Customer Reviews

Tropical Campfires

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am old enough to remember watching the Monkees on Saturday morning TV when they were still touring. I liked their music but wasn't a huge fan.

Flash forward 35 years. I am in an airport killing time in a bookstore when I hear "Begin the Beguine" playing overhead. I am entranced. I ask the manager what CD he is playing and he pulls out a cassette cover of "Tropical Campfires." I am stunned to find out it is Michael Nesmith. I tell him I think this is great stuff and he says that he plays it because people don't know it exists or how good it is. I leave the store and later buy the CD.

I define a 5 star purchase as one that you play over and over again. Then a few years pass and you play it again and it still inspires you and lights up your nerve endings the way it did the first time you heard it. That's what this CD does for me. To be honest, I have to agree with the other reviewer that Nesmith is not a great singer. In fact, the song that grabbed me, "Begin the Beguine," is probably the worst vocal on the whole CD. But there is a paradox here. This is precisely why I love it. Sometimes a popular song leaves you unmoved when the great vocalists sing it. You just don't "get it." Then along come somebody with a new arrangement or vocal interpretation and suddenly it comes alive for you. This is what happened to me with "Begin the Beguine." Nesmith obviously loves this material and sings and performs it with such passion and enthusiasm that it automatically induces joy in the listener. Just like I didn't "get" opera until I heard Andrea Bocelli, (and truth be told, technically he is a second rate tenor). He is no Pavarotti. Had he been trained from youth he might have been first rate. But no matter. It was the imperfections in his voice that made operatic arias real and accessible to me. Pavarotti never moved me, but Bocelli brought heaven to earth for me. After Bocelli I began to appreciate Pavarotti.

I could never identify with Frank Sinatra "beginning to beguine" because he sounded too perfect and loaded with money. But with Nesmith I can put myself into the picture and actually believe that I am in a tropical paradise. He could be any man singing that song. That's what makes it real for me.

My absolute favorite cut is "For the Island," a spiritual anthem if there ever was one. The words are very simple, but I recognize in hearing them that this is how I truly feel about the world and any hope for the future. Joy again.

"Twilight on the Trail" is my epitaph. It so eloquently sums up what I would offer to others as the whole meaning and purpose of my life. I know I sound cornball but these are the feelings the songs on this CD induce in me. If feeling good and having hope and keeping it simple are cornball then so be it. Maybe I'm just an old fart.

This album is quirky, original, a misfit...and absolutely brilliant. For me, it's like finding a real diamond in a showcase loaded with counterfeits.

On first hearing you will either love this CD or hate it. No in-between on this one. And if you decide you hate it after listening to the samples buy it anyway and put it away for...oh...35 years. Then listen again.

Michael Nesmith continues to astound. It's been a long long time since he was the gangly stork hiding behind his green wool hat and twelve-string. Since the end of the Monkees he's been a country-rock founding father, the innovator (or one of the innovators) of MTV, a grammy winner for his video "Elephant Parts," and throughout has continued to be a consummate songwriter and musician.

His musical tastes and influences are as eccentric and eclectic as he is, moving from folk and pop music to country to experimental, back to rock and roll and now, with "....tropical campfires...." to a mix of sounds with a distinctly Latin flavor.

The album starts with a warm, meandering tune called "Yellow Butterfly"--Nez's vocals are soft and understated; his voice has aged here, but aged well, the youthful power having yielded to a more mature sound, one that sings and speaks with the ease of experience. "Laugh Kills Lonesome" is an upbeat tune that swings with the sound of John Hobbs's agile piano. Nez lends his silky voice to the Cole Porter works "In the Still of the Night" and "Begin the Beguine." The vocals on "Brazil" are amazing--for myself it represents the struggle not to slide to the floor; the man's voice is sexy, no doubt about that.

In short (as I realize I have only covered half the songs), the album offers something for everyone. You won't find any hard rock here, but you will find smooth, rich sound delivered by the soulful voice of the man once referred to (JUST once) as Woolhat.

