"Some Of Shelly's Blues" is in my holy triumvirate of Nesmith songs, along with "Nine Times Blue" and "Propinquity". To me, these are the pinnacle of his songwriting in this time period. Absolutely love this song. Nothing I could possibly do but give it a 5/5.
My only gripe with the Nashville version is the harmonica, but that's just me. Love the pedal steel and Mike harmonizing with himself. The song is absolutely superlative, as well. "Shelly's" can hold its own with their absolute best stuff. 5/5
This is actually the version from "Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash". A solo tune. I posted the Red & Nez version. Still Solo.
You need to rectify all of that! IMO, you should, at the very least, have and know McCartney, Ram, Band On The Run, Plastic Ono Band, Imagine, Walls and Bridges, All Things Must Pass, and Ringo. Also, Magnetic South, Loose Salute, and Nevada Fighter are essential if you like late-Monkees Nesmith. With the recent Songs boxed set, you can get the entire solo Nez output from 1970-1994 for less than five bucks a disc. It's a fantastic one-stop shop.
Yeah, I had my signals crossed this morning, confusing the “Stash” and “Hits” albums, as well as which version of “Shelly” was which. Ugh. The song is great though, regardless of the version.
And for anyone not yet sick of this song, here’s Nez truly SOLO, on the old Later with Greg Kinnear show. Anyone know what year this was? Another fine, fine version. Dig that shirt!
I really like 'Some of Shelly's Blues' - The Monkees' version more than the one on Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash. I don't think it's as good a song as 'Nine Times Blue', but for some reason I enjoy 'Shelly's Blues' more. I've said before that Country isn't my thing, but I do make exceptions (especially if the song is strong enough for me to mentally tune out the steel guitar thing).
Some of Shelley’s Blues - 5/5 In issue 39 of ZigZag Mike says that he found the NGDB version a little twee. I’d go for the Ranch Stash version as my favourite. Such a great album but a shade on the short side. I always hoped that a Mike sung version of his co-write with Linda Hargrove from this period, I’ve Never Loved Anyone More would appear. It would have fitted nicely on Ranch Stash. For those interested, there was another fine Nesmith co-write called If You Will Walk With Me. It opened Linda’s 1977 album, Impressions.
Sorry, I was too late to edit my above post but I just want to recommend Lind Hargrove’s final album (2005), One Woman’s Life. Recorded after the loss of her mother and husband, it’s a moving piece of work and includes a superb, and I’d say definitive re-recording of I’ve Never Loved Anyone More. Back to the task in hand....
Wow, thanks for the info on Linda Hargrove. Apparently "I've Never Loved Anyone More" was a big hit. I had no idea about any of this.
It’s pretty incredible that Shelley’s (and most of the Nashville stuff) didn’t get released on IR and Present. As we’ve discussed many times before, so many of these tunes were superior to what was officially released at the time. What a head scratcher! Shelley’s is a classic. 5/5.
Idk. I just remember reading that Nez stated that he had all these tunes that he couldn't get on The Monkees records so he took them and recorded them himself with the FNB.
Some of Shelly's Blues I find the vocal strained on this and don't like the ending much. Overall the least pleasing of these country Nes numbers. 3/5
I’m familiar with the solo Beatle albums by name and the hits that come from them, but that’s about it. I’m not a completist when it comes to the solo work. I have greatest hits compilations for each Beatle so I do have something. I just couldn’t tell you about all the tracks on each solo album. I’ll have to sample some solo Nez and download some digital tracks to satisfy my curiosity.
I just still can't buy into that idea. He didn't release Shelly until his sixth RCA album. I just think at the time, the songs he put out with the Monkees in 1969 just seemed like the best ones at the time.
