Sunday, April 12, 2020

Album Review # 75 Michael Nesmith - And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'


A proud document of underachievement and happy sloth from Mike Nesmith, the Monkee in the bobble hat. released in 1972. It was his fifth solo album since leaving that band, so it's probably unfair of me to accuse him of laziness. Nevertheless it's all wry, laidback easiness from start to finish so describing it thus doesn't seem entirely inappropriate.


I bought this record one Saturday, a few years back on a coach trip to the Lake District with the company I work for. It was a nice, sunny day, (unusual for that part of the world in my experience), and I chanced upon this in a quick look round a record shop in Keswick. It wasn't overpriced, about a tenner I think, and it's certainly repaid me that meagre output since. All in all a rather lovely find.


Nesmith was probably the most talented Monkee. He was apparently the 'most difficult' one, during their short career, pushing management and TV execs to allow them to play and write their own material. He's lived a facinating life in general as a cursory glance through his Wikipedia page attests. In some respects he's a Gram Parsons or Gene Clark for television fans, (Robert Christgau's description not mine), labelling him thus no intentional diminishment of just how lovely and often profound his records and this one in particular are.


What do people know about Nesmith. That he was the one who wore the bobble hat in The Monkees. That his mother invented Liquid Paper, (Tippex essentially), and he inherited much of her fortune. That he wrote Different Drum, which was made famous by Linda Ronstadt. That he had something to do with the establishment of MTV. That he often refused to join in for Monkees cash in reunions because he wasn't financially obliged to. OK, that's it off the top of my head.



And The Hits is a ten track album of gently, skilfully played Country Rock. Nice, easy melodic tunes of wry observation, altogether gentle on the ear and a record that signs off with a knowing wink that will encourage you back to it before long. Probably Nesmith's version of Different Drum is the only thing here that's generally known beyond devotees of his. Nevertheless, there are several songs here that have become good personal friends to me in the time that I've had the record.


I seem to recall that my interest in the record was first piqued by a recommendation by Pete Astor, once of The Loft and The Weather Prophets in some magazine a couple of years before I actually came across it. Astor would obviously have appreciated its quiet gifts. The title of the record itself is indicative of its wry modesty and self-effacement. Astor might also have liked the fact that like him Nesmith never actually had any hits, at least as a solo artist, though several of the songs here wouldn't have sounded out of place in the American singles charts of 1972.


Most of the songs here are between two and three minutes long. Some linger slightly longer than that. They are imbued with gentle Folk philosophy, bending their knee ever so slightly to Dylan's lead while eschewing his seriousness. It's difficult to pick out highlights as every song is strong. Nesmith was a gifted songwriter, realising that towards the tail end of his time in The Monkees  and witholding the songs he was writing for his solo career.


He was always my favourite Monkee, just getting the nod over Dolenz who I also liked. I always liked the way he held something back, unlike the more effusive other three, he seemed to know the score better than they did. And The Hits is similarly imbued with modest, unpretentious wisdom too. It's something of an unacclaimed classic.


It's always nice to have a story to associate with buying a record and that Saturday trip to the Lake District was mine. One of the other managers of the organisation was on the trip with me. A nice fellow called Chris who has since been promoted to Academic Director. When we got to the trip's end destination we took a boat ride together, across Lake Windemere I think and had a couple of pints before taking the boat back to the coach for the drive home. I also got this fine album as another memory of a nice day into the bargain. It will always be one of my go to  albums when all I really want to do is kick back and relax. I commend it to you.


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