I didn't quite know what to expect from Mike Nesmith's 1992 long-player, but when "Yellow Butterfly" wrapped up, I knew this was going to be his very best solo effort. Hooking up with a brand-new backing band and strikingly effective Dolby stereo, Mike and CMA-winning pedal steel maestro Orville "Red" Rhodes compose and conduct a long-player of often-stunning heart and pull.

For Red Rhodes, it was somewhat courageous to weave into pedal steel again, as previous health problems had seriously curtailed his musical efforts. It would also be something of a last hurrah, as he would pass on some three years after the end of "Tropical Campfire's" sessions

"Yellow Butterfly" is the most contemporary country number of the album. The next number, the Charlie Russell-influenced "Laugh Kills Lonesome," is a humorous Miami Sound Machine-flavored Tex-Mex number, followed by the slow-and-steady ballad "Moon Over The Rio Grande."

"One...." is an instrumental effort, and also a telegraph, for the exact rhythm flows directly into the much-later "....For The Island."

Sandwiched between is the most haunting number of the album, "Juliana." As Mike does not double-track his vocals here, the excellent Micky Dolenz harmony illusion is thus not to be found, but the backing band make up for it with their own harmonies throughout the album, and are at their best with "Juliana."

"I Am Not That" captures the later flavor of SheDaisy (who used Mike's keyboardist John Hobbes on their Whole Shebang CD), but with far greater originality and humor with some very funny wordplay in the verses that also betray some of Mike's 1960s experiences - "I cannot 'Twist and Shout'" and "I am not The Walrus" are obvious '60s references; "I am not the singer, I am not twenty-two" is presumably a more subtle reference to his days with Micky, Peter, and Davy.

The Latin flavor is hardly alien with Mike - it imbued such numbers as Mike Murphy and Owen Castleman's Monkees contribution "What Am I Doin' Hangin' Round?" as well as his own "Loose Salute" composition "Tengo Amore." Here, though, Mike takes the Latin flavor to its logical conclusion. Mike may not be The Walrus, nor The Boss, nor The King and Queen, nor Jack Frost, but he is Mike Nesmith, master of sophisticated compositions, superior vocals, and emotional pull.

So goodbye goodbye, the "I Am" world, goodbye goodbye, so long....

I first heard this recording over ten years ago and loved it then and still do. I just recieved my new copy from amazon.com a few days ago. I must say "Tropical Campfires" is still good after all these years. Personally, when it regards everything that I've heard of his, I think that this recording is his most solid recording.The Song "Juliana" is the best track on the recording, and I see it as the new "Joanne".I would suggest that any music lover with taste should buy this recording because:

1. The songs are well written.
2. Nesmith's band is godly.
3. Orville "Red" Rhodes plays the Steel guitar beautifully.
4. Nesmith sings well.
5. The song "Twilight On the Trail" should be a classic country standard like Willie Nelson's "Crazy".
6. The two part instrumental "One.....For the Island" is breath taking.

Michael Nesmith is famous for being a former Monkee. However, fans of Nesmith also find him famous for being full of surprises. Tropical Campfires contains a cool variety of country, ballads, pop and latin. The most notable aspect of this album is the use of Nesmith's voice, here it's yearning and reaching beyond the stars. It's very warm, a little more serious than usual, while maintaining its lofty composure. This makes for great background music, reflecting, or even singing along.

How Mike Nesmith constantly gets overlooked in the history of rock and roll I do not know.. Here on Tropical Campfires he once again proves that not only can he produce and release thought provoking music but have a good time doing it as well! I was especially pleased with my purchase of this fine piece of music. The feeling of warmth and maturity it generates is both fun and comforting.I would also recommend purchasing the two LP'S on one CD format that AMAZON is offering on Mike's first SIX albums after he left the Monkees.. They are truly amazing and show what a truly gifted artist Mike Nesmith is!! A true pioneer in the field of country-rock music!!!

