Michael Nesmith - Infinite Rider On The Big Dogma (Reissue) (1979/1994)

As the '70s drew to a close, Michael Nesmith's music had still retained all of the intellect, intrinsic charm, and dry wit that had defined his tenure as a Monkee, as well as his country-rock-flavored solo material from earlier in the decade. The cryptically titled Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma was "Papa Nez"'s ninth post-Monkees solo studio effort in as many years. The Southwestern motif that practically defined Nesmith's First and Second National Band(s) remained throughout his late-'70s releases, although now the distinct pedal-steel guitars had been morphed into the more traditional rock & roll electric ones. The ten tracks cover a lot of ground, from the '50s sock-hop ballad "Magic" to a more modern approach to love songs on "Carioca" -- featuring one of Nesmith's finest unions of lyric to melody. These contrast well with the full-fledged heavy-rockers "Factions" and "Horserace," or the slightly Caribbean feel of the up-tempo "Flying." Not only does this variety of styles aptly demonstrate Nesmith's maturity as a composer, it is also a more accurate reflection of the versatility in his work. Concurrent to this album, Nesmith was also investing his time and money into a new venture that took the best part of the Monkees project -- the marriage of music to a visual image -- a step further with the creation of his own Pacific Arts Video company. It was here that Nesmith planted the seeds of what would become MTV -- as well as producing the first Grammy-winning musical home video -- Elephant Parts. The feature-length title contains videos for several tunes on this album -- including "Crusin'," "Magic," and "Flying."