Album of the Day

Though The Monkees had become one of the most successful bands in the world with their first two albums, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork wanted to flex their creative muscles, not just sing someone else's songs with (admittedly expert) session musicians playing behind them. HEADQUARTERS was the first step in that direction, and from the writing to the performances, the group's increased autonomy paid off handsomely. Half of the 14 tracks are group originals, including such distinctive tracks as "You Just May Be The One," "For Pete's Sake" and "Randy Scouse Git," and most of the instrumentation is the work of the quartet. Rhino's double-disc Deluxe Edition includes both mono and stereo mixes of the album, plus a generous helping of demos, outtakes and alternate versions. Both Mike and Davy were born on this day (in 1942 and 1945, respectively), and we'll celebrate the double birthday with the No.1 hit HEADQUARTERS.