What a birthday surprise! As I complete my 58^th circuit of the sun an absolutely delightful surprise landed in my inbox, the world’s last remaining Monkee Mickey Dolenz covering R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People.” Now a lot of old duffs can be found trodding the boards, slinging sloppy collections of other people’s tunes. But Dolenz really sounds good here. In fact, his vocals sound Monkees era fresh. The song’s arrangement doesn’t stray far from the original but contains a host of original inflections and interesting instrumental choices. And did I mention Dolenz sounds good? I mean, let’s face it, when rock stars start hitting their late seventies the old vocal chords tend to give way (McCartney III anyone?). Yet Dolenz is sounding like he can go another decade at least. “Shiny Happy People” is the first of four R.E.M. songs to be featured on a soon-to-be released EP tagged with the suitably sixties title Dolenz sings R.E.M. Other cuts to be included on the full EP include  “Radio Free Europe,” “Man on the Moon,” and the single from 2004’s Around the Sun “Leaving New York.” Wow, I can’t wait to hear what Dolenz does with those songs, particularly in light of his stellar take on “Shiny Happy People.”

Sometimes wishes come true that you didn’t even wish for. Like a fantastic Monkees-related bit of new music. Check out more deets about this fabulous song and extended play on Mickey’s site or the record company behind the record, 7A Records.