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But the porpoise is laughing good-bye, good-bye good-bye, good-bye, good-bye...
The recent, and tragic, death of Davy Jones prompted a renewed interest in all things Monkees, as the death of a superstar tends to do. Certainly a storied history, the most recognizable face of the one time spoof band will be missed by many. One such person missing Jones, and with a lifetime love of The Monkees, is musician Marc With a C. Marc has recently wrapped up recording a cover album in tribute to The Monkees. The album is aptly titled Good Clean Fun: Marc With a C Sings The Monkees and I can't think of anyone more musically qualified to do so.
Marc has a voice that was made for covering The Monkees, and with his classic lo-fi sound he can easily capture the spirit and feeling that music that was popular in the late 1960s and early '70s emotes. While Marc is generally unique in his delivery, this time I found myself forgetting I was listening to anyone other than The Monkees. As I write this, I have to remind myself that it is not in fact Mickey Dolenz singing "The Porpoise Song." The only discernible difference would have to be the instrumentation, as Marc has played every instrument on the album himself and put them together in post-production.
If you are a true Monkees fan then you may recall the movie Head. Or, if you are a die-hard fan of that movie, you might not remember it as many probably brought LSD rather than Juju Fruits to the theater for this one. Head was The Monkees' answer to all the Beatles movies, to the psychedelic trippy movies of the times and, frankly, just a whole lot of weirdness. The theme song from the movie was "The Porpoise Song," a song that set the tone of strange with drifting vocals by Dolenz and instruments coming in and out of the song as if you are floating through the tunnel of love, but all the cute things have been replaced by auditory hallucinations.
While he didn't capture every single instrument, Marc With a C has captured the exact tone of this song, re-creating and solidifying a masterpiece. Marc's rendition of "The Porpoise Song" has got to be the best cover song I've heard in a long time, and considering the timing of this album makes a great tribute to Davy Jones if you consider The Monkees, their legacy and their irreverent and goofy personas. Opening with "The Porpoise Song" makes the song sound a lot more sentimental than it originally was.
At this point, for a lot of us, it is sentimental. The Monkees were a part of our early childhood, whether we watched them on TV brand new or in re-runs as I did. Either way, we followed their antics and got to know Davy, Mickey, Peter and Mike. We knew they sounded kinda like the Beatles but were certainly not and more accessible. We knew that they were supposed to be a well thought out in-joke at first, then took off and became their own successful act. It's known their live performances left a bit to be desired, but they were designed for television and audio entertainment, not for live performances.
Following "The Porpoise Song," Marc breathes new multi-instrumental life to some of The Monkees songs that may not have been their biggest hits. Outside of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" most of the tracks are either B-sides or secondary songs. There is nothing wrong with this; in fact I think it's more a testament to their legacy and library to choose songs that might not have been chart toppers. For instance, the second song on the album "99 Pounds" was a leftover from The Monkees album Headquarters and was instead added as the last track on the first side of their next album Changes. It should be noted that upon its release, Changes failed to even make the charts.
"Good Clean Fun" is another track that shows Marc's knowledge of The Monkees library. Not only that, but it fits in nicely with Marc's sardonic lyrical style as the ending of the song suggests a menacing twist that the rest of the song doesn't convey. "I Wanna Be Free" was the third track off The Monkees first eponymous album which saw "Last Train to Clarksville" as its biggest hit. Marc covers this song well, taking the listener back to the sounds of 1966, as if you are watching the recording on a sound stage yourself.
Marc follows this with a perfect cover of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," the first Monkees B-side to chart, and originally a cover song itself. "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" was a song that never found its way onto an album, instead as a mono track on several compilations. Its first stereo recording was found on the 1982 compilation More Greatest Hits of the Monkees. "You Told Me" was the first track from the album Headquarters and another written and originally performed by Mike Nesmith. The song's opening parodies the Beatles' "Taxman."
In episode 33 of The Monkees television show, the song "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round?" was performed after Davy made his escape from the banditos. It's reminiscent of the Beatles' "Help" but then a lot of The Monkees music was, but situationally this was as well. The next song on this excellent cover album though is second only to "The Porpoise Song." That song is "Writing Wrongs," a track that takes a lot of strange turns, from an epic opening to suddenly banging on the bongos. This song is off the album The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees which saw some of The Monkees most poetic and deepest psychedelic work thanks to Nesmith's sharp writing.
Marc closes out the cover album with the song "Don't Bring Me Down" off the 1987 album Pool It! It's the only song not from the 1960s on this cover album, and a perfect song to close out out the tribute. It's a darker track, played at half speed with distorted vocals and helps bring you down from the high of the rest of the album. Another interesting choice for a cover song, when Marc could have just filled the album with The Monkees Billboard hits.
Marc With a C has masterfully created the ultimate tribute to The Monkees in this cover album. I am blown away at how perfectly his methodology fits in with The Monkees musical compositions. If you are a Monkees fan, either die-hard or fleeting, then you need to download this album. Regardless of the death of Jones, their legacy lives on and Marc has created a timeless testament to their music.
You can download the album at Marc's bandcamp page and be sure to follow him on Twitter.
Album image by Cap Blackard
