I've been obsessed with The Monkees since I was a very young child! I was listening to them almost exclusively in 1986 (when I was not a child but a young woman). Can't recall why. Listen to the Band and What Am I Doing Hanging Round are incredible songs. Are they both Nesmith? I think they are.
Hi Jim, I was helping on the stage at the Essex Uni, Colchester when Spirit toured in 78. I wasn't a student, I was in the army stationed at Colchester but mate's with the "NSU ents" group. Spirit and ATV came back to the stage area when were loading the lorry and we got chatting, the road crew asked if I wanted to go on the tour with as part of the team. When the guys from Spirit found out I was in the army and the only way I could leave to become one of their roadies was to "buy myself out" they asked Miles Copeland to put up the money for me. The following day I filled in the form to buy myself out and presented to my commander saying that I had been offered a job and the manager was going pay the money. That is when I found out I was going to Belize for six months, so no I wasn't heading for a life of rock and roll. As for the gig ATV were absolutely brilliant, and so were Spirit. ATV remain one of favorite punk bands and Spirit my favorite rock band. Now the other band, who didn't come back to chat with the road crew and the NSU ents guys I still don't like them and their performance wasn't one I really remember. Larry Knight couldn't believe I volunteered to become a soldier and wasn't a conscript. Apart from Status Quo I couldn't agree more with you about how wonderful the other bands are/were. It was the same Reading festival where Quo headlined and earlier in the day Spirit performed, I went back to my tent early missing the headliners. There was a small group of us sitting around a fire sharing beer etc and having a chat. One bloke wasn't joining in the conversation when all of a sudden he shouted towards the stage area "Can't you play another record" and said nothing else all night. The late 70s in Essex were great, Friday night Chelmsford City ground's social club for mainly unsigned punk bands, Saturday a band at the Uni, and Sunday back to Chelmsford for a gig at the Chancellor Hall. Depending on the cash in my pocket there could be a mid week trip to see a band in London.
Thanks for posting those great stories! It's very possible we came across each other at the Chancellor hall back in the day. Thanks again and please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
At the very least any decent record collection should include a quality greatest hits compilation. Any quality collection also includes Pieces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd, Headquarters and Head.
Another great video. So many fascinating nuggets. I don't mind these acts but I absolutely love Spirit. I never hear of anyone hating them, sadly more just total indifference. I've never understood why they aren't more loved. Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is such an incredible album.
"That guy" is Don Kirschner. He was a bigwig record producer, but was responsible for one of the best American TV music shows of the '70s.... DON KIRSCHER'S ROCK CONCERT Look up some footage from that show!
Thanks for the additional information! I had prepared a caption to go over his video but somehow he got lost in the edit. Thanks again and please keep watching. Cheers!
Considering "The New Yardbirds" played on the same bill as Spirit multiple times in the US and they also played Taurus live on at least one occasion, basically some statements in court smelt of wee. Andy Partridge if XTC had always mentioned how much he loves the Monkees and has a song recorded for their last Christmas album
Yeah, Glam artists get a bad rap but were essential. I too was obsessed with T-Rex as a child. Then Bowie came along and I followed him for a decade. Cheers.
Wouldn't mind a video about your interactions with Dr Feelgood (Original and current)/Kokomo/Slim Chance, Nine Below Zero and Paul Jones solo and or with the Blues Band.
I have made a video about my interaction with Dr Feelgood. It may not be complete, but he has a link. www.google.com/gasearch?q=Jim%20Driver%20%20Dr%20Feelgood&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:8695ac9e,vid:JMmtZgYOY9M,st:0 Cheers!
Thank you very much: I'd really appreciate the positive comments! I think not as bad as he says, but they have been coasting for quite a long time, haven't they? Please keep watching and comment. Cheers
I’ve never heard anyone say they dislike Spirit Jim!? I went to that Rainbow Spirit gig also & saw them at Reading fest,& saw Randy C at the Saxon Tavern in Bellingham They are my all time fave US band,along with the Allmans & TTB/DTB.
I read that the other David Jones changed his last name to Bowie so as to prevent confusion with the Monkee of the same name. A friend saw Hendrix open for the Monkees way back when. I think he was about six years old. He said that all the kids in the audience booed while Hendrix was on. My friend's mom loved Jimi. T. Rex and Spirit are of course great. Re: Status Quo, My old band covered Pictures of Matchstick Men (didn't everybody?) about 20 years ago.
Cheers! I didn't mention that Hendrix withdrew from the tour because the teenyboppers didn't appreciate him: but the Monkees still paid him the full fee. Life is more complicated than we like to admit!! Pleased keep on board!
Hi Jim, great video. Between 1970 and 2021 I didn't like T Rex, (I'm about 3 weeks older than you) then I started following VC channels and my first was Richard McCook, a big T Rex fan and so I decided to give them a chance and yes - they're great! Pretty well everything between Beard of Stars and Tanx is great - and plenty of good tracks before and after. Was a big monkeys fan when their programme was on telly, but I've not fully explored their albums. Spirit I've never really desired to listen to but I'll happily give them a shot. Status Quo? Some decent tracks in the 60s - and (pre-Quo) Traffic Jam's "I Don't Want You" is one of my favourite songs of the '60s'!
Are you sure these groups were disliked?. I loved Bolan having many cds. I have the Monkees cd lp boxset, 3 Spirit lps and many Quo cds/lps. Groups like ELP, Yes etc were really disliked as pretentious garbage.
Yes, these bands were hated. I can remember people I knew riddle me for liking T-Rex and the Monkees. Spirit were a different beast, but no one I knew ever like them. Thanks for taking part and for watching. Please stick around and watch more! Cheers!
Yes, the old "prog" was a strange beast indeed. You did have your "stadium prog" bands like ELP or Yes who didn't really interest me, but there were so many bands I loved at that time who didn't achieve world domination but were making music that appealed to me. Loved Van der Graaf and 70s King Crimson, and the Canterbury stuff, but also leavened it with doses of pub rock, then jumped on board with punk when it came along.
Dig The Monkees to this day. Spirit's first album was magnificent, as was "12 Dreams." The song "World Eat World Dog" from their album "Farther Along" is also quite wonderful.
Personally I like all of the bands mentioned, even the Quo! (any band that is willing to play at Les Battersby's wedding is alright with me). I saw Spirit at the 'Its Only Rock n Royal' anti-royal wedding gig at the Crystal Palace Bowl, with Ian Dury and the Blockheads and an early incarnation of the Thomson Twins. It was compered by David Rappaport, the lead bandit in the movie 'Time Bandits'. A thoroughly enjoyable day out as I remember.
"Whatever happened to the teenage dream? I hope you've subscribed, btw!! Personally, I've never been much of a collector (see my latest video for more: ua-cam.com/video/AqYqTEk8a1g/v-deo.html CHEERS!!
Spirit was a great band. Most only recognize their hit," I've got a line on you." Randy had a good voice and, as you noted, was a very good writer. Jay Ferguson, the keyboardist, had a semi successful solo career with the hit "Thunder Island."
KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer aka the Mayor of Sunset Strip auditioned for the Davy Jones part in the Monkees. While he did not get chosen, he dressed like Davy Jones and had a similar haircut then later worked as a double or stand-in for Jones in the Monkees episode "Prince and the Pauper". The Monkees stand-in role was a "break" for Bingenheimer.
I met Mickey Dolenz around 1980. I was working at a burger place at a much derided seaside town. MY mate said of an approaching customer 'That's Mickey Dolenz.' I said 'Bollocks' after a quick bet I served the customer and asked 'Are you Mickey Dolenz?' He replied 'Why yes'. I said 'Cheers pal, you've just cost me a fiver' I explained the situation when I returned with his order and the three of us had a brief chat. He seemed a thoroughly decent chap. Not a fan of the Quo, but I have to admit they know how to entertain.
Loved the Monkees TV show as a kid. Mike Nesmith’s solo output is great ( some duds though). T. Rex were the first band I copied when I got my first guitar. Met Bill Legend when he played in a bar on Romford Road in the 80’s, I think his band was called The Mustangs? Totally with you about Spirit’s album 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus which is phenomenal! Lots of good stuff on their other albums. Quo were always a great live band ( although I only saw them twice) their albums never captured their live impact I think. Great stuff as always Jim! ❤
Thanks for your great comment, and I agree with most of what you say. Bill Legend played with Micky Juppin in his band, Legend, (hence the name) and T Rex are fast becoming my new favourite band. Please keep watching! Cheers!
Amusing video ,Jim !!.... The Monkees were my first fav band ,and i know the Spirit album well ....Status Quo had a place in it all ,too...All the best 👍261.....
Cheers! My only aiming life is to make amusing videos and it seems I succeeded, at least in this case. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
I'm totally with you on Marc Bolan, the early stuff was totally unique, you can't find an influence for it although he greatly influenced Devendra Banhart. His music changed drastically when he met Gloria Jones and left his wife June for her, June was his muse and it showed in his art. I saw Spirit backing Wishbone Ash at the Colston Hall bristol early 90's, great gig and my one regret is never seeing The Quo live. As for The Monkees, I was a kid in the mid 60's and their soft psychedelic pop songs were well crafted and of their time along with The Herd, Lemon Pipers, Scott McKenzie, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound etc etc.. Best Bolan song of all time - Cat Black The Wizards Hat from the Unicorn album of 1969.
