Vinyl Album - Michael Nesmith And The First National Band - Magnetic South - RCA Victor

Vinyl Album

Artist:	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band
Title:	Magnetic South
Label:	RCA Victor
Country:	USA
Catalogue:	LSP-4371
Date:	Jun 1970
Format:	LP
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	16 Own, 3 Want
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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Track	Artist	Title	Composer	Rating
A1	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Calico Girlfriend	Mike Nesmith	Rate
A2	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Nine Times Blue	Mike Nesmith	Rate
A3	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Little Red Rider	Mike Nesmith	Rate
A4	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	The Crippled Lion	Mike Nesmith	Rate
A5	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Joanne	Mike Nesmith	9.0 Rate
A6	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	First National Rag	Orville Rhodes	Rate
B1	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Mama Nantucket	Mike Nesmith	Rate
B2	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	The Keys To The Car	Mike Nesmith	Rate
B3	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Hollywood	Mike Nesmith	Rate
B4	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	One Rose	D. Lyon, L. McIntyre	Rate
B5	Michael Nesmith And The First National Band	Beyond The Blue Horizon	Whiting, Harling, Robin	Rate

Notes

RW June 6, 1970
CB July 4, 1970 (ad)

Produced by: Felton Jarvis
BB peaked at 143

RW Sept 26, 1970 - entered album chart

Images

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Comments and Reviews


Phantom Gtowner 5th Oct 2018		Review From the opening track "Calico Girlfriend", it hits home that this is not Monkees music. It has a very loose sound, almost as if it may have been recorded in a hurry. What is very surprising is that Nesmith relinquishes production duties to Felton Jarvis, a veteran producer who had worked with many famous artists including Elvis Presley. In his entire subsequent career he always did his own production but perhaps Mike wanted to get an authentic Nashville sound on his first post Monkees release. My first reaction to this LP in 1970 was that it was a disappointment. There was no "Tapioca Tundra" or "Listen To The Band" and it had a very pronounced country/western sound. I don’t think I warmed up to it until after his next two LP’s were released. For years I thought it was the weakest of this trilogy but now I’m not so sure. Of the three, Magnetic South seems to have harder country sound. A few songs here like "Nine Times Blue" and "The Crippled Lion" had actually been recorded with the Monkees but never released. The Magnetic South versions are all newly recorded in 1970. Nesmith had been recording in Nashville for at least two years prior to this with local musicians. Some of these recordings had made it onto several Monkees' LP's even though there was literally no output from Mickey, Davy & Peter. He assembled a band in early 1970 called The First National Band which was centered around steel guitar virtuoso O.J. "Red" Rhodes, a veteran of close to thirty years already in 1970. Other members included John London on bass guitar who had played with The Lewis & Clark Expedition, Johnny Ware on drums, Earl P. Ball on side piano & Nesmith on guitar & vocals. The only clue that this was not a truly “country” LP was Nesmith’s lyrics which tend to be incredibly more literate than most Nashville writers of the day. This LP would be a lot more obscure than it is but for the fact that it produced a Top Twenty hit in “Joanne”, a glorious little tune that today seems to sound much more country than it used to. Other tracks like “The Keys To The Car”, “Little Red Rider” and the rocking “Mama Nantucket” sound like they wouldn’t be out of place on a George Jones record. Then there’s “Hollywood” a five minute blend of country and psychedelia which seems to indicate Nesmith’s attitude in regard to his experiences as a teen idol with his former band. The last two tracks are covers, the country standard “The One Rose (That’s Left In My Heart)” and the 1930 classic “Beyond The Blue Horizon” which alone covers the price of admission with its sound effects, humor and ambience. I keep coming back to this record and I’m always entertained. 7 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?



TheDroid 20th Feb 2015		Added a scan of the sticker promoting the single Joanne, which peaked at #21 on BB chart.



Vinyl Fan 6th Mar 2014		Added Cover images for this record fmc.



Vinyl Fan 24th Feb 2014		Added this record and label images fmc. RCA Rockaway pressing.

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Linked Releases

Australia - RCA Victor - 1970

Canada - RCA Victor - 1970

Germany - RCA Victor - 1970

UK - RCA Victor - 1970

USA - Sundazed - 2018