Monkees Justus Headquaters

Continuing from the previous note on the Monkees. At the concert most of the songs came from the CD Justus. It was the come back CD for them as a foursome. As most of the Monkees fans know the group has been a quartet, a trio and sometimes a duo. It is with all four of them that they are at their most popular. Since they started out as the cast of a sitcom and later became a band they have fought a long hard fight for creative control of the music. On only two albums have they really been able to take full advnatage of the freedom they were given. Those two were Headquarters and Justus. Oh sure there were others like Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. and the Monkees Present. However, ON P,A,C &J Ltd. they were back shooting their show and had to find recording time in studios around town to mostly just record their singing. The Monkees Presnt was suppose to be a 2 album set but since the show was not that popular and the Monkees as money makers on the record charts was also sliding it became just a regular album. So they had two spotlight moments and in Headquarters they took full advantage and turned out a great pop album. At the time it was overshadowed by the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonly Hearts Club Band and so were the rest of the albums that year. Only in recent years have I seen it turn up in music articles as a great pop album. One critic went so far as to say that if he were alone on an island with just a handful of records that he would listen to he wanted Headquarters as one of them.
Now with Justus alot of fans felt disappointed. I was one of them. We wanted them to come back as those 20 year old who sang happily about puppy love. About that girl that they knew somewhere because they thought she just may be the one cause they can't get her off of their minds. But they didn't and we felt let down. In retrospect I think it is a really good album. Maybe just as good as Headquarters. The men were now older. They have loved and lost. Had children and grandchildren. They started businesses and lost businesses. Like all of us they lived life. Their heartbreak was reflected in their music. The CD to me is now a tribute to how they have endured. Some have said that the CD and the tour that followed was only to help Mike who was having problems with a lawsuit. Well what was wrong with that? 3 friends got together to help another friend. That shows a strong bond. While both CD's are good, there is alot more character to Justus. It's just something I had on my mind.