Tyrannosaurus Rex brilliant. First concert I ever went to at Liverpool Empire 1968. Supported by David Bowie(billed as David Jones) doing a mime act. Excellent gig to start me off 😎
The Monkees, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spirit and Status Quo are 4 bands that I have a lot of time for and in varying degrees, have done since about 1967. Well, I dug the Monkees around then. I was probably one of their first fans in England, though it was more for the TV show than the music. After all, I was only 4. But around the age of 12 I re-watched the TV show and really noticed “Randy Scouse Git,” “Daydream Believer” and “For Pete’s Sake” and a couple of years later I bought my little brother “The Best of the Monkees,” an 11-track compilation that I ended up listening to way more than he ever did. He probably listened to it once or twice in 1977. I’m still listening to those songs {and a whole lot more} now ! There’s been a lot of mythology put out by the press over a 60-year period regarding the Monkees. Aside from the autobiographies of Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz {Michael Nesmith’s one doesn’t really discuss the Monkees, which is annoying}, a great book to read is by Glenn A. Baker, and it’s called “Monkeemania.” Probably the definitive biography. Anyway, little by little over the years, I got more and more into more of the Monkees music, and it is among some of the greatest output of any band from the 1960s. Some people will no doubt bristle at this, but for me at least, in many quarters, in terms of songs, their music does as much for me as the Beatles, the Byrds, the Stones, Dylan, the Who, Hendrix, Family, Blossom Toes, Kaleidoscope and the Kinks ~ and they are big guns in my musical world. Incidentally, the opening sequence of their show in season 2 is still far and away the best opening sequence to any show I have ever seen in 61 years, and I mean ever. And the closing credits are pretty neat too. As for “Head,” it is a great film, although you have to be into that kind of thing to get it. My opinion of it is that it was what “Magical Mystery Tour” was trying so hard to be and failed so miserably at. The Monkees advantage was that they could handle the music and the acting ! And they were practised in the art of ad-libbing, whereas the Beatles were superb at it in real life {interviews, etc} but couldn’t transfer it to where it counted in films where numerous takes are the order of the day. They were great at artifice in their recordings, not so much in their latter films. I have a mate that, by her own admission, was a T. Rex obsessive, and she used to follow them all over the country. She liked Marc, but it was really Micky Finn that used to get her juices flowing. She thought he was the best looking pop star in the universe in those days when, unlike American groupies that were upfront and in yer face, older British girls and young ladies would follow a group around, not because they wanted, expected and were prepared to give out sex, but because in the early ‘70s, to be noticed by their idols and be bought a coke or a burger at the Wimpy, was often what was desired at the height of the adulation they lavished on these guys. I personally didn’t mind T.Rex, but they were just one of a zillion great pop acts that we kids in the early to mid ‘70s were blessed with in England. But it was through my mate that I got into the earlier incarnation of Tyrannosaurus Rex. I was looking through her record collection one day and I saw this FlyBack compilation of theirs, so I asked if I could borrow it. I would say that I only got into half the album, but the half that I got into blew me away and 35 years on, it still does. I love the fact that a guy on acoustic guitar and another on various percussion could continue to be so inventive and remain interesting. In a funny way, when also mixed with Celtic folk, the band has been an influence or, let’s say, an inspiration, for some of the music I’ve gone on to make. I always liked Marc’s statement that “what the Pink Floyd do electronically, we do acoustically.” And Steve Took, despite being one of the ‘60s great acid casualties, was no slouch. Marc could not have done what the Rex did without him. They were a group, no doubt about it. Sorry Val, but Micky Finn was always flat beer compared to Steve Took. Spirit have only been part of my musical landscape in the last 16 years or so, but their “The 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus” looms large in the pantheon for me. I count it as one of the stellar pieces of nascent American progressive rock, and is a healthy riposte to those that contend that progressive rock was a uniquely English creation {it wasn’t}. It also shows, as do a number of albums {like Pink Floyd’s “A Saucerful of Secrets” and Family’s “Music in a Doll’s House”} that tangible transition as psychedelia morphed into early progressive rock before it became the standardized genre ‘prog’. Rock that managed to progress in myriad directions at once. ‘Prog’ was less a paradox than it was a contradiction, as many of its adherents stuck quite rigidly to a formula and format, whereas early progressive rock opened its heart and arms to anything and everything. It threw off the shackles, not created new ones. As for Quo, I first remember them when I was 12 when “Down Down” came out. I liked the song, although I can’t say I was rabid about it. But 5 years later, I went through a heavy metal rainstorm and out in Nigeria, I bought the “On The Level” album and that was that ! If critics were unfair to the Monkees and Grand Funk Railroad, that was nothing compared to what they did with Status Quo. The NME even went as far as to ask if they were “The worst band in the world or the progenitors of true working class punk heavy-metal ?” I quite like some of their early work, and I’m not enamoured of much of their post 1977 output, but there was a period from about 1971 to ‘77 {especially after “Piledriver”} where they were damn near untouchable. They wrote great songs with great riffs, great solos, fantastic melodies and superb {and unique} singing. Francis Rossi was, like Angus Young, a tragically underrated lead guitarist. Their “Status Quo Live” album is still among my top 5 live albums, ever, particularly as there are no overdubs or touch-ups after the fact. Not for nothing did Rossi refer to it as “rough as a badger’s arse” ! Like the Monkees, I wear my love of Quo proudly. They are not in any way a “guilty pleasure,” a concept I think is ridiculous and kowtowing to the worst kind of peer pressure. The media kind.
Wow! Thank you for sharing all those memories of those amazing bands. My head is still reeling! This is exactly what I want this channel to be about. Thank you very much!
I was at that Peter Tork show at the 100 Club. I recall Sophie Thompson and Steve McFadden were in the audience - they were both working on Eastenders at the time.
Always loved the Monkees, "Another Pleasant Valley Sunday" still one of my favorite tracks. Marc Bolan and T Rex were great. I had the iconic poster of Marc Bolan, him with an orange background, on my bedroom wall for years. My first single that I bought was Sweet "Wig Wam Bam" the second was "Solid Gold Easy Action". Marc Bolan also had a show on Granada TV about 4.30pm once a week, made sure I was back from school for that. Spirit first time I have heard of them.
Spirit was led by Randy California only when original 5-member line-up dissolved in 1970. BTW every Spirit album is worth of investigation from 1st to Future Games. It's natural to be keen on them the whole lifetime, not just during school days.
Thanks for taking part. I'm not so sure Randy only stepped up when the other members of Spirit left because his reason for sacking them was that they were being disloyal. But let's agree to disagree. Cheers
Status quo are a funny band and I think I was put off because people are used to work with thought they were absolutely great and kept going on and on about them. Thanks for coming in and please stick around for more ! Cheers !
I always loved the Monkees. Used to watch repeats of the TV show as a kid and once when I went to a church fête as a kid, picked up a Monkees annual with a signed photo of the band to a fan.
Spirit, eine der besten Bands überhaupt. So viele geniale Platten. Für mich besonders das Album Spirit of 76. Eine unglaubliche Platte, so viele geniale Tracks befinden sich auf diesem Album. Wer es noch nicht kennt, unbedingt besorgen…, unbedingt….
Thanks! I can remember here in that spirit were huge in Germany and that certainly seems to be the case. Thanks for watching and please stick around for more!
I was 10 when the Monkees hit, and loved them. My brother endlessly sneered, but l still love them. I have every note Tyrannosaurus rex released (Steve Peregrine Took also, though l wouldn't make any claims for it) Marc was inspired on those records. I too saw Spirit in 78, at Reading, they were jaw droppingly good. Ironically, Status quo topped the bill, but l couldn't be arsed to go and watch them (l could hear them well enough) Afterwards, an army of Denim Dans came rushing into the tents punching and kicking anything/anyone they thought was punk. Hidebound.
Thanks for sharing those great memories. Yes, a lot of people forget that most of the animosity of the punk came from people who weren't punks (at least not in the conventional way). Cheers!
"Caroline" era Quo were an awesome live experience, can't say they aged well though. Spirit were also one of my favourites from back then. "Sardonicus" a bona fide classic, and "Potatoland" is just classic weirdness.
