The Monkees at the Mann

The Monkees started as a fantasy rock band created for a TV series in 1966. Four performers were interviewed and hired separately while experienced musicians made studio recordings that would be used for a debut album and for the TV show. On TV and the stage, the designated Monkees merely sang along.

The band's songs were written by established names like Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The show got excellent ratings and the four kids became teen idols, adored for their cute looks. But as its lead singer, Davy Jones, confessed to Newsweek, "This isn't a rock 'n' roll group. This is an act. I am an actor, and I have never pretended to be anything else."

But something unusual happened along the way. Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork insisted on singing along with the pre-recorded tracks, and they developed their instrumental skills to the point where they could perform as a band. Nesmith accused the music supervisor, Don Kirshner, of "duping the public" and forced his dismissal. Nesmith then composed and produced some songs and Tork emerged as an excellent guitarist, while Dolenz and Jones divided the solo vocals.

Derided by critics

Throughout the Monkees' brief life they were derided for not being the Beatles. One critic mocked them as the "Pre-fab Four." That wasn't fair, Nesmith insisted at the Mann Music Center last weekend: "Eight billion other people weren't the Beatles either."

True, but those other billions weren't promoting themselves as obvious copies of the Fab Four.

Notwithstanding their manufactured status, I loved the Monkees. Their show was goofy, their songs were catchy. So I looked forward to this reunion tour, even though Davy Jones died unexpectedly last year.

Their performance exceeded expectations. Dolenz displayed a high, clear and powerful voice that belied his age of 68, and he dominated the stage with his physical energy and drumming. This was quite a change from the last time I saw Dolenz— at a Main Line art gallery, where he was displaying some of his paintings.

Enlisting the audience

Nesmith, now 70, displayed a mellow style, and Tork, 71, stood out mainly for his guitar and banjo-playing. All three sounded fresher and vocally stronger than any other musicians from the 1960s whom I've heard recently— live or on those Public Broadcasting reunion specials.

They were accompanied by an eight-piece band, some of whom added backup vocals as well, and by clips from the group's TV show and movies. The good-natured simplicity of their songs was as appealing as ever.

The Monkees' renditions of "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer" and "Steppin' Stone" brought smiles to everyone's face. They introduced their hit "Daydream Believer," which had been a Jones solo, by saying that none of them felt capable of singing its lead. Their solution was to bring two people from the audience on stage to sing it and asking the rest of the audience to join in.

Reliving their youth

I only wish the group had performed other Davy Jones specialties. The three survivors seemed more intent on displaying their own compositions and solos— not unreasonably, since these songs might have been overlooked in the past. But the mantra in the predominantly female crowd was: "Davy Jones was my favorite."

Speaking of the audience, a few women rose to their feet during each song, swaying, waving their arms aloft, punching the air and annoying everyone seated behind them. It's nice that these women can derive such pleasure from re-living their youth. But they seemed to have forgotten that the show was about the band, not about them.