Michael Nesmith's RCA albums arrive unannounced with previously unreleased bonus cuts

6/1/2018

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!

MAGNETIC SOUTH BONUS TRACKS

Rose City Chimes

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette

Magnolia Simms (Instrumental)

Born to Love You (Instrumental)

Hollywood (Alternate Backing Track)

LOOSE SALUTE BONUS TRACKS

Different Drum (Alternate Version)

First National Dance

American Airman

Bye, Bye, Bye (Alternate Version)

Dedicated Friend (Alternate Version)

Tengo Amore (Alternate Instrumental)

Loose Salute Radio Spots

NEVADA FIGHTER BONUS TRACKS

Texas Morning (Alternate Take)

Rene (Uncut Version)

Tapioca Tundra (Instrumental)

Roses Are Blooming - Come Back to Me Darling (Instrumental)

Nevada Fighter / Trilogy Radio Spots

TANTAMOUNT TO TREASON BONUS TRACKS

Six Days on the Road

Circle Sky

Listen to the Band (Alternate Version)

Tan My Hide (Instrumental)

You Are My One (Alternate Instrumental)

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'
BONUS TRACKS

Some of Shelly's Blues (Alternate Version)

Keep On (Alternate Version)

Roll with the Flow (Alternate Version)

Cantata and Fugue in C & W (Instrumental)

PRETTY MUCH YOUR STANDARD RANCH STASH BONUS TRACKS

Maria's Theme (Alternate Version)

11 Comments

B. Sherman

6/1/2018 20:21:05

This is mind-blowing.

Tom B

6/1/2018 21:01:28

This. Is. Incredible. Unbelievable. Extraordinary!!!! How much can a Monkees/Nesmith fan take in one week?!?!?!?!?

Guy Smiley

6/1/2018 21:39:31

VERY COOL!

But, c’mon Sony (or whomever)... CDs, PLEEAASE? Some of us still buy those!

Dave

6/1/2018 21:40:22

Wow! Can you just buy the bonus tracks individually?

Ben

6/1/2018 22:27:31

Yes! You can just buy the bonus tracks. On iTunes anyway.

6/1/2018 22:59:19

Yes, you can! On iTunes.

Hearing the Second National Band version of "Circle Sky" (!) makes me wonder what a 1972 Monkees reunion concert including just the four guys would have been like...

Bob Mauldin link

6/12/2018 11:19:33

Hey, it would be best to buy the whole albums! These are taken from the original masters! All the FNB material that has been available so far has been a second generation dub at best...some taken from LP's. As a bit of an audiophile, I was always a bit disappointed in the quality of those things. THESE are from the masters! So ALL the songs sound amazing!! And yes, we DO need CD's! Because iTunes uses MP3 which is a compressed format. CD would be FULL quality! For now though, I bought all six extended albums and have been listening constantly!!

6/12/2018 23:40:11

Full quality available here:
https://www.hdtracks.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Michael+Nesmith+

Wyatt C

6/5/2018 14:29:48

Holt Frak!

I Just.......

Marc Edward Heuck link

6/5/2018 17:06:38

Sadly, LOOSE SALUTE does not include the extended mix of "Silver Moon" that had been exclusive to the reel-to-reel edition of the album. I always liked this version:

https://youtu.be/USElMJerrnY

Christopher

6/6/2018 14:06:59

Thank you for sharing the great news with us. Now someone tell them that we need the two dozen or so unissued songs issued on a compact disc! :)