Due to my own current circumstances, I find myself unable to wrap my head around the idea of writing a proper eulogy for the late, great Michael Nesmith. A piece I wrote a few years back about the Monkees' recording of Nesmith's "The Girl Knew Somewhere" will serve as my tribute to Nesmith, reflecting my respect and gratitude for what Nesmith's work and music have meant to me in my life.
As a supplement to that, here is a collection of Nesmith-related entries from my weekly 10 Songs feature over the last two years, offered in celebration of the legacy of Papa Nez. They are presented in chronological order. There were, of course, a few more Monkees entries over the course of the 10 Songs story; today's post is limited to entries with a more direct Michael Nesmith connection.
Play, Magic Fingers.
THE MONKEES: The Door Into Summer [4/14/2020]
In the mid '70s, when I was starting to realize that there were more Monkees songs out there than the mere handful contained on my brother's copies of The Monkees and More Of The Monkees, one of the mystery tracks that specifically tantalized me was this beguiling wisp and its lyrics about echoes of a penny-whistle band and laughter from a distant caravan, seen and heard on reruns of the group's TV show. In 1977, I discovered it was called "The Door Into Summer," from a fabulous 1967 album called Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. Pisces remains one of my all-time Top 10 albums.
Davy Jones passed away in 2012, and we lost Peter Tork in 2019. Surviving Monkees Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz have a new live album, The Mike & Micky Show, and their in-concert rendition of "The Door Into Summer" is timeless, evocative, and irresistible. I really hope this band decides to make a new studio album.
It tickles me how I still occasionally run into folks who are amazed or amused that Michael Nesmith of the Monkees wrote "Different Drum," the 1967 Stone Poneys hit that introduced that group's lead singer Linda Ronstadt to the world at large. On the "Two Many Girls" episode of the Monkees' TV series, Nesmith even performs a brief version of the song as a parody of a bumbling folk singer, Billy Roy Hodstetter. (That particular episode is otherwise notable for TV censors' decision to blur actress Kelly Jean Peters' cleavage, lest American youth be, I dunno, too busy gawking to put anybody down.)
 |
| Cheer up, Kelly Jean! Oh what can censors mean to an unblurred believer...? |
Between my twenty years freelancing for Goldmine, my decades of on-line pop proselytizing, the radio show, and this blog, I think I've written more about the Monkees than I've written about any other act. My sister hooked me on the TV show when I was six in 1966, reruns in the '70s reinforced that prevailing interest, but it was the music itself that moved me the most. A prefabricated band? A manufactured image? Man, I do not care. Many of the records are fantastic, so the circumstances of their genesis are irrelevant. For further study in my acts as a Believer, see this, this, this, this, and this. GO! I'll wait here.
If I had to pick one track to summarize the Monkees' recorded legacy, it would be "Pleasant Valley Sunday." They had bigger hits--"Last Train To Clarksville," "I'm A Believer," "Daydream Believer"--and there were lesser hits like "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" that could be seen as emblematic. One could make a case for using Michael Nesmith's "Listen To The Band" or "You Just May Be The One," the latter a track from the group's DIY album Headquarters, and one of the very few tracks to feature only the members of the Monkees as players. "Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)" gets a chapter in my book-to-be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), because an infinite number of records can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Like the Beatles, the Monkees offer us an embarrassment of riches.
Nonetheless: "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, it has that legacy connection to the Monkees' prefab origin under Don Kirshner's aegis, and it also has all four of the Monkees present and accounted for on the track (a relative rarity among the Monkees' hits; I think "Daydream Believer" was the only other Top 10 hit to include all of the Monkees). It's from my favorite Monkees album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., the record that offered the best mix of the Monkees themselves singing and playing alongside other musicians. The local rock group down the street is trying hard to learn their song. Here they come.
Psychedelic! Micky Dolenz sets the Moog on stun while reciting Michael Nesmith's stream-of-WTF lyrics about the 1966 demonstrations on the Sunset Strip. In an interview on the Monkees' TV show, Dolenz mused that newspaper reporters mis-characterized the demonstrations as a riot because "riot" only has four words and is easier to spell. Separate from the interviews, the stunning black and white "Daily Nightly" video--Darkened rolling figures move through prisms of no color--also aired on the show, and I was duly hypmotized. From my favorite Monkees album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.
