A cinematic journey of sound with elements of swing, jazz and instrumental funk that come together to form what Michael Nesmith calls "New Century Modern". ?For a time I thought Rays had come together differently than... more » any other project I had worked on, until it dawned on me all the various works I had been involved in had happened the same way and doing Rays was simply the first time I had seen it. Rays was my own personal Copernican Shift. For years Rays laid around in bits and pieces, and there were long periods when I would put them all away, like disparate parts of disparate building blocks. As if one was a recipe, another was a blueprint, another was a map. I couldn?t see how they fit together. I kept going, as much for not having anything else to do as for the curiosity of how it would all turn out, but I did keep going, and I?m glad I did. It was when I was putting on the horn parts, dreaming of Memphis and Stax Volt that it all came together. It was as if I had come into the garage one evening, and was looking at the detritus of a failed effort laying all over the floor, when suddenly there was this array, a kind! of order to it that I had never imagined. That was exciting. It felt new, and gave me the inspiration I needed to finish. This after four years of wandering in darkness --- which actually happened to be one of the lines from Rays. I had always imagined ?emergence? as the gradual appearing of something that already exists but was just unseen. Rays was the first time I ever actually saw that happen. And now that I?ve seen it I am aware that all the past works have happened the same way.? ---Michael Nesmith March, 2006« less
A cinematic journey of sound with elements of swing, jazz and instrumental funk that come together to form what Michael Nesmith calls "New Century Modern". ?For a time I thought Rays had come together differently than any other project I had worked on, until it dawned on me all the various works I had been involved in had happened the same way and doing Rays was simply the first time I had seen it. Rays was my own personal Copernican Shift. For years Rays laid around in bits and pieces, and there were long periods when I would put them all away, like disparate parts of disparate building blocks. As if one was a recipe, another was a blueprint, another was a map. I couldn?t see how they fit together. I kept going, as much for not having anything else to do as for the curiosity of how it would all turn out, but I did keep going, and I?m glad I did. It was when I was putting on the horn parts, dreaming of Memphis and Stax Volt that it all came together. It was as if I had come into the garage one evening, and was looking at the detritus of a failed effort laying all over the floor, when suddenly there was this array, a kind! of order to it that I had never imagined. That was exciting. It felt new, and gave me the inspiration I needed to finish. This after four years of wandering in darkness --- which actually happened to be one of the lines from Rays. I had always imagined ?emergence? as the gradual appearing of something that already exists but was just unseen. Rays was the first time I ever actually saw that happen. And now that I?ve seen it I am aware that all the past works have happened the same way.? ---Michael Nesmith March, 2006
CD Reviews
A souped-up, hot-rod music machine with a hint of melancholy
Anthony E. Pomes | 05/17/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Lo and behold, the new Nez album hath arrived! RAYS is a synth-drenched collection of grooves, rhythms, and metronomically precise soundscapes that feels at first like a primer on how to make music with machines. Nesmith is himself credited with synth parts and sampling on nearly every track. There's something else at work here, though - something playful, ironic, and actually quite poignant that demands repeated listenings.
Drawing on his well-known affinity for sports cars and the like, Nesmith turns this new album into one long drive down a spacious sonic highway. The car motif is inescapable, with songs like "Friedrider," "Carhop," and "Boomcar" piling on top of one another in the track listing. Much of the album is instrumental, making one yearn to hear that distinctive Nesmith voice more often than you do. When you do hear his singing voice, however, the effect is gorgeous.
The final track, "Follows the Heart," is filled with an end-of-the-road longing that reveals the very real and tender heart residing within this brand-new Nez machine. Ever clever to the end, Nesmith even finds a way here to loop a familiar slogan from an old car commercial jingle into his song's lyric - furthering the dance between what is sacred and what is profane along the speeding highway of commercially-released music here in the "land o' pies," as Nesmith might call it. It's nice to hear from him again . . ."
Michael Nesmith Beams Rays Of Synth-Jazz Wonder
Michael Daly | Wakefield, MA USA | 05/25/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ten years have elapsed since Michael Nesmith's previous musical project, The Monkees' reunion LP Justus, and for his newest long player, Mike changes gears yet again to produce the stunning synth-jazz sleeper classic, Rays.
The old cliche about not judging books by the cover has always been confounded by Nesmith, but never in more effective manner than here, as Rays' cover jacket showing a striking and humorous cartoon illustration of Nesmith driving frantically looking for something to eat sets the mood of the LP right away. Not only is the disc a synth-jazz performance befitting use on long country drives with the top down, the cover illustration displays the disc's subtle autobiographical theme. From Monkee Mike's trek down the Hollywood Freeway into First National Band Nez's city trip in a jeep to Neighborhood Nuke Superiority Mike's encounter with some excessively happy barbecuers into Gihon Nez' frustration in the city into the nirvana of country Rays, the disc and cover illustration run a gamut that illustrates the road trip of life.
