The Monkees’ chart-topping fourth studio album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. has just been reissued as a deluxe four-CD box set that also includes a bonus 7-inch vinyl single.
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The Super Deluxe Edition version of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. features more than 100 tracks. The collection includes the original mono and stereo mixes of the 1967 album, as well as new stereo remixes and alternate mono mixes of most of the songs. In addition, the box set features a bevy of previously unreleased bonus tracks that, according to a press release, “trace the album’s creative arc.” Among these recordings are demos, outtakes, and backing tracks taken from the original sessions. There are also rare versions of songs that appeared in episodes of The Monkees TV series.
The vinyl single features previously unreleased mono mixes of “Love Is Only Sleeping” and the non-album B-side “Goin’ Down.”
The Super Deluxe Edition version of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. can be purchased exclusively at Monkees.com. A variety of album-themed merch also is available at the website.
In addition, the album will be released as a limited-edition vinyl LP as part of the Rhino High Fidelity series. This version Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. will mark the first time the album has been reissued on vinyl with a mix sourced from the original analog stereo master reels.
The LP will be pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and limited to 5,000 copies, each one individually numbered. Rhino High Fidelity edition of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. can be purchased exclusively from Rhino.com.
About Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
Released in November 1967, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. was the third album The Monkees released that year. The record became the group’s fourth consecutive, and final, album to top the Billboard 200. It spent the last five weeks of 1967 at No. 1 on the chart.
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. is considered one of The Monkees’ most adventurous studio efforts. As with its predecessor, Headquarters, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. featured Monkees members Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork playing many instruments themselves, rather than relying solely on studio musicians.
It includes the hits “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “Words,” which were released together as one single. “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” which was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Words,” penned by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, peaked at No. 11 on the chart.
Other noteworthy tunes on the album included the Harry Nilsson-written “Cuddly Toy”; the country-rocker “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?”; the psychedelic “Daily Nightly”; and “Star Collector,” also written by King and Goffin.
Although most of the songs were written by outside songwriters, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. did include some original material. Nesmith wrote “Daily Nightly” and co-wrote “Don’t Call on Me.” Tork was responsible for the silly alliterative spoken-word track “Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky.”
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. was certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 2 million copies in the U.S.
More About the Super Deluxe Box Set
The Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Super Deluxe Edition was produced Andrew Sandoval, who has overseen Monkees reissues for Rhino Records for more than 35 years. The box set features new liner notes penned by Sandoval and a 32-page booklet boasting rare photos and memorabilia from the period.
Among the many audio highlights from the box set are the backing track and the TV mix for “Cuddly Toy.” Among the various alternate versions included in the collection are ones of “The Door into Summer” and the holiday favorite “Riu Chiu.” There also are instrumental backing tracks for various tunes, including “Words,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” and the chart-topping single “Daydream Believer.” The latter tune was recorded during the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. sessions, but was issued as a non-album single just before the record’s release.
The box set also features a 1967 acoustic demo of “A Man Without a Dream.” The Monkees later recorded the tune for their 1969 album Instant Replay.
You can check out a video of Sandoval discussing the reissue and unboxing the collection at The Monkees’ and Sandoval’s social media pages.
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Super Deluxe Edition Track List:
Disc One: The Original Stereo Album…plus
- “Salesman”
- “She Hangs Out”
- “The Door into Summer”
- “Love Is Only Sleeping”
- “Cuddly Toy”
- “Words”
- “Hard to Believe”
- “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?”
- “Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky”
- “Pleasant Valley Sunday”
- “Daily Nightly”
- “Don’t Call On Me”
- “Star Collector”
Stereo Bonus Material
- Special Announcement*
- “Goin’ Down”
- “Salesman” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “She Hangs Out” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “The Door into Summer” (Alternate Version)*
- “Love Is Only Sleeping” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Cuddly Toy” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Words” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Hard to Believe” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Daily Nightly” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Don’t Call On Me” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “Star Collector” (Alternate 1967 Stereo Mix)
- “Riu Chiu” (Alternate Version)*
Disc Two: The Original Mono Album…plus
- “Salesman”
- “She Hangs Out”
- “The Door into Summer”
- “Love Is Only Sleeping”
- “Cuddly Toy”
- “Words”
- “Hard to Believe”
- “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?”
