Even after some 35 years of records, music/TV production, and so forth, Mike Nesmith is still best known for his superb work with The Monkees. He captures some of the flavor of his Monkees work in this compilation of some of his best songs from his early post-Monkees solo career.
A number of the songs on this CD were also demoed or recorded during The Monkees, notably Listen To The Band, Some Of Shelley's Blues, I've Just Begun To Care - aka Propinquity - Nine Times Blue-Little Red Rider, and Hollywood. Also included is Mike's version of the 1967 hit he penned for Linda Ronstadt, Different Drum. Mike includes some impressive extra verses in his version. Combined with his slower pace, it is a longer song than Ronstadt's take.
At times I got the feeling that you can take Mike Nesmith away from The Monkees, but you can't quite take The Monkees out of Mike. Mike often double-tracks his songs, and the harmony effect often sounds like he's still dueting with Micky Dolenz. This is especially true in Nine Times Blue and the beautifully haunting Lady Of The Valley - the Micky-Dolenz-as-backup-singer illusion adds nicely to the song.
Of course Mike puts his own stamp down as well, in such numbers as Nevada Fighter and Joanne, and his cover of Patsy Cline's classic I Fall To Pieces.
Mike's music is often referred to as the genesis of later country-rock, some critics saying Mike covers territory later mined by such groups as The Eagles and managing to outdo them. It stands in glaring contrast to the more insipid country-rock of such modern day stars as Shania Twain. Nesmith shows greater maturity and conveys emotion at the time of his latter-20s far better than most contemporary Nashville stars.
Nashville ought to Listen To The Band, for Michael Nesmith still shows them all.
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