Recorded - June 14 and August 9, 1967
Released - October 30, 1967
#1 for weeks of December 2, 9, 16 and 23, 1967.
The period between late 1966 and early 1967 may have been the peak of the so-called "Monkeemania", but by the second half of the year, the group's reputation had begun a downward spiral. By this time, it was well-known that they didn't play on or write much of the songs on their first two albums. I've already gone into my opinion on this matter in my "Last Train To Clarksville" review so I won't repeat myself. What is ironic though is that during this public backlash over the group's lack of being a real "Band", they had actually taken giant steps at rectifying this fault.
The third Monkees album, Headquarters consists mostly of Monkees originals. Not only that, but the foursome actually play instruments on the record. While they certainly aren't virtuosos and some of the material is a bit lightweight, it's a surprisingly solid effort. This practice continued in a diminished role for their fourth album. Even though by now the group had complete control of their music, they elected to mostly go with outside songwriters, and use a mix of session musicians and their own instrumentation. One of the songs recorded during these sessions was "Daydream Believer".
Written by former Kingston Trio member John Stewart (Not to be confused with Jon Stewart), "Daydream Believer" features Peter Tork on piano and Mike Nesmith on guitar, which is fitting as the two were the most competent musicians in the group. As the case with most of Davy Jones' material he selected to record, "Daydream Believer" is a Hollywood-esque ballad complete with strings and brass.
Much of Davy's material is a bit too sugary for my taste, but "Daydream Believer" somehow manages to have just the right sound. For one, the song's melody is quite strong, and it even reminds me a bit of The Beatles, in terms of chord progression and harmonies. What isn't Beatlesesque is the string and horn arrangement. Yet for some reason, I find these two potentially schmaltzy elements to be perfectly balanced. The horns and strings never overpower the vocals or piano and seem to act as a "Calm after the storm" between the final choruses.
"Daydream Believer" would be the last #1 by The Monkees. From here on out, the group began a rapid decline in popularity. Their original pre-teen audience were growing up into teenagers who now fixated on artists such as Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. One personal flaw I have with The Monkees later period is that much of this work was produced separately by each member, yet still released under The Monkees name. As a result, you have four different styles, of varying quality, some of which do not sound good grouped together on an album, and some of which don't sound good at all. It's the definition of a mixed bag.
Their film work during 1968 shows them trying desperately to break out of their squeaky clean image and actually become a bit avant-garde. In the years following their breakup in 1970, there have been several reunions of The Monkees. Despite the sudden and tragic death of Davy in 2012, the surviving three continue to perform.
Final Verdict - "Daydream Believer" seems to be a bit more universally accepted compared to the rest of the Monkees' catalog. I feel this is because the song has a strong music melody, and is nicely produced. While I wouldn't call it one of the top songs of '67, I still give it my seal of approval.
Last Up For 1967 - "Hello, Goodbye" by The Beatles.
Until Next Time - Cheer up sleepy Jean, cause there's more Dr. Rock reviews on the way -
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