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After buying himself out of his Monkees contract in late 1969, and bankrupting himself in the process, Michael Nesmith formed The First National Band and signed with RCA Victor, the same label that distributed The Monkees' Colgems imprint. The first two FNB albums, MAGNETIC SOUTH and LOOSE SALUTE, both released in 1970, have been combined on one magnificent "two-fer" CD by BMG's (Sony hadn't yet bought them out) Camden Deluxe label (a boutique imprint, as opposed to the old budget-line RCA Camden label in the U.S.)
These two albums represent early '70s country-rock at its finest. The hits "Joanne" (about a cow, folks, not a girl) and "Silver Moon" are here, along with several remakes from the Monkee days ("Calico Girlfriend," "Nine Times Blue," "Hollywood," "The Crippled Lion," "Conversations" (a.k.a. "Carlisle Wheeling"), and "Listen to the Band," which was the tenth Monkees single). The Monkees' original versions can be found on the MISSING LINKS series, or on other reissues. There is also a brief instrumental called "First National Rag," a lovely version of the old standard "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (marred by intrusive sound effects), Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces," and several others, including an unreleased bonus track called "First National Dance."
All three "two-fers" in this series are worth having, but this is probably Nes' best solo work (with the possible exception of 1992's
Tropical Campfires
). The sound quality is magnificent, far outshining Nesmith's domestic Videoranch release,
Complete First National Band Recordings
. Definitely a must-have.
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G C-W
Unique, beautiful and unlike anything else that bears the tag ‘Country’
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2013
