Barring some "Greatest Hits" packages, there's never been a "perfect" Monkees album-- but this one came CLOSE! How did stuff this good ever languish so long in the vaults? 8 tremendous Nesmith songs nearly dominate the disc. "St Matthew" blew me away the first time I heard it (try playing it back-to-back with "Listen To The Band", for which it would have made a great b-side); "Saginaw" reminds me of Glen Campbell's style (whose guitar work appeared on some of their early tracks); and while "Some Of Shelly's Blues" and "The Crippled Lion" wre redone better on Nesmith's solo albums, it's interesting to hear these earlier versions. Meanwhile, "Words", "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet" and "You Just May Be The One" here ARE the "definitive" versions by a wide margin. In other gems, the original "Mr. Webster" could have come off a Simon & Garfunkel album, while the eerie (and unusually downbeat) "Do Not Ask For Love" could have been done by The Rolling Stones during THEIR brief "psychedelic" period. Even Peter Tork gets to shine: "Come On In" is a far cry better than "Lady's Baby" (on MISSING LINKS 1) and "Seeger's Theme" makes me think he should someday do an entire album of bluegrass music. No apologies here-- I LOVE this stuff!

This CD is the best of the "Missing Links" series IMO because along with some great rarities "left in the can", there are many tracks that appeared in the Monkees TV series that wernen't available on any albums until now.

"All The Kings Horses", "Words"(early version), "Valleri" (early version), "I Wanna Be Free" (fast version), "I'll Be Back Upon My Feet"(early version), "You Just May Be The One"(early version) all appeared in various Monkee episodes.

"Riu Chiu" was also featured in the Monkees' Xmas Episode with the boys singing it live a capella. On this version, it was recorded in a studio and not the version heard on that episode.

Great unreleased stuff add to this wonderful collection. Nesmith's tunes as well as Peter's "Come On In" in particular really shine. A nice change of pace from the "older-sounding" Monkees Material.

Recommended if you are a Monkees fan.

Many times albums that are released like this consist of a collection of odd, random songs that are nothing more than average. That is certainly not the case with this one, and not only is it a great album, but I think it's the best of the Missing Links series. It features many great unreleased songs, and a lot of songs that had been used in Monkees episodes, but never appeared on an album. Here is my review of the songs:

1. "All The King's Horses" - This is a classic Mike song that had been used in a few Monkees episodes, but for some reason never made it to an album. 8/10

2. "Valleri" - Another version of a song that had been used several times for the TV show, but was not released on an album (a different version of Valleri appeared much later on the Birds the Bees and the Monkees album). I actually like the later version better, but this one has some classic appeal. 8/10

3. "St. Matthew" - Mike seems to have the most amount of unreleased material on the Missing Links series, and the majority of them are excellent songs. This one, like most of the unreleased ones is very country. I'm not a huge fan of country music, but his songs are just great. 10/10

4. "Words" - This was a version of Words that had been used in one Monkees episode of season 1. It's not a bad version, but I think the later version that became a single is far superior. 7/10

5. "Some of Shelly's Blues" - Another extremely country Mike song, that he also recorded in his solo career. This may be one of his most popular unreleased songs, and another great showing. 9/10

6. "I Wanna Be Free" - This version of this song may be even more well known that the album version. This is the much faster version, which was featured in the Monkees pilot episode. It also has a small amount of Micky vocals in the middle. I like this version much better than the ballad version on the album. 9/10

7. "If I Ever Get To Saginaw Again" - Although Mike did not write this song, it sounds almost exactly like one that he would write. Has some very good lyrics, and I think it's sung wonderfully by Mike. 8/10

8. "Come On In" - Good old Peter always seems like he's trying to get some stuff on the albums. This is a good song, and maybe one of Peter's best vocal efforts. 7/10

9. "I'll Be Back Upon My Feet" - This is the earlier version of this song, which was used in several episodes of the TV show. I actually like it better than the version the ended up later using on the Birds the Bees and the Monkees. 10/10

10. "Michigan Blackhawk" - Not one of my favorite Mike songs, but it's not terrible. It has that good old country rock sound. 6/10

11. "Hold On Girl" - Just a different version from the one on More of the Monkees. I'm glad they went with the other version, because this one just doesn't do it for me at all. 5/10

12. "The Crippled Lion" - Yet another unreleased Mike song, that seems to have that trademark sound of the majority of the unreleased Mike songs. It's enjoyable. 7/10

13. "Changes" - Not one of my favorites on the album. I've said in other reviews, I just can't get into the stuff that Davy writes. I just think the lyrics are kind of dumb. 5/10

14. "Mr. Webster" - Slightly different from the Headquarters version, using drums instead of the tambourine, and a slower tempo. 7/10

15. "You Just May Be The One" - This is the earlier version, which was used in many episodes of the TV show. It's very good, but I think the Headquarters version is better. 9/10

16. "Do Not Ask For Love" - Great song, with some excellent Micky vocals. This song is also song by Peter in 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee. It might take a while to get hooked on, but I think it's one of the best on this collection. 9/10

17. "Circle Sky" - The live version of this song, which should have been used on the Head album. It was used in the movie, and I think shows how great the Monkees really were as a band. Why it was never released on an album in the first place is beyond me. 10/10

18. "Seeger's Theme" - A cool instrumental (I think mainly featuring Peter).

19. "Riu Chiu" - Song used in the Christmas episode of the TV show. Shows the Monkees vocalizing together very well. 7/10

Very good cd, and if you're looking for a collection of Monkees rarities or unrleased stuff, this should definitely be the one.

If there was ever one disc to play to show off the Monkees' greatness, this IS IT !! This is one of the best collections of pop-rock gems I have ever heard. "If I Ever Get to Saginaw Again" has to be one of the most beautiful and moving songs ever written, and never fails to bring me to tears; it is sung perfectly by Mike Nesmith. All of the members of the band shine here, but the true star has to be Nesmith -- he dominates not just with "Saginaw", but there's also "St. Matthew", "Some of Shelly's Blues", "The Crippled Lion", "You Just May Be the One"...each one a perfectly constructed song. Oh, and the more uptempo version of "I Wanna Be Free" that's showcased here just cuts the version on their debut album to shreds...

The Monkees' greatest tragedy is that they were never able to harness their unquestionable individual talents into a group ethic and dedication, like the Beatles did. Davy Jones was Broadway/Las Vegas, Mike Nesmith was pioneering country-rock, Peter Tork was the true hippie of the bunch with avant-garde leanings, and Micky Dolenz was the rocker. The reason that some of their albums seem disjointed is that no member seemed particularly interested in compromising their interests for the sake of the greater good as a band. But that doesn't deny the fact that they DID make a lot of great music, and 'Missing Links Vol. 2' is undeniable evidence of that. It's also pretty remarkable when you consider that these guys were hired to portray a band for a TV series, and then actually BECAME a band -- and a damn fine one.

I would also highly recommend 'Headquarters' and 'Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd.' and, of course, the 'Music Box' collection. The other 'Missing Links' volumes are fine also, but this particular one takes the cake.

This second collection of previously unreleased Monkees songs is a strong effort. Not every song is great, but the good songs outweigh the bad ones. This time around, eight of the songs are alternate versions of previously released songs. The differences between these versions and the "official" versions are interesting, and in many cases these versions are (arguably) superior to the official versions. As for the rest of the songs, my favorites are Mike's "St. Matthew" and the acapella "Riu Chiu". I didn't really care for Davy's "Changes", but you can't win 'em all. Recommended to all Monkees fans.