2002 Definitive Monkees

2002 Definitive Monkees
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

This two-CD set, issued in Europe about a week before Rhino Records' expanded box appeared in America, resembles either a considerably expanded and upgraded version of the old Arista Records set Then & Now..., or a more entertaining successor to Rhino Records' 1998 Anthology. The disc, running just under 80 minutes and containing 29 songs, is for the listener who wants the hits and the best album tracks all gathered in one place, including ubiquitous numbers like the television series' second-season end credit track, "For Pete's Sake."

2002 Definitive Monkees [Bonus Disc]

2002 Definitive Monkees [Bonus Disc]
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

This two-CD set, issued in Europe about a week before Rhino Records' expanded box appeared in America, resembles either a considerably expanded and upgraded version of the old Arista Records set Then & Now..., or a more entertaining successor to Rhino Records' 1998 Anthology. The first disc, running just under 80 minutes and containing 29 songs, is for the listener who wants the hits and the best album tracks all gathered in one place, including ubiquitous numbers like the television series' second-season end credit track, "For Pete's Sake."

2001 The Monkees Music Box

2001 Music Box
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

It's hard not to wonder why the four-disc Music Box even exists. After all, Rhino has not only released definitive reissues of all of the Monkees' studio albums, complete with bonus tracks, but the label has a series devoted to rarities (Missing Links), a single-disc greatest hits album, a double-disc anthology, and another four-disc box, Listen to the Band, which is excellent.

1998 The Monkees Anthology

1998 Anthology
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

Rhino's Listen to the Band box set was for the collectors, and their terrific 20-song Greatest Hits was for the casual fans. Their third attempt at a Monkees compilation, the double-disc Anthology falls somewhere in between. Over the course of an exhausting 56 tracks, all of the group's hits are hauled out again, with such fine album tracks as "She," "Take a Giant Step," "Your Auntie Grizelda," "You Just May Be the One," and "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round" added for good measure. On the surface of things, this seems like a good thing, but the set is padded out with lesser album cuts and latter-day tracks from their three reunion albums that makes Anthology more of a chore than a pleasure.

1996 The Monkees Missing Links, Vol. 3

1996 Missing Links, Vol. 3
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Rhino treats the Monkees' catalog with a seriousness akin to the Beatles' Anthology series, but it's nonsense to pretend that the group's outtakes and rarities are deserving of such fanatical scrutiny. There are a lot more than anyone suspected, though, and Missing Links, Vol. 3 presents 24 more, again proving that the bottom of the Monkees' barrel has the same mixture of fun and boredom as hiding in a barrel as a stowaway.

1995 The Monkees Greatest Hits [Rhino]

1995 Greatest Hits [Rhino]
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar

Twenty-song collection including all of their big chart hits, as well as key album tracks like "(Theme From) The Monkees" and "Mary, Mary," and the ace B-side "Goin' Down." The slightly more extensive Arista anthology still has the edge, due to the inclusion of two good cuts ("Take a Giant Step" and "She") that are somehow omitted from this Rhino compilation. On the other hand, if you're still in the market for just one Monkees album, this will do just fine.

1995 The Monkees Greatest Hits [Rhino Deluxe Edition]

1995 Greatest Hits [Rhino Deluxe Edition]
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

This 20-song collection includes all of their big chart hits, as well as key album tracks like "(Theme From) The Monkees" and "Mary, Mary," and the ace B-side "Goin' Down." The slightly more extensive Arista anthology still has the edge, due to the inclusion of two good cuts ("Take a Giant Step" and "She") that are somehow omitted from this Rhino compilation.

1991 The Monkees Listen to the Band

1991 Listen to the Band
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

The very idea of a Monkees box set would have seemed inconceivable at any time before the 1990s, and probably still would to any label other than Rhino Records. Yet, this four-CD, 83-song compilation manages to justify itself very nicely, despite the existence of heavily expanded editions of most of the group's albums on CD, and the Missing Links volumes. Those individual CDs gathered together are for the true musical completists, whereas this is the documentary overview for the fan who wants five hours of fun and adventure.

1966 Monkees

1966 Monkees

The Monkees

Louie Shelton -Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

Before the dissolution of the independent reissue label Rhino Records, they were able to corner the market on all things related to the Monkees. This 21-volume VHS format box set gathers all 58 episodes of the Monkees' landmark television sitcom, their hourlong prime time 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee special, the first — and never before broadcast — version of Here Come the Monkees (pilot episode), and two short adverts for Kellogg's breakfast foods (one of the program's original sponsors). Producers Bert Schneider and Robert Rafelson's initial inspiration was to create a weekly made-for-TV version of the Beatles' Hard Day's Night.