• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

The Over-looked Genius of Michael Nesmith

Mysterion

Mysterion

Vice Admiral
Admiral
And, I don't mean because his mother invented liquid paper.

Been watching re-runs of the Monkees tv series, and have noticed a couple of things.

1) These shows are still pretty funny stuff.

2) Michael Nesmith was quite possibly the most talented guy in the group.

Check out this Monkees song, written by Nesmith:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nLPO-Dhe7s

It's short, but man it sticks with you. Have had this tune lodged in my frontal lobe for nearly three days now. They should of had him singing lead more often. I find his voice more pleasing/listenable than Davy Jones who they seemed to be pushing out front the most. I will say, though, that there a couple of Monkees songs with Micky Dolenz singing lead that are also quite good.

Here's a couple of solo pieces he did after the Monkees:

El dorado on the Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpOQKUAYZ0w&feature=related

Rio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNwj-Z6ig-M&feature=related

Great stuff, ain't it?
 
Oh, I agree. I'm not much into rock or pop music, but I grew up with The Monkees and Mike has always been my favorite, both as a personality/character on the show and as a songwriter/singer. And I've been aware that of all the Monkees, he had the most significant solo career beyond the group. Didn't he pioneer the creation of the modern music video with that thing he did called Elephant Parts? Or something like that? (Although one could say that The Monkees was a prototype of music videos, even granting that they were basically copying A Hard Day's Night.)
 
^^^^
Yes, Elephant Parts (and later Television Parts) were a bit ahead of their times. I saw part of an interview he did on Later with Greg Kinnear where he mentioned that he had basically sold the idea for a 24-hour music video channel to Warner Brothers. Will have to dig up the interview to be more specific, though.

Nesmith was then, and still is a very funny and creative guy. I think he's the kind of person I'd enjoy sitting down and spending time talking with.

Oh, and now day four with You Just May Be the One stuck in my head. :)
 
ToddKent said:
He was definitely the under-appreciated, "George Harrison" of the group.
Click to expand...

Interesting comparison. I have often felt the same way about Harrison's work. He did some amazing stuff post-Beatles that didn't seem to get a lot of notice compared to the work Lennon and McCartney were doing in the same period.
 
No Mysterion, it's not just you. And funny you picked that song. I once had that stuck in my head and it was the first Monkees song I learned to play. My two favourite singers for the group were Mike and Mickey.

While George and the Beatles coming into the discussion, I think that's an apt comparison. George was indeed under-appreciated. A lot of his songs were easily on par with John and Paul's pieces.

@ Christopher... I believe, though it's been a while since I read about, that Nesmith was also involved in the early days of MTV.
 
Mike was my favorite Monkee when I was a kid. Because his name was Mike (like me ) and was from Texas (like me).
 
Mysterion said:
Michael Nesmith was quite possibly the most talented guy in the group
Click to expand...

There's no "quite possibly" about it, my friend.

Besides being the Monkee who could absolutely play his own instruments, he wrote (just to name a few) "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Listen to the Band" and "Mary, Mary" (later remade by Run DMC) for the band.

Outside the Monkees his songs were covered by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ("Some of Shelleys Blues") and, most notably, Linda Ronstadt ("Different Drum").

After leaving the Monkees, he had the Top 40 hit "Joanne" and is considered one of the pioneers (along with Gram Parsons) of 70s country-rock.

He then went into production, serving as executive producer of the film "Repo Man" and even the creator (or co-creator) of MTV.

His current website, Videoranch, promotes his own music and hosts live performances at various virtual venues.

Nes is the man. I've been a fan since the Monkees days and still am 40 years of solo work later.
 
I mentioned earlier Linda Ronstadt covering his song "Different Drum" and the NGDB covering "Some of Shelley's Blues".

Here's Nesmith doing them himself:
Different Drum
Some of Shelley's Blues

I love the way he does them. Kind of an early Bob Dylan meets George Jones by way of Neil Young thing going on.
 
He's one of the more famous, reclusive residents here in Santa Fe... I too, always like Mike the best, but I think it was because of the hat.. Hey.. I was like 6 years old.. Who can tell what drives the mind of a little kid.
 
Another thing I like about Papa Gene's Blues is that the main lead guitar break was played in the studio by another of my favorites, legendary artist Glen Campbell!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top