Totally with you on the Monkees Jim! The simplistic explanation for the copyright thing is you can't copyright a chord sequence. It is more nuanced than that but musical copyright really hinges on melody, it's generally legit to borrow an arrangement - the reggae and folk worlds would be a mess of litigation otherwise. Stolen riffs are a great subject ('cos what you give is what you get)
Thanks! I see where you're coming from regarding copyright however, I had to laugh when I was originally uploading the video and UA-cam tried to take down the 'Tauruss' track I used, suggesting the copyright was held by a certain "J. Page"! 😀😀😎
Stephen Stills was considered too plain for the Monkees, his teeth were crooked, I loved Spirit, Randy California was indeed named by Hendrix ,, please listen to Fresh Garbage again, wonderful track I saw Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Crystal Palace Bowl supporting Pink Floyd also on that bill was Rod Stewart, his first appearance fronting the Faces, and America thought Status Quo was a Psychedelic Rock band on account of their first single release in America, that is my contribution Jim and very nicely put together, by you, and one great track that should be mentioned is Faith healer, do you know the band Jim? it is a classic, I also love Next by this band, wonderful lyrics by Jacque Brel, who also wrote Jackie by Scott Walker
Peter took played at the British acoustic festival with or supporting hayseed dixie, I felt kinda humbled as my childhood Saturday mornings appeared in front of me fantastic!
Funny you talk about Saturday morning because I always remember the Monkees TV show being on early Saturday evening. But whatever, hey ho! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Please keep watching!
0:22 i see the name "Paul The Girl" on the line-up there. An artist that has next to no online footprint, and as far as I'm aware has been inactive since her 2006 album "Little Miss Weird" and the tour supporting it. I discovered her through a review of her prior (2003's "Electro-magnetic Blues") album on, of all places, Planet Sound- which was Channel 4's Teletext music magazine. If anything she was a bit ahead of the curve, as her blues-tinged, occasionally bawdy brand of folk-cabaret would have fit right in with the likes of Amanda Palmer. It's a shame those two albums, especially Electromagnetic Blues, aren't better known... though they aren't on any streaming service as far as I'm aware. There's an unrelated channel of the same name on UA-cam.
Thanks for providing that wealth of information and the puzzle of Paul The Girl.. I came across her through my friend Ron Chisholm, who saw her performing at a local pub. She was really good and I put it on a few times around that time. I'm afraid I've no idea what happened to her. Hopefully, someone who knows will reply to this. Cheers!
I love Spirit. I'm glad to say I saw them live 3 times; once at a free concert put on by the GLC at Crystal Palace Bowl for we anti-monarchists on Charles & Di's wedding day, at Glastonbury in 1982, & (weirdly) at The Saxon Tavern near Bromley.
Spirit and the Monkees were always great. Tyrannosaurus Rex were alright but The Incredible String Band, who were similar in many ways at the time, were in another league altogether. I think it is they who have been slightly vaporised over time.
@ that’s the beauty of music - as they say - if we all liked the same “stuff” there’d be lots of very poor musicians 👍 PS I happen to think Electric Warrior is, perhaps, the greatest album ever recorded - so there you go 🎸🎸🎸🤣
Interesting that you don't regard what the music papers and media in general said at the time was in any way significant. But you're probably right… Thank you so much for watching and commenting. Please stick around for more. (I hope you are subscribed?) Cheers!
I loved Spirit from the moment I heard Fresh Garbage on one of those sampler albums, then the 12 Dreams album. Love Randy California's blissed out playing and singing. There was talk of Randy accompanying Jimi to the UK when the Experience was being set up, but being a minor he couldn't get adult consent. T Rex were a great singles band but I never owned any albums.
The Monkee's -Any band whocan produce an album and movie like Head has gotta be worth a second look. Tyranosaurs Rex. My missus loved em,gotme into em as well.I quite like the Jons Childrens stuff as well Spirit. Whats not to like? Some of the best psyche rock of the era. Status Quo, the second band I got really into (after Slade). OK they did get formulaic, but they did three albums in the early 70's. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon, Dog Of two head and Piledriver that showed a real promise, still had the blues boogie but laced with streakesofpsyche and even prog rock. Stillspin those three to this day Loving yer vids ,keep 'em coming
I love Randy California’s 1972 solo album Kaptain Kioter (I say solo, his Spirit-band mate-stepfather is on drums on several tracks). His covers of Day Tripper and Rain are among the best Beatles covers ever. I’m less enamoured with his cover of Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” where he copies Simon’s fauxmaican accent but not the reggae groove.
Quite agree, Randy's solo stuff was really good, but I'm still a big fan of spirit. Thanks for commenting: please keep watching and heading into the conversation. Cheers!
Last Train to Clarksville and Pleasant Valley Sunday are great tracks, even if the Carole King demo of PVS is even better. By the Light of a Magical Moon impressed me as a young cove, not sure whether they'd become T Rex by that point. Apparent Bolan and John Peel were big muckers until the former made it big, whereupon he blanked the DJ completely much to the latter's distress.
I've never seen eye to the with many of my peers - things I'm supposed to like, at my advanced age. They usually leave disappointed. I liked The Monkees, although I was only 8/9 years old at the time. I wasn't really into music until 1972.
I'm not sure what your sample group is, but surely no one thinks these bands are awful - especially T Rex, who I myself think were the greatest band of all time!
You be surprised how many people despised T-Rex, especially once stayed sat to make lots of money. Still, if no one had different ideas, I won't be able to make these videos would I? Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
saw Tyrannosaurus Rex with Mickey at the Roundhouse, at one point Marc got up put the acoustic away and plugged in an electric guitar, you shoulda seen those hippies faces. I think me and my mate witnessed the first T.Rex show. We never forget that Randy California as you note a musical genius died saving his 12 year old sons life from a rip tide. Also worth mentioning that Mr Skin on the 12 Dreams album is a first person story told by a penis, quite brilliant.
Absolutely love The Monkees , Head is an amazing movie❤. I have noticed quite a backlash and hate against The Doors in recent years, though i myself love The Band.
Great comment, thanks! Yes, original thinkers like The Doors and (indeed) The Monkees are generated by the HERD. Cheers! Please subscribe and keep watching: we need you! Cheers!
I love the earlier Quo, I'm old enough to remember their psychedelic phase, and as a heads down no nonsense boogie band they were untouchable. As Mark Radcliffe said, they only had one trick, but it was an effing good one! I wasn't so keen on their later, softer-centred stuff, but those two Tele's together were an unstoppable force.
Hey Jim, I like the Monkees. A very under-rated 60s band, as are Spirit. Stairway was a definite rip-off of 'Taurus, by the perennially over-rated Led Zeppelin. Even my favourite Zep track 'Rock & Roll' was done better by Little Richard! Quo were damn fine band as the 'Frantic Four' until Rossi decided to turn them into a cabaret act
@@JimDriver The Beatles should, but they were called the fab 4 before there were any Monkees. But I'm a little cynical; although I think the "pre-fab 4" epithet is actually really creative and hilarious, I think it's a nasty jab at the Monkees that denotes the qualities of a pre-fab....ie cheap, fake, temporary, convenient, not as strong or attractive as an actual building etc. In other words, a poor relation, but an imitation that serves its purpose.
Status quo certainly had their moments. Unfortunately, they were a long time ago… Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
There are lots of great spirit tracks that I really enjoy. Not everything they did was as good but the best is really the best. Cheers and thanks for commenting!
Feel really let down by the title of this video. I was hoping to learn something positive about some truly awful bands. Instead you present us with two bands ( The Monkees and T/Tyrannosaurus Rex) who I adore and never turned my back on during the punk days and Spirit who I saw in 1979 and have always respected, if not actually loved. Next time, how about some awful bands rather than great bands 😅. Also people should watch Head. Of it's time undoubtedly, but dispels the myth that they were a talentless boy band. Keep up the good work. Love your channel.
Ur reply to Mark Hosking sums up ur videos “I must be honest, the title often doesn’t have much to do with the content”. This is called dishonesty, & why I called ur title click bait. Like Mark Hosking I was disappointed by what is nothing more than a limp effort to get views & likes presumably for financial return. Even the vast majority of the replies to this video call into question your whole premise concerning these 4 bands. I repeat, the fact that you worked or socialised with a very small number of musically challenged morons doesn’t make your theory correct!
@@rossriddell1515 Wow that was very misread. Problem with text only conveying 30% of meaning. I was writing very tongue in cheek. I was enjoying the video. I loved it and appear to share a lot of tastes. My comment was more of a "ha ha, very funny. Awful bands my arse"; not I feel cheated and hurt. I love this channel. Seemed to have inadvertently summoned the dreaded internet haters. I'm sorry.
Also I know how the Monkees were viewed when I was young and had to justify my affection even then, so I get why the video was titled in retrospect. Initially I thought it would be really awful bands, not those popularly dismissed.
@@markhosking1882 thanks for your reply. As u say text doesn’t convey the same as speech. I try not to be an ‘internet hater’ but this clown is just annoying. If a content ‘creator’ is going to use the title he did then adhere to it, it’s not difficult.
I grew up thinking that the Monkees were 'just' a bubble gum band but loved their TV show as a kid. I assumed they were miming and that behind the scenes the Wrecking Crew or similar were playing. It was only later I learned the truth about their musicianship. Nothing wrong with a good pop song, anyway. Where did you get that weird head, Jim? No, not yours. The one near the mantlepiece.
I bought my head a few years ago on eBay. It really has discussed her! Nevertheless, it seems to be something I can't do without whatever I'm making a video! Answers on a postcode to… Thanks for taking part: please keep watching it and commenting. Cheers!
