MUSIC
MONKEE TO MONKEE
Micky Dolenz Sings Choice Cuts from the Michael Nesmith Songbook
BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH
O
of my own original material, but you never know. I’ve been working on short stories and a screenplay and stuff like that. But not songs. I haven’t been inspired to sit down and write any tunes. It’s been prose. It’s been short stories, science-fiction short stories, actually.
NE OF THE MOST POPULAR pop bands of the ‘60s was The Monkees. The made-for-television group blurred the lines between high concept and extraordinary creativity, surprising even their fans and corporate gatekeepers with a revolutionary catalog Well, let’s get into this Dolenz Sings of great music, an influential feature film Nesmith, because I really love it. and two seasons of shows that continue to Well look, I say, ‘It always starts with garner new generations of fans. the material.’ It’s the songwriter and the Following the deaths of Davy Jones and song and the material, or a script or a Peter Tork, the surviving members of the story, a book or whatever. It starts with band continue to tour and record - with the material. Nez just wrote so many a recent live album featuring concert great tunes. performances from Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith. Now that they’re off the The concept and the cover are reminiscent road during the pandemic, Micky Dolenz of Nilsson Sings Newman. has a brand-new album ready for release. Many years ago in the late 60s, early 70s, Dolenz Sings Nesmith finds drummerone of my dearest friends - probably my guitarist-director-screenwriter Micky in best friend at the time - was Harry Nilsson, especially fine form with a set of completely the singer-songwriter. I was there when reimagined tunes from Michael’s vast he did that album and I guess it just stuck catalog of ‘60s and ‘70s-era compositions. with me. A number of years ago when Mike, With able production from frequent Peter and I put together a little tour as a Monkee-band guitarist Christian Nesmith, memorial tour for Davy, I just said to Nez the collection - due this month from one day, this was years ago, ‘I would love the retro-minded folks at 7A Records to do a Dolenz sings Nesmith album.’ He resonates as one of the best recordings of was like, [shifts into a Texas drawl] ‘Well, Dolenz’ career. A deep-dive into that’s a good idea.’ He came up the Nesmith canon of tunes, IF YOU’RE LUCKY with some tunes, suggestions. Dolenz and company have But that was it at the time AND ALL THE selected a set of performances because we went on tour and I that showcase his range STARS ALIGN AND did other things, other albums as a vocalist and his openIT’S THE PERFECT and this and that. Then a couple mindedness as arranger and STORM, THEN IT years ago, I mentioned it to 7A skills as interpreter. Records who’ve released a lot of Recently INsite was honored WORKS OUT. WHAT reissues of stuff and they loved to speak with Dolenz from his HAPPENS IS THE the idea. Now here we are. I home in Los Angeles. WHOLE BECOMES mean, essentially, they made me a deal and we engaged Christian Here you come with a great new GREATER THAN THE Nesmith to produce and album. You’ve made records SUM OF ITS PARTS. [Monkee mastermind] Andrew during Vietnam, Watergate Sandoval to do the A&R. I and now during a pandemic. basically left it in their hands. Good point. Well, in my case there’s I knew I was too close to the material to not a lot of pressure or intent. During really be objective about it. I didn’t want The Monkees, it was all intent. It was a to do just a karaoke cover version of set schedule. I would film the television these tunes. show for 10 hours a day and then go into the studio and record a couple of lead There’s not a bad song on it. It’s not one vocals every night, and it was all on a very of those records you skip through and go, tight schedule. It was pretty well-defined “Well that one’s okay, but…’ for everyone. But after the show went off You mean like with Sergeant the air, I stopped recording on a regular Pepper, right? basis. Then it was just basically down to somebody making me an offer, saying, Yeah, exactly. ‘Do you want to record an album?’ Lately, I remember skipping through all of those. I think a lot of people have had nothing better to do but get in the studio and write Just filler, it’s all filler. or create things. I think probably we’ll find Yeah, all filler. that a lot of great material - musical and otherwise – I mean, books and movies and But on yours, it’s all killer. There’s a whole scripts and things, will probably all come new look at the Nesmith songbook. out of this situation. There’s nothing like There’s some really interesting rebeing tied to your word processor or your imagining of some of these tunes, like guitar, your piano or something. That’s “Circle Sky.” I mean, it’s just amazing what always been one of my problems, I’ve never Christian did with it. I was thrilled, because been very prolific as a songwriter or any when I talked to him about it originally, I kind of writer but I have written some stuff said, ‘Do you think you’re going to be able recently because I just can’t go out. to work with that material?’ He said, ‘It’s an interesting challenge, but I want to give it So do you think we’re going to see a Dolenz a shot,’ and he did an amazing job. He’s the sings Dolenz here pretty soon? one that re-envisioned the majority of that I had some wonderful songs that I did on material. I would throw in my two cents. So Good Times, produced by the late Adam I’m glad you like it. Schlesinger. But I’m not prolific, I never have been. Something has to catch my Oh, I absolutely love it. And just like with attention. I don’t see myself doing an album Justus, the very first track I played was PG 8 • May 2021 • insiteatlanta.com
“Circle Sky” and man, this time it did not disappoint. We talked about it and I was like, ‘How can we do “Circle Sky” any differently? I mean, it’s what it is.’
an elevator. I heard a Muzak version of Revolution. I thought, ‘Oh boy.’ It was like Mel Tormé or something, [breaks into smarmy Vegas crooner mode] Ya say ya want a rev-o-lution…
It’s a million times better than the version on Justus. I was actually disappointed by that one particular track for some reason. Well, that’s probably because it wasn’t that different from the original, it’s so hard when you cover tunes, very few people can do it. I mean, look at how many people have successfully covered a Beatles tune. Very few. I mean, Joe Cocker’s the one that comes to mind that was able to re-envision a couple of Beatles tunes. I mean, how many can you name? How many Beatles tunes can you name that have been reenvisioned, and so successfully. It’s very difficult. I mean, even if you look at Smash Mouth’s version of “I’m a Believer,” which is great. But it’s not a different feel. It isn’t a different version, really. It’s very difficult to do that with iconic songs.
Hey, that’s your next record right there. You could swing the hits. (Laughs) Yeah, right. But if you’re lucky and all the stars align and it’s the perfect storm, then it works out. What happens is the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. And that’s, I think, the secret to our industry, our business, in music or in film or in any medium. You can’t take a Beatles record apart and say, “Oh, well, it was just George Martin,” or, “Oh, well, it was really just John Lennon. It was just Ringo’s drumming. It was just this chord change from G to A.” You just can’t do that. You can’t take it apart. You can’t dissect an album or a movie or a TV show. Anything. It doesn’t work like that. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts, and that’s just it. You take it apart, its like the old thing about taking the watch apart to see how it works. Well, then you don’t have a watch and it doesn’t work. When I did King for a Day with Jeffrey Foskett, I said, ‘I’m going to be Frank Sinatra, going into the studio with Quincy Jones and singing.’ That’s what I do. That’s my instrument.
No, because in the ‘60s on TV variety shows, everybody took a stab at those songs and it was always embarrassing. Jim Nabors or somebody, you know? It’s like Steve and Eydie doing “Got to Get You into My Life.” I mean, that’s just wrong. Yeah, I remember when I realized I was really getting old. It was when I was in an elevator, I guess in ... probably at that time it would’ve been in the ‘80s, and I was in
Dolenz Sings Nesmith will be available on May 21 from 7arecords.com.