- “Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky”
- “Pleasant Valley Sunday”
- “Daily Nightly”
- “Don’t Call On Me”
- “Star Collector”
Mono Bonus Material
- Special Announcement
- “Salesman” (Alternate Mono Mix)
- “Cuddly Toy” (Alternate Mono Mix)
- “Don’t Call On Me” (Alternate Mono Mix)*
- “Goin’ Down” (Alternate Mono Mix)
- “Star Collector” (Alternate Mono Mix)*
- “The Door into Summer” (Alternate Vocal)
- “Daily Nightly” (Alternate Mono Mix)
- “Goin’ Down” (Unedited TV Mix)*
- “Love Is Only Sleeping” (Alternate Mono Mix)
- “The Door into Summer” (Alternate Mono Mix)*
- “Goin’ Down” (Mono Single Mix)
- “Star Collector” (Alternate Mono Mix)*
Disc Three: Sessions…plus
- “The Story of Rock and Roll” (Version Three Backing Track)*
- “I Don’t Know Yet” (Backing Track)*
- “Cuddly Toy” (Backing Track)*
- “Come On In” (Version One Backing Track)*
- “Come On In” (Version Two Backing Track)*
- “The Door into Summer” (Early Version Backing Track)*
- “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (Backing Track)*
- “Words” (Backing Track)*
- “Daydream Believer” (Backing Track)*
- “Salesman” (Backing Track With Backing Vocals)*
- “Jam #1” (Backing Track)*
- “Words” (Vocal Session)*
- “Daily Nightly” (Backing Track)*
- “Love Is Only Sleeping” (Backing Track)*
- “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?” (Backing Track)*
- “Don’t Call On Me” (Backing Track)*
- “She Hangs Out” (Backing Track)*
- “Goin’ Down” (Backing Track)*
- “Yours Until Tomorrow” (Backing Track)*
- “The Door into Summer” (Alternate Version Backing Track)*
- “Can You Dig It ‘Tentatively’” (Instrumental Acoustic Demo)
- “Tear the Top Right off My Head” (Instrumental Acoustic Demo)*
- “Untitled” (Instrumental Acoustic Demo)*
- “A Man Without a Dream” (Instrumental Acoustic Demo)*
Disc Four: Sessions…plus alternate mixes
- “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (2025 Alternate Vocal Mix)
- “Words” (Instrumental With Backing Vocals)*
- “Star Collector” (Alternate Mix)*
- “Jam #2” (Backing Track)*
- “She Hangs Out” (Alternate Mix)*
- “Daydream Believer” (2025 Stereo Remix)
- “A Man Without a Dream” (Instrumental Piano Demo)*
- “Hard to Believe” (Backing Track)*
- “Cuddly Toy” (TV Mix)*
- “Love Is Only Sleeping” (TV Mix)*
- “Goin’ Down” (TV Version)
- “Star Collector” (TV Mix)
- “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?” (TV Mix)*
- “Daydream Believer” (TV Mix)*
- “She Hangs Out” (TV Mix)*
- “Riu Chiu” (TV Version)
- “Salesman” (2025 Stereo Remix With Sales Rap)*
- “Riu Chiu” (Alternate Version)*
- “Daily Nightly” (Alternate Stereo Mix)
- “Riu Chiu” (Session)*
- “Riu Chiu” (Alternate Take)
- “Don’t Call On Me” (Chatter Session)*
- Special Announcement (Session)*
- “Star Collector” (Alternate 1967 Stereo Mix)
Bonus 7-Inch
- “Love Is Only Sleeping” (Alternate 9/5/67 Mono Mix)*
- “Goin’ Down” (Alternate 9/28/67 Mono Mix)*
* = previously unreleased.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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