Review: Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.

By Fred Velez

Following the success of the ‘Dolenz Sings Nesmith’ album, 7a Records has issued a new recording, ‘Dolenz Sings Nesmith: The E.P.’, featuring four songs that were recorded during the original sessions which were left off for space reasons.

Produced by Michael Nesmith’s son Christian, the E.P. continues the format of Micky Dolenz covering songs written by the late Michael Nesmith as a homage to his Monkees partner and friend. As with the previous album, rather than recreate mirror versions of the original arrangements in a “Karaoke” style, Christian and Dolenz approach the material with new arrangements that adds a new dimension to the familiar songs that honors the creativity Nez instilled in them.

The first of the four songs is ‘Soul-Writer’s Birthday’, which Nesmith wrote and copyrighted in 1967 but never recorded. The arrangement is reminiscent of songs like ‘Star Collector’ and ‘Salesman’, with Nez’s esoteric lyrics referencing “the 25th of June”, which after some research, turns out to be the period that Nesmith recorded his first official Monkees tunes in 1966. It’s a fun tune that could have fitted on The Monkees’ ‘Pisces’ album.

The next song is the Nesmith classic ‘Some of Shelly’s Blues’, previously recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Micky’s version of the song is very close to the original arrangement with some very tasty pedal steel guitar work done by Pete Finney.

‘The Cripple Lion’ has the most radically different arrangement from the original, with a beautiful cello played by Cameron Stone. The slower pace emphasizes the poignant lyrics, which reinforces the loss of Michael Nesmith. Hearing this version makes me miss Nez even more.

The final song ‘Grand Ennui’ was the bonus track on the cd version of ‘Dolenz Sings Nesmith’. It’s a rollicking number with barrelhouse piano and great background vocals by Circe Link.

The E.P. is available on CD, download and streaming, and for a limited time on Blue Vinyl. The cover presents a night time variation of the original cover, with a nice big silver moon in the night sky.

As the first major release after his sad passing, ‘Dolenz sings Nesmith: The E.P.’ is an appropriate salute to the music of Michael Nesmith and makes a fine companion to the previously released album.

Looking forward to more ‘Hits‘ from 7a Records! 😉

CD Link: https://www.deepdiscount.com/sings-nesmith-the-ep/5060209950891

Vinyl Link: https://www.deepdiscount.com/sings-nesmith-the-ep-ltd-10-inch-blue-vinyl/5060209950327

Fred Velez, 2022.