The Minus 5, the folk/rock/pop collective captained by Scotty McCaughey, announce their latest release, Of Monkees and Men, out August 19 on Yep Roc Records. An imaginative tribute to the Monkeesâ legacy in music and popular culture, the album was previously only available in a five-LP, limited edition 2015 Record Store Day release.
The album is now available for pre-order, with an instant download of âRobert Ryan is Among Us.â Watch the performance of a few songs in the newly premiered Sawyer Sessions, and be sure to check out Scott Mccaughey talking about The Monkees.
Of Monkees and Men, as a separate LP, comes on the heels of The Monkeesâ 50th Anniversary. âI was eleven years old when I first heard âLast Train To Clarksville,ââ McCaughey remembers. âAnd I became a lifelong Monkees fan in that moment.â With Of Monkees and Men, McCaugheyâs fandom has reached new heights, and of his obsession with â60s rock, AXS notes, âThe Minus 5 always adds up to a good time for nerdy rock history buffs,â but adds, âItâs also fantastic, even if you arenât a nerd.â
The album features nine original songs, that pay heartfelt homage to the Monkees as well as other friends and artists influential to McCaugheyâs musical psyche. Side One tackles each member of the Monkees in song, starting with the ten-minute epic âMichael Nesmith,â and ending with âBoyce & Hart,â which praises the songwriting team behind many beloved Monkees hits. Side Two bows to iconic actor Robert Ryan, the brilliantly literate Portland-based Americana band Richmond Fontaine, and, in âBlue Rickenbackerâ and âWeymer Never Dies,â two lost comrades that loom large in McCaugheyâs development into a rock and roll lifer.
Oft-seen over the years with the Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M., the Baseball PRoject, Tired Pony, Tuatara, Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3, etc., McCaughey guides the band as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. The Minus 5âs lineup on recordings and performances is constantly and intentionally in flux, dependent on âmusician availability, whim, and wind direction.â Of Monkees and Men includes members of R.E.M., The Smithereens, and Laura Gibson as the girl in âDavy Gets The Girl.â
Tracklist:
1. âMichael Nesmithâ
2. âDavy Gets the Girlâ
3. âSong for Peter Torkâ
4. âMicky Is a Cool Drummerâ
5. âBoyce & Hartâ
6. âBlue Rickenbackerâ
7. âRobert Ryan Is Among Usâ
8. âRichmond Fontaineâ
9. âWeymer Never Diesâ