Like many
other red-blooded American 13-year-olds, I refused to watch the 1966 TV series
starring the “Prefab Four” (who didn’t even play their own instruments!), which
we saw as a cynical corporate creation to make tons of money and drive our
female counterparts crazy. (They were, of course, wildly successful on both
counts.) I did, however, actually buy two of their 45s on the strength of their
B-sides: this one (which backed “I’m A Believer”) and “Words”. Later in life, I
did come to appreciate the quality of the material, arrangements, and production
of much of their oeuvre. It didn’t hurt
that “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (by the always-excellent team of Gerry Goffin and
Carole King, and the A-side of “Words”) could be interpreted as a somewhat
sarcastic ode to the college where I spent four mostly wonderful years.
Two things
really make the song great: the overall garage-band sound, and the drum solo.
It was first recorded by Paul Revere & The Raiders, but I didn’t hear their
version until a few years ago. I still like the Monkees’ rendition better.
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