A Swingin’ Affair
A barrel full of Monkees albums, celebrated by Lois Wilson.
The Monkees (Colgems, 1966)
Heralded by the exquisite Paperback Rewrite of Last Train To Clarksville, The Monkees’ debut introduced Nesmith as a fully-fledged singersongwriter, his countryish nasalese captured perfectly on the selfpenned Brit-Invasion-meets-Texas twang of Papa Gene’s Blues plus Sweet Young Thing, his captivating co-write with Goffin and King.
More Of The Monkees (Colgems, 1967)
Mary Mary introduces Nesmith the intuitive producer who brings grit and gusto to his song, sung here by Micky Dolenz, but first recorded by The Paul
Butterfield Blues Band (it was later covered by Run-DMC in 1988). The garage-poppy The Kind Of Girl I Could Love (authored with Roger Atkins) provides another Nesmith thrill. And then there’s I’m A Believer. Believe!
Headquarters (Colgems, 1967)
The group seize creative control and write and play the majority of their 1967 third album. The result? Their third of four consecutive US Number 1s. Nesmith’s You Just May Be The One provides one of the many highlights. A vocal harmony-drenched slice of jangly folk-pop, it demonstrates his gift for timeless melody.
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd (Colgems, 1967)
Dolenz voiced the smash Pleasant Valley Sunday, though Nesmith’s guitar intro sizzles and the latter takes the lead on five of 13 tracks including What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round?, a country rocker featuring Nez at his driest best: “Just a loud mouth Yankee, I went down to Mexico…”
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (Colgems, 1968)
The group had grown apart and were recording separately but still produced an album that conversed with the pop charts (Valleri, Daydream Believer) and the underground, with Nesmith’s tongue-twisting Tapioca Tundra – exploring the relationship between performer, audience and song set to Byrdsian guitars – engaging both.
Head (Colgems, 1968)
Compiled by Jack Nicholson, the albumof-the-movie snaps a group at their subversive best. Some of the band were sniffy about it but Nesmith, fully embracing the project, delivered Circle Sky, a riot of crunchy guitar and hollered vox. In the film, it ends in images of Vietnam, and The Monkees dismembered by the fans. Hysterical? This time, literally.
Instant Replay (Colgems, 1969)
Their first without Peter Tork, this has slipped under the radar but is ripe for rediscovery thanks to three jewels from Nesmith – the melancholy sunshine pop swoon of Goffin and King’s I Won’t Be The Same Without Her plus his own While I Cry and Don’t Wait For Me, both bruised but beautiful laments.
The Monkees Present (Colgems, 1969)
The last Monkees album to feature Nesmith until 1996’s Justus, their eighth is a must-have for Nesmith’s Listen To The Band, recorded in Nashville with Charlie McCoy’s session aces Area Code 615, and Good Clean Fun – both presaging the country sound he’d explore more fully with the First National Band.
Epilogue...
Although he made an impromptu guest appearance at LA’s Greek Theatre in 1986 as part of The Monkees’ 20th anniversary tour, Nesmith was missing from 1987’s Pool It!, but did rejoin in the studio to celebrate their 30th year with 1996’s Justus (Rhino), remaking Circle Sky and penning Admiral Mike for Micky Dolenz to sing. He returned to mark their half century with 2016’s Good Times! (Rhino), contributing the touching piano-with-strings ballad I Know What I Know, and also joined in the festivities, breathing new life into standards on 2018’s Christmas Party (Rhino), The Monkees’ studio swan song.