Our Hearts' Desire (The Monkees Family Vol. 2)

Chapter 6

The guys met with the executives at Colgems Records, a new imprint affiliated with RCA Victor, created to release a new generation of younger, hipper music with a demographic similar to fans of the Beatles, though slightly younger.  The Monkees were to be marketed as the American version of the Beatles, but with a more eclectic musical mix, reflecting their catalog of music influenced by the distinct personalities of the four guys.  Mike's influence was country, Micky's was rock 'n bop, Peter's was folk and the blues, and Davy's was Broadway and ballads.  With this wide range of diversity, the label hoped to cover a similarly wide range of tastes.  The guys insisted that another element ought to be added, based on their recent experience attending the Monterey Pop Festival, that of psychedelic rock.  Mike was already at work on several songs that incorporated that new strain of musical influence that was becoming so ubiquitous within the hippest music scene, particularly on the West Coast.  Micky had ideas for using a new type of musical equipment, called a Moog Synthesizer, but had never had the bread to be able to afford one.  Now, with the backing of the label, he hoped to write some new compositions for that innovative technology.  The team was bubbling over with ideas and plans.

But first came the nitty gritty, which meant contract negotiations and commitments and concessions.  Wendy acted as the band's agent, after having a strategy session with her boss, Clyde Wallichs and his brother Glenn, who was an executive at Capitol Records.  They were glad to do her a favor and lend her their expertise and mentor her, particularly as they viewed her as a member of their extended family, and also because now that the boys were going to sign their first contract, they would recoup their investment in financing the demo the guys made for the track Last Train To Clarksville, which they premiered at the Monterey Pop Festival to anyone who was willing to listen to it.

The first bone of contention that arose was that the label wanted the guys to contribute only their vocal talents to the record and leave the instrumentals to studio musicians.  This was a fairly common practice at the time.  The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas, and many of producer Phil Spector's groups had used a group called The Wrecking Crew, a collection of professional musicians whose specialty was their ability to quickly assimilate a new piece of music and produce a useable master track within the minimum number of takes.  The Monkees naturally objected to this arrangement, arguing that while the addition of studio musicians would add much to the sound and efficiency of their albums, the subtraction of their own musical talents would invalidate the organic sound of their songs and the quality that their fans appreciated and the reason why the label signed them in the first place.

The guys debated what tactic to take.  Davy and Micky were less concerned about who played the instruments than getting their songs out to the public.  As a percussionist and sometimes substitute for Micky or Peter on their instruments, Davy had very little skin in the game when it came to making the music.  Similarly, even though Micky wrote some of the songs, he reckoned that if there was a drummer who could nail a master take faster and better than he could, it didn't matter much to him, as long as he could play his own instrument when they were touring.  What was really important to him was to have people hear his lyrics and listen to him sing them.

Mike and Pete were appalled at the idea of not being able to play their own instruments on the records.  They were both more than proficient musicians, they were outstanding at their craft.  Mike had taught himself how to play the guitar only a couple of years before he met the guys and within a couple of weeks of beginning his self-study he was hosting concerts for people.  He was a prolific songwriter and a technically excellent guitarist, preferring the more challenging 12-string guitar to the easier 6-string.  He had also taught himself how to play the pedal steel guitar, and could play the organ and piano, harmonica, as well as bass guitar.