The Monkees - Christmas Party

The Guardian 60

Rhino

The first ever Monkees Christmas album is a curious hodgepodge, mainly because it’s hard to work out in what sense it’s really a Monkees album.

For the most part, it appears to be Mickey Dolenz backed by three quarters of Fountains of Wayne (FoW’s Adam Schlesinger produces almost all of the record). Two old vocals by the late Davy Jones have new instrumental beds added; Peter Tork takes one (not terribly tuneful) vocal; Michael Nesmith donates two standards produced by his sons, which sound as if they’ve been airlifted in from another album entirely.