This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful country albums of the 90s. Nez - after his romance with the Sythie-Pop of the 80s - got back home to his roots in the C&W area. In comparison with his golden work from the 70s, where he practically founded countryrock ("Nevada Fighter" just possibly being the best countryrock album of all times), the older Nez sounds relaxed and almost swinging, with clear tropical influences - as the title suggests.
Especially wonderful are "Moon Over The Rio Grande" and "Twilight On The Trail" for beautiful melodies and poetic lyrics, and "I Am Not That" for the neztypical sense of humour. "One..." and "...For The Island" are an absolute innovation: the same song in two parts, once as a fascinating instrumental, then as breathtaking choir. "In The Still Of The Night" is in my humble opinion the best version of a Cole Porter song there is, and it is a pleasant surprise to hear that it is possible to sing "Begin The Beguine" with a winking eye, and without any kind of corniness - everyone aquainted with the Iglesias-version knows what I mean ;)
Further on it should be noted that this the last regular album with the late pedal steel legend Red Rhodes.
A perfect album for friends of good, intelligent, and sophisticated music - and the best about it is that it's still perfectly light and easy-going, in the very best sense!

Yes, there IS an apostrophe after the e.
That's a tiny indication of how quirky and delightful this album is.
Great dinner music.
But later on I'm still cogitating over the lyrics.

Michael Nesmith is the most inventive genius of 4 Monkees. Yes, I'm always going to be a "Davy girl", but I appreciate the supreme genius that is Michael. First off, "Tropical Campfires" is NOT country. It is a marriage of calypso and Western cowboy music, much like a Jimmy Buffett album.

All you need to do is look at that title, and that's the entire sound of the album. The big plus to this album is that Michael remade "Brazil", "In the Still of the Night" (Cole Porter, not the '50s version), and "Begin the Beguine" (also Cole Porter); they are the best versions I've ever heard. Another favorite on here is "Yellow Butterfly", which Michael described as transcendental (I THINK that was the word, though I may be missing the exact word.)--a belief that somewhere in the world a certain thing is happening that causes something to happen where we are, in this case it is raining, so "somewhere sails a yellow butterfly." Everytime I see a yellow butterfly, I smile and think it is raining somewhere.

"Juliana", my favorite all-time love song, other than Michael's "Propinquity" from the Complete albums, is also on here. Men have no patience for the slow-going, peacefully tender exclamation of intense love (such as my husband, who likes the phrases I quote him from it, but has yet been able to listen to the whole thing.), but women listening everywhere melt, wishing that there was a man who wrote them a song with the words: "How your name brings me awake like the first light of dawn....You're my sweet heart's desire, you're the face of a dream I have drawn." This song is so beautifully rendered that I even plan to name our daughter, should we ever have one, Julianna. As a writer myself, I know that love has never been expressed this way ("the face of a dream I have drawn"...wow!) which makes it all the more brilliant that Papa Nez continually finds ways to freshen up old ideas and make them his own.

Do I urge you to buy this? YES! Give Nez a chance. And now that I've reviewed this, I'm going off to listen to "Begin the Beguine".

As a huge fan of Michael Nesmith's solo work, Tropical Campfires gets my enthusiastic recommendation as one of Nez's best works...Even if you've only heard one or two of Nesmith's songs, like Joanne, this is the CD that I think defines whether the casual listener becomes a fan or not. The songs are intricately crafted and beautifully performed. My particular favorites are Yellow Butterfly and Moon on the Rio Grande. The latter is a song that never fails to relax and send me to a comfortable plane...a high compliment for any song or songwriter! Every track on this CD is worth a listen, although I wasn't particularly crazy about Julianna.

The only album of Nesmith that surpasses this one in quality is Live at the Palais, sadly also out of print (I own three copies)! I highly recommend that you go out and buy a copy of Tropical Campfires while it can still be had!