Oh, come on, everybody loves the Monkees don't they? I loved the TV show as a kid, and loved the music. Have a listen to Mickey's singing on As We Go Along, it's heartbreaking and life affirming at one and the same time.
Thanks that great piece of information, though I beg to differ. I think they pitched the original monkeys one but not the original original idea, which was the future the loving spoonful. Cheers!
Maybe not, but they were certainly really fine at the time by the majority of people, especially in the media. Thanks for taking the time to comment and please keep doing so. Cheers!
The last time I saw Mickey Finn was driving past him as he crossed the road in Maida Vale. He looked like he'd put far too much stuff up his nose so I didn't bother saying hi. Sad, really.
To be honest, I think they were better in those days. When they turned into beer swilling, boogie merchants, they kind of lost me. Thanks for taking part and for joining in the conversation. Cheers!
I think a lot of snobbery about The Monkees ,no one ever say they rate them but not too many knock them off when they come on the radio I bet ,yes have to listen to a bit more T-Rex ,You nearly had me with the Quo Jim I'm only recovering from your analysis of The Who ,good one 😂
@@JimDriver Traffic are one band I should love to bits.....they tick all my boxes, '60s band, multiple good songwriters, singing, writing drummer, reedsman in Chris wood, violin playing bassist in Rick Grech, sitar playing guitarist in Dave Mason, great singer/ guitarist / keyboardist in Steve Winwood, jazz and progressive rock sensibilities, Jimmy Miller at the production helm etc........but I don't. I like "Paper Sun" and "Coloured Rain" but as a band, they just never hit any heights for me. Even a great song like "Dear Mr Fantasy" is bettered by the version by the obscure psych outfit that hardly anyone has heard of, Henry Tree {their "Electric Holy Man" LP from 1970 is a corker !}. I've long felt that Family on their debut were a better and way more creative vision of what Traffic were aiming for than Traffic ever managed to be.
The idea that zeppelin owe anything to spirit is insane. Nobody can play those five notes in descending order ever again? That's all the songs have in common. A lot of songs use them. If you look hard enough you'll likely find really old music that use them. It's just a chromatic run. If I write a song with every note in a chromatic run both up and down. every song written from then on will have at least something in common with it. Will everyone have to pay me from then on? "You used B through E in a run in your song PAY UP."
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. For my part, I find it very strange that quite a lot of people out (including Hendrix) thought that Led Zeppelin were purloining other peoples music.
@@JimDriver I'm not saying they didn't use other peoples music. There are songs that should have been credited, at least in part, to others. But this song is just not one of them.
The sniper from the Spirit song is a musical device know as a “line cliche.” Claiming its “your idea” is absurd. Line cliches are in thousands of songs and been around forever. They lost because they should have.
Wrong. They aren’t even musically the same because Page’s riff resolves to D major chord over F# whereas the Spirit riff just goes nowhere. More importantly, though, a David and Goliath prejudice toward Zep is just prejudice toward whoever is successful. Rock is folk music and comes out of the folk traditions. None of it is truly original and it is all borrowed and reinterpreted. That includes Spirit’s inferior work and every blues man that came before. All borrowed, all copied. But their versions didn’t attract millions of fans whereas Zep’s did, therefore Zep “stole it.”
@@doliver5447 I disagree. It is patently obvious to anyone who knows both tunes that it was ripped off. Modified slightly I agree, but 100% a rip off. And as stated before Zep stole so many of their tunes. That's not to deny they didn't also write lots of great tracks and have a huge amount of talent, but J. Page is a notorious thief. Also, one can like Both Led Zeppelin and Spirit without having a "a David and Goliath prejudice". I have 6 LZ albums and 4 Spirit ones.
@ I know also both tunes very well and have run the comparison many times. I also know thousands and thousands of others, being a huge fan of folk and trad music, pop and jazz. The line cliche is an old idea that pre-dates recorded music and is common. No one owns line cliches and they are never “ripped off” because that’s like saying the idea of the wheel or stair steps has been ripped off. It’s the same reason you can’t copyright a chord progression. You can’t take credit for “discovering” something pre-existing and basic and then claim everyone after copied you. If it worked that way, essentially no commercial music would ever be beyond copyright dispute. Randy California wasn’t the first to do a descending line cliche on an A minor chord. Both he and Page heard that in other, prior songs. Neither invented it.
Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I'm just a simple job and stairway to heaven sounds very much like Taurus to me… But thanks for checking the time to join in the conversation and I hope you'll keep watching my videos. Cheers!
Seriously? No true music nerd “hates” the Monkees, T Rex, Spirit & Status Quo.
I've been obsessed with The Monkees since I was a very young child! I was listening to them almost exclusively in 1986 (when I was not a child but a young woman). Can't recall why. Listen to the Band and What Am I Doing Hanging Round are incredible songs. Are they both Nesmith? I think they are.
@@phillipabond8044 they are. He's a good songwriter.
We loved the movie HEAD as teens, I mean Frank Zappa was in it !
That's what I was thinking the whole way through the video.
@@tonystevenson26 guy called Peter Mills, an academic at Leeds Beckett, has written a book about that: The Monkees, Head, and the 60s
Totally agree. T Rex were brilliant, paved the way for punk/post punk.
Great band! I hope you subscribed because I need more people like you! Cheers!
The Monkees HEAD was revolutionary to me as a teen . We all loved Zappa being in it too....
Right movie and Jack Nicholson wasn't too bad in it either. Thanks for taking the time to come in: please keep watching!
Hi Jim, I was helping on the stage at the Essex Uni, Colchester when Spirit toured in 78. I wasn't a student, I was in the army stationed at Colchester but mate's with the "NSU ents" group. Spirit and ATV came back to the stage area when were loading the lorry and we got chatting, the road crew asked if I wanted to go on the tour with as part of the team. When the guys from Spirit found out I was in the army and the only way I could leave to become one of their roadies was to "buy myself out" they asked Miles Copeland to put up the money for me. The following day I filled in the form to buy myself out and presented to my commander saying that I had been offered a job and the manager was going pay the money. That is when I found out I was going to Belize for six months, so no I wasn't heading for a life of rock and roll.
As for the gig ATV were absolutely brilliant, and so were Spirit. ATV remain one of favorite punk bands and Spirit my favorite rock band. Now the other band, who didn't come back to chat with the road crew and the NSU ents guys I still don't like them and their performance wasn't one I really remember. Larry Knight couldn't believe I volunteered to become a soldier and wasn't a conscript.
Apart from Status Quo I couldn't agree more with you about how wonderful the other bands are/were. It was the same Reading festival where Quo headlined and earlier in the day Spirit performed, I went back to my tent early missing the headliners. There was a small group of us sitting around a fire sharing beer etc and having a chat. One bloke wasn't joining in the conversation when all of a sudden he shouted towards the stage area "Can't you play another record" and said nothing else all night.
The late 70s in Essex were great, Friday night Chelmsford City ground's social club for mainly unsigned punk bands, Saturday a band at the Uni, and Sunday back to Chelmsford for a gig at the Chancellor Hall. Depending on the cash in my pocket there could be a mid week trip to see a band in London.
great story! I think he was on the wind up including status quo.
Thanks for posting those great stories! It's very possible we came across each other at the Chancellor hall back in the day. Thanks again and please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
I thought everyone loved the Monkees
It wasn’t cool to like them in my neighborhood. Not sure why
Not me! Silly, manufactured tripe!
Who knows? Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
@JimDriver
Life would be boring if we all loved the same music/things all of the time.🙂
At the very least any decent record collection should include a quality greatest hits compilation. Any quality collection also includes Pieces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd, Headquarters and Head.
Another great video. So many fascinating nuggets. I don't mind these acts but I absolutely love Spirit. I never hear of anyone hating them, sadly more just total indifference. I've never understood why they aren't more loved. Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is such an incredible album.
PS - Spirit + ATV sounds like an amazing gig.
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for saying so. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
"That guy" is Don Kirschner.
He was a bigwig record producer, but was responsible for one of the best American TV music shows of the '70s....
DON KIRSCHER'S ROCK CONCERT
Look up some footage from that show!
Thanks for the additional information! I had prepared a caption to go over his video but somehow he got lost in the edit. Thanks again and please keep watching. Cheers!
Considering "The New Yardbirds" played on the same bill as Spirit multiple times in the US and they also played Taurus live on at least one occasion, basically some statements in court smelt of wee.
Andy Partridge if XTC had always mentioned how much he loves the Monkees and has a song recorded for their last Christmas album
Thanks for some great commenting! Cheers!
Yeah, Glam artists get a bad rap but were essential. I too was obsessed with T-Rex as a child. Then Bowie came along and I followed him for a decade. Cheers.
Thanks for sharing that and please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Wouldn't mind a video about your interactions with Dr Feelgood (Original and current)/Kokomo/Slim Chance, Nine Below Zero and Paul Jones solo and or with the Blues Band.
I have made a video about my interaction with Dr Feelgood. It may not be complete, but he has a link. www.google.com/gasearch?q=Jim%20Driver%20%20Dr%20Feelgood&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:8695ac9e,vid:JMmtZgYOY9M,st:0
Cheers!
