Monkees - Live Summer Tour - Extended & Uncut

DVD History

On August 31, 2001, The Monkees played a concert in Anaheim, CA at the Sun Theatre that was filmed & recorded by King Biscuit Entertainment. After the petition campaign led by this site & Andrea of www.fanstuffonline.com, King Biscuit eventually released the concert on DVD & CD as "Live Summer Tour." Unfortunately, the DVD only included one hour of the concert and the CD only featured 15 songs.

In early 2003, Monkee fans rallied to get the full, uncut concert released. King Biscuit responded with the announcement of a pay-per-view broadcast of the complete concert on July 18, 2003.

In early June 2003, King Biscuit abruptly cancelled the PPV broadcast & suggested a petition be started if fans were still interested in the uncut concert. Monkeesrule43 Online took them up on their offer and after just a month, the petition reached over 540 signatures. King Biscuit was impressed with those numbers and on July 18, made a deal with Monkees fans... They would accept pre-orders for an extended & uncut DVD at the price of $49.98 and when 500 orders are placed, they will make a one time limited edition run of 1,000 DVDs & ship them to those who reserved their copies.

Through the months, King Biscuit gave exclusive updates to Monkeesrule43 Online on the status of the DVD and anticipation grew among fans. Finally, in early December 2003, King Biscuit surprised everyone by announcing that the long-awaited uncut DVD was already in production and would be shipped soon after the holidays with only 300+ of the 500 needed pre-orders. They wanted to reward those who had been waiting since July and were originally hoping this internet-only product would be ready for December 25th, but production times backed them up a couple weeks later than expected. A few weeks before its release, King Biscuit announced they would downsize the amount of copies made to 500, making it even more rare than expected.

However, in February 2004, due to the outstanding amount of positive feedback & high demand, King Biscuit went back to their original plan & made an additional 500 copies for a total of 1000. Nonetheless, Monkees fans showed that when they unite, they can accomplish anything.

Historical Notes

--- This is Peter Tork's last concert as a Monkee to date.

--- After nearly 40 years, this is the only Monkees concert to be

professionally filmed in its entirety.

--- Since this will only be sold on the internet at King Biscuit's online store &

only 1000 copies were made, this may become a rare & possibly valuable

collector's item in the future that will be a treasure to any fan.

--- Unlike many other companies, King Biscuit Entertainment actually

listened to the fans' requests for a product.

--- The original DVD release only featured one hour of the complete two hour concert.

--- The Monkees may never perform together again in any form.

--- The cost of this DVD is the approximate price of a 2001 summer tour concert

ticket & now you will be able to watch anytime you want.

--- The DVD features unlisted performances of "(I'll) Love You Forever" & "Listen to the Band."

What The Fans Said About The Original DVD

"Too bad they didn't just release the unedited version of the show as they really blew the doors off this time." --- Anonymous Amazon.com Customer

"There were nearly 30 songs performed at the concert on the DVD whereas only 18 made it onto the DVD. With some songs deleted and all of the between-songs banter missing, this is not even an hour long. Very disappointing. There is no reason why the entire concert could not be included." --- Ronald L. Cohen

"I was so happy to finally get this DVD in my hands & I was not let down with what we got. The Monkees put on an excellent show & the DVD featured a lot of great shots. However, I was let down with what we didn't get. About an hour of the concert was cut out of this DVD & so many songs were missing." --- Anonymous Amazon.com Customer

"The good news is that this DVD was released and is available for purchase here at Amazon.com. And it's a great show, don't get me wrong. I think the 2001-2002 tour had some of the Monkees best shows in the last 10 years. The bad news is that they left out the real treasures.... Anyone who went to any of the live shows will remember-- Sandy and Dave as Archie and Edith Bunker; Davy's Oliver Medley; the guys singing a medley of songs by their favorite songwriter: Mike Nesmith; all the crazy Monkee antics between songs; and my personal favorite, Micky's version of Since I fell for You, complete with the story about his PMS (Pre-Monkee Singing.) It's too bad that they left the best stuff out, it would have been almost as good as going in person." --- Amy S. Roundtree

"The DVD only includes the group's mainstream songs which I thought was a big mistake. Also, there was almost none of the banter that goes on between the guys between songs. Those are the things we really wanted to see." --- frodispwr

"My wife and I were present at this performance and so much was lost in the editing. I missed the brilliant "Monkees Overture" and Micky's show stopping "Since I Fell For You" spot. I can't understand why so much was cut out." --- ianhse

The DVD

Released: January 12, 2004

Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes

Limited collector's edition of 1000 copies

Tracklisting:

1.) Monkees Overture

2.) Last Train To Clarksville

3.) Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)

