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Michael Nesmith & The First National Band – Nevada Fighter (Expanded Edition) (1971/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 46:11 minutes | 495 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
Nevada Fighter kicks off with the witty and loose-limbed “The Grand Ennui,” and for a moment it sounds like the album will pick up where Michael Nesmith’s previous album with the First National Band, Loose Salute, left off. But before long, the album shifts gears, and it becomes obvious that Nesmith had something different in mind this time. Except for the rollicking side-closer, “Nevada Fighter,” most of the material on side one suggests the more introspective moments of Magnetic South but without the same balance of charm and dry humor that made that album so appealing (though “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)” is a fine love song that’s a good bit more approachable than its title would lead you to expect). Side two is turned over to material by other songwriters, and while this shifts the album’s lyrical tone rather dramatically, Nesmith reveals himself to be a fine interpretive vocalist, and “Texas Morning” and “The Rainmaker” are splendid songs that would merit anyone’s attention. The First National Band were also augmented by a number of session musicians on Nevada Fighter (including James Burton and Ronn Tutt from Elvis Presley’s band), and the arrangements have a decidedly different flavor than on Nesmith’s previous two albums, especially in the second half (though Red Rhodes’ pedal steel is predictably splendid throughout). Nevada Fighter is a fine album, but it’s also the weakest of the three Nesmith would cut with the First National Band, and it’s not hard to imagine that Nesmith was starting to look for new pastures while he was recording this set.
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Michael Nesmith & The First National Band – Loose Salute (Expanded Edition) (1970/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 56:42 minutes | 603 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
After reinventing himself as an engagingly spacey cowboy on the splendid Magnetic South, Michael Nesmith took a slightly more eclectic approach on his second album with the First National Band, Loose Salute. While country flavors still dominate the album (and Red Rhodes’ pedal steel work was even stronger this time out), the up-tempo numbers swing a bit harder (especially the rollicking “Dedicated Friend”), there’s a funky R&B undertow to “Bye, Bye, Bye,” the rhythm guitars on “Silver Moon” suggest Nesmith had heard a bit of reggae, and “Tengo Amore” brings a Latin influence into the mix. But Nesmith’s love of old-school country still rings clear on every cut (especially the steel-dominated remake of the Monkees’ “Listen to the Band”), and after letting the world know about his deeper side on Magnetic South, Loose Salute found Nesmith writing about more direct and organic themes (love, faith, ditching work, leaving the Monkees). Nesmith also took over as producer, and he gets a tougher and tighter sound from the band than Felton Jarvis managed on Magnetic South. Loose Salute doesn’t cohere quite as well as Magnetic South, but the material is strong, the band sounds great, and Michael Nesmith offered even more surprises than he had in his first turn at bat; it’s one of the strongest records in his catalog as a solo artist.
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Michael Nesmith – Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (Expanded Edition) (1973/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 35:36 minutes | 390 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
After hitting a groove with And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’, which Michael Nesmith recorded with just pedal steel guitarist Red Rhodes for accompaniment, Nesmith beefed his sound up again with a full band on Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash. But the previous album seems to have reminded Nesmith about the virtues of restraint, and while he had a six-piece band at his disposal this time out, the arrangements are tight and efficient, offering the warmth and immediacy of his First National Band sessions (and sometimes even beating them for subtle, understated swing). Red Rhodes, as always, is the star soloist here, but the rest of the band also shines, in particular the guitars of Jay Lacy and Dr. Robert Warford and the solid drumming of Danny Lane. Nesmith wrote one of his best and purest country songs for this set, “Winonah,” and offered up a solid remake of the Monkees obscurity “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” while dipping into bluegrass for the lovely acoustic medley “Back Porch and a Fruit Jar Full of Iced Tea.” Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash was Michael Nesmith’s final album for RCA Records, and if it didn’t fare especially well in the marketplace, from a musical standpoint he certainly left the House That Nipper Built on a high note it was hardly your standard ’70s country-rock album.
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Michael Nesmith – And the Hits Just Keep On Comin’ (Expanded Edition) (1972/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 45:12 minutes | 476 MB | Genre: Rock, Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
In 1972, Michael Nesmith had released four albums for RCA Records that didn’t sell especially well, and he had parted ways with his band, with only pedal steel guitarist Red Rhodes interested in working on Nesmith’s next project. RCA gave Nesmith a limited window of time to make his next album for them, so it was necessity rather than design that led Nesmith to cut And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’ with just himself on acoustic guitar and Rhodes on pedal steel. But the results were truly inspired; Nesmith and Rhodes use the album’s spare instrumentation to their advantage, with the performances both empathetic and intimate, and Rhodes’ masterful steel gives these songs a graceful resonance few full bands could muster. And while the ten songs find Nesmith in one of his more introspective phases, here he manages to keep one foot planted firmly in the real world while the other traipses the cosmos (even the trippiest song here, “The Candidate,” manages a certain tongue-in-cheek wit that keeps it on terra firma, and “Keep On” offers neo-hippie philosophy rooted in good ol’ Texas horse sense). He also offers up a superb folk-styled remake of “Different Drum” that has a bluesy lope missing from Linda Ronstadt’s better-known version. And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’ is modest in approach but very satisfying in execution, practically defining the phrase “happy accident.”
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