The Bootleg Files: The Monkees’ Tokyo Concerts

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 779: “The Monkees in Japan” (1968 recording of the Pre-Fab Four in a Tokyo concert).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There is no surviving video of the concert and the audio recording was never commercially released.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: To borrow a line from a Monkees tune: Zilch!

On very rare occasions, this column puts the spotlight on audio recordings that only exist when there is no surviving film element. In this case, the spotlight shines on what might have been the last commercial hurrah of the Monkees during their brief and frenetic spin at the center of the 1960s cultural zeitgeist.
Continue reading →

The Monkees in “Head”

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Phil Hall

What a difference a half-century makes: dismissed by critics and ignored by audiences when first released in 1968, the Monkees’ sole feature film “Head” is now considered a cult classic rich with innovative psychedelic effects, razor-edged satire and a wonderful score. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” we reconsider this last hurrah of Monkee-mania with Peter Mills, author of “The Monkees, Head, and the 60s.”

The episode can be heard here.

“The Online Movie Show” is produced at the Platinum Wolfe Studios.