First biography paragraph from All Music (by Mark Deming):

"Hey hey, we are the Monkees/You know we love to please/A manufactured image/With no philosophies." In 1968, the Monkees addressed their own reputation in the song "Ditty Diego (War Chant)," which summed up the bad rap they'd received in the music press since they first emerged in the summer of 1966. The Monkees were talented singers, musicians, and songwriters who made a handful of the finest pop singles of their day (as well as a few first-rate albums) and delivered exciting, entertaining live shows. But at a time when rock music was becoming more self-conscious and "serious," the hipper echelons of the music press often lambasted the Monkees, largely because they didn't come together organically but through the casting process for a television series, and they initially didn't write the bulk of their own material or play all the instruments on their records. The fact they later took creative control of their music was often overlooked, and the quality of their music, which featured the work of some of the finest session players and songwriters of the 1960s, often seemed to be beside the point. Time has ultimately vindicated the Monkees, and their music still sounds fresh and engaging decades after it was recorded, but in some circles they never fully shook being branded as "the Pre-Fab Four," no matter how far they moved from the circumstances that brought them together.

Read all of the bio at: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-monkees-p4940/biography

All Music Album Review (by Bruce Eder):

The very idea of a Monkees box set would have seemed inconceivable at any time before the 1990s, and probably still would to any label other than Rhino Records. Yet, this four-CD, 83-song compilation manages to justify itself very nicely, despite the existence of heavily expanded editions of most of the group's albums on CD, and the Missing Links volumes. Those individual CDs gathered together are for the true musical completists, whereas this is the documentary overview for the fan who wants five hours of fun and adventure. The song selection is a mix of important released material, essential outtakes that have shown up on Missing Links, and a handful of yet more unissued songs that slipped past the programming of those discs. Surprisingly, not a track is wasted, showing how deep one could go into the group's output and still come up with gold. Disc four is the weak link -- the group was breaking down, its prospects were fading by the week once the series was cancelled in 1968, and yet the individual members were carrying on in their music-making, using the Monkees name and the commercial doors it still opened. Little of the music sounded like "the Monkees" although there are some superb tracks by Michael Nesmith and some decent pop/rock numbers by Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones. The sound is excellent throughout, and the accompanying booklet would easily be worth the price of another CD, containing as it does a detailed history of each song in the set, how it came to be written and recorded, and the personal and business events connected with the group and coinciding with the recordings. It's all fun and musically very informative as well, and a great capper to the label's cycle of Monkees music releases.

Taken from: http://www.allmusic.com/album/listen-to-the-band-r13325/review

Amazon.com's page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000032HE

Track List:

Disc 1:

01. (Theme From) The Monkees
02. Last Train To Clarksville
03. Take A Giant Step
04. Saturday's Child
05. I Wanna Be Free
06. Papa Gene's Blues
07. Sweet Young Thing
08. Gonna Buy Me A Dog
09. All The King's Horses
10. I'm A Believer
11. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
12. She
13. Mary, Mary
14. Your Auntie Grizelda
15. Look Out (Here Comes Tommorow)
16. Sometime In The Morning
17. I Don't Think You Know Me
18. I'll Spend My Life With You
19. I'll Be Back Up On My Feet

Disc 2:

01. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
02. The Girl I Knew Somewhere
03. She Hangs Out
04. All Of Your Toys
05. Love To Love
06. You Told Me
07. Forget That Girl
08. You Just May Be The One
09. Shades Of Gray
10. For Pete's Sake
11. No Time
12. Randy House Git
13. Pleasant Valley Sunday
14. Words
15. Daydream Believer
16. Goin' Down
17. Salesman
18. The Door Into Summer
19. Love Is Only Sleeping
20. Cuddly Toy
21. What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?
22. Daily Nightly
23. Star Collector
24. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone - Live Version

Disc 3:

01. Valleri
02. Tapioca Tundra
03. P. O. Box 9847
04. Auntie's Municipal Court
05. Zor And Zam
06. Nine Times Blue
07. Tear The Top Right Off Of My Head
08. Carlisle Wheeling
09. D. W. Washburn
10. It's Nice To Be With You
11. St. Matthew
12. Porpoise Song
13. As We Go Along
14. Circle Sky (live)
15. Can You Dig It
16. Long Title, Do I Have To Do This All Over Again
17. Tear Drop City
18. A Man Without A Dream
19. Through The Looking Glass
20. I Won't Be The Same Without Her
21. You And I
22. While I Cry

Disc 4:

01. Listen To The Band
02. Someday Man
03. Good Clean Fun
04. Mommy And Daddy
05. Looking For The Good Times
06. Some Of Shelly's Blues
07. Steam Engine
08. Oh My My
09. I Love You Better
10. Do It In The Name Of Love
11. That Was Then, This Is Now
12. Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
13. Heart And Soul
14. Gettin' In
15. Every Step Of The Way