Today we will discuss the album Live in Japan (the Davy one): I enjoyed giving this a re-listen today and 7a Records did their usual stonking job. The sound quality is top notch and there is the added option of listening to the tracks with the crowd’s screams much lower in the mix. I prefer the regular show with the full audience reactions, as you get to imagine how it must have been for Davy to perform for adoring fans after a few tough years. The backing band, considering they were mostly local musicians, are pretty tight and they do a decent job on most of the tracks. Davy also sounds in good voice, even on numbers mostly associated with Micky, and it’s a good short set of Monkees tunes. The two new songs stand out a little, but I appreciate their inclusion as they stop it from being purely an oldies show. 3.5/5.
Davy Jones Live in Japan - One of my favorite Live albums. The screams of the Japanese fans adds to the excitement of the concert. Davy is very energetic and you can hear it in his performance. He’s giving his all to the show and to the fans. Hearing the wild crowd reaction gives a flavor of what it must have been like during the Monkees years. And I agree, 7a Records did an exceptional job in the reissue of the Japanese live albums. This is one of those albums that is definitely a must have in a Monkees collection. 5.5.
Live In Japan -- 5/5 I can't give the rather stunning 7A Records release anything less than 5/5, even though I do take issue with some of the material. This album is essentially a reissue of two Japanese-only albums from 1981/1982, (Live In Japan on Japan Records, and Hello Davy on Warner/Pioneer) which are both interesting souvenirs of this era. The arrangements aren't always quite right, with some songs performed in different keys, and a couple of artistic choices that differed from the original versions. The band is very tight, though. Davy's performances range from excellent to...well...perfunctory. "Clarksville" in particular is performed with little enthusiasm, with Davy lopping off words ("Take the last train to Clarksville....Meet you at the station....Be there by 4:30....Made your reservation") and repeating the same verse several times. Not a huge detriment to the album, but an interesting look at how he may have viewed the old warhorses by then. He tackles some of the songs with much more gusto, especially newer songs like "It's Now", "How Do You Know" and "Dance Gypsy". "Rainy Jane" is a real highlight, probably my favorite live track on either of the original albums. The CD offers more than the 3 LP set in terms of audio -- both contain all 8 sides of Davy's late '70s/early '80s singles, plus "Rainbows" that saw limited release on the Chip Douglas privately pressed "Steam Engine" single in 1983 (where it was credited to The Monkees). The CD includes 13 additional bonus tracks that are alternate mixes of some of the live tracks (previously released on an extremely rare 1983 Australian-only K-Tel album), with the crowd noise mixed out. The LP is limited to just 7 of those alternate mixes. The LP set, however, is pressed on beautiful colored vinyl and includes a reproduction of a Japanese tourbook. Bottom line is, both are essential purchases. As an archival release of an obscure little blip of time, this set is about as great as you can hope for.
Davy Jones: Live in Japan 5/5 7a does such a wonderful, professional job on their releases. The concert is a lot of fun and I enjoyed the other single releases. The DVD was fun to watch also. Davy put on a great show. So happy to have the CD/DVD set and the LP!
I've got to pick this up. Based on what I've seen on youtube, though, it looks pretty enjoyable and Davy seems pretty loose. That said, I've never actually heard or seen the whole thing, so... Incomplete/5!
I haven't got Live in Japan, and can't find it in the usual places. Today I'm going to listen to Davy Jones Live which is on Spotify. Obviously I won't rate it as I don't know the release being discussed.
Today’s song is Dreamer: Sorry for the rather rough sound quality of the linked song… Like many of the songs from The Newer Stuff, I regard this as pretty good but below Mike’s best. Again the instrumentation is a little dated, and it’s also not Mike’s most perfect vocal. It all feels a little half-baked, but it provokes a feeling of calm within me. 3.5/5.
Dreamer - Love this song. It has the qualities found in 'The Prison' and in his later work including 'I Know What I Know'. It's very beautiful in its soundscape and Nesmith's performance adds an ethereal element to the tune. 5/5.
Dreamer It's an interesting song, and from what I can hear of it, I agree that it's nice, but a bit of a letdown after the previous two albums. When I saw the title, for a brief second I wondered if it was a cover of the Supertramp song. That would be something to hear. I've never owned a copy of The Newer Stuff. I've just this very second bought a copy online. But it's very unlikely to arrive before we finish discussing the songs. I'm not going to rate Dreamer as I don't think I have a fair view of it having only heard the version above.
Here's a Dropbox link to my copy of 'Dreamer'. Dropbox - 05 Dreamer.m4a - Simplify your life The Newer Stuff CD and download are still available on Video Ranch. Videoranch - The Newer Stuff CD https://www.videoranch3d.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=1000-010
Thanks for the upload, Fred! This one's a little ponderous, and smacks a bit of "And check this out - you can make it sound like a symphony! And a pipe organ!" '80s synth madness. His voice was at its peak in the '80s, in my opinion - too bad he couldn't have done some more organic/acoustic arrangements around that time - that would have been wonderful. Instead, it kind of gets lost in the sludge. But hey - that was the '80s. Anyway, it's better than a 2 but not quite up to par. Regardless, I'll round up: 3/5
With Fred V's upload, I've listened to Dreamer in better quality before my CD arrives. I think it's an interesting song, and it's good that he was continuing to experiment with a range of styles. Unlike the songs on Infinite Rider, I don't think this experiment works so well. 2.8/5
Dreamer sounds like a song written to order. It is, of course, very competently performed; it’s Michael Nesmith. It was written for the never realized musical movie, Video Ranch. Whatever the reason, and although it's fine, it doesn't touch the heart. Dreamer - 3/5 (As we use fractions of a point, rather than 3, for all my grades I've used 2.5 as meaning average, which makes Dreamer slightly above my average. ) Here's 2 clippings. The first is from 1972 (by Harold Bronson) from Disc & Music Echo and the second from 1975 (Sounds), just after the Palace Theatre gig.
"Dreamer" -- 2/5 Kind of a meandering track, a far cry from pop music. I am not really a fan of his more esoteric stuff in general. He sounds good here, but this just isn't what I am looking for from Nez.
Can't say I'm a big fan of "Dreamer". It's a nice song just not something I listen to very often. 2.5/5 I wonder if a Midge Ure vocal could add the proper amount of emotion this backing track needs?
This was on The Newer Stuff? Damn, I guess it’s been so long since I played it I’d forgotten all about this one. I ripped several songs from it to my iTunes, and have a Nez playlist containing those songs, but “Dreamer” never made it. I honestly have no recollection of it. “Ponderous” is the correct term to describe this. Maybe without all that 80s gloss, one sound layered over another, and another, it would be a decent song. I can’t really tell. Nez’s vocal buried underneath it, with some of filter on it, doesn’t help. Really not sure how to rate “Dreamer,” but my gut says 2/5. So it shall be.
"Dreamer" was on 'The Newer Stuff' CD. Not sure about Edsel's version of 'The Newer Stuff' which was titled 'Pacific Arts' and included a DVD of 'Nezmuzic'. Very fond of Dreamer 4/5
