Instant Replay is the seventh studio album by The Monkees. Issued six months after the cancellation of the group’s NBC television series, it is also the first album released after Peter Tork left the group and the only album of the original nine studio albums that does not include any songs featured in the TV show from the original NBC run nor the CBS/ABC reruns.
Although the Monkees had recorded dozens of tracks between the time of their last studio album, spring 1968’s The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees (a soundtrack LP from their film Head had been released between the two studio LPs), several of the songs on Instant Replay actually dated from sessions up to two and a half years earlier.
The band’s new music supervisor, Brendan Cahill, believed that releasing previously unused tracks recorded in 1966—prior to the group’s seizing control of their own recording process—was the way for the group to get back to the top. The album’s lead single, “Tear Drop City,” was one of the songs taken from the vault. The song was sped up around 9 percent from the original recording, changing the song’s key from G to A-flat. The single, notably similar to the group’s first hit “Last Train to Clarksville”, was identified by Michael Nesmith as their intended first single in 1966. The track was not a major hit, only managing to reach No. 56 on the U.S. charts, while reaching No. 34 in Australia. Despite the single’s poor chart performance, the album charted on the Billboard Top 40 Albums chart at 32.
Micky Dolenz’s “Just a Game” had originally been written during the sessions of the Headquarters album, while Nesmith’s “Don’t Wait for Me” was the first released product of his 1968 sessions with Nashville studio musicians. Davy Jones’ “You and I,” with its lyrics bemoaning the fickle pace of teen stardom, featured guitar work from Neil Young.
Tracks
1 Through The Looking Glass (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Red Baldwin) 2:43
2 Don\’t Listen To Linda (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) 2:47
3 I Won\’t Be The Same Without Her (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) 2:41
4 You and I (Bill Chadwick, Davy Jones) 2:13
5 Just A Game (Micky Dolenz) 1:49
6 Me Without You (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) 2:09
7 Don\’t Wait For Me (Michael Nesmith) 2:34
8 Teardrop City (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) 2:02
9 While I Cry (Michael Nesmith) 2:59
10 The Girl I Left Behind Me (Carole Bayer Sager, Neil Sedaka) 2:43
11 A Man Without A Dream (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) 2:59
12 Shorty Blackwell (Micky Dolenz) 5:42
Musicians
1 Through The Looking Glass
Bass | Joe Osborn |
Drums | Billy Lewis |
Guitar | Jerry McGee |
Guitar | Keith Allison |
Guitar | Louie Shelton |
Guitar | Wayne Erwin |
Percussion | Alan Estes |
Vocals | Micky Dolenz |
2 Don\’t Listen To Linda
Bass | Joe Osborn |
Drums | Billy Lewis |
Guitar | Jerry McGee |
Guitar | Louie Shelton |
Guitar | Tommy Boyce |
Vocals | Davy Jones |
3 I Won\’t Be The Same Without Her
Bass | Bob West |
Drums | Hal Blaine |
Guitar | Al Casey |
Guitar | Glen Campbell |
Guitar | James Burton |
Guitar | Mike Deasy |
Guitar | Peter Tork |
Percussion | Frank Devito |
Percussion | Gary Coleman |
Vocals | Michael Nesmith |
4 You and I
Bass | Joe Osborn |
Drums | Hal Blaine |
Guitar | Jerry McGee |
Guitar | Neil Young |
Guitar | Bill Chadwick |
Guitar | Louie Shelton |
Keyboards | Larry Knechtel |
