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The Monkees
 
 

Monkees Greatest Hits  The Monkees were the perfect gateway to pop music for someone my age - too young for total immersion in the Beatles, and even further from the harder edged rock of the period, yet yearning for something that wasn-t associated with my parents. The manufactured Monkees were a nice, safe alternative. Sure, they had that new sound that kids loved, but parents knew they weren't subversive because they were on TV, and TV has its censors. Accessible? They pasted records onto cereal boxes, fer crissakes. Just cut them out, poke a hole in the middle and put 'em on the turntable. But the most savvy bit of marketing may have been to actually hire top notch songwriters to come up with their material. I'm simply not ashamed to say I like "I'm A Believer," "Last Train To Clarksville" or "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Having said that, I'm kind of unimpressed with this particular collection and almost hesitate to include it because I'm worried you won't enjoy it enough and will dismiss the band.