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Back in 2018, Michael Nesmith's six early 1970s albums for RCA Records appeared on various digital and streaming platforms, and more surprisingly at the time, each album was chock-full of bonus tracks, many of them previously unreleased. Magnetic South (1970), Loose Salute (1970), Nevada Fighter (1971), Tantamount To Treason (1972), And the Hits Just Keep On Comin' (1972), and Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (1973) have all seen various reissues over the years on both compact disc and vinyl. And since the CD re-releases featured scant bonus tracks, the 2018 digital/streaming versions of those albums marked the first time that the vaults were truly opened to reveal a plethora of previously unheard recordings by Nesmith and the First and Second National Band line-ups (including new versions of Monkees songs like "Circle Sky" and instrumental renditions of both "Magnolia Simms" and "Tapioca Tundra"). Now, courtesy of Real Gone Music, comes Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings on compact disc, which collects all of those digital bonus tracks that had never been treated to a proper physical release. The CD has debuted at #98 on Billboard's Current Album Sales chart, and Videoranch recently shared a review of the set courtesy of Shindig:  UPDATE 5/18/2021: Courtesy of Videoranch, here's another review of Different Drum, this time from Record Collector: 
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 Back in 2018, Michael Nesmith's six early 1970s albums for RCA Records appeared suddenly on various digital and streaming platforms, and more surprisingly at the time, each album was chock-full of bonus tracks, many of them previously unreleased. Magnetic South (1970), Loose Salute (1970), Nevada Fighter (1971), Tantamount To Treason (1972), And the Hits Just Keep On Comin' (1972), and Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (1973) have all seen various reissues over the years on both compact disc and vinyl. And since the CD re-releases featured scant bonus tracks, the 2018 digital/streaming versions of those albums marked the first time that the vaults were truly opened to reveal a plethora of previously unheard recordings by Nesmith and the First and Second National Band line-ups (including new versions of Monkees songs like "Circle Sky," and instrumental renditions of both "Magnolia Simms" and "Tapioca Tundra"). And now, courtesy of the Real Gone Music label, comes Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings, which will collect "22 tracks drawn from the RCA Victor vaults, every one of which is previously unreleased in any physical format," according to the description found on the Amazon listing of the compact disc. Though no official track listing is available as of this posting, the disc will seemingly be comprised of the songs that were first revealed via the digital and streaming issues of the albums in 2018. Here is the full description of The Lost RCA Victor Recordings courtesy of Amazon: Michael Nesmith has always travelled to the beat of a 'Different Drum''whether as the writer of that classic hit for Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Poneys, the wool hat-clad member of The Monkees, or one of the earliest progenitors of the country-rock genre. In recent years, Nesmith has penned a critically acclaimed autobiography, reformed the First National Band to sold-out audiences, and both recorded and performed live to fans young and old with The Monkees. Now, Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records are proud to present a major deep dive into the Nez archives. Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings features 22 tracks drawn from the RCA Victor vaults, every one of which is previously unreleased in any physical format. Over six RCA albums released between 1970 and 1973, Nesmith blossomed as a singer, songwriter, bandleader, and producer under the aegis of RCA Nashville legends Chet Atkins and Felton Jarvis. With bandmates including legendary pedal steel guitarist O.J. 'Red' Rhodes, John Ware, and John London, Nesmith pioneered country-rock with a spiritual and searching style all his own. Different Drum premieres on CD some of his most remarkable musical explorations from this vivid period including cosmic reimaginings of Monkees-era favorites like 'Tapioca Tundra,' 'Magnolia Simms,' 'Circle Sky,' and 'Listen to the Band;' unheard outtakes like 'American Airman' and 'Six Days on the Road;' vastly different alternate takes of 'Different Drum,' 'Dedicated Friend,' and 'Tengo Amore;' and even an early version of 'Marie's Theme' from his cult classic multimedia project The Prison. The mind-altering music on Different Drum has been mixed from the original multitracks by Andrew Sandoval and mastered by Vic Anesini at Sony's Battery Studios, while Papa Nez himself has contributed insightful new commentary to the liner notes by The Second Disc's Joe Marchese. Rare photos by renowned photographer Henry Diltz and previously unseen images round out this landmark package. Different Drum is a freewheeling, widescreen journey through the world of one of rock's greatest iconoclasts. Don't take our word for it: listen to the band! Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings will arrive on April 30, 2021. You can pre-order your copy from Amazon now! And stay tuned to The Monkees Live Almanac for official track listings and more! UPDATE 3/8/2021: Thank you very much to Gordon from Real Gone Music for providing the Live Almanac with the official CD track listing for The Lost RCA Victor Recordings. And here is the official link to pre-order from Real Gone Music. 1. Different Drum (Alternate Version)
