The Steel Guitar Forum

12/15/21
I thought I'd revive this thread from a few months ago that didn't seem to get much traction, since Nesmith is in the news now with his recent passing and Lloyd's fantastic playing on these tracks is mostly pretty little known.

Red Rhodes rightfully gets most of the attention around Nesmith since he was Nez's main guy all the way from the late 60s into the 90s, with many, many recordings and shows together. But Nesmith also recorded with Lloyd, Weldon Myrick and Al Perkins and there's even a 2014 live album with Chris Scruggs playing amazing stuff on his Fender D-8 deluxe. Nez loved steel.

These tracks were recorded in 1968 at Nashville's RCA Studio A, a few months after the Byrds' similar trip to Nashville to record "Sweetheart of the Rodeo."

The 9 songs that Nez recorded in Nashville are pretty great, in my opinion. It's a shame that they were never all released together, it could have been part of one of the great country-rock albums of the late '60s. Instead a few were released as Monkees singles and a few as Monkees album tracks; several were never released at all until decades later.

Many of these songs were prominently featured in the recent "Monkees Farewell Tour" which leaned heavily on the country-rock side of Nez and the Monkees, besides all the obvious hits.

The Crippled Lion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB_tb3Wvf0Y

Some of Shelley's Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9veXZ4p5hs

Don't Wait for Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycqf1RO1SRM

Good Clean Fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrnBWu3QoxQ

Listen to the Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIbUab76qas

Red Rhodes played the heck out of "Crippled Lion" on the Velvet Hammer LP. I didn't know Nesmith had originally sung it or that Lloyd had played on any of his stuff.

Joe

Hey Joe, hope you're well!

A lot of the songs from Nesmith's Nashville sessions, including "Crippled Lion." got recycled a few years later on First National Band albums, since the "Monkees" versions didn't get heard much. So Red recorded it with Nesmith a few years before he did his instrumental version.

killer stuff Pete.
I really dug Nez's country take on Jobim's How Insensitive. taking Nashville to Brazil, or vice versa?
https://youtu.be/LkUCR6tWMRM

Here's a few more from the 1968 sessions with Lloyd Green. Nesmith recut both of these songs with Red Rhodes in 1970 for First National Band albums.

Propinquity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oms4x-oCDn0

Hollywood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP9q6rRfNkU

Pete (and others) - there are a couple versions sans horns that really highlight Lloyd's part on "Listen To The Band":

no vocals: https://youtu.be/8x1eSEsmxUs
w/vocals: https://youtu.be/ifHKTr2R3FA

Best,

Joe

Thanks Scott and Joe for the added links. All great stuff.

Might as well add the only song from those sessions that I can think of that's not already here.
I didn't include it before since Lloyd's role is pretty minimal; mostly pads and low in the mix except for the final descending slide. But Buddy Spicher and Wayne Moss are worth a listen!

St. Matthew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc4uBQqDW4g

I asked Alexa to play Some of Shelly's Blues and the version that played was a live recording of the First National Band Redoux. Was that you Pete? Really nice steel break on that song!

We did a 22-track LP/CD "Live at the Troubadour" in 2018 with "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band Redux," so I guess that's what you heard.

No Monkees material at all on that , mostly classic early '70s First National Band stuff. Then in 2019 there was a 25-track LP/CD "Monkees Live; The Mike and Micky Show" from that tour, with all Monkees material and a very different band (that was the format of the recent "Farewell Tour"). For several years Nez was alternating between the two bands and I was lucky enough to be along for both.

The original 1968 version of that tune with Lloyd can be heard from the link above. Red Rhodes recorded it a few times with Nesmith too. Anyway, thanks!

This music is what started me on my pedal steel path. "Listen To The Band" was one of my first introductions to pedal steel, followed by "Good Clean Fun." And then the floodgates opened when I found the RCA reissue 45 "Joanne"/"Silver Moon" at the record store in 1987 - I was hooked on both Mike Nesmith and on pedal steel.

It is fun to listen how Lloyd and Red Rhodes took very unique approaches to songs like "Listen To The Band," "Hollywood," "Shelley's Blues," "Crippled Lion" and "Propinquity."

I was in a band that covered Shelley’s Blues.

It’s a well written tune with a cool chord progression. Plenty of places to sneak in some tasteful steel.

I knew it was a Nez tune, but the back story is really interesting.

I miss playing that stuff, thanks for posting.