The Monkees' 2016 album Good Times! was eagerly anticipated, and it lived up to desperately sky-high expectations. It is indeed a pretty damned good album, and I still listen to it often. And I still think of "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" as THE one track that just kicks the whole thing to the next level. Here's what I wrote about the track in a discussion of my 25 all-time favorite Monkees tracks:
No one saw this one coming. The surprise announcement that surviving Monkees Dolenz, Tork, and Nesmith--Jones passed away in 2012--would mark the group's 50th anniversary in 2016 with a new Monkees album called Good Times! was unexpected enough, and word that Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Paul Weller of the Jam and Style Council had collaborated on a new composition for this new Monkees record bordered on the flabbergasting. But the result? Lord! "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" builds a rainbow bridge from the best of The Monkees circa 1968 into this far-future world of the 21st century, a track that sounds simultaneously classic and contemporary. If it had magically appeared on The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees or the Head soundtrack in '68, it would have been the greatest cut on the former and the second-greatest on the latter. Yet it doesn't sound retro at all, at least not to my ears. Nesmith sings this with a force and conviction that almost sounds like he's still that young maverick of fifty years ago, just a bit more seasoned, certainly wiser, but resolutely unbowed. Dolenz chimes in vocally to make it a pop song. Together, they make it a masterpiece. Listeners of the ultracool satellite radio station Little Steven's Underground Garage voted "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" as The Coolest Song In The World for 2016.
THE MONKEES: Love Is Only Sleeping [12/15/2020]
In 1967, "Love Is Only Sleeping" was almost released as the Monkees' fourth single, a plan nixed when some label or network stiff realized the potential scandal of suggesting that love = sleeping (i.e., bouncin' with frisk-filled intent). It would have been the first Monkees 45 cut with lead vocals by Michael Nesmith instead of Micky Dolenz or Davy Jones. Peter Tork never got anywhere near singing lead on a Monkees A-side. The song is a highlight of my favorite Monkees album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., and this is what I said about it in a blog piece about my Top 25 Monkees tracks:
I've written elsewhere of my discovery of the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. and Head albums as a high school senior in the Spring of 1977. I had already heard "Love Is Only Sleeping" in TV reruns, but it really hit me for the first time in '77. Lyrically, this Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil song may be about female sexual dysfunction (more so than Sandie Shaw's deceptively-titled "Girl Don't Come" anyway), but it's so much more than that. It's a tale of hope. It's a tale of frustration and despair conquered by passion and persistence, sweet deliverance earned and embraced. Chip Douglas' bass and Nesmith's guitar slice, as Michael's lead vocal shimmers with cool, calm confidence, all made breathier and more inviting by harmony from Dolenz. Love is only sleeping. Try it! It can work for you, too!
When speaking to my peers in '77, "Love Is Only Sleeping" was Exhibit A in pleading my case on behalf of the Monkees. Teenagers in the '70s deemed the Monkees uncool. I knew better. This track helped me prove it.
THE MONKEES: Sunny Girlfriend [acoustic remix of master vocal] [1/5/2021]
It still strikes me as a little bit odd that many of us routinely buy multi-disc deluxe reissues of what were originally single LPs. Odd or not, we're fans, and we want this stuff. I think the expanded Pet Sounds was my first such willful overkill, and when I heard the announcement for Rhino Handmade's three-disc version of the Monkees' 1967 album Headquarters, I was in. That set's unique acoustic remix of Michael Nesmith's "Sunny Girlfriend" became my preferred version of the song. Here's what I wrote about it in a previous post about my 25 favorite Monkees tracks:
Nesmith's "Sunny Girlfriend" is one of the many highlights on Headquarters, a rollickin' country-rock romp with a freewheeling ambiance that gives sound and form to the feeling of liberation and possibility the Monkees must have felt as they sought to establish themselves outside of Kirshner's assembly line. The joy is infectious, and even more so in this acoustic remix found on the 3-CD Headquarters Sessions set. She owns and operates her own sunshine factory. If ultimately a put-down of a girl who "doesn't really care," it is neither hapless nor vindictive, and maintains its joy from start to finish.
