Christmas Party

Christmas Party

by The MonkeesThe Monkees

Overview

It may be hard to believe, but 2018's Christmas Party is the first Christmas record the Monkees ever released. Chalk this up to the band breaking up in 1970, long before Christmas records were common among rockers, but 2018 is also the right time for the Monkees to deliver a Christmas record because the group figured out how to make the right kind of modern Monkees album with 2016's Good Times! A clever combination of made-to-order originals and gussied-up old recordings, the Adam Schlesinger-produced Good Times! managed to feel simultaneously fresh and familiar, a combination that lends itself well to holiday albums. Christmas Party contains many of the same collaborators as Good Times! -- Schlesinger returns as producer and he co-wrote "House of Broken Gingerbread" with Michael Chabon, while Andy Partridge, Rivers Cuomo, and Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey all deliver new songs -- and it has the same feel, blurring the lines between the past and present so thoroughly that it no longer matters to discover where they're separated. Schlesinger's presence is also a tell that Christmas Party leans into power pop: the back half contains versions of Alex Chilton's "Jesus Christ," Roy Wood's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day," and Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime," each sounding at home in this smartly self-referential version of the Monkees. If the two Davy Jones songs aren't as successful as those on Good Times!, it's only because the tracks date from somewhere after the '60s, so he's not as boyish as he sounded on the last record. Then again, both Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork carry their ages well, helping to give this a nice sentimental undercurrent, while Micky Dolenz remains something of a small wonder. All these years later, he sounds cheerful and committed singing these songs, acting out the Partridge, Cuomo, and Buck & McCaughey songs with gusto, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He's having a great time, as is everybody else making the record, and it's hard for the listener at home not to smile too.

Product Details

Release Date: 10/12/2018
Label: Rhino
UPC: 0603497856657
catalogNumber: 573134

Tracks

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Monkees   Primary Artist
Michael Nesmith   Vocals
Scott McCaughey   Acoustic Guitar,Piano,Celeste,Electric Guitar,Background Vocals
Davy Jones   Vocals
Micky Dolenz   Vocals
Peter Buck   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
Richard Dodd   Cello
Chip Douglas   Guitar,Ukulele
James Lee Stanley   Bass,12-string Guitar
Peter Tork   Banjo,Vocals
Ian Walker   Upright Bass
Brian Young   Percussion,Drums
Michael Eisenstein   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
Christian Nesmith   Guitar,Keyboards
Adam Schlesinger   Bass,Guitar,Piano,Keyboards,Background Vocals
Eric Gorfain   Violin
David Mead   Background Vocals
Daphne Chen   Violin
Jody Porter   Electric Guitar
Leah Katz   Viola
Christopher Allis   Drums
Mike Swerdlow   Steel Guitar
Circe Link   Background Vocals
Jonathan Nesmith   Background Vocals

Technical Credits

Alex Chilton   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Claude Thornhill   Composer
Mel Tormé   Composer
Scott McCaughey   Composer
Andy Partridge   Composer
Roy Wood   Composer
Peter Buck   Composer
Chip Douglas   Producer,Vocal Producer
Ray Evans   Composer
Jay Livingston   Composer
Andrew Sandoval   Engineer
James Lee Stanley   Producer,Additional Production
Peter Tork   Additional Production
Christian Nesmith   Producer,Engineer,Vocal Arrangements
Rivers Cuomo   Composer
Adam Schlesinger   Composer,Producer,Engineer
Judy Elliott-Brown   Engineer
Pete Min   Engineer
Lou Baxter   Composer
Robert Alexander Anderson   Composer
Ruth Thornhill   Composer
Daphne Chen   String Arrangements
Traditional   Composer
Johnny Moore   Composer
Jonathan Lane   Art Direction
Michael Allred   Cover Art
James Chadwick   Composer
Michael Chabon   Composer
Daniel Piscina   Engineer
Bob Wells   Composer
Andrew Schwartz   Engineer
John Hughes   Executive Producer
Jonathan Nesmith   Producer,Engineer,Vocal Arrangements,Instrumentation

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