(December 2018) I have completed episode 193 of my “opus project.” This edition: THE MONKEES. Laugh if you must, but they put out some enduringly good music. While the Pre-Fab Four’s famous songs were written by others, their best albums came once they gained more creative control, earning a place among the pantheon of essential acts of the late ’60s golden age. The first two reunion albums are trash, but their 2016 album is quite good* and, for a Christmas album, so is 2018’s Christmas Party.
Favorite album: The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees
Favorite song: Pleasant Valley Sunday
Favorite song written by a Monkee: While I Cry
Best reunion album: Good Times! (2016)
Special sauce Mike Nesmith
Compared to expectations: same
* good, in large part because it was produced by Adam Schlesinger, with tracks from Fountains of Wayne bandmates Brian Young and Jody Porter
Opus Project 
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