THE TALE OF THE MONKEES, AND MIKE

Nesmith’s role in the band, has often been framed as a battle for authenticity; a great American songwriter struggling to articulate himself in the face of prefabricated commercial expediencies. This month, though, as we mourn Nesmith, who died at the end of 2021, and celebrate all aspects of his incredible legacy, it feels like we’ve reached a much more sophisticated place. David Fricke’s tremendous cover story doesn’t ignore Nesmith’s artistic frustrations.
But it also grasps that The Monkees were a great American band: fed a diet of imperishable songs; blessed with a chemistry that transcended studio machinations, even as the quartet never fully understood how that chemistry worked. “Do me the gracious favour of not pointing me out as the most talented Monkee,” Nesmith said humbly, in 1974. “David and Peter and Micky were very heavy cats.” For those of us who grew up on The Monkees, then discovered the riches of Nez’s solo career, the latter never diminished the former. We listened to, and loved, the band.
You’ll have noticed that there’s no CD included with this copy of MOJO. Don’t worry: it hasn’t got lost in transit. The truth is, the cost of producing our CDs has radically increased over the past year, to the degree that we’ve had to make a very tough decision and drop the CD from our package this month. Thanks, as ever, for your loyalty and support through these tricky times – and rest assured, we’ll be back to normal for MOJO 341. In the meantime, you can find a soundtrack to this issue on Spotify if you search for #TheMOJOPlaylist.

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• New Scientist – January 22, 2022
• Man Magnum – January 2022