As fans of
the Monkees know,
Davy Jones had a career prior to being cast in the television series. This album was recorded a year before
the Monkees, and it seems designed to introduce him to the teenagers of America (the album was not released outside of America). Up to the release of
David Jones,
Jones was known for his role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! Here he attempts to sing pop hits. The music is bland, predictably arranged, and for the most part boring.
Jones has a great voice, but it is not enough to salvage this album. Given that the album was released during the height of the British Invasion and
the Beatles, one would think it would have been influenced by that popular movement. Not here; this album sounds as if it were released in the late '50s by any one of the then-popular crooners. The only indication that it was recorded in the mid-'60s is the album highlight, his cover of
Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe." Here the song becomes an odd combination of lounge/folk/pop and Broadway. Fans and collectors would want this in their collections, but others would find little if anything of interest. [Friday Music issued the album on CD in 2011 and added two tracks: "Take Me to Paradise" (the B-side of the "Dream Girl" single) and "The Girl from Chelsea" (a 1965 single).] ~ Aaron Badgley