- Magnetic South (album)
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Magnetic South Studio album by Michael Nesmith & The First National Band Released 1970 Recorded February-March 1970 Genre Country rock Length 33:24 Label RCA Producer Felton Jarvis Michael Nesmith & The First National Band chronology The Wichita Train Whistle Sings
(1968)Magnetic South
(1970)Loose Salute
(1970)Magnetic South is the first solo album by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith during his post-Monkees career. Released by RCA Records in 1970, the album peaked at Number 143 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. Magnetic South is considered an early example of country rock. A single, " Joanne/One Rose" was taken from the album and reached Number 21 on the Billboard singles charts and Number 6 on the Adult Contemporary charts. It was the highest position of Nesmith's solo career.
Contents
History
Five of the album's eleven tracks are from Nesmith's career with The Monkees. The first four tracks were recorded in 1968-69 for The Monkees, while "Hollywood" was also recorded in 1968 but first demoed by Nesmith for possible inclusion on the album Headquarters. The Monkees connection to the First National Band not only involved Nesmith's compositions — band members John London played bass on several Monkees tracks and appeared as an extra on several episodes of the TV show and Red Rhodes played on a few 1969 Monkees tracks, notably "Steam Engine."
Felton Jarvis was given production credit even though he did no actual production work — the credit is primarily a tip for Jarvis, given that he'd helped sign The First National Band to RCA Records.[citation needed] Jarivs would also be the only person listed as a producer of Michael Nesmith albums other than Nesmith himself.
Magnetic South was reissued in 1999 as 16 Original Classics with five bonus tracks.[1] It was also reissued with Loose Salute (both remastered) on CD by BMG International in 2000.[2]
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [3]
Q [4]
Allmusic stated in their review "Mixing a country sound with a rocker's instincts and blending airy thoughts on the nature of life and love with iconography of life in the West that brought together the old and the new, Michael Nesmith reveled in contradictions on Magnetic South, making them sound as comfortable as well-worn cowboy boots and as fun as a Saturday night barn dance. It's a minor masterpiece of country-rock, and while the Eagles may have sold more records, Nesmith yodels a hell of a lot better than any of them."
Track listing
All songs by Michael Nesmith except where noted:
- "Calico Girlfriend" – 2:37
- "Nine Times Blue" – 1:39
- "Little Red Rider" – 2:34
- "The Crippled Lion" – 3:10
- " Joanne" – 3:10
- "First National Rag" (Red Rhodes) – 0:21
- "Mama Nantucket" – 2:36
- "Keys to the Car" – 2:52
- "Hollywood" – 5:03
- "One Rose" (D. Lyon, L. McIntyre) – 3:27
- "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (Richard Whiting, Franke Harling, Leo Robin) – 5:55
- Bonus tracks on 16 Original Classics re-release
- "Silver Moon" – 3:11
- "Lady of the Valley" – 2:57
- "Here I Am" – 3:19
- "Nevada Fighter" – 3:08
- "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" (Bob Nolan) – 3:49
Personnel
- Michael Nesmith – vocals, guitar
- O.J. "Red" Rhodes – pedal steel guitar
- John Ware – drums
- John London – bass
- Earl P. Ball – side piano
- Glen D. Hardin - piano, keyboards, tracks 12-16
References
- ^ 16 Original Classics reissue review on Allmusic.
- ^ Magnetic South and Loose Salute reissue review on Allmusic.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Quantick, David. "Review: Mike Nesmith - Magnetic South/Loose Salute". Q (EMAP Metro Ltd) (July 1999): 144.
Studio albums As Michael NesmithAs Michael Nesmith & The Second National BandSoundtracks Live albums Compilations Related articles Categories:- 1970 albums
- Albums produced by Felton Jarvis
- Michael Nesmith albums
- RCA Records albums
- English-language albums
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