One reason this album suffers is because Davy Jones tries his hand at writing songs. His two efforts are completely unlistenable. He sang on three other tracks here, but the only good one is "Valleri" (sorry, "Daydream Believer" does nothing for me.)

Michael Nesmith went totally experimental here, and it wasn't a bad thing, most of the time. His Latin-sounding "Tapioca Tundra" is probably the best. "Magnolia Simms" is kind of fun, but "Writing Wrongs" is a snoozer.

Micky Dolenz sang on Mike's "Auntie's Municipal Court," the only Nez-written song here that's down-to-earth. "P.O. Box 9847," while not too bad, suffers in comparison to the psychedelic material on the previous album. "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet" is great, but "Zor and Zam" is way overdone, especially Micky's dramatic vocals. I don't mention bonus tracks in most of my reviews, but the only notable one here is Peter Tork's "Lady's Baby." It would have given this mediocre album a lift if it were released on it the first time.

Mixed Bag
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees was the last album released while their TV Show was still on the air and was also the first album not to reach number one. The album is the most experimental the Monkees had done. Mike Nesmith really stretched out there with the songs he contributed. "Auntie's Municipal Court" is a great song and contains some bizarre imagery with an overlapping vocal of Mike & Mickey, "Tapioca Tundra" has a weird echo vocal and is a good cut but "Writing Wrongs" is one of the few missteps that he made with the band. Overlong and truly dull, the song is a bust. He comes back strong with his ode to the old 78 Victrola records "Magnolia Simms", complete with the scratches and skipping which adds a nice touch. Mickey contributes the bouncy "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet" and "P.O. Box 9847" and the overt political statement "Zor & Zam" which sounds like something Grace Slick might have wrote. Davy sings on the big hit "Valleri" and one of his better efforts "The Poster" while the dreck of "We Were Made For Each Other" is his required declaration of love song. Peter Tork is again completely missing from the proceeding. The album is definitely one of their lesser efforts, but still contains some great music.

Great album, but not ideal for a new fan
This is a really finely crafted album, with lots of different types of songs--psychedelic, schmaltzy Davy ballads, Mike's country-western-type music, and the peppy pop The Monkees got famous for. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's kind of like their White Album, and even more out there than PAC&J, which plays like The Monkees on acid. It's one of those albums that, while great, isn't ideal for a new fan, one that even for an old fan like myself (I've been a fan since their 1986 revival) needs multiple playings for it to really sink in and grow to appreciate and really really love. I have a 1996 vinyl reissue with two bonus tracks, the first two bonus tracks on the CD remaster.

My faves on here are "Dream World" (Davy has been my favourite since I first got into them at six years old; otherwise I might very well not think that highly of the schmaltzy songs he's usually stuck singing!), "We Were Made for Each Other," "Tapioca Tundra" (it reached #34 on the charts), "Daydream Believer" of course, "Writing Wrongs" (I seem to be in the minority of people who like this weird trippy song, but then again, I also love the weird Beatles' sound collage "Revolution No. 9"), "I'll Be Back Up on My Feet," "P.O. Box 9847," "Valleri," and "Zor and Zam." The lattermost always gives me chills; the ending line is just as eerie and pertinent today, considering what's going on in the world now. It was played during the last episode of their tv show as well.

The two bonus tracks I have are an alternate version of "P.O. Box 9847" with a synth instead of strings, and a cute schmaltzy co-written Davy number, "I'm Gonna Try." I got into The Monkees for their upbeat happy pop songs, songs which I would probably hate were they coming from most other bands or groups, but even these more mature, introspective, and trippy songs are happy and fun. The Monkees are known for their fun pop, which makes it harder for a new fan or a non-fan to appreciate the beauty and genius on this album.

So-so
Worth it for "Zor and Zam", "I'll be Back Upon My Feet", and "Tapioca Tundra".

Odds'n'Sods mix of good, bad and everything in-between (3.5)
It's easy to see why this album receives such mixed reviews from the reviewers below. Unlike the focused, cohesive low key sound of "Headquarters" and the glittery psych-pop fiesta "Pisces Aquarious...", this one is all over the map, moving from conventional orchestrated ballads to some truly off-kilter psych experiments, social protest, bouncy pop and other tunes which are simply uncategorizable. The quality also ranges from the superb ("Valleri", "Zor And Zam") to the awful ("Dream World", "Magnolia Simms"). Not surprisingly, it was recorded in fractured conditions, with each member producing their own tracks, although Peter Tork was almost completely left off of the final product despite having written and recorded at least five songs of his own during the sessions (some of which would end up on the next album, "Head").

Davy Jones' syrupy compositions "Dream World" and "The Poster" are predictably the weakest, although he puts in fine vocals for the two hits "Daydream Believer" (a refugee from the "Pisces" sessions that was saved for this one) and the fuzz-rocker "Valleri" (an even earlier outtake from the "More Of The Monkees" period that was re-recorded here). Mike Nesmith puts in a record four tunes of his own, and although they are all interesting, they are not as strong as his contributions to the previous albums: "Auntie's Municipal Court" is a catchy number with a cool vocal treatment and "Writing Wrongs" is an underrated, keyboard-driven proto-prog piece, but "Magnolia Simms" and "Tapioca Tundra" are essentially throwaways bolstered with overblown arrangements. Dolenz, however, weighs in with two excellent performances on the Boyce/Hart would-be psych hit "PO Box 9847" and the closing anti-war mini-epic "Zor And Zam" (in which he impersonates Grace Slick amazingly well).

Even the best songs here do not hit the heights of "Pisces Aquarious", however, and the fractured, odds'n'sods feel of the album as a whole does not help. What's puzzling are the great number of superior tunes that were left as outtakes, some of which are included here, some of which would make it to "Head" and some of which wouldn't see the light of day until the "Missing Links" volumes decades later. A much stronger, more cohesive album could've been compiled with the best five or six songs here ("Valleri", "Auntie's Municipal Court", "Daydream Believer", "Zor And Zam", "PO Box 9847" and maybe "I'll Be Back Upon My Feet" or "Writing Wrongs") and some of the better outtakes, but as it stands, "The Birds The Bees And The Monkees" remains one of the group's more piecemeal efforts. Still recommended for fans, but only just.