New Monkees Album, ‘Good Times,’ Reportedly Arriving in June
The Monkees will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a new album, Good Times, perhaps arriving as soon as the summer. Good Times is currently available for pre-order at Amazon, where the product listing shows a June 10 release date and suggests the album will offer an intriguing blend of new and archival material.
Amazon says "Good Times features tracks written specifically for the band by some of the music world's most gifted songwriters," adding that ex-Monkees member Mike Nesmith, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and XTC co-founder Andy Partridge among those who contributed new songs — along with Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, who also produced.
Nothing, however, has been set in stone yet, Micky Dolenz tells Rolling Stone. "One reason we don't have a final track listing yet," he says, "is because once we put the word out all these people said they wanted to get involved."
In the meantime, the Monkees have dates scheduled into October. Nesmith, though he toured with Dolenz and Peter Tork in 2014, is sitting out these shows. He also isn't expected to be directly involved with Good Times. "Mike has a lot of other arrows in his quiver," Dolenz adds. "For starters, he runs a big business. He's also writing a book, which was the specific reason he gave me for not wanting to leave town again for any particular length of time."
The group has already teased the project on Facebook:
GOOD TIMES! is coming...
Posted by The Monkees on Friday, February 5, 2016
Sessions to complete the project are still to be held. Aside from new material, Good Times could also incorporate previously unreleased (and in some cases heretofore unfinished) tracks from the Monkees vaults.
"To help bring the anniversary full circle, the Monkees completed songs for Good Times that were originally recorded and written for the group during the '60s, including 'Love to Love' by Neil Diamond, which features a vintage vocal by Davy Jones," according to Amazon. "Harry Nilsson wrote the title track, 'Good Times,' which he recorded at a session with Nesmith in January 1968. The production was never completed, so the band returned to the original session tape (featuring Nilsson's guide vocal) and have created a duet with his close friend Dolenz."
Good Times will mark the Monkees' first studio release since their 30th-anniversary effort, 1996's Justus. Fans should keep an eye on the band's Facebook page and official website for further information.
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