Love all of these (including 70's Quo!). And I don't know anyone who hates Spirit! Hope the eyes are OK. Keep the great videos coming...
Thank you very much: I'd really appreciate the positive comments! I think not as bad as he says, but they have been coasting for quite a long time, haven't they? Please keep watching and comment. Cheers
Great selection Jim ! 👍 I've been a Tyrannosaurus Rex fan since I was born 🙂
Same here! Thanks for sharing your predictions!!! Cheers!
I’ve never heard anyone say they dislike Spirit Jim!?
I went to that Rainbow Spirit gig also & saw them at Reading fest,& saw Randy C at the Saxon Tavern in Bellingham
They are my all time fave US band,along with the Allmans & TTB/DTB.
I also was at that Rainbow gig, and saw him at the Saxon Tavern!
Thanks for sharing those memories. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
I read that the other David Jones changed his last name to Bowie so as to prevent confusion with the Monkee of the same name. A friend saw Hendrix open for the Monkees way back when. I think he was about six years old. He said that all the kids in the audience booed while Hendrix was on. My friend's mom loved Jimi. T. Rex and Spirit are of course great. Re: Status Quo, My old band covered Pictures of Matchstick Men (didn't everybody?) about 20 years ago.
Cheers! I didn't mention that Hendrix withdrew from the tour because the teenyboppers didn't appreciate him: but the Monkees still paid him the full fee. Life is more complicated than we like to admit!!
Pleased keep on board!
@@JimDriver Damn nice of the Monkees to pay Jimi his full fee.
Hi Jim, great video. Between 1970 and 2021 I didn't like T Rex, (I'm about 3 weeks older than you) then I started following VC channels and my first was Richard McCook, a big T Rex fan and so I decided to give them a chance and yes - they're great! Pretty well everything between Beard of Stars and Tanx is great - and plenty of good tracks before and after. Was a big monkeys fan when their programme was on telly, but I've not fully explored their albums. Spirit I've never really desired to listen to but I'll happily give them a shot. Status Quo? Some decent tracks in the 60s - and (pre-Quo) Traffic Jam's "I Don't Want You" is one of my favourite songs of the '60s'!
Monkees not monkeys - I love monkeys too mind.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in that great comment. Thanks also for the kind words. Cheers!
Are you sure these groups were disliked?. I loved Bolan having many cds. I have the Monkees cd lp boxset, 3 Spirit lps and many Quo cds/lps. Groups like ELP, Yes etc were really disliked as pretentious garbage.
Yes, these bands were hated. I can remember people I knew riddle me for liking T-Rex and the Monkees. Spirit were a different beast, but no one I knew ever like them.
Thanks for taking part and for watching. Please stick around and watch more! Cheers!
Yes? Watch it…
Yes, the old "prog" was a strange beast indeed. You did have your "stadium prog" bands like ELP or Yes who didn't really interest me, but there were so many bands I loved at that time who didn't achieve world domination but were making music that appealed to me. Loved Van der Graaf and 70s King Crimson, and the Canterbury stuff, but also leavened it with doses of pub rock, then jumped on board with punk when it came along.
@@bobgreen8142 H to he is in my top 3 lps of all time with S F Sorrow and Mr Tambourine man
Dig The Monkees to this day. Spirit's first album was magnificent, as was "12 Dreams." The song "World Eat World Dog" from their album "Farther Along" is also quite wonderful.
Yes, I quite agree with you. Thanks for sharing. Please keep watching! Cheers!
Great list, and thank you for highlighting Spirit.
My pleasure! Thank you very much for the kind words and for watching. Cheers!
Personally I like all of the bands mentioned, even the Quo! (any band that is willing to play at Les Battersby's wedding is alright with me).
I saw Spirit at the 'Its Only Rock n Royal' anti-royal wedding gig at the Crystal Palace Bowl, with Ian Dury and the Blockheads and an early incarnation of the Thomson Twins. It was compered by David Rappaport, the lead bandit in the movie 'Time Bandits'. A thoroughly enjoyable day out as I remember.
Thank you for your great comment. It just goes to show that not everyone thinks the same way. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
Was a Bolan fan for many years, just recently sold my collection that was sat in the wardrobe for the last 40 years.
"Whatever happened to the teenage dream? I hope you've subscribed, btw!!
Personally, I've never been much of a collector (see my latest video for more: ua-cam.com/video/AqYqTEk8a1g/v-deo.html
CHEERS!!
Spirit was a great band. Most only recognize their hit," I've got a line on you." Randy had a good voice and, as you noted, was a very good writer. Jay Ferguson, the keyboardist, had a semi successful solo career with the hit "Thunder Island."
Great information! Thanks for sharing it! Cheers!
KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer aka the Mayor of Sunset Strip auditioned for the Davy Jones part in the Monkees. While he did not get chosen, he dressed like Davy Jones and had a similar haircut then later worked as a double or stand-in for Jones in the Monkees episode "Prince and the Pauper". The Monkees stand-in role was a "break" for Bingenheimer.
Ha ha! Great story! Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
I met Mickey Dolenz around 1980. I was working at a burger place at a much derided seaside town. MY mate said of an approaching customer 'That's Mickey Dolenz.' I said 'Bollocks' after a quick bet I served the customer and asked 'Are you Mickey Dolenz?' He replied 'Why yes'. I said 'Cheers pal, you've just cost me a fiver'
I explained the situation when I returned with his order and the three of us had a brief chat. He seemed a thoroughly decent chap.
Not a fan of the Quo, but I have to admit they know how to entertain.
Entertainment is the big thing. Thanks for taking part an for search an interesting comment. Cheers!
Loved the Monkees TV show as a kid. Mike Nesmith’s solo output is great ( some duds though). T. Rex were the first band I copied when I got my first guitar. Met Bill Legend when he played in a bar on Romford Road in the 80’s, I think his band was called The Mustangs? Totally with you about Spirit’s album 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus which is phenomenal! Lots of good stuff on their other albums. Quo were always a great live band ( although I only saw them twice) their albums never captured their live impact I think.
Great stuff as always Jim! ❤
Thanks for your great comment, and I agree with most of what you say. Bill Legend played with Micky Juppin in his band, Legend, (hence the name) and T Rex are fast becoming my new favourite band. Please keep watching! Cheers!
Amusing video ,Jim !!.... The Monkees were my first fav band ,and i know the Spirit album well ....Status Quo had a place in it all ,too...All the best 👍261.....
Cheers! My only aiming life is to make amusing videos and it seems I succeeded, at least in this case. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Cheers! Please keep watching and commenting
Did you ever see a woman, walking out of New York City, with a frog in her hand?
Yes, indeed! Some of Marc's lyrics were pretty poor, but that was amongst his best. Thanks for taking the time to post and please keep watching!
I did don't you know, and don't it show
I'm totally with you on Marc Bolan, the early stuff was totally unique, you can't find an influence for it although he greatly influenced Devendra Banhart. His music changed drastically when he met Gloria Jones and left his wife June for her, June was his muse and it showed in his art. I saw Spirit backing Wishbone Ash at the Colston Hall bristol early 90's, great gig and my one regret is never seeing The Quo live. As for The Monkees, I was a kid in the mid 60's and their soft psychedelic pop songs were well crafted and of their time along with The Herd, Lemon Pipers, Scott McKenzie, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound etc etc..
Best Bolan song of all time - Cat Black The Wizards Hat from the Unicorn album of 1969.
Thanks for sharing all that amazing information and I think you're dead right. Thanks for taking the time and please keep watching. Cheers!
Tyrannosaurus Rex brilliant. First concert I ever went to at Liverpool Empire 1968. Supported by David Bowie(billed as David Jones) doing a mime act. Excellent gig to start me off 😎
Wow! That sounds like a great gig. Thanks for sharing it with us. Cheers!
The Monkees, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spirit and Status Quo are 4 bands that I have a lot of time for and in varying degrees, have done since about 1967.
Well, I dug the Monkees around then. I was probably one of their first fans in England, though it was more for the TV show than the music. After all, I was only 4. But around the age of 12 I re-watched the TV show and really noticed “Randy Scouse Git,” “Daydream Believer” and “For Pete’s Sake” and a couple of years later I bought my little brother “The Best of the Monkees,” an 11-track compilation that I ended up listening to way more than he ever did. He probably listened to it once or twice in 1977. I’m still listening to those songs {and a whole lot more} now !
There’s been a lot of mythology put out by the press over a 60-year period regarding the Monkees. Aside from the autobiographies of Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz {Michael Nesmith’s one doesn’t really discuss the Monkees, which is annoying}, a great book to read is by Glenn A. Baker, and it’s called “Monkeemania.” Probably the definitive biography. Anyway, little by little over the years, I got more and more into more of the Monkees music, and it is among some of the greatest output of any band from the 1960s. Some people will no doubt bristle at this, but for me at least, in many quarters, in terms of songs, their music does as much for me as the Beatles, the Byrds, the Stones, Dylan, the Who, Hendrix, Family, Blossom Toes, Kaleidoscope and the Kinks ~ and they are big guns in my musical world.