2. American Airman 3. Bye, Bye, Bye (Alternate Version) 4. Dedicated Friend (Alternate Version) 5. Tengo Amore (Alternate Instrumental) 6. Texas Morning (Alternate Take) 7. Rene (Uncut Version) 8. Six Days on the Road 9. Circle Sky 10. Listen to the Band (Alternate Version) 11. Some of Shelly’s Blues (Alternate Version) 12. Keep On (Alternate Version) 13. Roll with the Flow (Alternate Version) 14. Marie’s Theme (Alternate Version) 15. Magnolia Simms (Alternate Version) 16. Born to Love You (Instrumental) 17. Hollywood (Alternate Backing Track) 18. Tapioca Tundra (Instrumental) 19. Roses Are Blooming – Come Back to Me Darling (Instrumental) 20. Tan My Hide (Instrumental) 21. You Are My One (Alternate Instrumental) 22. Loose Salute (Radio Spots) The label Music on Vinyl has issued a limited edition (500 numbered copies) of Michael Nesmith's debut album with The First National Band, 1970's Magnetic South, on 180 gram audiophile transparent vinyl. It is currently available to order from Deep Discount. Thanks a lot to Live Almanac contributor Ben Belmares for providing his scans of the release.        The label Music on Vinyl has issued a limited edition (1,000 copies) of Michael Nesmith's second album with The First National Band, 1970's Loose Salute, on 180 gram audiophile transparent vinyl. Thanks a lot to Live Almanac contributor Ben Belmares for providing his scans of the release.       Michael Nesmith speaks to REBEAT about his solo albums, The Monkees, First National Band, and more1/11/2019
Last night, Michael Nesmith & The First National Band Redux closed their September tour with a show at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Micky Dolenz was in attendance, and posted the following message on Twitter:
Houston Chronicle previews opening night of Michael Nesmith & First National Band Redux tour9/4/2018  Subscribers to the Videoranch email list were given a heads-up today on some of the items that will be available at the merchandise booth during this September's Michael Nesmith & The First National Band Redux tour. The photos and descriptions provided in the email appear below. And don't forget to sign up for updates from Videoranch!
Limited Edition Hand Screen Printed Poster ($35) (Only 150 copies printed) Essay examines previously unheard bonus tracks from new editions of Michael Nesmith's RCA albums6/23/2018 Earlier this month, Michael Nesmith's 1970s-era albums for RCA Records appeared suddenly on various platforms, and more surprisingly, each album was chock-full of bonus tracks. As we all send our best wishes to Nez, take a look at Brian Marchese's brand new essay that examines the bonus content on these latest issues of Michael's RCA output.  Thanks to Sherri Hansen for uploading this great rendition of a Nez classic!
Nez demoed "Propinquity," a song he wrote for his first wife, Phyllis, in 1966:
He later recorded it during the famed Nashville sessions in 1968, but this version remained in the Monkees vaults until its appearance in 1996 on Missing Links Volume Three:
The song was given its first official release in 1971 on The First National Band's third album, Nevada Fighter:
A reworked version appeared on Live at the Palais in 1978:
Finally, this performance of "Propinquity" is taken from Live at the Britt Festival, a video and compact disc recorded on June 19, 1992 at the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon:
The influential trilogy of First National Band albums are now available on colored vinyl from Sundazed Music. As always, I'd like to say thank you to Ben Belmares for his fantastic scans that can't be beat. Great job, Ben! Magnetic South   (Click to enlarge)     Loose Salute   (Click to enlarge)     Nevada Fighter   (Click to enlarge)     With no official announcement or fanfare, Michael Nesmith's six early 1970s albums for RCA Records appeared on various platforms today, and even more surprisingly, each album was chock-full of bonus tracks. Magnetic South (1970), Loose Salute (1970), Nevada Fighter (1971), Tantamount To Treason (1972), And the Hits Just Keep On Comin' (1972), and Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (1973) have seen various reissues over the years on both compact disc and vinyl. Most recently, Sundazed Music issued the trilogy of First National Band albums on colored vinyl. And since the CD re-releases featured scant bonus tracks, this is the first time that the vaults have truly been opened to reveal a plethora of previously unheard recordings by Nesmith and the First and Second National Band line-ups (including new versions of Monkees songs like "Circle Sky," and instrumental renditions of both "Magnolia Simms" and "Tapioca Tundra"). In hindsight, fans were given something of an advance notice when Nez appeared live on Facebook in late April. During that event, Michael's assistant at Videoranch answered a question about whether or not the First National Band's albums would ever be remastered. She responded, saying "I think that Sony is doing that as we speak." And now as of today, those First National Band albums and the rest of Michael's RCA solo work are available on iTunes in the "Mastered for iTunes" format. You can purchase or stream all six expanded RCA albums on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, and HDtracks, but no physical compact discs are available at this time. Below you'll find each LP with a list of their respective bonus tracks, along with a few samples courtesy of YouTube. Thank you to Justin Rakowski for tipping off the Live Almanac about these new releases!
Michael Nesmith speaks to Billboard about the First National Band, "Infinite Tuesday," and more5/31/2018 Nez talks about writing for The Monkees, The First National Band, and more in new YouTube video5/14/2018  L to R: John London, Red Rhodes, Michael Nesmith, and John Ware in 1970 (Photo courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock)  (L to R: John Ware, John London, Red Rhodes, and Michael Nesmith in 1970) |
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