[2019-03-29] Michael Nesmith "Songs" 12CD box set (Edsel UK)

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Feb 05, 2019 5:22 pm

Description
As a member of the first-ever manufactured group, Michael Nesmith needs little introduction. Aside from his ground-breaking projects in the field of music video and film production, he has enjoyed a solo career since he left the Monkees that has encompassed many styles of music, but has always been supported by his wonderful songwriting, alongside some very astute choices of songs he has covered.

Nez signed to RCA in 1970 and in quick succession made three albums with The First National Band, which featured pedal steel guitarist extraordinaire O.J. ‘Red' Rhodes. All three featured, in the main, his own compositions (including some he had tried out in Monkees sessions) plus some interesting covers, including both well-known country songs and songs by the likes of Harry Nilsson and Eric Clapton. Alongside the contemporary output of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, these albums form the foundation of Country Rock.

Nesmith continued in this vein with three more albums for RCA in 1972 and 1973, the ironically-titled "...And The Hits Just Keep on Comin'" containing his own version of "Different Drum", a huge hit for Linda Ronstadt back in 1967.

He formed his own production company, Pacific Arts, in 1975, the first release being "The Prison", "a book with a soundtrack", with songs to compliment the reading experience. A second example of this, “The Garden” was issued in 1994. 1977 saw the release of "From The Radio Engine To The Photon Wing", which featured the hit single "Rio". The video for this was instrumental in the birth of MTV. Moving away from country rock, follow-up albums further showcased Nesmith's songwriting, accompanied by songs by Cole Porter and others.

This box set is the first time that Michael Nesmith's solo albums from both his RCA and Pacific Arts periods have been brought together in one compendium. The albums are in CD-sized facsimiles of the original sleeves, along with a booklet that compiles all the credits and liner notes from those sleeves. There are also four bonus tracks across the RCA albums.

[tracklisting][CD1: Magnetic South (1970)]
1. Calico Girlfriend
2. Nine Times Blue
3. Little Red Rider
4. The Crippled Lion
5. Joanne
6. First National Rag
7. Mama Nantucket
8. Keys To The Car
9. Hollywood
10. One Rose
11. Beyond The Blue Horizon
Bonus Track:
12. Rose City Chimes

[CD2: Loose Salute (1970)]
1. Silver Moon
2. I Fall To Pieces
3. Thanx For The Ride
4. Dedicated Friend
5. Conversations
6. Tengo Amore
7. Listen To The Band
8. Bye, Bye, Bye
9. Lady Of The Valley
10. Hello Lady
Bonus Track:
11. First National Dance

[CD3: Nevada Fighter (1971)]
1. Grand Ennui
2. Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun To Care)
3. Here I Am
4. Only Bound
5. Nevada Fighter
6. Texas Morning
7. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
8. I Looked Away
9. Rainmaker
10. René

[CD4: Tantamount to Treason Vol 1 (1972)]
1. Mama Rocker
2. Lazy Lady
3. You Are My One
4. In the Afternoon
5. Highway 99 With Melange
6. Wax Minute
7. Bonaparte’s Retreat
8. Talking To The Wall
9. She Thinks I Still Care
Bonus Tracks:
10. Cantata & Fugue In C&W
11. Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette

[CD5: And The Hits Just Keep On Comin’ (1972)]
1. Tomorrow & Me
2. The Upside Of Good-Bye
3. Lady Love
4. Listening
5. Two Different Roads
6. The Candidate
7. Different Drum
8. Harmony Constant
9. Keep On
10. Roll With The Flow

[CD6: Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (1973)]
1. Continuing
2. Some Of Shelly’s Blues
3. Release
4. Winonah
5. Born To Love You
6. The Back Porch And A Fruit Jar Full Of Iced Tea (a. The F.F.V b. Uncle Pen)
7. Prairie Lullaby

[CD7: The Prison – A Book With Soundtrack (1974)]
1. Opening Theme (Life, The Unsuspecting Captive)
2. Dance Between The Raindrops
3. Elusive Ragings
4. Waking Mystery
5. Hear Me, Calling
6. Marie’s Theme
7. Closing Theme (Lamp Post)

[CD8: From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing (1977)]
1. Rio
2. Casablanca Moonlight
3. More Than We Imagine
4. Navajo Trail
5. We Are Awake
6. Wisdom Has Its Way
7. Love’s First Kiss
8. The Other Room

[CD9: Infinite Rider On The Big Dogma (1979)]
1. Dance
2. Magic
3. Tonite
4. Flying
5. Carioca
6. Cruisin’
7. Factions
8. Light
9. Horserace
10. Capsule

[CD10: The Newer Stuff (1989)]
1. Total Control
2. Tanya
3. I’ll Remember You
4. Formosa Diner
5. Dreamer
6. Eldorado To The Moon
7. Tahiti Condo
8. Chow Mein And Bowling

[CD11: Tropical Campfires (1992)]
1. Yellow Butterfly
2. Laugh Kills Lonesome
3. Moon Over The Rio Grande
4. One…
5. Juliana
6. Brazil
7. In The Still Of The Night
8. Rising In Love
9. Begin The Beguine
10. I Am Not That
11. …For The Island
12. Twilight On The Trail

[CD12: The Garden (1994)]
1. Garden’s Glow
2. Ficus Carica
3. City
4. Hills Of Time
5. Flowers Dancing
6. Wisteria
7. Life Becoming[/tracklisting]

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N3S5PWM/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N3S5PWM/?tag=imwan-21

pobbard · 18 Jun 2007

Whaaaaaaaaaaa

On a huge Nesmith kick lately - focused on those 6 RCA albums (1970-1973) - can't wait to find out more about this set!!

pobbard · 18 Jun 2007

Found more info. Sounds like the RCA albums are reissues of the recent single-disc reissues, not the Expanded Editions released digitally only last year. Too bad.

richman666 · 15 Nov 2006

I'm very excited about this. I have four of his early albums on two 2-fer CDs and I've really been enjoying the 2-LP live set he released last year, so this collection with fill in a very large gap with only a little bit of overlap of things I already own.

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:22 pm

Bump: I've moved pobbard's quoted information up into the first post, and added a packshot as well.

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:02 am

[2019-03-29] Michael Nesmith "Songs" 12CD box set (Edsel UK)

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