by The Monkees
1967, RCA Records

the background: In 1965, NBC brought together musicians Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork to act and perform on its new nightly sitcom, “The Monkees.” The show was a comic take on a hip, funny, struggling band with a look and sound somewhat similar to The Beatles. Based on the popularity of the first season in 1966 and the obvious talent of the actors, The Monkees began actually recording music, releasing albums and touring—and almost immediately butting heads with NBC. The band released three albums in 1967, and by the time “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” was released in November of that year, it was obvious that the television producers had lost their control over the band. Trying hard to break free of its “pre-fab four” description, The Monkees injected the album with a more California-hippie influence, reflective of the band members’ surroundings and lifestyles. (Unlike The Beatles, The Monkees never hid the fact that they did drugs and loved to rock the paisley hard.)

the sound: Nesmith, who the producers had chosen to be the mature leader-type of the show, embraced the role and became a more prominent presence on “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” A fan of Frank Zappa and Tim Buckley and a seriously talented guitarist, Nesmith sings on a few tracks, a job usually reserved for Dolenz or Jones. He lets loose with his twangy country-blues style in “Salesman,” the album’s catchy first track, and “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round,” a sweet banjo-infused love song. “Star Collector” proves ahead of its time, with Jones singing about a girl who fits the description of a star whore way before the label of “stalker” was given to obsessed fans. “Goin’ Down” showcases Dolenz’s talent for jazz scat singing, which he went on to display more of on later albums, and “Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky” gives Tork a chance to show … well, that he’s just plain weird. Sure, there are still some poppy songs about girls, but on “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.,” they have a trippier sound and the lyrics seem a bit naughtier. While “She Hangs Out” has a chorus sounding much like a Beach Boys tune, Jones sings of someone’s Lolita-esque sister, and “Cuddly Toy” is about a girl being used and discarded, all while a piano plinks prettily in the background. It’s fun and sinister.

the significance: Although often dismissed as amateurs and talentless hacks, The Monkees managed to sell more albums in 1967 than Elvis and The Beatles combined. “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” became the band’s third album to reach number one on the Billboard charts in 1967. “Pisces” is also remembered in music history for being the first pop album to include the use of a Moog synthesizer—an electric instrument that emits weird distorted laser sounds like a theramin. (Dolenz actually owned one of the first Moog synthesizers ever made.) Shortly after 1967, tired of the band members’ constant bitching about not being taken seriously and their refusal to follow directions, NBC pulled the plug on their show. The band went on to release a few more albums and make a psychedelic movie that even people on drugs couldn’t understand, but inner turmoil soon got the better of them, and The Monkees officially broke up in 1971. The boys struggled over the next decade and a half with drug and alcohol problems and feuds over the rights to their name. In 1986, thanks in part to an MTV marathon of “The Monkees,” the band saw a resurgence in popularity, and Dolenz, Tork and Jones reunited to tour for the band’s 20th anniversary. Nesmith passed on the opportunity, having built a career as a movie producer, co-creator of MTV and heir to the Liquid Paper fortune (his mom invented Wite-Out).