Of the album's twelve tracks, the most gripping is the opening instrumental Zip Ribbon. Cleverly inserting the opening lyric to "Cruisin'," the song is dominated by Chester Thompson's B3 Hammond; it's been perhaps since Jachym Young's riffing of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle" that an organ has so controlled the flow of a song, but Thompson gets ample reinforcement by some of Mike's best guitar work ever.
The title track gets to a deceptively simple start and is one of the comparatively few full vocal passes Mike commits to the album, and almost the only one where Mike double-tracks some vocals, and yet again the faux-Micky Dolenz-duet feel comes through and strengthens the performance.
Mike even inserts a humorous spoof of rap music in the intro to "Bells" before this track hits the synth-jazz flow that at times sounds a little like a late-90s Herb Alpert outtake, before hitting the Chester Thompson groove again in "Land O'Pies," which manages to somehow pull off the illusion of lead saxophone even though no sax is allowed on the album - Mike would probably say in response that adding sax to the album would warrant intervention from some record company's Standards & Practices over excessive sax and violins in modern music.
The disco-tempo "There It Is," highlighted by some inspired John Hobbs keyboards, precedes the closing track "Follows The Heart," a song that lives up to the title, a melancholy message of closure that seems a little out of character for Mike, but then the message's overall optimism reaches the listener, who remembers that the end sometimes is indeed but the beginning.
Mike defies convention yet again with Rays, and it is indeed what "Follows The Heart" makes clear - a feeling that follows the heart as it follows every ray of every night and day."
A Journey Down a New Path
T. Houghton | NY, USA | 01/09/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is not Michael Nesmith, Father of Country Rock. This is Michael Nesmith, Multi-Genre Master. Nez's sound has been continually evolving throughout his whole career, and Rays is no exception. While I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, it *is* a good album. Though the focus seems more on the music than the lyrics and there are sounds present that have not appeared on any other Nesmith album to date, it still has a very Nez feel. The experimenting, the themes, the way everything is layered...it's all Nez.
The first thing that came into my head after looking over this CD and its packaging was "a self-indulgent search for solace". On first listen, I thought, "It's Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma meets The Garden". The first thought doesn't hold true after listening to the album all the way through, but the second certainly does.
The only song I'm not particularly fond of is "Dynaflow"; I'm not sure why, but the vocals creep me out a little. But everything else, from "Zip Ribbon" to "Follows the Heart", struck a good chord with me.
As a long-time Nesmith fan, I'm not sure how this album would sound to someone who was hearing Nez's work for the first time. It's definitely not Nez as he was in the late '60s and early '70s, but I would say it is typical. He has always tried something new, and that's not something I can blame any musician for doing."
Nesmith Continues To Amaze
St. Matthew | Saginaw | 07/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Michael Nesmith's latest CD "Rays" seems to blend all of the best creative music attempts he has recorded since his first album in 1970.
He graced the music scene with country/pop tunes during his First/Second National Band albums with popular hits like "Joanne" and "Silver Moon" to less-known recordings like "I Looked Away" and "Rainmaker". His next two albums "And The Hits Just Keep On Coming" and "Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash" were solid, country and western recordings. As usual, Nesmith took chances that few artists would attempt. Nesmith was joined by only one other artist on the album "And the Hits...", something that is almost duplicated on his new hit album "Rays". Nearly 35 years later, Nesmith is the only artist to play on some of the songs on "Rays".
There is also a little bit of "From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing" on the new CD "Rays". Nesmith tinkered with a Brazilian sound that really worked on several songs from that 1976 album and he has brought a similar sound with him into the new century. There are even some remnants of "Infinite Rider On The Big Dogma" on the new CD "Rays", the purely rock-n-roll album that deserved much more airplay than it received.
As a former DJ who played Nesmith's music through the 1970's and 1980's, I felt that he always seemed ahead of his time. He was the first to record country/pop, the first to create the music video, and the first artist to release a country album one year and have no problem releasing a hard rock-n-roll album on the next release. He even took the step of releasing an edited version of the hit recording "Rio" to radio stations who were hesitant to play the entire seven minute cut from the album. That edited version should have been included as an extra on the CD release of "From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing". To date, it is only available on used 45 rpm vinyl.
Michael Nesmith is very creative and very versatile. His latest work, "Rays", clearly reflects that. He even does something he hasn't done since "Magnetic South" in 1970, he allows one song to flow into another; very much like Paul McCartney's Red Rose Speedway finale on side two. The downside to Nesmith is his lack of acknowledgement to fans who truly appreciate his work. During the 1990's, he toured with The Monkees in Japan but refused to tour in the US. It would be appropriate for Nesmith to share his journey of accomplishment with the people who gave him encouragement through the years to venture into new creative areas."
Usual Brilliance
Starblood | 10/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"33 years later Michael Nesmith has lost his mind again and the results are breathtaking. Why are you reading reviews for God's sake? It's Michael Nesmith! Everything we do should be governed by this giant amongst men."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1