Maps of Music

Christmas Party (2018)

Where the lyrics of Christmas Party take you, and where it was really made.

Davy Jones is heard on this final studio album through two vocals he recorded in 1991, years before its release.

Key places

Lucy's Meat Market recording site (2018)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album's recording is listed at Lucy's Meat Market in Los Angeles. The map point sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Omelette Station recording site (2018)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album's recording is listed at Omelette Station in New York City. The map point sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Beatland Tours recording site (2018)

Recording site Beatland Tours — The album's recording is listed at Beatland Tours in Atwater Village, Los Angeles. The map point sits at the city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Institute for the Musical Arts recording site (2018)

Recording site Institute for the Musical Arts — The album's recording is listed at the Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen, Massachusetts. The map point sits at the town centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Christmas Party: the 13th and final studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees
• Released October 12, 2018 by Rhino Records
• Produced mainly by Adam Schlesinger; Michael Nesmith's tracks produced by his sons Christian and Jonathan
• The first Monkees album to focus on Christmas themes
• Follows the 2016 album Good Times!
• The two-year gap is the shortest between albums since The Monkees Present and Changes (1969/1970)
• Features surviving Monkees Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork, plus two posthumous contributions from Davy Jones

Background

• Mix of covers of earlier Christmas songs, from "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Wonderful Christmastime" to the relatively obscure "Jesus Christ", originally by Big Star
• New holiday tunes written for the album by several Good Times! contributors, including XTC's Andy Partridge, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo and Schlesinger
• The only Monkees album on which no song was written by any member of the group
• Target store exclusive version adds "Riu Chiu" and "Christmas Is My Time of Year", vintage recordings remastered and remixed by original Monkees producer Chip Douglas

Cover

• Illustrated by comics artist Michael Allred, a lifetime Monkees fan

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s.
• The group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the NBC sitcom of the same name, which aired from 1966 to 1968.
• Casting drew 437 applicants; Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz were chosen.

Members

• Micky Dolenz: lead and backing vocals, drums, guitar, keyboards.
• Davy Jones: lead and backing vocals, percussion, bass; died in 2012.
• Michael Nesmith: lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, vocals; died in 2021.
• Peter Tork: bass, guitars, keyboards, banjo, vocals; died in 2019.

Career

• Early music was largely performed by session musicians such as the Wrecking Crew under Don Kirshner's supervision.
• The band had four consecutive No. 1 albums in 1966–1967: The Monkees, More of the Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
• They had three No. 1 singles: "Last Train to Clarksville", "I'm a Believer", and "Daydream Believer".
• The members gained control over their recordings in 1967 after a conflict with Kirshner.
• The film Head (1968) was a commercial failure; the group broke up in the early 1970s.
• A revival in 1986 led to intermittent reunions, new albums, and tours until 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Guardian: mixed review; described it as "a curious hodgepodge" and gave three out of five stars
• The Arts Desk: same three-out-of-five score; called it a mixed bag of covers and original songs, some of it a bit cheesy
• Los Angeles Times: two and a half out of four stars; named the two Davy Jones vocals recorded in 1991, given new instrumental accompaniment by producer Adam Schlesinger, as the album's big calling card
• Variety: did not rate the album; said it felt mostly like a Micky Dolenz solo album, co-produced by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, with odd interjections from Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and the late Davy Jones

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The only Monkees album on which no song was written by any member of the group
• Davy Jones's two posthumous contributions are vocals he recorded in 1991
• The Target store exclusive version adds two vintage recordings remastered and remixed by original producer Chip Douglas
• Cover illustrator Michael Allred said he could barely remember making the artwork, having been on a high while putting as much as he could into it

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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