Michael And Micky

Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz should make a new album.

The two surviving members of The Monkees (Davy Jones died in 2012, and Peter Tork passed earlier this year) recently announced plans for another tour, and for release of a live album, The Mike & Micky Show Live, due out in April. That is welcome news, even though they're still not coming anywhere near Syracuse. The mix of hits and deep cuts in the duo's concert repertoire is intriguing, and they've assembled an absolutely crack combo to accompany them. It's wonderful to hear that's being preserved in official form; it's further encouraging (and somewhat surprising) to learn that collaboration will continue for at least a little bit longer.

But man--they really should record a new studio album with their live band.

Why? Honestly, this particular combination of talents simply deserves an opportunity to do something more. The goal of a pop concert embraces familiar material, and rightly so; the audience may or may not be receptive to something new (a discussion for another time), but they for damned sure expect to hear some of the songs that made them fans, songs that made them wanna buy a ticket and throng to venues near and far. A live album documents that experience, both for those who were there and those who wish they could have been.

But an album of new material can expand our appreciation, and give us more songs to love. The Mike & Micky Show's setlist includes "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" and "Me & Magdalena," two gems from The Monkees' triumphant 2016 album Good Times! The presence of those songs amidst your "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and your "Listen To The Band" demonstrate the truth that great songs don't care what year it is. 

So why not add to that motherlode? Why not continue to create?

The pool of talent is there, and it starts at the top. As the once-common dismissals of The Monkees as a mere prefab pop product recede into the realm of a grumbling, myopic minority (probably otherwise occupied with yelling at kids to get off of their damned lawn), more and more enlightened fans and pundits recognize the gift and artistry the individual Monkees invested in their work. Dolenz remains a soulful, accomplished singer, Nesmith retains his well-earned aura of gravitas, and the two of 'em sound magnificent together. They always have.

Circe Link and Christian Nesmith

But the magic of this combo goes deeper than that. Their live band is just killer, propelled in large part by Michael's son Christian Nesmith. The younger Nesmith is a rockin' pop force of nature, his guitar and vocals fueling the group's driving, irresistible sound. Christian's wife Circe Link--a well-respected talent in her own right--and Micky's sister Coco Dolenz add heart and harmony to this family affair, and all of the players--all of 'em--know exactly what they're doing and how to do it. The Mike & Micky Show band can kick any ass that needs kickin'.

And I would so love to hear what they all could do on a new studio album.

I don't want them to do remakes. I don't want them to do a tribute to Monkees songwriters like Carole King or Neil Diamond or Boyce & Hart. I'm sure they could pull off a few well-chosen covers for flavor--I'm particularly fond of the idea of Micky singing Gary Frenay's unrecognized pop classic "Make Something Happen"--but come on! Don't you think the members of this band could come up with some great songs you haven't heard yet, songs that no one has heard yet? For cryin' out loud, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith's "I'm On Your Side" was our most-played song on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio in 2017, and I already know there's more fantastic stuff where that came from. I wanna hear it, in the studio, with Mike and Micky. I bet you'd wanna hear it, too.

If such an album were ever made, I think I'd prefer that it not be billed as a Monkees record. While these two last surviving members of the group do have every right to call themselves The Monkees, the idea of a new Monkees album invites the idea of including recordings by the late Peter Tork and Davy Jones; many fans would want that, some would insist upon it, and I do not want that at all. We mourn those we have lost. We acknowledge our loss, and pay tribute when it's appropriate. But we can't live our lives trying to bring theirs back.

I know this is all a remote possibility. It's a bit more plausible than my previously-posted fantasy of Micky Dolenz making an album with The Flashcubes. Frankly, I'm not even sure Nesmith or Dolenz would have the merest interest in doing something like this. But I'm still a believer, and I would very, very much like to listen to this band.

Wouldn't you?



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Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying it from Futureman.

(And you can still get our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, on CD from Kool Kat Musik and as a download from Futureman Records.)

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).