 In the summer of 1969 the three Monkees embarked on a tour with the backing of the soul band Sam and the Good-Timers.Concerts for this tour were longer sets than their earlier performances tours, with many shows running over two hours.Although the tour was met with some positive critical reception ("Billboard" in particular praised it), other critics were not favorable of the mixing of the Monkees' pop music with the Goodtimers' R&B approach.