Headquarters

After two hugely successful albums of songs chosen, written, and played by others, The Monkees fought for and won the right to make their own record on this, their third album. Produced by Chip Douglas, the band are surprisingly good–Peter Tork’s keyboard playing being a particular highlight, although Micky Dolenz' drumming is erratic and Mike Nesmith’s forays into pedal steel totally unwelcome. As expected, Nesmith wrote a number of songs, but the two best tunes were Dolenz' “Randy Scouse Git” (a hit in England) and the Tork co-write, “For Pete’s Sake,” which would soon be used as the TV show’s closing theme.