The Monkees position in "Billboard" Magazine. The success, however, was not without controversy. Jones had declined to sing on the track, recorded along with two other new songs included in a compilation album, "Then & Now... The Best of The Monkees". Some copies of the single and album credit the new songs to "the Monkees", others as "Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork (of the Monkees)". Reportedly, these recordings were the source of some personal friction between Jones and the others during the 1986 tour; Jones would typically leave the stage when the new songs were performed. The 1980s reunion tours were the
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees & The Monkees" reverted to the recording process of the first two albums (fewer group dynamics), except now each band member was fully in charge of the sessions. Chip Douglas, producer of The Monkees' previous two albums, fully expected to continue as the band's representative in the studio, but found the individual Monkees more interested in exploring their diverse musical backgrounds with their own friends and associates rather than relying on Douglas as the central figure. Douglas continues, "I was ready to do that Boyce & Hart song ‘P.O. Box 9847’ – it sort of had that ‘Paperback Writer’ feel