Incidentally, the opening sequence of their show in season 2 is still far and away the best opening sequence to any show I have ever seen in 61 years, and I mean ever. And the closing credits are pretty neat too. As for “Head,” it is a great film, although you have to be into that kind of thing to get it. My opinion of it is that it was what “Magical Mystery Tour” was trying so hard to be and failed so miserably at. The Monkees advantage was that they could handle the music and the acting ! And they were practised in the art of ad-libbing, whereas the Beatles were superb at it in real life {interviews, etc} but couldn’t transfer it to where it counted in films where numerous takes are the order of the day. They were great at artifice in their recordings, not so much in their latter films.
I have a mate that, by her own admission, was a T. Rex obsessive, and she used to follow them all over the country. She liked Marc, but it was really Micky Finn that used to get her juices flowing. She thought he was the best looking pop star in the universe in those days when, unlike American groupies that were upfront and in yer face, older British girls and young ladies would follow a group around, not because they wanted, expected and were prepared to give out sex, but because in the early ‘70s, to be noticed by their idols and be bought a coke or a burger at the Wimpy, was often what was desired at the height of the adulation they lavished on these guys.
I personally didn’t mind T.Rex, but they were just one of a zillion great pop acts that we kids in the early to mid ‘70s were blessed with in England. But it was through my mate that I got into the earlier incarnation of Tyrannosaurus Rex. I was looking through her record collection one day and I saw this FlyBack compilation of theirs, so I asked if I could borrow it. I would say that I only got into half the album, but the half that I got into blew me away and 35 years on, it still does. I love the fact that a guy on acoustic guitar and another on various percussion could continue to be so inventive and remain interesting. In a funny way, when also mixed with Celtic folk, the band has been an influence or, let’s say, an inspiration, for some of the music I’ve gone on to make. I always liked Marc’s statement that “what the Pink Floyd do electronically, we do acoustically.” And Steve Took, despite being one of the ‘60s great acid casualties, was no slouch. Marc could not have done what the Rex did without him. They were a group, no doubt about it. Sorry Val, but Micky Finn was always flat beer compared to Steve Took.
Spirit have only been part of my musical landscape in the last 16 years or so, but their “The 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus” looms large in the pantheon for me. I count it as one of the stellar pieces of nascent American progressive rock, and is a healthy riposte to those that contend that progressive rock was a uniquely English creation {it wasn’t}. It also shows, as do a number of albums {like Pink Floyd’s “A Saucerful of Secrets” and Family’s “Music in a Doll’s House”} that tangible transition as psychedelia morphed into early progressive rock before it became the standardized genre ‘prog’. Rock that managed to progress in myriad directions at once. ‘Prog’ was less a paradox than it was a contradiction, as many of its adherents stuck quite rigidly to a formula and format, whereas early progressive rock opened its heart and arms to anything and everything. It threw off the shackles, not created new ones.
As for Quo, I first remember them when I was 12 when “Down Down” came out. I liked the song, although I can’t say I was rabid about it. But 5 years later, I went through a heavy metal rainstorm and out in Nigeria, I bought the “On The Level” album and that was that ! If critics were unfair to the Monkees and Grand Funk Railroad, that was nothing compared to what they did with Status Quo. The NME even went as far as to ask if they were “The worst band in the world or the progenitors of true working class punk heavy-metal ?”
I quite like some of their early work, and I’m not enamoured of much of their post 1977 output, but there was a period from about 1971 to ‘77 {especially after “Piledriver”} where they were damn near untouchable. They wrote great songs with great riffs, great solos, fantastic melodies and superb {and unique} singing. Francis Rossi was, like Angus Young, a tragically underrated lead guitarist. Their “Status Quo Live” album is still among my top 5 live albums, ever, particularly as there are no overdubs or touch-ups after the fact. Not for nothing did Rossi refer to it as “rough as a badger’s arse” ! Like the Monkees, I wear my love of Quo proudly. They are not in any way a “guilty pleasure,” a concept I think is ridiculous and kowtowing to the worst kind of peer pressure. The media kind.
Wow! Thank you for sharing all those memories of those amazing bands. My head is still reeling! This is exactly what I want this channel to be about. Thank you very much!
When we were kids in the 60's and 70's we all loved the Monkey's.
You'd be amazed how many people think they're crap ex anyway, glad we're all on the same page. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!.
I was at that Peter Tork show at the 100 Club. I recall Sophie Thompson and Steve McFadden were in the audience - they were both working on Eastenders at the time.
Thanks for sharing those memories I've Peter Tosh at the 100 club. Happy days…
With you regarding Spirit, Jim. Excellent band.
Indeed, they were. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Cheers!
Always loved the Monkees, "Another Pleasant Valley Sunday" still one of my favorite tracks. Marc Bolan and T Rex were great. I had the iconic poster of Marc Bolan, him with an orange background, on my bedroom wall for years. My first single that I bought was Sweet "Wig Wam Bam" the second was "Solid Gold Easy Action". Marc Bolan also had a show on Granada TV about 4.30pm once a week, made sure I was back from school for that. Spirit first time I have heard of them.
Thanks for sharing your memories of your childhood and beyond. Always great to hear what other people were listening to and watching. Cheers!
Spirit was led by Randy California only when original 5-member line-up dissolved in 1970. BTW every Spirit album is worth of investigation from 1st to Future Games. It's natural to be keen on them the whole lifetime, not just during school days.
Thanks for taking part. I'm not so sure Randy only stepped up when the other members of Spirit left because his reason for sacking them was that they were being disloyal. But let's agree to disagree. Cheers
status quo were ok before they went chas and dave
Status quo are a funny band and I think I was put off because people are used to work with thought they were absolutely great and kept going on and on about them. Thanks for coming in and please stick around for more ! Cheers !
saw spirit in honolulu 1970 they were great
Great band. Cheers!
Couldn't disagree with any of this, Jim. 👍
Excellent! I always like it when people agree with me 😀🤓
I always loved the Monkees. Used to watch repeats of the TV show as a kid and once when I went to a church fête as a kid, picked up a Monkees annual with a signed photo of the band to a fan.
They were great, weren't they? Thanks for watching and commenting: please stick around for more. Are you subscribed? If not…
Cheers!
Spirit, eine der besten Bands überhaupt. So viele geniale Platten. Für mich besonders das Album Spirit of 76. Eine unglaubliche Platte, so viele geniale Tracks befinden sich auf diesem Album. Wer es noch nicht kennt, unbedingt besorgen…, unbedingt….
Thanks! I can remember here in that spirit were huge in Germany and that certainly seems to be the case. Thanks for watching and please stick around for more!
I was 10 when the Monkees hit, and loved them. My brother endlessly sneered, but l still love them. I have every note Tyrannosaurus rex released (Steve Peregrine Took also, though l wouldn't make any claims for it) Marc was inspired on those records. I too saw Spirit in 78, at Reading, they were jaw droppingly good. Ironically, Status quo topped the bill, but l couldn't be arsed to go and watch them (l could hear them well enough) Afterwards, an army of Denim Dans came rushing into the tents punching and kicking anything/anyone they thought was punk. Hidebound.
Thanks for sharing those great memories. Yes, a lot of people forget that most of the animosity of the punk came from people who weren't punks (at least not in the conventional way). Cheers!
"Caroline" era Quo were an awesome live experience, can't say they aged well though. Spirit were also one of my favourites from back then. "Sardonicus" a bona fide classic, and "Potatoland" is just classic weirdness.
Indeed! Thanks for sharing that and please keep watching. Cheers!
Totally with you on the Monkees Jim! The simplistic explanation for the copyright thing is you can't copyright a chord sequence. It is more nuanced than that but musical copyright really hinges on melody, it's generally legit to borrow an arrangement - the reggae and folk worlds would be a mess of litigation otherwise. Stolen riffs are a great subject ('cos what you give is what you get)
Thanks! I see where you're coming from regarding copyright however, I had to laugh when I was originally uploading the video and UA-cam tried to take down the 'Tauruss' track I used, suggesting the copyright was held by a certain "J. Page"! 😀😀😎
@@JimDriver oh the irony!
Stephen Stills was considered too plain for the Monkees, his teeth were crooked, I loved Spirit, Randy California was indeed named by Hendrix ,, please listen to Fresh Garbage again, wonderful track
I saw Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Crystal Palace Bowl supporting Pink Floyd also on that bill was Rod Stewart, his first appearance fronting the Faces, and America thought Status Quo was a Psychedelic Rock band on account of their first single release in America, that is my contribution Jim and very nicely put together, by you, and one great track that should be mentioned is Faith healer, do you know the band Jim? it is a classic, I also love Next by this band, wonderful lyrics by Jacque Brel, who also wrote Jackie by Scott Walker
Thanks for sharing those fantastic memories and for those great suggestions, which I'll take on board. Thanks too for the kind words. Cheers!
I love all these bands, but for me, Spirit's peak was the mid-70s around spirit of 76, future games & farther along
Spirit of 76…. 👍👍👍
Great bands! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Cheers!
