BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM
Back in 2016, The Monkees celebrated their 50th anniversary with their first album of new material since 1996’s Justus. The appropriately-titled Good Times!, produced by Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, was a true return to form. As TSD noted in its original review, “The Monkees have just released their first new album in twenty years, and all is right with the world…Good Times makes no concession to the sound of modern pop. Rather, it’s most often the classic Monkees style refracted through a muscular, power-pop prism…Don’t hesitate. Listen to the band!” The acclaimed album reached No. 14 on the Billboard 200, becoming the group’s highest-charting release in 48 years.
Now, on May 29, Rhino is revisiting Good Times! in a 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition which celebrates not only the album, but the 60th anniversary of The Monkees and the memory of Schlesinger, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork (all of whom died following its release) and Davy Jones (who had passed away in 2012 but was nonetheless featured on Good Times! via archival material). The 2CD set rounds up four non-LP sides originally presented as bonus tracks on various exclusive editions (and later pressed on vinyl as the Good Times Plus! EP) as well as an instrumental presentation of all thirteen songs. And what songs they are! Good Times! features compositions written specifically for the group by the likes of Schlesinger (“Our Own World”), Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo (“She Makes Me Laugh”), Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard (“Me and Magdalena”), XTC’s Andy Partridge (“You Bring the Summer”), Oasis’ Noel Gallagher and The Jam’s Paul Weller (“Birth of an Accidental Hipster”). In addition to vintage tunes by Harry Nilsson (the title track), Neil Diamond (“Love to Love”), Jeff Barry and Joey Levine (“Gotta Give It Time”), Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart (“Whatever’s Right”), and Carole King and Gerry Goffin (“Wasn’t Born to Follow”), Nesmith and Tork also wrote songs for the new album: “I Know What I Know” and “A Better World,” respectively, while Dolenz collaborated with Schlesinger on the closing cut “I Was There (And I’m Told I Had a Good Time).”
On the same date as the 2CD Deluxe Edition, Rhino will release an audiophile vinyl edition of the original album as part of the Rhino Reserve series. The 180-gram pressing was cut from the original analog master tapes by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in Oxnard, California. The LP will be available exclusively through independent retailers in the U.S. and via Rhino.com.
Between now and November, Micky Dolenz is also hitting the road in celebration of 60 years of The Monkees. Visit here for Micky’s tour schedule, and look for Good Times! from Rhino in both 2CD and Rhino Reserve LP formats on May 29. You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below.
Good Times! (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Rhino, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1: Original album (released as Rhino R2 553592, 2016)
Good Times
You Bring the Summer
She Makes Me Laugh
Our Own World
Gotta Give It Time
Me & Magdalena
Whatever’s Right
Love to Love
Little Girl
Birth of An Accidental Hipster
Wasn’t Born to Follow
I Know What I Know
I Was There (And I’m Told I Had a Good Time)
CD 2: Bonus material (previously unreleased except where noted)
Terrifying (digital bonus track)
Me & Magdalena (Version 2) (digital bonus track)
A Better World (F.Y.E. bonus track – Rhino R2 555731, 2016)
Love’s What I Want (Japanese bonus track – Rhino WPCR-17267, 2016)
Good Times (Instrumental)
You Bring the Summer (Instrumental)
She Makes Me Laugh (Instrumental)
Our Own World (Instrumental)
Gotta Give It Time (Instrumental)
Me & Magdalena (Instrumental)
Whatever’s Right (Instrumental)
Love to Love (Instrumental)
Little Girl (Instrumental)
Birth of An Accidental Hipster (Instrumental)
Wasn’t Born to Follow (Instrumental)
I Know What I Know (Instrumental)
I Was There (and I’m Told I Had a Good Time) (Instrumental)