Maps of Music

Pool It! (1987)

Where the lyrics of Pool It! take you, and where it was really made.

The album reached only No. 72 on the Billboard 200, yet its cover later appeared on Pitchfork's list of the worst record covers of all time.

Key places

Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles (1987)

Recording site Cherokee Studios — Discogs credits Cherokee Studios as the recording location for this album. The point marks the studio itself, not the exact recording dates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Pool It!: tenth studio album by American pop rock band the Monkees
• Released August 1987 by Rhino Records
• First Monkees studio album of new material since Changes (1970)
• First Monkees album with Peter Tork since the 1968 Head soundtrack
• Billing on the LP reads "Peter, Micky, Davy — The Monkees"

Background

• Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork reunited the previous year for a 20th anniversary tour
• Dolenz and Tork sang on three tracks of the 1986 compilation Then & Now... The Best of The Monkees
• Pool It! served as the band's first proper "reunion album"
• Michael Nesmith chose not to take part in the album
• Nesmith had still made a surprise appearance on stage with the band at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 7, 1986

Recording

• Writing was largely handled by outside writers, as in the group's early work
• Instrumentation was largely handled by session musicians
• The Monkees themselves contributed the lead vocals
• Tork played guitar on his own song "Gettin' In"
• Discogs lists Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles as the recording location

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.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

• Not a particular commercial or critical success
• Peaked at No. 72 on the Billboard 200
• Only one single, "Heart and Soul", made the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 87

Reappraisal

• The album cover was featured on Pitchfork's list of "The Worst Record Covers of All Time"
• The cover, not the music, is the part that later drew wider notice

Records

• Billboard 200: No. 72
• Billboard Hot 100: "Heart and Soul" No. 87
• Follow-up single, a remixed "Every Step of the Way", failed to chart
• Released August 1987 by Rhino Records

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Discogs credits Record Plant as the mixing location, separate from the Cherokee Studios recording location.
• The video for "Heart and Soul" was banned from MTV airplay after a dispute over the Monkees bowing out of an MTV Super Bowl special.
• The Italian Wikipedia tracklist names the lead singer for each song, with Micky Dolenz on "Heart and Soul" and Peter Tork on "Gettin' In".

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

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