33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee
"Utter, bloody shambles" (Nice one, Julie, cheers. I laughed out loud at that one).
The above quote, as spoken by the wonderful Julie Driscoll, appears after the midway point of this one hour special aired on NBC in 1969. She hit the nail on the head, as this Jack Good produced mess pretty much killed off the Monkees’ already floundering career. Jack Good had produced the U.S produced variety show Shindig! And Oh Boy! in the U.K. 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee however, missed the mark completely.
Head, the bizarre Jack Nicholson / Bob Rafelson scripted oddity, had been released the year earlier, and If Head almost killed off the Monkees, then 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee was the final nail in the coffin. As well as the bizarre ideas thrown into the script (it was described as a "psychedelic salute to Darwinism"), a strike at NBC forced production away from their top-of-the-range studios to an alternative space in Culver City.
What drew me to this in the first place is the inclusion of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & Trinity. They actually have a large part to play in the erm, stories, one of which has 'mad professor' Auger with a dodgy German accent. Another Darwinian themed story is where a band (HEY! HEY! IT'S THE MONKEES!) is created from individuals plucked off the street, and formed/evolved into a band that will take over the world! Mu-ah-ha-ha-haaa! Oh, the irony, as the Monkees really were manufactured. They were actually actors hired by Bob Rafelson to rival The Beatles, so they had to learn how to play their instruments from scratch.
33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee also has some impressive guest stars; Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Miles and many more. On the DVD, Brian Auger's commentary is warm and enthusiastic about the making of this special.
As I see it,33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee not only killed off the Monkees (Peter Tork left the band after filming had finished, and who can blame him), but also shows that the swinging 60s was finally dead. This TV special is clearly made by people cashing in on not only the band's (fading) fame, but also the naïve 60s ideal.33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee is a grotesque failure, but what an absolutely fascinating failure it is to behold.
After being unavailable for years, 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee finally popped up on DVD, hidden away on Disc 5 of the Monkees Season 2 DVD Box Set. I only purchased the set beacause of 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee, but it was worth it. I think.
