The Campaign For Justus
Notable Quotes
Last update: November 6, 1998
Three Stars for Justus From The Los Angeles Times
The album demonstrates enough persuasive social commentary... attitude and musical muscle (grinding guitars, crashing drums) to make this homecoming an honorable one for the 90's.
-- Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times
Reunited Monkees Sing Like Adults
"Hey, hey, we're the Monkees." That was the teen-idol rallying cry of the prefabricated Monkees in the '60s. And whether you love them or shun them, the Monkees are back with an official reunion album with all the original members, including Michael Nesmith. It's the first such record in more than 20 years and proves that even teen idols grow up. Gone is the gooey, candy-cane tone of early hit Daydream Believer. The Monkees are well into adulthood and that means songs about divorce and other social ills, though the disc ends hopefully.
...The new disc, which should satisfy old fans and win new ones who appreciate well-crafted, melodic pop, happened almost by accident. The Monkees have toured in recent years (minus Nesmith), but have not been easy to bring together otherwise.
..."It was so great to just get back into the studio and look each other in the eye and make all of this ourselves," said Nesmith. "The record is what it is, because we're way past the point of desperately trying to please somebody else."
-- Steve Morse, The Boston Globe
Justus "BUY" Recommendation from Phoenix Gazette/Arizona Republic
The Monkees have a blast mixing and matching genres - offering a punk-rock back-up to Nesmith's twangy "Circle Sky", Fats Domino-derived New Orleans rhythm and blues on "Unlucky Stars", a collision of metal and phychedelia on "Admiral Mike", and an excursion into Los Lobos territory with "Dying Of a Broken Heart". This may well be the Monkees' best album...
Three stars for Justus from Pulse!
Speaking of unexpected staying power, who would have expected that a 1996 Monkees album would actually sound pretty fresh?... the enjoyably reckless disc's modest but notable strengths go beyond Nesmith's contributions... What's most impressive about Justus is that it makes these 50-ish entertainers -- three of whom haven't pursued serious recording careers for a quarter-century or so -- sound like they've got something to prove.
-- Scott Schinder, Pulse!
Monkees Concert Review
From a review of one of the shows Mike, Peter, Davy, and Micky put on in support of Justus in the UK in March of 1997:
The Monkees turned the clock back 30 years and sent adoring fans in Cardiff wild with delight last night.
The four-piece outfit proved their pulling power by attracting both followers from the 1960s and the younger generation, turned on to the manufactured group by re-runs of their TV series.
And the sizeable audience at Cardiff's International Arena gave Americans Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork and British-born Davy Jones enthusiastic reviews in the monkeying around.
...I went to the show expecting the worst, but the Monkees... turned in an entertaining and professional performance...
--Phillip Nifield, South Wales Echo
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