Peter took played at the British acoustic festival with or supporting hayseed dixie, I felt kinda humbled as my childhood Saturday mornings appeared in front of me fantastic!
Funny you talk about Saturday morning because I always remember the Monkees TV show being on early Saturday evening. But whatever, hey ho! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Please keep watching!
Lots of great information Jim
Thankyou
Glad you enjoyed it: please stick around for more. We need people like you!
Loved the Momkees, Tyro Rex and Quo all made excellent music.
We certainly live through a great time in Music, didn't we? Thanks for taking part and please keep watching.
All brilliant bands Jim 👍and love them to bits, still listen to their music at least once a week (either direct youtube etc. or indirect radio etc.).
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing them. Cheers!
0:22 i see the name "Paul The Girl" on the line-up there. An artist that has next to no online footprint, and as far as I'm aware has been inactive since her 2006 album "Little Miss Weird" and the tour supporting it. I discovered her through a review of her prior (2003's "Electro-magnetic Blues") album on, of all places, Planet Sound- which was Channel 4's Teletext music magazine.
If anything she was a bit ahead of the curve, as her blues-tinged, occasionally bawdy brand of folk-cabaret would have fit right in with the likes of Amanda Palmer. It's a shame those two albums, especially Electromagnetic Blues, aren't better known... though they aren't on any streaming service as far as I'm aware.
There's an unrelated channel of the same name on UA-cam.
Thanks for providing that wealth of information and the puzzle of Paul The Girl.. I came across her through my friend Ron Chisholm, who saw her performing at a local pub. She was really good and I put it on a few times around that time. I'm afraid I've no idea what happened to her. Hopefully, someone who knows will reply to this. Cheers!
I love Spirit.
I'm glad to say I saw them live 3 times; once at a free concert put on by the GLC at Crystal Palace Bowl for we anti-monarchists on Charles & Di's wedding day, at Glastonbury in 1982, & (weirdly) at The Saxon Tavern near Bromley.
Thanks for sharing those fantastic memories.
Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
Good episode. 👍
Have loved the Monkees since I was a kid. Very good songs. Very funny show.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! The Monkees' music and humour is so timeless! Cheers!
Spirit and the Monkees were always great. Tyrannosaurus Rex were alright but The Incredible String Band, who were similar in many ways at the time, were in another league altogether. I think it is they who have been slightly vaporised over time.
The Incredible String Band were incredible! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Cheers!
The great thing about music is that we can all disagree - and I do 🎸🎸🎸
I usually disagree too, which can make editing these videos difficult… 🤓
I usually disagree as well, which can make editing these videos a little difficult 🥸
@ that’s the beauty of music - as they say - if we all liked the same “stuff” there’d be lots of very poor musicians 👍 PS I happen to think Electric Warrior is, perhaps, the greatest album ever recorded - so there you go 🎸🎸🎸🤣
Love them all!
Great!! Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
No. I love all four. Quo and T Rex absolute faves
Cheers! As I've said on other comments,, i don't actively dislike status quo, but I'm not a big fan. Thanks for taking Barton please keep watching!
Never heard anyone diss these 4 bands.
Interesting that you don't regard what the music papers and media in general said at the time was in any way significant. But you're probably right…
Thank you so much for watching and commenting. Please stick around for more. (I hope you are subscribed?) Cheers!
Love the Monkees!!
Great! Please keep watching and hopefully you're a subscriber too. Cheers!
I loved Spirit from the moment I heard Fresh Garbage on one of those sampler albums, then the 12 Dreams album. Love Randy California's blissed out playing and singing. There was talk of Randy accompanying Jimi to the UK when the Experience was being set up, but being a minor he couldn't get adult consent.
T Rex were a great singles band but I never owned any albums.
nowt wrong with Monkees , Trex, and Quo
Not sure I totally agree with you, but we can agree to differ! Thanks for taking the time to comment and to watch the video. Cheers!
Thanks Jim 👍
Thank YOU ! Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
The Monkee's -Any band whocan produce an album and movie like Head has gotta be worth a second look.
Tyranosaurs Rex. My missus loved em,gotme into em as well.I quite like the Jons Childrens stuff as well
Spirit. Whats not to like? Some of the best psyche rock of the era.
Status Quo, the second band I got really into (after Slade). OK they did get formulaic, but they did three albums in the early 70's. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon, Dog Of two head and Piledriver that showed a real promise, still had the blues boogie but laced with streakesofpsyche and even prog rock. Stillspin those three to this day
Loving yer vids ,keep 'em coming
Thanks very much for the kind words and for the great and informative comment. Please keep watching it and commenting! Cheers!
I love Randy California’s 1972 solo album Kaptain Kioter (I say solo, his Spirit-band mate-stepfather is on drums on several tracks).
His covers of Day Tripper and Rain are among the best Beatles covers ever.
I’m less enamoured with his cover of Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” where he copies Simon’s fauxmaican accent but not the reggae groove.
Quite agree, Randy's solo stuff was really good, but I'm still a big fan of spirit. Thanks for commenting: please keep watching and heading into the conversation. Cheers!
Spirit are highly regarded, as far as i know, everyone i know loves em. Dr Sardonicus is a classic, in many top tens
Great! You're obviously mix with some very knowledgeable music people. Thanks for taking the time to come in and to watch the video. Cheers!
12 Dreams utterly brilliant. I saw Spirit at Oxford poly in the 70s I think.
Quite agree! Thanks for taking the time to come. Cheers!
Last Train to Clarksville and Pleasant Valley Sunday are great tracks, even if the Carole King demo of PVS is even better. By the Light of a Magical Moon impressed me as a young cove, not sure whether they'd become T Rex by that point. Apparent Bolan and John Peel were big muckers until the former made it big, whereupon he blanked the DJ completely much to the latter's distress.
John Peel was always a c**t, though that's nt fashionable to say so. Just listen to the album 'Electric Warrior' all the way through: it's great@!
I've never seen eye to the with many of my peers - things I'm supposed to like, at my advanced age. They usually leave disappointed. I liked The Monkees, although I was only 8/9 years old at the time. I wasn't really into music until 1972.
Thanks for taking part and sharing your childhood experiences of the Monkees. I hope you'll keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’
👍
One of the best, in my opinion. Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching my videos!
I'm not sure what your sample group is, but surely no one thinks these bands are awful - especially T Rex, who I myself think were the greatest band of all time!
You be surprised how many people despised T-Rex, especially once stayed sat to make lots of money. Still, if no one had different ideas, I won't be able to make these videos would I? Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
saw Tyrannosaurus Rex with Mickey at the Roundhouse, at one point Marc got up put the acoustic away and plugged in an electric guitar, you shoulda seen those hippies faces. I think me and my mate witnessed the first T.Rex show. We never forget that Randy California as you note a musical genius died saving his 12 year old sons life from a rip tide. Also worth mentioning that Mr Skin on the 12 Dreams album is a first person story told by a penis, quite brilliant.
Great information: thanks for sharing it. Cheers!
Absolutely love The Monkees , Head is an amazing movie❤.
I have noticed quite a backlash and hate against The Doors in recent years, though i myself love The Band.
Great comment, thanks! Yes, original thinkers like The Doors and (indeed) The Monkees are generated by the HERD. Cheers!
Please subscribe and keep watching: we need you! Cheers!
I never thought any of them were terrible. In fact, I have everything ever released by them.
Excellent! Please keep watching and commenting!
Me & Magdalena is a cracking track
Indeed, it is. Cheers!
Spirit, greatest band of all time
They were great, weren't they? Thanks for taking the time to comment. Cheers!
I love the earlier Quo, I'm old enough to remember their psychedelic phase, and as a heads down no nonsense boogie band they were untouchable. As Mark Radcliffe said, they only had one trick, but it was an effing good one! I wasn't so keen on their later, softer-centred stuff, but those two Tele's together were an unstoppable force.
Hey Jim, I like the Monkees. A very under-rated 60s band, as are Spirit. Stairway was a definite rip-off of 'Taurus, by the perennially over-rated Led Zeppelin. Even my favourite Zep track 'Rock & Roll' was done better by Little Richard! Quo were damn fine band as the 'Frantic Four' until Rossi decided to turn them into a cabaret act
I quite agree with almost everything you say. Cheers!
Beatles : Fab Four. Monkees : Pre-fab Four😊
I suppose the Beatles should be the pre-fab four as they came first. At least, that's what Friedrich Nietzsche told me... 😀
@@JimDriver
The Beatles should, but they were called the fab 4 before there were any Monkees.
But I'm a little cynical; although I think the "pre-fab 4" epithet is actually really creative and hilarious, I think it's a nasty jab at the Monkees that denotes the qualities of a pre-fab....ie cheap, fake, temporary, convenient, not as strong or attractive as an actual building etc. In other words, a poor relation, but an imitation that serves its purpose.
Those early 70s Quo albums where they're trying to be Morrison Hotel/L.A. Woman era Doors are pretty good, often great.
Status quo certainly had their moments. Unfortunately, they were a long time ago…
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Great stuff Jim, Spirit look really interesting............
Thanks! Spirit were great. Please check out the Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus! Cheers!
