CD Review - Cosmic Partners: The McCabe Tapes - Michael Nesmith with Red Rhodes

Cosmic Partners: The McCabe Tapes captures Michael Nesmith at the height of his powers as a country rock pioneer. In the early 1970s, Nez released classic LPs, including Nevada Fighter, Loose Salute, Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash, and Magnetic South. A few songs from those albums are featured on this CD, a Nesmith/Red Rhodes show recorded at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica on August 18, 1973.

Several other concerts have been released as live albums, including shows by Mike Bloomfield, Townes Van Zant and Henry Rollins. McCabe’s is still going strong today.  

This CD features a show as it was recorded, directly from the soundboard. The show was transferred from analogue tapes and cleaned up for McCabe Tapes. The sound is clear and crisp the instruments have retained their vibrancy from almost 47 years ago.

The show opens with “Tomorrow and Me”, a dirge to broken love. Rhodes’ pedal steel cushions the despair of Nesmith’s bittersweet lyrics with blips of vibrancy.  

                                                                    Red Rhodes

The band then picks up the groove with “Grand Ennui”, followed by “Some of Shelly’s Blues”. Nez introduces “…..Blues” by saying it’s been covered by “374” people. (And that was in 1973. You could imagine what the number is now.)

The band consists of Colin Cameron on bass, Danny Lane on drums, Red Rhodes on pedal steel guitar. Nez provides vocals, acoustic guitar and between song stage banter.. 

The banter includes Nez’s story about the Monkees’ infamous Cincinnati incident. (The band evaded their security and took an elevator to the ground floor, where they were chased by fans.)  Nez gives some topical banter about Alice Cooper and glam rock, which was popular at the time of the McCabe’s show.

Rhodes takes the spotlight mid-show, showcasing his pedal steel mastery on three instrumentals - the Ernset Tubb favorite, “Rose City Chimes”,  the lush “Poinciana” (from Rhodes’ solo album Velvet Hammer in a Cowboy Band) and “Crippled Lion”.   

Nez lends some yodeling to the lovely, old-school country song “One Rose” and ends the set with his biggest solo song “JoAnne” (wait for that high note) and “Silver Moon.”   

There’s only one problem with Cosmic Partners – the set goes by too fast.

The CD package includes liner notes by Christian Nesmith (who co-produced the CD ), Circe Link, and original producer Ed Heffelinger, along with Joe Alterio’s essay on Red Rhodes. There’s a note from Nez, too, about his musical collaborations with Rhodes, and how the steel pedal guitar player “made the instrument sail, and take off on its own.”  

A poster of the gatefold sleeve for Not Your Standard Ranch Stash, with topless sirens in a swimming pool/makeshift lake, is also included. 

Cosmic Partners is also available as an 180g vinyl picture disc. This CD is another Monkees-related release from 7A Records out of the UK.

Why Do So Many People Hate the Eagles?

Some of the most hated rock groups of all time are also the most loved. People can’t hate you unless they know you, and they’re not gonna know you unless you’re successful. Look at that modern-day phenomenon, Nickelback. Many people who have never heard Nickelback’s music know that they are the most hated band of the 21^st Century.

Even after Glenn Frey passed away, many writers couldn’t help but lambaste the Eagles as the most hated successful band of the 20^th Century.

Yacht Rock is hip now,so how can Eagles music be “horrific”, as a NY Daily News article described it after Frey’s death? “Hotel California” is more horrific as compared to what, “Feelings” or “Afternoon Delight”, two other songs that shared the chart with Eagles hits in the mid-70s ?

People hate the Eagles because:

• Songs are overplayed
• An unlikable duo helmed the band (Henley and Frey)
• Songs are too wimpy
• It’s hip to hate them, gives you street cred
• Lebowski hated them 

The popularity of the “The Big Lebowski” was the deal-breaker that turned the public reaction to the band from, “They’re OK,” or “Meh” to “I hate the Eagles, man.”

But a lot of music fans aren’t quite as cynical. Marc Eliot’s beautifully written article about Glenn Frey’s passing reminds us that youth has long gone for fans who liked the band and their music in the ‘70s. ( Read Eliot's book "To The Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles" for an in-depth look at the band.)

YouTube commenters tend to come up with the most poignant assessments, though, as Baby Boomers move closer to that Great Gig in the Sky.

“Makes a grown man cry... Everyone is so happy. Everyone in the building is young, in their prime, and full of life. I wish every day could be half as perfect as these moments.”

Imagine the World Before Sirius, the Internet, MTV or Walkmans!

I can’t listen to the ballads, because like everyone else, I heard them too many times in the ‘70s. Even though I haven’t heard some of the songs for decades, I still get out of earshot when I hear one start to play. Everybody bought Eagles records in the ‘70s, which meant your irritating, non-musical classmates and co-workers, including the squarest of the square, counted the Greatest Hits 71-75 among their albums.

I bought the single “The Best of My Love” in high school, but I listened to the flipside, “Ole 55” instead.

Despite being crazy about bands as a teen, my friends and I never got into the Eagles that way. We didn’t care about their personalities, looks, etc., just the music. I studied the Hotel California gatefold sleeve with my friend Mary, (before we made fun of my John Travolta album and after I proudly introduced her to the Runaways’ first album).  We did like Joe Walsh, however. He was the only animated person in the band, and we appreciated his sense of humor and hotel-trashing skills.

I was particularly intrigued by the lyrics to “Life in the Fast Lane” and wrote a novel based on it in my senior year of high school. Thankfully, the only manuscript I had is long gone now, but it would have fit right in with the exploitation flick craze of the 70s/early 80s.

