Head is the sixth studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1968 by Colgems Records, and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album primarily consists of musique concrète pieces assembled from the film's dialogue, while the six new songs encompass genres such as psychedelic music, lo-fi, acid rock and Broadway theatre.

Composition

After the TV series The Monkees ended in the Spring of 1968, the band regrouped and wrote the film Head with screenwriter Jack Nicholson, Regarding the album's composition, Peter Tork said, "Nicholson made it different from the movie. There's a line in the movie where Zappa says, 'That's pretty white.' Then there's another line in the movie that was not juxtaposed in the movie, but Nicholson put them together in the [soundtrack album], when Mike says, 'And the same thing goes for Christmas' [...] that was very important and wonderful that he assembled the record differently from the movie [...] It was a different artistic experience."

PopMatters described Head as "a hypnogogic hallucination of a 60's pop record" whose composition encompassed musique concrète pieces and six new songs in the genres of psychedelic, Broadway and lo-fi rock. In 2010, Rhino reissued the album in a deluxe box set on three compact discs.

Reception

MusicHound described Head as a "trippy little souvenir of the times".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Rhino Handmade 2010 "Deluxe Edition" box set.

The Monkees

  • Micky Dolenz – lead vocals (2–3, 6, 9)
  • David Jones – backing vocals (2, 13), lead vocals (3, 11)
  • Michael Nesmith – lead vocals (3–4), guitar (4), organ (4), percussion (4), acoustic guitar (11), electric guitar (11)
  • Peter Tork – lead vocals (3, 13), guitar (6, 13), backing vocals (13)

Additional musicians

  • Ken Bloom – guitar (2, 9)
  • Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – guitar (2, 9)
  • Leon Russell – keyboards (2)
  • Ralph Schuckett – keyboards (2)
  • Mike Ney – drums (2), percussion (2)
  • John Raines – drums (2), percussion (2)
  • Doug Lubahn – electric bass (2)
  • Bill Hinshaw – brass (2), woodwind (2)
  • Jules Jacob – brass (2), woodwind (2)
  • Gregory Bemko – cello (2)
  • David Filerman – cello (2)
  • Jan Kelly – cello (2)
  • Jacqueline Lustgarten – cello (2)
  • Max Bennett – upright bass (2)
  • Clyde "Whitey" Hoggan – upright bass (2)
  • Jim Hughart – upright bass (2)
  • Jerry Scheff – upright bass (2)
  • Russ Titelman – cymbals (2)
  • Michel Rubini – piano (3)
  • Eddie Hoh – drums (4, 11), percussion (4)
  • Lance Wakely – guitar (6, 13), bass guitar (6, 13)
  • Ry Cooder – guitar (9)
  • Carole King – guitar (9)
  • Neil Young – guitar (9)
  • Harvey Newmark – bass guitar (9)
  • Earl Palmer – drums (9)
  • Harry Nilsson – piano (11)
  • Keith Allison – guitar (11)
  • Bill Chadwick – guitar (11)
  • Richard Dey – bass guitar (11)
  • Pete Candoli – trumpet (11)
  • Buddy Childers – trumpet (11)
  • Tony Terran – trumpet (11)
  • Dick Leith – trombone (11)
  • Lew McCreary – trombone (11)
  • Justin Ditullio – cello (11)
  • Ray Kramer – cello (11)
  • Emmet Sargeant – cello (11)
  • Eleanor Slatkin – cello (11)
  • Stephen Stills – guitar (13)
  • Dewey Martin – drums (13)

Unconfirmed personnel and duties

  • Additional guitar (2)
  • Additional backing vocals, chimes (2)
  • Bill Chadwick – guitar (4)
  • Keith Allison – guitar (4)
  • Richard Dey or John S. Gross – bass guitar (4)
  • Peter Tork – other instruments (6)
  • Lance Wakely – other instruments (6)
  • Dewey Martin or Buddy Miles – drums (6)
  • Chester Anderson – unknown (6)
  • Don DeMieri – unknown (6)
  • Michael A. Glass – unknown (6)
  • Eddie Hoh – unknown (6)
  • Bass, percussion (6)
  • Denny Bruce – percussion (9)
  • John Raines – percussion (9)
  • John R. Hoening – unknown (9)
  • Tony McCashen – unknown (9)
  • Russ Titelman – unknown (9)
  • Organ, flute (9)
  • Stu Williamson or Carroll "Cappy" Lewis – flugelhorn solo (11)
  • Tambourine, handclaps (13)

Technical

  • The Monkees – producers (1, 3–14)
  • Gerry Goffin – producer (2)
  • Russ Titelman – conductor (2)
  • Jack Nitzsche – arranger (2, 9)
  • Shorty Rogers – arranger (11)
  • Ken Thorne – arranger (14), conductor (14)
  • Jack Nicholson – album coordinator

Charts

Album

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1968)

!scope="col"|Peak<br /> position

|-

!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (RPM)

| 24

|-

!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| 53

|-

!scope="row"|US Billboard 200

| 45

|}

Single

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Single

!Chart

!Peak<br />position

|-

|1968

|"Porpoise Song"

|Billboard Hot 100

| style="text-align:center;"|62

|}

References

Sources