Mar 312008
Dana Carvey's is still better.
In reference to the Linda Ronstadt hit penned by Mike Nesmith, Different Drum, RTH’s own Mr. Moderator said that it was:
more evidence that Nesmith was an untapped force in The Monkees
Indeed.
But he wasn’t completely untapped and in fact wrote many of my favorite Monkees tunes. Including:
Mary, Mary
The Girl I Knew Somewhere
You Told Me
Sunny Girlfriend
And of course the excellent:
War is bad.
Post Monkees he went on to release a string of critically acclaimed country-rock albums. I can’t speak for many of these but I can highly praise his 1970 release Magnetic South for any and all cosmic-americans out there.
Choice cuts:
Nine Times Blue
Little Red Rider
Hollywood
These are all good choices. The Monkees song I really like is And You Just May Be the One, despite the grammatical problem in the first line.
My favorite Nes songs are “The Kind of girl I could Love”, and “Sweet Young Thing” (which is a REAL nice blend of country and psyche).
from the solo period, i LOVE the song “Thanks for the Ride”, to the point where I have covered it insolo apearances.
thanks, sammy, for championing a talent who is often unfairly mis-labeled as a guy who “couldn’t play his own instrument” because of his monkees pedigree.
There’s some REAL good deep cuts on the solo records, and he was certainly no slouch on the Monkees albums either. I will put Nesmith up against any of the more celebrated country-rockers, and that includes Gram Parsons.
He didn’t write it, but he gives a lovely vocal performance on one of my favorite Monkees Deep Cuts, “Don’t Call On Me.”
Plus he “invented MTV with Frank Zappa”
and he produced: Repo Man, Timerider, and Tapeheads!
his mother invented whiteout(liquid paper)
Pince nez: Actually, Nesmith co-wrote “Don’t Call on Me.” But the album it’s from, Pieces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Jones, Ltd. is the best Monkees album precisely because Mike does most of the lead vocals, primarily on songs he did not write.
Sammy, you’ve made a good case for Nesmith here. I tend to like Mickey Dolenz’ performances a little better, but Nesmith was by far the best songwriter among the band and a pretty good singer in his own right. I wish his voice had a little more variety, but he sticks to what he does best. These solo tracks make a good case for yet one more artist who might be unfairly rated less important than The Byrds:P
Oh, and Mad Props to Nesmith for having produced Repo Man and for having a bad attitude about Monkees’ reunions.
Even Nesmith understands my feelings.
Once a Monkee, always a monkey. Blech.
great 48,
Could you put up a list of your fave Nesmith solo deep cuts? I’ve always really liked those records.
I always liked the blend of Micky and Mike’s voices on Nesmith’s Papa Gene’s Blues.
For the songs he wrote with the Monkees, I also love “Papa Gene’s Blues”, “Sweet Young Thing” and “And You Just May Be The One,” which I would throw out there as having one of the very best middle eights/bridges in all of pop music. I do prefer the less-countrified, Monkees version of “Listen To the Band” to his solo takes on it. Also “Daily Nightly”, which is a Nesmith song with Dolenz singing.
Some great vocal performances on songs he didn’t write: “The Door Into Summer”, “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round?”, his solo cover of Clapton’s “I Looked Away” and “I Fall To Pieces” and among others.
For his own solo material that he wrote not mentioned above, I think “Some of Shelly’s Blues” and “Different Drum” are terrific – especially the former – and his versions are better than Rondstadt’s. “Nevada Fighter” and “Roll With The Flow” are also great. I even liked what I heard of that that early ‘90s album he did that seemed to be in the style of old cowboy/life on the range songs, though I’ve only heard part of it from streaming internet radio sites.
And who doesn’t love the “That could have been your FACE!” story?
Let’s not get carried away and start comparing Mike Nesmith to Gram Parsons. I know there are a lot of Parsons haters out there (blame the trust fund), but the guy wrote an amazing collection of songs for somebody who only lived to 27. Can Nesmith hang with this list?
Sin City
Hickory Wind
$1,000 Wedding
New Soft Shoe
Wheels
She
I’m Your Toy (Hot Burrito No. 1)
Brass Buttons
Luxury Liner
Return Of The Grievous Angel
That’s just off the top of my head.
‘Different Drum’ was one the earliest 7 Inch singles I remember playing as a kid and always makes me feel nostalgic.
The lopsided construction fascinates me – surely that’s one of the longest middle eights in popular music.