You think “Take It Easy” is overplayed on classic rock radio now? Ha! Were you even alive in 1972? I was. The summer between sixth and seventh grade holds many fond memories for me.  I identify it with that transitional period in my life, so I like the song, no matter how many times I hear it. (The song reached #12 on the Billboard  Top 100 in July 1972.) The Eagles songs were popular when I was in junior high and high school, and their music just happened to be everywhere.

However, Eagles songs don’t rate that high on the list of the offensively overplayed. “Take It Easy” is number 19 on this list. The worst offenders, to my ears, are “Black Water,” “Old Time Rock n Roll”, “Stairway to Heaven”, and “Don’t Stop Believing”. Enough already!

  On my Bucket List: A trip to Standin’ on the Corner Park

In the ‘90s, I watched the Hell Freezes Over tour on MTV. I was more interested in hearing the Henley solo songs, but I did watch the whole concert. I didn’t know, however, that the band included original material on the Hell Freezes Over album. I also had no idea the Eagles released an album in 2007 – sold exclusively at Walmart!  

Eagles Songs I Listen to On Purpose

Rock and Rock-ish

Witchy Woman

Outlaw Man

Already Gone

James Dean

Victim of Love

Too Many Hands

Those Shoes

Ballads

The Last Resort

King of Hollywood

Try and Love Again

Country-esque

Doolin Dalton

Seven Bridges Road

 If You Never Heard It before, You’d Like It

Hotel California

Life in the Fast lane

Take It Easy

I Can’t Tell You Why

Take It to the Limit

Tequila Sunrise

Desperado

With all the emphasis radio and mainstream media place on just a handful of songs, it’s probably been years since you’ve heard “Outlaw Man” or “James Dean” and maybe decades since you’ve heard “Too Many Hands”.  

“Witchy Woman” hit #9 on the charts in November 1972, and it was played almost as much as “Take It Easy”. It had that sinister vibe which was intriguing to a junior high girl. It’s the closest the band had to a sexy song. Ugh! I said Eagles and sexy in the same sentence.

Waiting for Randy Meisner to hit that high note on “Take It to The Limit” or Timothy B. Schmidt on “I Can’t Tell You Why” is a lot more pleasant than listening to “Best of My Love”  yet again. 

Also, “Desperado”, later covered by Linda Ronstadt, is dismissed as country rock tripe by idiots who don’t listen to the lyrics.

$$$$$$$$

I read Don Felder’s book, and he comes off as a really thoughtful guy. Of course, he seemed too nice and a bit of a push-over in some situations (well, that is until he sued them), but when you’re up against Azoff/Henley/Frey, you don’t have much bargaining power. One non-lawsuit subplot in the book involves a male stalker and is a reminder that weird, overzealous fans can make life hell for even less-conspicuous celebrities. 

The facts, as laid out in Felder’s book, state that the band had an agreement in the early days wherein monies would be split between the members equally.  Of course, then things changed, as Henley remarked in the History of the Eagles. The fact that there was a pesky legal document in the way was a minor inconvenience, and Azoff took care of it, with only Felder putting up a fight. 

This brings to mind the same situation that occurred when Van Halen cut Michael Anthony out of their original agreement. Once the band reached a certain point, the main songwriters figured they should get a bigger slice of the pie, regardless of any agreements made at the beginning of the band’s career.

The Eagles’ business choices may not endear them to many people, though. Here’s an entertaining bit from Letterman, where Dave wants to play an Eagles song but the show can’t afford it.

As I look back, I’ve always been more interested in “New York Minute” and other Henley solo songs than Eagles songs because of the lyrics. Yes, the lyrics are more mainstream than New York intellectual, but more haunting because of their simplicity. “Sunset Grill”, “Boys of Summer”, “I Will Not Go Quietly” are undisputedly well-crafted and poignant. I wore out my cassette of The End of the Innocence in ’89 and ’90.

I managed to make it all the way through a Youtube video of Billy Joel interviewing Henley at the 92^nd Street Y. A few minutes in, I thought, “Ya know, Henley has so much Virgo in his chart, it’ll make your head swim." I checked his horoscope and yes, his Ascendant and Moon are in Virgo and he has three planets in moody Cancer.  Frey had his Sun in Scorpio (like you couldn’t tell from his facial features) and Moon in Capricorn. That’s a match made in hell if you’re on the wrong side of the twosome. And I don’t even want to know Azoff’s chart.

Henley made a comment about seeing a Lawrence Welk concert as a kid. He said he saw Welk backstage with two groupies – nuns. His delivery and expression were so deadpan it took me awhile before I realized it was a joke. It’s hard to tell with those Virgos. Roger Waters is another classic rock Virgo (Sun sign and Venus) who is not known for his rollicking sense of humor.

The Eagles in 2018 consist of Henley, Walsh, Timothy B. Schmidt, Travis Tritt and Frey’s son, Deacon. 

The band (such as they are) will be playing three nights at the Forum in September. Ticket prices range from $59 for nosebleed seats to $700 for main floor, according to a recent look at Ticketmaster and StubHub.

Verdict: No, the Eagles aren’t horrific. Bland maybe, when compared with some of their overplayed contemporaries. (Which group has more interesting songs/personalities, Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles?) Try listening to one of their lesser known songs if you can’t stand the overplayed ones. Don’t be afraid. You won’t lose your coolness factor by listening to a few Eagles songs.