Vocals | Davy Jones |
5 Just A Game
Bass | Max Bennett |
Drums | Jim Gordon |
Acoustic Guitar | Tommy Tedesco |
Acoustic Guitar | Micky Dolenz |
Harpsichord | Michel Rubini |
Flute | Bud Shank |
Flute | Ronnie Lang |
Flute | Ted Nash |
French Horn | David Duke |
French Horn | Richard Perissi |
French Horn | Vince DeRosa |
Trombone | George Roberts |
Trumpet | Bud Brisbois |
Trumpet | Buddy Childers |
Trumpet | Ollie Mitchell |
Trumpet | Ray Triscari |
Percussion | Joe Porcaro |
Background Vocals | Coco Dolenz |
Vocals | Micky Dolenz |
6 Me Without You
Bass | Joe Osborn |
Drums | Billy Lewis |
Guitar | Jerry McGee |
Guitar | Louie Shelton |
Keyboards | Bobby Hart |
Vocals | Davy Jones |
7 Don\’t Wait For Me
Bass | Bobby Dyson |
Drums | Jerry Carrigan |
Acoustic Guitar | Harold Bradley |
Steel Guitar | Lloyd Green |
Banjo | Sonny Osborne |
Piano | David Briggs |
Vocals | Michael Nesmith |
8 Teardrop City
Bass | Larry Taylor |
Drums | Billy Lewis |
Guitar | Jerry McGee |
Guitar | Louie Shelton |
Guitar | Wayne Erwin |
Percussion | Gene Estes |
Background Vocals | Tommy Boyce |
Background Vocals | Bobby Hart |
Background Vocals | Ron Hicklin |
Vocals | Micky Dolenz |
9 While I Cry
Bass | Richard Dey |
Drums | Eddie Hoh |
Guitar | Michael Nesmith |
Guitar | Bill Chadwick |
Guitar | Keith Allison |
Background Vocals | Harry Nilsson |
Vocals | Michael Nesmith |
10 The Girl I Left Behind Me
Bass | Russ Savakus |
Drums | Herbie Lovelle |
Guitar | Al Gafa |
Guitar | Bill Suyker |
Guitar | Don Thomas |
Keyboards | Neil Sedaka |
Vocals | Davy Jones |
11 A Man Without A Dream
Bass | Joe Osborn |
Drums | Hal Blaine |
Acoustic Guitar | Mike Deasy |
Acoustic Guitar | Tommy Tedesco |
Piano | Jimmy Rowles |
Piano | Larry Knechtel |
French Horn | James Decker |
French Horn | Richard Perissi |
French Horn | Vince DeRosa |
French Horn | William Hinshaw |
Trombone | Bob Edmondson |
Trombone | Lew McCreary |
Trumpet | Buddy Childers |
Trumpet | Conte Candoli |
Background Vocals | Don Addrisi |
Vocals | Davy Jones |
12 Shorty Blackwell
Bass | Max Bennett |
Drums | Jim Gordon |
Guitar | Tommy Tedesco |
Piano | Michel Rubini |
Piano | Micky Dolenz |
Vocals | Micky Dolenz |
Other Musicians
Violin – Anatol Kaminsky, Bernard Kundell, Erno Neufeld, George Berres, Joseph Stepansky, Nathan Ross (Track 5)
Violin – Julius Schacter, Leo Kahn (Track 10)
Liner Notes
Producer – Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart (Tracks 1, 2, 8)
Producer – Michael Nesmith (Tracks 3, 7, 9)
Producer – Davy Jones (Track 4)
Producer – Micky Dolenz (Track 5)
Producer – Bones Howe (Track 11)
Arranged By – Don McGinnis (Tracks 1, 2, 6)
Arranged By – Michael Nesmith (Track 3, 7, 9)
Arranged By – Shorty Rogers (Track 4, 5, 12)
Arranged By – Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart (Track 8)
Arranged By – Neil Sedaka (Track 10)
Arranged By – Bill Holman, Bob Alcivar, Bones Howe (Track 11)
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Rhino Entertainment Company
Copyright (c) – Rhino Entertainment Company
Manufactured By – Rhino Entertainment Company
Marketed By – Rhino Entertainment Company
Recorded At – United Recorders
Recorded At – RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood
Recorded At – Western Recorders
Recorded At – RCA Victor Studios, Nashville
Recorded At – Wally Heider Recording Studio, Los Angeles
Recorded At – Sunset Sound Recorders
Recorded At – RCA Victor Studios, New York
Recorded At – T.T.G. Studios
Recorded At – Amigo Studios