| And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1972 | |||
| Recorded | March 1972 | |||
| Genre | Country rock | |||
| Length | 33:26 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Michael Nesmith | |||
| Michael Nesmith chronology | ||||
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And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' is an album by Michael Nesmith. Recorded for RCA Records, it was his fifth solo album after leaving The Monkees. The album was recorded and released in 1972; all ten tracks had been composed by Nesmith prior to and during his time as a member of The Monkees.
The album features Nesmith on vocals and acoustic guitar and long-time accompanist Red Rhodes on pedal steel guitar. Nesmith has stated that the title of the album is a reaction to RCA Records repeatedly asking him to write more hit songs and features Nesmith's own version of his tune "Different Drum", a hit for The Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt in 1967. [1]
The version of "Different Drum" found here features four verses as opposed to the three in Linda Ronstadt's version; the verses in the Ronstadt version are the song's first, the second, the bridge, and then the fourth. "Different Drum" made a brief unofficial debut on The Monkees episode "Too Many Girls" when Mike, posing as a folk singer suffering from stage fright, butchers its lyrics while playing the guitar.
Nesmith and Rhodes recorded an instrumental, "Cantata & Fugue In C&W," for the album but it was left off.
Several songs (notably "Keep On") reflect a theme common to Nesmith's country-flavored tracks — the theme of never letting fear get the best of you. The liner notes to the album are signed "Papa Nes".
Reflecting on the album in 2019, Nesmith said, “It was at a time when we were all fast and loose and playing music as hard as we could. It was a time of altered states and new ideas, and in a new way, we’re in that time again. Politics have gone askew, like they did then. This was in 1972, and things were absolutely crazy then, and they’re absolutely crazy now.” [2]
And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' was later re-released on the Pacific Arts label and also reissued on compact disc by RCA/BMG in 2000 coupled with Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash . [3]
Nesmith performed the album on tour with Pete Finney playing pedal steel guitar in 2019. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
In a retrospective review for Allmusic, critic Mark Deming called the album "truly inspired" and wrote "Nesmith and Rhodes use the album's spare instrumentation to their advantage, with the performances both empathetic and intimate, and Rhodes' masterful steel gives these songs a graceful resonance few full bands could muster... modest in approach but very satisfying in execution, practically defining the phrase "happy accident."" [4]
All songs by Michael Nesmith.
Robert Michael Nesmith was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their TV series of the same name (1966–1968). His songwriting credits with the Monkees include "Mary, Mary", "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Tapioca Tundra", "Circle Sky" and "Listen to the Band". Additionally, his song "Different Drum" became a hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys.
"Different Drum" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith in 1964. It was first recorded by the northern bluegrass band The Greenbriar Boys and included on their 1966 album Better Late than Never!. Nesmith offered it to his group the Monkees, but the producers of the TV show turned it down, though he did perform a short comic version of the song in one episode.
Loose Salute is the second solo album by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith released during his post-Monkees career. Issued by RCA Records in 1970 and dedicated to Tony Richland, it peaked at No. 159 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.
Nevada Fighter is the third solo album by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith during his post-Monkees career. The album is also the third and final album with Nesmith backed by the First National Band. Released by RCA Records in 1971, the LP failed to chart in the top 200 but bubbled under at #218. The lead off single "Nevada Fighter" peaked at No. 70 on the Billboard charts and No. 67 in Canada.
Tantamount to Treason Volume 1 is Michael Nesmith's fourth solo album during his post-Monkees career. Released in 1972, Tantamount to Treason is the only album Michael Nesmith recorded and released with the Second National Band. An assumed sequel was said to have been recorded but was never released. Even so, Nesmith has personally stated that a follow-up 'never happened and all rumors are false'.
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 and Number 49 in Canada. Magnetic South is considered a pioneering example of country rock. "Joanne" backed with "One Rose" was issued as a single from the album, reaching Number 21 on the Billboard singles charts and Number 6 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #5 on the Australian chart, and #4 in Canada. "Joanne" was the highest charting single of Nesmith's entire solo career.
Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash is American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith's sixth album of his post-Monkees career. Released in September 1973, it was his final album for RCA Records and did not chart.
The Prison - A Book with a Soundtrack is Michael Nesmith's seventh solo album of his post-Monkees career and his first to be released under his own record label, Pacific Arts. It includes a novella meant to be read while listening to the album as its "soundtrack". Nesmith recorded a companion novella/album entitled The Garden, released in 1994. According to Nesmith's website (Videoranch), a third installment titled The Ocean has been released and completes the Infinitia trilogy
The Wichita Train Whistle Sings is the de facto first solo album by Michael Nesmith, although the artist credited on the initial release is actually "The Wichita Train Whistle". It was recorded while Nesmith was still a member of the Monkees, and it peaked at No. 144 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.
Orville J. Rhodes, better known as Red Rhodes or O. J. Rhodes, was an American pedal steel guitarist.
The First National Band or Michael Nesmith and The First National Band was an American collaborative band, led by Michael Nesmith after his departure from The Monkees. During the two active years, The First National Band released three albums in the country rock genre in 1970 and 1971.
Live at the Britt Festival is a live album by Michael Nesmith, released in 1999. It was recorded live at the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon, on June 19, 1992. To prepare for the concert, Nesmith conducted a limited U.S. tour which featured a similar set list as the Britt Festival.
Complete First National Band Recordings is a compilation album by Michael Nesmith, released in 1993. It contains the three albums Nesmith recorded with the First National Band in 1970 and 1971 on a two-CD set. Magnetic South and Loose Salute are on the first CD, while Nevada Fighter is on the second CD.
Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III is the third and final studio album by The Stone Poneys, released on April 29, 1968. Singer Linda Ronstadt would release her first solo album the following year.
"Joanne" is a song written and performed by Michael Nesmith, his only Top 40 hit song as a solo artist. The single was issued by RCA Records in mid 1970, from the album Magnetic South, the first album released by Nesmith and The First National Band after he left The Monkees. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Top 100 on 3 October 1970. It went to No. 4 in Canada, No. 3 in Australia, and No. 1 in New Zealand. In the U.S., it was the most successful solo chart hit for any member of The Monkees.
Silver Moon was the third single Michael Nesmith recorded as a solo artist and the second to reach the Billboard Hot 100, released in 1970 from his second solo album, Loose Salute.
"Listen to the Band" is a song by American pop rock band the Monkees, released on Colgems single 5004 on April 26, 1969. Written by Michael Nesmith, it is the first time Nesmith sang lead vocals on a Monkees single A-side.
"The Girl I Knew Somewhere" is a song by the American pop rock band the Monkees, written by Michael Nesmith and first released as the B-side to the "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" single on Colgems Records on March 8, 1967. It was distributed in support of the group's third album Headquarters, and later appeared on the reissued version of the LP. The song was recorded as the Monkees finally achieved the independence that enabled them to freely produce their own material, with the actual band members featured on both vocals and instrumental arrangements.
John A. Ware is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session and live performance work.
The Monkees Live: The Mike and Micky Show is a 2020 live album by The Monkees, recorded in March and June 2019, during the band's successful tour. The concerts marked the first time that surviving Monkees Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith toured as a duo. The album is the first Monkees release following the death of Peter Tork in February 2019, and the final release to feature Nesmith prior to his December 2021 death.