charge didn't approve fully of what they wanted to do... this music is peppy and interesting; i felt like if i heard this on the radio it would make my day a little better. when you're used to the cliché and tiring 60s sunny pop music, this album is a strong palette cleanser for me. these guys had a lot of fun recording all this i bet.

A worse version of The Beatles. I don't enjoy The Beatles to begin with.

Lots of variety on this record. I enjoyed the bluesier tracks and the upbeat ones. A lot of the tracks sounded kind of like jingles. Favourite Track(s): No Time Least Favourite Track(s): Mr. Webster

I didn't really care for this album at all.

This album was fun, but very dated. Not exactly my style, but I liked it. The Monkees are legendary for a reason

This one would be viewed a hell of a lot higher without all the TV show nonsense. Turns out The Monkees could keep up with the best of em.

Fuck this!

Just meh.

Probably should’ve stuck to acting

It was fine? Feels like standard 60s pop. I was reading it was the first album they got to write, and well, good for them, but also... their first two albums were better.

2.5

You Told Me 3.3 I'll Spend My Life with You 3.3 Forget That Girl 3.1 Band 6 2.8 You Just May Be the One 3 Shades of Gray 3.4 I Can't Get Her Off My Mind 3 For Pete's Sake 3.2 Mr. Webster 3 Sunny Girlfriend 3.3 Zilch 2.4 No Time 3.3 Early Morning Blues and Greens 3.2 Randy Scouse Git 3 Score: 3.092857143

Very Beatles, background music. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it. 36 songs in one album? I listened to the Deluxe edition. 99 pounds, Randy Scouse Git and Italian Monkee songs are great.

Relatively pleasant and inoffensive '60s rock, not the most boring this list has to offer and Zilch kinda got a groove to it

They should have stuck to session players and singing songs written by others.

The Monkees are without a doubt talented. The harmonizing of the vocals and the number of different instruments being played stands out on this album. The songs themselves are very dated and the lyrics are simple, but the music is good. BTW - 36 songs?? Smh.

Hey, hey we’re the Monkees! I remember coming home from middle school and for some reason MTV would show episodes of the Monkees TV show every afternoon. I think it was kind of like a live action Scooby-doo where they went around solving problems every week or something and then they’d break into song. Maybe I’m making that up… I didn’t really understand what was going on or why it was on back then and I guess I still don’t now. So, this is saccharine sweet pop music and nothing more. Not much to dig into here.

This is the Monkeys third album, but the first in which they wrote their own songs and played their own instruments. I wonder if they regret their decision.

I'm Biasesd , because the Monkees is one of my favorite bands

I found this record to be an extremely mixed bag. There are a couple standouts for sure, but a lot of stuff was pretty forgettable. Best Track: I’ll Spend My Life With You

Yes, the "Beatles" Good story tellers 3/5

I feel like this album could be condensed. The ones that are good are really good.

Too long

it was ok

Nop

Is it manufactured? Yes. Is it a Beatles rip-off? Also yes. But is it good? Yes. Maybe I'm biased by my mom showing me Monkees episodes as a child, but I think this is a pretty good pop rock album from the 60s. Its got a good mix of styles, good vocals, and even some classic songs. Overall, a good listen.

2.5

The first thing I noticed is that all the songs are under three minutes! They really used to be much shorter back in the day. It has such a peculiar 60s sound. They really got their mix right — a blend of rock, pop, and even a touch of country that vibes all around. The opening track, “You Told Me,” sounds a lot like The Beatles, with those banjo riffs and that bassline. Then we fly to Texas (or somewhere close!) with those warm harmonies on track two, “I’ll Spend My Life with You.” So good! From there, the album moves between more melancholic moments and upbeat tracks with narrative lyrics that make for a very pleasant listen. And that’s it — I’ll definitely be exploring more of their discography. For me, this is pure sixties!

I feel for the young teeny boppers who had to defend this when Sgt Peppers came out and really showed the difference between Monkee and Beetle.

Early Monkees sounds exactly as I'd have expected it to. Educating myself on this era, it appears no one was sure if they were even playing their own instruments during this period? It sounds like typical manufactured 60s pop and not something I'd consider essential listening. But inoffensive.

Bubble gum pop

i love the monkees.

Was told psychdelic rock, heard 60s country music, was very confused

I was fully prepared to be bored with this as trite boy-band schlock. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. It's a bit dated and not edgy at all, but... I'm impressed that THIS is what a corporately manufactured boy band used to sound like. Real singing. Real instruments. DIFFERENT instruments. Like harpsichord an banjo?!? WTF? "Zilch" is fun and absurd and actually experimental. It's incredibly playful and listening to it was just... joyful. Still not quite my thing. But I went from rolling my eyes to happily listening through the whole album.

Fine, I guess? The Monkees have some great songs, but unfortunately none of them are on this album. The version of this album I listened to did not contain their version of Neil Diamond’s A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (was on an early draft of a track listing for this album from what the Wikipedia article said), which is too bad since that song is pretty good.

I’m a huge Monkees fan. I understand the importance of this record and there’s a lot that I like on it. But I was struck on this listen by how much was just okay. The following albums are I think more solid. Hopefully they’re on the list as well.