This is precisely the sort of record for which the pimply hyperbole Awesome! was invented. I'm a first-generation fan of the Monkees, hoppin' into that barrel full o' hijinks during the first season of the group's TV series in 1966. I've wished in previous posts for surviving Monkees Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith to record a new studio album with members of the Monkees' ace touring band, a cracklin' combo that includes Christian Nesmith (Michael's son) and the incredible vocal talents of Coco Dolenz (Micky's sister) and Circe Link (whose "I'm On Your Side" was included on our compilation album This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, and was TIRnRR's most-played track in 2017). This combination of talent could create a mighty fine work, indeed.
The forthcoming new Micky Dolenz album Dolenz Sings Nesmith is the next-best thing, and a fantastic thing by any reasonable expectation. The elder Nesmith has no direct involvement, but the title's truth-in-advertising tells you that it's album of Nesmith songs, all engagingly rendered by Dolenz. Christian Nesmith arranged and produced, it sure sounds like Coco 'n' Circe providing the heavenly vocal blend that supports our Mick, and the overall effect is just delectably inviting. Man, this sounds wonderful. Dolenz remains in fine voice, and the material is, of course, top-notch.
The album is due out in May. The raving enthusiasm expressed above is inspired by bits from a teaser video, and by the release last week of the advance single, "Different Drum"/"Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)." Both of these tracks fulfill the giddy promise of what I hoped to hear. How great is Micky's version of "Different Drum?" It challenges Linda Ronstadt's sublime hit version with the Stone Poneys for the title of Best Ever. I'm very much looking forward to hearing the whole album.
MICKY DOLENZ: Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care) [5/4/2021]
Five years ago, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio was playing teaser tracks from the Monkees' then-forthcoming album Good Times!, a work that transcended even our giddy fanboy expectations. Now, in this far-future post-apocalyptic world of 2021, we're playing both sides of the advance single from the new Micky Dolenz album Dolenz Sings Nesmith, which is due May 21st. We played A-side "Different Drum" last week, B-side "Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)" this week, and May 21st really is too, too far away. We already care! We've been caring!
MICKY DOLENZ: Different Drum [5/25/2021]
At this writing, I have just received my CD copy of the new Micky Dolenz album Dolenz Sings Nesmith. But I've already heard enough of it to know I love it. We've been playing the digital single of "Different Drum," and we'll be playing at least one other track from Dolenz Sings Nesmith on next week's show.
(We will, in fact, be playing a lot of Micky Dolenz material on next week's show: new and old, solo and with the Monkees, and in other incarnations, too. It's been a long time since we've been able to spotlight a Featured Performer on TIRnRR. It's time for that spotlight to fall upon Micky Dolenz.)
MICKY DOLENZ: Circle Sky [6/4/2021]
For a very long time, I've wanted an episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio to spotlight Micky Dolenz as a Featured Performer. I can't explain why it took me so long to get around to following through with that intent, but the release of Dolenz's stunning new album Dolenz Sings Nesmith, a collection that offers Mr. Mick covering 14 songs written by his friend and coworker Michael Nesmith, moved the notion to an urgent Do It NOW!! status.
There are rules in place that govern how many tracks we can play by a specific act in a single show: Four. That's it. You can't pull off a proper Feature with just four songs. Fortunately, Micky's long career has provided enough varied rockin' DBAs for us to get the job done in this case. Four songs by Micky with his most famous combo, the Monkees. A bunch of other limited-use billings. And four solo tracks.
We've been playing "Different Drum," the first single off Dolenz Sings Nesmith, and I knew I wanted to close the main part of this week's show with that. I wanted to play "Many Years," a track from Micky's 2012 album Remember. I wanted to play a side from his 2016 7a Records single "Chance Of A Lifetime"/"Livin' On Lies," opting for the latter. I wanted to play a lot more of Micky's solo recordings, especially some of his '70s and '80s single sides, but we couldn't do that. Four is the number. The number is four. It made more sense to open and close the show with Dolenz Sings Nesmith. "Different Drum" at the end. "Circle Sky" at the beginning.
