Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.

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Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. - The Monkees.jpg
Studio album by
The Monkees
ReleasedNovember 6, 1967
RecordedApril 26 – October 9, 1967
Studio
Genre
Length35:44
Label Colgems
Producer Chip Douglas
The Monkees chronology
Headquarters
(1967)		Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
(1967)		 The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees
(1968)
Singles from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
  1. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" / "Words"
    Released: July 10, 1967
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
MusicHound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Wire (favorable)[ citation needed ]

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. is the fourth album by the Monkees. It was released on November 6, 1967, during a period when the band exerted more control over their music and performed many of the instruments themselves (previously forbidden by Colgems). However, although the group had complete artistic control over the proceedings, they invited more outside contributions than on their previous album, Headquarters , and used session musicians to complement their sound. The album also featured one of the first uses of the Moog synthesizer in popular music. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. sold over three million copies. It was the band's fourth consecutive album to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Contents

History

The group employed studio musicians to a greater extent than their previous album, Headquarters . The greater reliance on studio musicians resulted from the band's busy filming schedule for their popular sitcom. The album's single, "Pleasant Valley Sunday" b/w "Words", was a hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album was among the earliest to make use of the Moog synthesizer, which Dolenz introduced to the group and played in the studio; he owned one of the first twenty ever sold. [6] Along with the Doors' September 1967 album Strange Days , Their Satanic Majesties Request by the Rolling Stones in December, and the Byrds' January 1968 album The Notorious Byrd Brothers , Pisces was one of the first commercial recordings to reach a wide audience featuring the Moog. Dolenz played the synthesizer on "Daily Nightly", while electronic musician Paul Beaver played it on "Star Collector".

Two additional songs, "Daydream Believer" and "Goin' Down", were recorded during the album sessions. Released on 7-inch vinyl in October 1967, it was the group's last No. 1 single.

The album's title stems from each band member's respective astrological sign: Dolenz is Pisces, Peter Tork is Aquarius, and both Nesmith and Davy Jones are Capricorn.

The album's cover features a drawing of the four Monkees by Bernard Yeszin, their facial features blank, standing in a field of flowers, with the group's guitar logo half-buried.

In 2007, Rhino issued a two-disc deluxe edition of the album. The CD set featured original album artwork, including replicas of the original Colgems vinyl labels on each disc, as well as a booklet of essays and session information by Monkees historian Andrew Sandoval. The discs contain remastered mixes of the album's stereo and mono releases, as well as alternate mixes and outtakes.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Salesman" (Craig Vincent Smith) Michael Nesmith 2:37
2."She Hangs Out" (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) Davy Jones 2:57
3."The Door into Summer" (Chip Douglas, Bill Martin)Nesmith, with Micky Dolenz 2:49
4."Love Is Only Sleeping" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil)Nesmith2:31
5."Cuddly Toy" (Harry Nilsson)Jones2:38
6."Words" (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart)Dolenz with Peter Tork 2:52
Side two
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Hard to Believe" (Jones, Kim Capli, Eddie Brick, Charlie Rockett)Jones2:37
2."What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" (Michael Martin Murphey, Owen Castleman)Nesmith3:09
3."Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky" (Tork)Tork0:27
4."Pleasant Valley Sunday" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King)Dolenz3:15
5."Daily Nightly" (Nesmith)Dolenz2:33
6."Don't Call on Me" (Nesmith, John London)Nesmith2:51
7."Star Collector" (Goffin, King)Jones4:28

Aborted track listing

The original track lineup for the album, compiled on October 9, 1967, included the following songs: [7]

Side one

  1. "Special Announcement"
  2. "She Hangs Out"
  3. "Salesman"
  4. "Cuddly Toy"
  5. "Words"
  6. "Don't Call on Me"
  7. "Goin' Down"

Side two

  1. "The Door Into Summer"
  2. "Hard to Believe"
  3. "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"
  4. "Daily Nightly"
  5. "Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky"
  6. "Pleasant Valley Sunday"
  7. "Star Collector"

Personnel

Credits adapted from 2007 Rhino "Deluxe Edition" CD, [8] except where noted.

The Monkees

Additional musicians

Unconfirmed personnel and duties

Technical

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1967)Peak
position
Canadian Albums ( RPM ) [9] 2
French Albums (SNEP) [10] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 18
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [12] 33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [13] 4
UK Albums (OCC) [14] 5
US Billboard 200 [15] 1

Single

YearSingleChartPeak
position
1967"Words" Billboard Hot 100 11 [16]
1967"Pleasant Valley Sunday" Billboard Hot 100 3 [16]

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [17] 2× Platinum2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Monkees Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.". AllMusic . Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  2. ↑ "The 50 best psychedelic rock albums of the Summer of Love". BrooklynVegan. June 17, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  3. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p.  774. ISBN   1-57859-061-2.
  4. ↑ "Record Collector | The Monkees – Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd | Album Review". Recordcollectormag.com. May 19, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  5. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 553. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ↑ "Moog Modular Systems". moogarchives.com. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Sandoval, Andrew (1995). Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd (CD liner notes). The Monkees. Los Angeles, California: Rhino Records. R2 71793.
  8. ↑ Sandoval, Andrew (2007). Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (Deluxe Edition) (CD liner notes). The Monkees. Rhino Records. R2 77767.
  9. ↑ "RPM: The Monkees (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Tous les Albums de l'Artiste choisi". InfoDisc. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Oricon Archive - The Monkees". Oricon. February 2, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Monkees – Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  14. ↑ "The Monkees Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  15. ↑ "The Monkees US Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.- Charts and Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  17. ↑ "American album certifications – The Monkees – Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved June 24, 2014.

Works cited

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