Don’t Say “Gorilla” if You’re Wearing a Monkey Costume: The Monkees’ 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee

by Ryk McIntyre - 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee

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There is a little-known story from the history of The Monkees, the band that were a bunch of TV executives' answer to the overwhelming popularity of The Beatles. They were initially hired just to sing the songs and be the faces of the show. Over time, the band wanted to show they were more than pretty faces/actors and started demanding to play on their own songs, as well as perform live as a real rock ‘n’ roll band. So, out they went on tour.

Now, whoever put the tour together picked an opening act that had started to gain acclaim in England and, on the basis of that, wanted to play in America. All the promoter knew was this was Pop music too. So imagine the scene when, in front of an audience of mostly young teen girls and their parents, Jimi Hendrix is doing his opening spot, complete with guitar humping and the like.

And that’s as good an intro to the wonder that is 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee.

I’m guessing this was the band’s attempt at some sort of “A Hard Day’s Night/Yellow Submarine” hybrid, to showcase their various talents, and prove they were a real rock band, with real rock friends, not the

commercialized commodity they were originally intended to be. The show, as weird and haphazard as it was, did feature a number of guest stars, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and The Buddy Miles Express.

Billed as guest stars, the film begins (and frankly revolves around) Brian Auger as a keyboard wizard and Julie Driscoll as his.... assistant/caterwauling singer. There is a thin-thread of a plot, mostly about how the band members are birthed in test-tubes, turned into automatons (giving up their identities to become “Monkee #1” “Monkee #2” etc.) and their subsequent quests to regain their identity, musical integrity, and self-determination. Any rememblances between this and the band’s tumultuous history with creator Don Kirshner is, I’m sure, well and fully intended.

The bits in this movie featuring Charles Darwin... well you just have to experience those for yourself.

Each member gets a little surreal cameo, from Mickey Dolenz’s bizarre R&B styled cover of “I’m a Believer” (complete with Julie Driscoll’s half-Grace Slick/half banshee vocals) to Peter Tork’s hippy wow-ness “Prithee (Do Not Ask for Love)” (you can tell when the 60s wanted to get trippy/spiritual. Sitars were involved. I think it was a law back then). The most interesting is Mike Nesmith’s duet (with himself, via Blue-screen) on "Naked Persimmon (The Only Thing I Believe Is True)" where Rhinestone Cowboy Mike and Slick L.A. Mike make fine music. The most disturbing is Davey Jones who appears in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, dancing with fairy-tale characters on a kid’s room set with out-sized props, so the dancers look extra toy-like, as he sings “Goldilocks Sometimes.” What these segments mean, I don't know, but there is a playfulness here that is enjoyable in a strange sort of way.

Just in case their rage against their own artificial origins is not clear enough, the band next performs as mannequins “Wind-Up Man.” The metaphors just swim around like whales in a  fish-pond, but the sequence does feature a four piano stack, with Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and finally, on top, Auger. Yeah, I know.... the black men are always the bottom of the stack. I hope that was the intended metaphor for how Black musicians were really the innovators and base of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Then, out of nowhere (!) Brian and Julie break character and make a plea for the band to be let out of the mind-control to create - as Julie puts it- “Utter bloody shambles!” Um, actually Julie, I think Brian was referring to The Monkees having the right to artistic control, ability to play their own instruments on their albums, etc. But, looking at much of this movie.... yeah, you may be right.

There are a lot of great musical bits to this special, whether it is the band’s medley of Rock ‘n’ Roll Classics or Peter Torks cover of a Bach piece towards the end. It all culminates is a nice cover of “Listen to the Band” which showcases the bands’ talent (even when it descends into a typical 1960’s cacophony at the end). The Monkees truly were more than their intended use would imply. They were an actual band, made from talented, capable musicians who deserved more credit that they ever got while they were a current presence in music.

Comments

[Andrew]

Certainly an interesting TV special, but nowhere near as good as The Monkees' theatrical film Head (and Head has a much better score)...

[drasil]

I could never figure out where the Monkees stood on the issue of whether or not they were a "real" band. Mickey Dolenz goes around these days telling people that they were NEVER a real band. He gets really irate about it. (But then again, this is also the guy who calls himself the "singing producer.")

[Listener Rick]

I was one of the few people watching that night on NBC; the special was up against the Oscars, which I (rightfully) rejected as Establishment. I (rightfully) conceived an instant crush on Julie Driscoll. I never bought a Monkees album (though I like the work today and agree they were quite underrated); I bought Julie Driscoll/Brian Auger records.

There will never be television like this again.

[Brian C.]

Origin of the evil muah-ha-ha-ha evil laugh? (during body-suited dance sequence)

[Larry Lapka]

Certainly the strangest special ever to air on network TV. The Monkees were supposed to star in three specials, but after this one, NBC reneged on their agreement. Peter Tork left, the Monkees were down to three, and appeared on a number of shows like Laugh-In and Hollywood Squares. But this special really is a sequel to their film "Head," which systematically destroyed their careers. The special goes along the same storyline in a different way, but resuscitates them at the end with the appropriately named "Listen to the Band." Yes, I was another one of those kids who watched the special, didn't really get it at the time, but really enjoy it now. No, it is not as good as "Head" is/was, but you won't see this type of thing on network TV today. Certainly a period piece, but a real good one.

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