It had some really great songs, but also some pretty smelly crap.

4/10

I had never heard this side of the monkee’s before. I remember their tv show from back in the 70’s and it just seemed like light hearted goofy music. This brings a different side I didnt know existed. Very interesting.

Pre: I expect bubble gum pop, I think of the few episodes of the monkeys show Post: Suprised how much song sounded like their contemporaries like nillson, Beatles ect. Better then expected

very much what I expected, they kinda suck though

Cool, they were able to imitate the Beatles and the Byrds. But there was so much more interesting music in 1967. Feel like they always get the "well, they were made for TV, but their music is not that bad" excuse. Although Randy Scouse Git is a pretty funny song: jealous, much?

Nursery rhyme stuff. Always a chore to listen to “the greats” from this era.

Favorite Track: Randy Scouse Git

This was all a bit nice. The opening track is the best on the album and mainly because it sounds like The Beatles. Maybe if they didn’t monkey around so much they might have made something better.

10/31/25. Happy Halloween! Not a spooky record, but a solid pop rock album of the era. Sometimes less is more, although I did think many of the songs sounded similar. The acapella track was interesting.

These guys really are a worse version of the Beatles. It’s really just kinda disappointing to hear it, it just made me wanna listen to the Beatles. It’s like seeing something really interesting and cool and trying to remake it in the most inauthentic way possible. Favorites: Zilch, Early Morning Blues and Greens

30/10/2025 Loooong and relatively boring. Spotify listeners: 3.9 million

Much more mature and dark than I expected. Not just kiddy pop.

Are important for thriving companies.

stupid fake beatles

Sure, it’s very derivative in parts, but it’s also better than it probably has any right to be. ‘You Told Me’, ‘Forget That Girl’, ‘I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind’, ‘For Pete’s Sake, ‘Mr. Webster’, ‘Zilch’, Early Morning Blues And Greens’, and ‘Randy Scouse Git’ are my favourite tracks here. This is a solid 3.

Highlights: I'll Spend My Life With You and Shades of Gray

I can hear some of these tracks belonging in the background of late 1960 telly ads. still a fun album to listen to.

I don’t mind this, pretty good 60s psychedelic rock and apparently one where they started writing more of their own songs and playing their own instruments

Decent stuff

zeer goeie muziek voor in de achtergrond... beetje Beatles Light

This was decent - if a bit samey. I like the overall composition, despite it not being my cup of tea.

Oh, The Monkees. It's always a pleasure to listen to them. You can tell that this album is slightly more serious than the goofy fun songs but it is still good. I am so glad they are on the list 4/5

La unica parodia que deberia estar en esta lista es Weird Al

This is better than I thought the Monkees could do for sure. I had heard 1 or 2 of these tracks before, but if I jumped right into the middle of the album without knowing it, I wouldn't have guessed it was the Monkees. 3 star for me.

Pretty typical pop/rock(?) album for the time. It's pretty average. This album was released a week before Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It spent the first week at no. 1 and then fell to no. 2 behind Sgt Pepper. So for me, the most interesting aspect of this album is that it better contextualizes just how revolutionary Sgt Pepper was. This was the sound of the top of the charts and then Sgt Pepper happened. 3 stars

3.5 stars i liked the upbeatier tracks, but some of them were not my taste

It was ok, nothing special

Of it’s time

it's fun music to listen. it didn't felt special particularly.

Not as much "pop" as I thought there would be for a Monkees album. Cool 60's rock'n'roll, first album they demanded to play the instruments. I liked this more than I though I would

I remember watching The Monkees tv show on Nick at Night (or something like that I imagine). Apart from being a Beatles knock-off band, they clearly had their own talent, and were quite popular for a while. I listened to the Deluxe Version (which contains 36 tracks and is an hour longer), and I actually prefer many of the songs that weren't included on the original album. If we're talkin' about the original 14-track version, I wasn't too moved by any of it.

A little disorienting because it’s a feeling of thinking this should be the Beatles/Stones/Kinks. Fun but still a sense of commercial music.

It really sounds like The Monkees had fun doing this and that's a good thing.

Zilch is the best track. I was waiting for a track to really lock in with something interesting. Early Morning Blues and Greens was the closest I got. You get a well made pretty cohesive album that doesn't ask much of the listener.

Obviously this is hugely derivative. Track 1 is so Revolver it's funny. It can still be enjoyable to listen to though. Probably enjoyed Early Morning Blues, Shades of Grey and Randy Scouse Git the most.

It does seem like a band trying to sound like every other 60 band. But it has a charm about it

15.10.25 #20 Favourite Tracks: You told me, You just may be the one, A little bit... She hangs out, The girl i knew somewhere Rate: 6/10

disassociation music

Very hard to find the actual published songs as most were studio recordings, one song I liked

For a cracker-jack Beatles boy band knock-off this was kind of fun. I'm not sure where this fits in my library of music seeing that it was all fake and made as a corporate response to capitalize on Beatlemania. I guess there are songs/"bands" from movies and TV that have some fun songs, so I'll just take it as it is.: fun for a quick listen, but not much more.

Shhh, don’t tell, but I kinda like The Monkees. However, there’s very little on this loooong album that I like. Self indulgent and dated.