Nez

The Beatles are my favourite band (with The Charlatans and Doves safely ensconced at 2 and 3), and I agree with the somewhat harsh depiction of The Monkees as the "prefab" four. They were, in fact, put together by executives for the purpose of playing a band on TV, and then becoming a band themselves. That said, they were also musicians (well, Davy was just a singer) who wanted to play on their own records and had multiple fights with management until being allowed to do so.

Mike Nesmith was already a songwriter before the Monkees gig, and the 1-2 songs per record he was allowed hold up well today. (He also wrote Linda Ronstadt's first hit, "Different Drum.") His Texas background helped foster a sound that blended folk and country with rock, at the same time the late period Byrds with Gram Parsons were making similar moves. "Mary, Mary" and "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" are his best known Monkees songs, and I think this one ("You Just May Be The One") is underrated. Judge for yourself:



One current artist quick to acknowledge the influence of Nesmith's songs is Stevie Jackson of Belle & Sebastian. Although Stuart Murdoch is the acknowledged genius of B&S and the writer of most of their songs, I usually prefer Stevie's 1-2 per album. He's written some of their best B-sides, too, such as "Mr. Richard" and "I Believe In Travellin' Light."

Here's one of Stevie's best, "To Be Myself Completely." Enjoy!