Illegal Foreign Object

We didn’t have cable television when I was a little kid. My Nana and Grandpa did, and the four or five times a year we visited their house often led to many hours of sitting entirely too closely to the television (with the volume turned down to a whisper in the hopes they wouldn’t hear whatever gross-out thing was being said on Nickelodeon’s You Can’t Do That On Television). It was a ridiculous show, the type of lowbrow, boob tube fodder that sent kids into hysterics. I dug it, but it wasn’t my favorite show — I saved that slot for the greatness of The Monkees. 

On the odd chance I catch a re-run nowadays, those shows are still good for a laugh, and the songs, whether or not you call them a byproduct of clever marketing to cash in on Beatlemania, still hold up. “Daydream Believer” and “I’m A Believer” are unabashed bangers.

I admire Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, Davy Jones, and Micky Dolenz — they played ‘the game’ well enough that they were able to use their fame to take control of their fame. Maybe it’s their sugary sweet “made for TV” image, but I love the idea of the Monkees (Tork and Nesmith, in particular) telling the suits they didn’t want to be cogs in a wheel.

After the band broke up, Michael Nesmith went solo. He wrote hits for other artists, scored a few for himself and his First National Band, and released several albums. Nesmith might’ve played a rockstar on television, but the native Texan’s country roots ran deep (he was born in Houston and raised in Dallas). Still, he didn’t start playing in bands until after a tour of duty in the Air Force, when his mother and stepfather gifted him a guitar for Christmas.

He gigged around San Antonio, Texas while learning to play and write songs and poetry, amassing enough to goose a desire to move out to California in 1963. Two years later, he landed the gig on The Monkees — his laid-back personality lending a perfect balance to Davy, Micky, and Peter’s zaniness. From 1965 to 1970, Nesmith played “Mike”, the somewhat level-headed member of The Monkees. His iconic wool hat — that was Nesmith’s — he rode his motorcycle to the audition and wore the hat to keep his hair out of his face.

My favorite Michael Nesmith story involves him punching a hole through a hotel wall out of frustration over not being allowed more control over the band’s early career, then declaring to Don Kirshner and Colgems Records lawyer Herb Moelis, “That could have been your face, motherfucker!” During the summer of 1967, the “Summer of Love”, only the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band outsold the Monkees’ third album (and the first the band played instruments), Headquarters.

Throughout Nesmith’s time with the Monkees, he regularly held back songs he wanted to save for a possible solo album. After wiggling out of his contract with the Colgems two years early, he put together the First National Band, releasing his first “official” solo album in 1970, Magnetic South (Nesmith recorded The Wichita Train Whistle Sings in 1968 while still with the Monkees, but isn’t credited).

Between 1970 and 1974, Michael Nesmith recorded and released seven albums, including my favorite, Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash. Nesmith was burning the candle at both ends during this time. Besides his own writing and recording, he was up to his eyes with work for the Countryside Label, an offshoot label set up by Elektra head Jac Holzman specifically for Michael to run. When most of the releases Nesmith produced for the label didn’t pan out, his relationship soured with the big bosses. Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash was a commercial flop, signaling the end of his relationship with RCA Records. Still, as campfire albums go, this one is a fine listen.

“Prairie Lullaby” is a heartfelt ballad that showcases Nesmith’s vocal tenderness, while “Continuing” and “Some Of Shelly’s Blues” are both perfect examples of a catchy country ditty. On “Winonah”, a writing collaboration with “The Blue Jean Country Queen” Linda Hargrove, pedal steel player Red Rhodes shines. “Marie’s Theme”, an alternate version of the same song Nesmith released on his 1974 concept album, The Prison, was only included in later releases of Pretty Much Your Standard Stash. It’s included in this review because it is arguably the finest moment on the record.

Pretty Much Your Standard Stash was a fork in the road for Nesmith. He continued to release music but spread his wings in other directions. He formed Pacific Arts Corp. — becoming a pioneer in the home video market. He also created (and sold) a television show called PopClips for Nickelodeon. Time Warner turned PopClips into MTV. The area in which he had the most profound effect on me, however, was in his role as an executive producer for the films Tapeheads and Repo Man. Through those movies, Nesmith, in a roundabout way, turned me on to Circle Jerks, Devo, Fishbone, Black Flag, and several others — some of the best, most soul-shifting music I’ve ever heard.

Tracklist:

1. Continuing 8/10
2. Some Of Shelly’s Blues 8/10
3. Release 7/10
4. Winonah 9/10
5. Born To Love You 7/10
6. Medley: The Back Porch And A Fruit Jar Full Of Iced Tea 8/10
7. Prairie Lullaby 8/10
8. Marie’s Theme – Alternate Version* 9/10

Grade: 80