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Feb 05, 2016 The Monkees By Christopher Roberts

The Monkees (well one-half of them at least) have announced a new album. What makes it noteworthy is that the lyrics have been written by Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, and Rogue Wave’s Zach Rogue. The album will also include previously unused songs written for the band by Neil Diamond and Harry Nilsson. Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne produced the album, which is titled Good Times! and is tentatively due out June 10 via Rhino.

All of this was revealed in an interview with The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz conducted by Rolling Stone. Also involved from The Monkees’ original lineup is Peter Tork. Davy Jones died of a heart attack in 2012 and although Mike Nesmith was touring with Dolenz and Tork from 2012 to 2014 (after previously skipping other Monkees reunions), he’s not involved in the new album, instead focusing on a book he’s writing.

Good Times! is timed to the band’s 50th anniversary. In the interview Dolenz commented on the decision to get younger indie musicians involved in the songwriting process. “I’m not a big music listener outside of Frank Sinatra during martini hour. But I began doing research and I realized that the whole indie rock scene is all about recapturing that 1960s jangly guitar sound of The Monkees, amongst many other groups, of course. One reason we don’t have a final track listing yet is because once we put the word out all these people said they wanted to get involved.”

Even though the album already has a June 10 release date, it’s far from finished. While Gibbard’s song “Me & Magdalena” and Rogue’s contribution “Terrifying” are both turned in and ready to go, Gallagher is still working on his lyrics and Dolenz says another high profile submission needs tweaking. “We all agree that the lyrics in the Rivers Cuomo song needed to be aged up a little but. It sounds like it’s about a little girl and I’m 70 years old, so Rivers is re-writing the lyrics.”

The album also includes some songs previously written for The Monkees in the 1960s, but never released. One of those songs is the title track, which was written by Nilsson and also features vocals by the late singer in what will be a duet with Dolenz. Then there’s Neil Diamond’s “Love to Love,” which was recorded in the 1960s and features the vocals of Davy Jones. Also included is Boyce and Hart’s “Whatever’s Right,” Carole King’s “Wasn’t Born to Follow,” and a new song by Nesmith, “I Know What I Know.”

The Monkees also have an extensive schedule of 50th anniversary tour dates this summer and fall and those are below.

The Monkees Tour Dates:

May 18 - Fort Myers, FL @ Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
May 19 - Melbourne, FL @ King Center for the Performing Arts
May 20 - Tampa, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
May 21 - Atlanta, GA @ Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater
May 24 - Charlotte, NC @ Blumenthal PAC - Belk Theater
May 26 - Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
May 27 - Boston, MA @ The Wilbur Theatre
May 28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Keswick Theatre
May 29 - Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre
June 1 - New York, NY @ The Town Hall
June 3 - Toronto, ON @ Casino Rama
June 4 - Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
June 5 - Cleveland, OH @ Hard Rock Live Northfield Park
June 7 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Foellinger Theatre
June 10 - Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace Theatre
June 11 - Hammond, IN @ The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
June 12 - Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
June 14 - Dayton, OH @ Rose Music Center at The Heights
June 28 - Dallas, TX @ AT&T PAC - Winspear Opera House
June 30 - Tulsa, OK @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
July 1 - Mayetta, KS @ Prairie Band Casino & Resort
July 16 - Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
July 22 - Hot Springs, AR @ Oaklawn Racing and Gaming
September 14 - Tucson, AZ @ Fox Tucson Theater
September 15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center
September 16 - Los Angeles, CA @ Pantages Theatre
September 17 - Las Vegas, NV @ Primm Valley Casino Resorts
September 20 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
September 21 - Modesto, CA @ Gallo Center For The Arts
September 23 & 24 - Lincoln City, OR @ Chinook Winds Casino Resort
September 25 - Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre
October 1 - Biloxi, MS @ Hard Rock Live
October 22 - Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
October 29 - Shippensburg, PA @ H. Ric Luhrs PAC