4.) For Pete's Sake

5.) The Girl I Knew Somewhere

6.) Valleri

7.) Randy Scouse Git

8.) Mary, Mary

9.) Your Auntie Grizelda

10.) I Wanna Be Free

11.) (I'll) Love You Forever

12.) Goin' Down

13.) Can You Dig It

14.) Girl

15.) Higher & Higher

16.) No Time

17.) Bach's 2-Part Invention #8 In F

18.) A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

19.) Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again

20.) She Hangs Out

21.) Since I Fell For You

22.) Lucille

23.) It's Nice To Be With You

24.) That Was Then, This Is Now

25.) Porpoise Song

26.) Listen To The Band

27.) Daydream Believer

28.) I'm A Believer

29.) (I''m Not Your) Steppin' Stone

30.) Pleasant Valley Sunday

DVD Review

The long-awaited limited edition "Monkees - Live Summer Tour - Extended & Uncut" DVD has arrived! Fans will be delighted to hear that the picture & sound quality are excellent and even better than the original "Live Summer Tour" DVD that was released in November 2002. Also, those songs that were on the first DVD are presented here with different camera angles to give us another point of view than what we're used to. With a running time of 1 hour and 54 minutes, the added songs and footage give you the feeling of actually being there in person for Peter's final Monkees concert, with the best seat in the house.

This historic performance begins with the backup band's popular "Monkees Overture." This medley of Monkees classics, which lasts for about three minutes, certainly increases the excitement level leading to The Monkees' entrance. Although the music is what the fans came to see, we also got that trademark Monkees humor we remember from the 60s TV series, which was absent from the original DVD release. Some of the uncut DVD's best moments occur when Micky, Davy, & Peter get together and joke around like the old-time friends that they are. Despite this being the last concert before Peter's "firing," no bad feelings are shown and their chemistry is at its finest. This is perhaps best portrayed during the part of the show where Peter performs "Bach's 2-Part Invention #8 In F" with Micky & Davy gathered around the keyboard next to him. The backup band shows their comedic talents as well, with Sandy Gennaro & Dave Alexander's funny "All in the Family" scene. Davy even stops during the middle of one song to see if an audience member who was wandering out of his seat was lost! Some of the many musical highlights of the DVD include a rockin' rendition of "No Time," the best version of "(I'll) Love You Forever" to ever be recorded, and the rare presence of Peter's "Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again," in addition to many others.

It's a shame that Micky, Davy, & Peter's petty differences often get in the way of keeping a high-quality tour like this on the road for more than a few months. Although we don't know if The Monkees will ever get together in any form again, we will now always be able to travel back in time to August 31, 2001 whenever we feel the need to bring back the memories & re-live the magic of The Monkees LIVE in concert. --- Review written by Monkeesrule43 Online

What The Fans Said About The New Uncut DVD

Rating: 10 stars

"First, congratulations to Anthony. He pulled it off and we thank you! There are some classic bits I am glad I now own. "It's Nice To Be With You" & "Porpoise Song" and "Since I Fell For You" were standouts!"--- Jeff Gehringer

Rating: 10 stars

"The uncut DVD is very entertaining and I love experienceing the concert in its entirity. Thanks King Biscuit for listening to the Monkees fans!" --- Ashley

Rating: 10 stars

"I don't know why they didn't do it right the first time and release the whole concert instead of only half of it. It really is one of the best live concerts on DVD I have ever seen. Next time something like this comes along, King Biscuit, don't meet us half way. Release the whole concert. It's the only way to go. By the way, the sound is way better than the first one. I really love the uncut version. Thanks." --- David J. Bice

Rating: 9 stars

"This is truly a wonderful concert! I already had the original release, and I notice the unedited version shows the concert from different camera angles than the original. I think it's great, it's almost like being at two different concerts! The only reason I give it 9 stars and not 10 is because Mike isn't joining in. Other than that, PERFECT! Thanks Monkees fans for making this happen!!" --- Ray

Rating: 10 stars

"Thanks Anthony! The DVD is great, I'm so glad to be able to own this piece of Monkees history :)" --- Tammy

Rating: 9 stars

"Thank you for getting King Biscuit to release this full and uncut concert DVD, it is awesome! Ultra rare too since only 1000 were made." --- Roger Yee

Rating: 10 stars

"Are fans ever truly happy? <g> I want more! Seriously, this is the next best thing to being there, except I can play this DVD over and over and over!" --- Glenda

Rating: 10 stars

"Great concert and the uncut DVD really captured the performance well. Loved it - great job King Biscuit." --- Gary

Rating: 9 stars

"Great to finally see a full Monkees concert. The sound and picture is great. I love the reactions of the women drooling and star-eyed. I only wish there where more concerts professionally taped of the guys." --- Wally

Rating: 10 stars

"Excellent show and excellent presentation. I too wish they had filmed more of their shows in the mid-1980's and mid-1990's for us to see." --- Gary

Rating: 10 stars

"Much thanks to Anthony and King Biscuit for their efforts which resulted in this rare treat. After watching my copy yesterday, I feel it shows the guys at the top of their game; its easy to see why they can still bring in the crowds after 30+ years; it was well worth the price. I enjoyed every minute of it!" --- Anita