"Circle Sky" was performed live by the Monkees in their bitter and brilliant 1968 film Head, with Nesmith singing lead. Dolenz Sings Nesmith producer Christian Nesmith came up with a decidedly different arrangement of the song for this album, employing an approach based on traditional Indian music. The result is mesmerizing, and congruent with the memory of Micky in the audience at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (as seen in Monterey Pop), smiling the widest smile ever as he applauded the performance by Ravi Shankar. There was no other choice: TIRnRR's Micky Dolenz Feature had to begin with "Circle Sky."
THE MONKEES: Pleasant Valley Sunday [6/4/2021]
Micky sang lead on so, so many great Monkees tracks, and limiting ourselves to just four of them was a challenge. "As We Go Along?" "I'm A Believer?" "Last Train To Clarksville?" "The Girl I Knew Somewhere?" "Words?" "Goin' Down?" "For Pete's Sake?" That's not even a preface to a long list of worthy possibilities issued under the Monkees brand name.
But we made our selections. We had other Dolenz performances of "Porpoise Song," "Steppin' Stone," and "Randy Scouse Git," and we allowed one Monkees cover with the Flashcubes' version of "She." Dana's fondness of "Sometime In The Morning" made that one an obvious choice. The underrated "Oh My My" is my lovely wife Brenda's favorite Monkees track, so that was in. I wanted to include something from 2016's triumphant Good Times! sessions, and opted for the non-album "Terrifying," a track in dire need of much wider exposure and acclaim. That left room for one classic Monkees track from the '60s.
And it had to be "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Book it. And here's to one of the voices of that local rock group down the street. This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio humbly salutes Micky Dolenz.
MICKY DOLENZ: Grand Ennui [6/8/2021]
With P. P. Arnold taking control of this week's "Different Drum," we still wanted to play something from the sublime new Micky Dolenz album Dolenz Sings Nesmith. "Grand Ennui" is a track exclusive to the album's CD release--sorry, vinyl and download fans--and we would have played it as part of last week's Micky Dolenz feature if logistics had allowed it.
THE MONKEES: You Just May Be The One [11/16/2021]
"You Just May Be The One" is a track from the Monkees' 1967 album Headquarters. It was produced by Chip Douglas (credited under his real name Douglas Farthing Hatlelid) and engineered by Hank Cicalo. Douglas also sang back-up on the track.
You know who else was on that session? The Monkees. And no one else.
The song was written by Michael Nesmith, who sang lead and played electric and acoustic guitars. Peter Tork played bass. Micky Dolenz played drums. Davy Jones played tambourine. Yes, the precise line-up and instrumentation we saw on their TV show. Peter, Micky, and Davy joined de facto deputy Monkee Chip Douglas to sing behind their wool-hatted prime mate Michael. It's the Monkees. For all the ill-informed crap we've heard about the Monkees not playing their own instruments, this is the Monkees. No slight to the amazing Chip Douglas, whose integral contributions made it all happen, but on "You Just May Be The One," it is effectively only the Monkees.
And it's fantastic. It shoulda been a single.
Both Davy and Peter have left us. On Sunday night, as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio blared its mighty sound across the whole friggin' planet, surviving Monkees Mike and Micky took the stage in Los Angeles for the final date of the Monkees' farewell tour. There will still be a few more stand-alone shows--a cruise with the Beach Boys, and isolated make-up dates for previously-scheduled concerts postponed because of...well, you know--but this is the end of the road.
Oh, and a side note to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: #inductthemonkees
POSTSCRIPT: 12/10/2021
My brain has insufficient bandwidth today to process the sad news of Michael Nesmith's passing. Suffice it to say that I was and remain a fan. My deepest sympathies to all those close to him in real life (especially Micky, Christian, Circe, and Andrew), as well as to all of my fellow Believers.
Weren't they good? They made me happy. Rest in peace, Mr. Nesmith.
TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!
You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby!
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:
Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio: CD or download
I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.
No comments:
Post a Comment