One of the Monkees' mother invented Tippex and made a fortune. Can't remember which on!
Wan't that Michael Tippex's mum? 😀
It was the Nesmith… Thanks for watching and for commenting Cheers!
I got your body right now on my mind
But I drunk myself blind to the sound of old T- Rex
To the sound of old T-Rex
Oh, and Who’s Next
Very poetic. Thanks for sharing it. Cheers!
Television man is crazy
saying we're juvenile deliquent wrecks
Oh man I need tv when I've got T. Rex.
@@vmax4steve524 hey, dude.
I love that Spirit track I Gotta Line on You Babe
There are lots of great spirit tracks that I really enjoy. Not everything they did was as good but the best is really the best. Cheers and thanks for commenting!
Feel really let down by the title of this video. I was hoping to learn something positive about some truly awful bands. Instead you present us with two bands ( The Monkees and T/Tyrannosaurus Rex) who I adore and never turned my back on during the punk days and Spirit who I saw in 1979 and have always respected, if not actually loved.
Next time, how about some awful bands rather than great bands 😅.
Also people should watch Head. Of it's time undoubtedly, but dispels the myth that they were a talentless boy band.
Keep up the good work. Love your channel.
Thank you! Very kind of you to say so. I must be honest, the title very often doesn't have a lot to do with the content… 😉
Ur reply to Mark Hosking sums up ur videos “I must be honest, the title often doesn’t have much to do with the content”. This is called dishonesty, & why I called ur title click bait. Like Mark Hosking I was disappointed by what is nothing more than a limp effort to get views & likes presumably for financial return. Even the vast majority of the replies to this video call into question your whole premise concerning these 4 bands. I repeat, the fact that you worked or socialised with a very small number of musically challenged morons doesn’t make your theory correct!
@@rossriddell1515 Wow that was very misread. Problem with text only conveying 30% of meaning. I was writing very tongue in cheek. I was enjoying the video. I loved it and appear to share a lot of tastes. My comment was more of a "ha ha, very funny. Awful bands my arse"; not I feel cheated and hurt. I love this channel.
Seemed to have inadvertently summoned the dreaded internet haters. I'm sorry.
Also I know how the Monkees were viewed when I was young and had to justify my affection even then, so I get why the video was titled in retrospect. Initially I thought it would be really awful bands, not those popularly dismissed.
@@markhosking1882 thanks for your reply. As u say text doesn’t convey the same as speech. I try not to be an ‘internet hater’ but this clown is just annoying. If a content ‘creator’ is going to use the title he did then adhere to it, it’s not difficult.
I grew up thinking that the Monkees were 'just' a bubble gum band but loved their TV show as a kid. I assumed they were miming and that behind the scenes the Wrecking Crew or similar were playing. It was only later I learned the truth about their musicianship. Nothing wrong with a good pop song, anyway.
Where did you get that weird head, Jim? No, not yours. The one near the mantlepiece.
I bought my head a few years ago on eBay. It really has discussed her! Nevertheless, it seems to be something I can't do without whatever I'm making a video!
Answers on a postcode to…
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Oh, come on, everybody loves the Monkees don't they? I loved the TV show as a kid, and loved the music. Have a listen to Mickey's singing on As We Go Along, it's heartbreaking and life affirming at one and the same time.
Loved the Quo quip at the end 👏👏👏🤣🤣🤣
Thanks! It as a risk (rapid I don't actually dislike Quo!! Cheers!🍻
12 dreams is in my top 5 albums of all time…..every tracks a classic
Brilliant album. Cheers!
@ did I really see you in lock stock 🦯 and & 2 smoking barrels the other day????
Monkees and T Rex - yes - the other two deserve the lack of approbation
That's very harsh! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
The Monkees as a TV show was first pitched to the powers that be by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.
Thanks that great piece of information, though I beg to differ. I think they pitched the original monkeys one but not the original original idea, which was the future the loving spoonful. Cheers!
I've simply never thought of any of these bands as being awful. Anything but, in fact.
Maybe not, but they were certainly really fine at the time by the majority of people, especially in the media. Thanks for taking the time to comment and please keep doing so. Cheers!
The last time I saw Mickey Finn was driving past him as he crossed the road in Maida Vale. He looked like he'd put far too much stuff up his nose so I didn't bother saying hi. Sad, really.
Yes, Mickey Fain had quite a reputation for partaking. Thanks for a great comment. Please keep watching!
I've always loved The Monkees
Me too. Cheers!
Pictures of Matchstick Men by the Quo is pretty banging though.
To be honest, I think they were better in those days. When they turned into beer swilling, boogie merchants, they kind of lost me. Thanks for taking part and for joining in the conversation. Cheers!
I've always really liked The Monkees.
Me too! Cheers!
I think a lot of snobbery about The Monkees ,no one ever say they rate them but not too many knock them off when they come on the radio I bet ,yes have to listen to a bit more T-Rex ,You nearly had me with the Quo Jim I'm only recovering from your analysis of The Who ,good one 😂
Ha ha! Glad I filled you. I had done a bit about Traffic , but I couldn't get it right and so 5 bands became 4 bands!
Cheers!.
@@JimDriver
Traffic are one band I should love to bits.....they tick all my boxes, '60s band, multiple good songwriters, singing, writing drummer, reedsman in Chris wood, violin playing bassist in Rick Grech, sitar playing guitarist in Dave Mason, great singer/ guitarist / keyboardist in Steve Winwood, jazz and progressive rock sensibilities, Jimmy Miller at the production helm etc........but I don't. I like "Paper Sun" and "Coloured Rain" but as a band, they just never hit any heights for me. Even a great song like "Dear Mr Fantasy" is bettered by the version by the obscure psych outfit that hardly anyone has heard of, Henry Tree {their "Electric Holy Man" LP from 1970 is a corker !}.
I've long felt that Family on their debut were a better and way more creative vision of what Traffic were aiming for than Traffic ever managed to be.
Dug and redug and dug and redug, redug. Says it all, really. What any else thinks is of no consequence.
Everybody's thoughts deserve to be listened to, especially yours! Thanks for sharing them on this channel
The idea that zeppelin owe anything to spirit is insane. Nobody can play those five notes in descending order ever again? That's all the songs have in common. A lot of songs use them. If you look hard enough you'll likely find really old music that use them. It's just a chromatic run. If I write a song with every note in a chromatic run both up and down. every song written from then on will have at least something in common with it. Will everyone have to pay me from then on? "You used B through E in a run in your song PAY UP."
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. For my part, I find it very strange that quite a lot of people out (including Hendrix) thought that Led Zeppelin were purloining other peoples music.
@@JimDriver I'm not saying they didn't use other peoples music. There are songs that should have been credited, at least in part, to others. But this song is just not one of them.
I think The Monkees where seen as a novelty band and not to be taken seriously. But their songs are well crafted and catchy. I think they are great.
Great band and very good musicians! Cheers. I hope you subscribed… 😀
Spirit were great. I'm not sure the links to Hendrix aren't exaggerated.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
I kept hoping you'd say Status Quo
Happy I didn't disappoint! Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment. Cheers!
The sniper from the Spirit song is a musical device know as a “line cliche.” Claiming its “your idea” is absurd. Line cliches are in thousands of songs and been around forever. They lost because they should have.
LZ 100% copped it off Spirit just as they stole so many of their songs.
Wrong. They aren’t even musically the same because Page’s riff resolves to D major chord over F# whereas the Spirit riff just goes nowhere. More importantly, though, a David and Goliath prejudice toward Zep is just prejudice toward whoever is successful. Rock is folk music and comes out of the folk traditions. None of it is truly original and it is all borrowed and reinterpreted. That includes Spirit’s inferior work and every blues man that came before. All borrowed, all copied. But their versions didn’t attract millions of fans whereas Zep’s did, therefore Zep “stole it.”
@@doliver5447 I disagree. It is patently obvious to anyone who knows both tunes that it was ripped off. Modified slightly I agree, but 100% a rip off. And as stated before Zep stole so many of their tunes. That's not to deny they didn't also write lots of great tracks and have a huge amount of talent, but J. Page is a notorious thief. Also, one can like Both Led Zeppelin and Spirit without having a "a David and Goliath prejudice". I have 6 LZ albums and 4 Spirit ones.
@ I know also both tunes very well and have run the comparison many times. I also know thousands and thousands of others, being a huge fan of folk and trad music, pop and jazz. The line cliche is an old idea that pre-dates recorded music and is common. No one owns line cliches and they are never “ripped off” because that’s like saying the idea of the wheel or stair steps has been ripped off. It’s the same reason you can’t copyright a chord progression. You can’t take credit for “discovering” something pre-existing and basic and then claim everyone after copied you. If it worked that way, essentially no commercial music would ever be beyond copyright dispute. Randy California wasn’t the first to do a descending line cliche on an A minor chord. Both he and Page heard that in other, prior songs. Neither invented it.
Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I'm just a simple job and stairway to heaven sounds very much like Taurus to me…
But thanks for checking the time to join in the conversation and I hope you'll keep watching my videos. Cheers!