''Rays'' is an album by

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

, originally released in a limited edition of 100 in November 2005, then later released in an unlimited edition in April 2006. Nesmith described the album as a cinematic journey of sound with elements of swing, jazz and instrumental funk that forms what he calls "New Century Modern".

Background

The album cover is a comic strip drawn by Drew Friedman and features Nesmith "driving" through five stages of his life, with a quest of looking to fill his "appetite": 1) His earlier career in

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

, where he is seen driving a

Pontiac GTO The Pontiac GTO is an automobile that was manufactured by American automaker Pontiac from 1963 to 1974 for the 1964 to 1974 model years, and by GM's subsidiary Holden in Australia for the 2004 to 2006 model years. The first generation of the G ...

and wearing his signature knit-cap; 2) His career as the frontman of the

First National Band The First National Band or Michael Nesmith and The First National Band was a short-lived American collaborative band, led by Monkee Michael Nesmith. During the two active years, The First National Band released three albums in the country rock ...

, driving a

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

; 3) His ''

Elephant Parts ''Elephant Parts'' is a collection of comedy sketches and music videos made in 1981 by Michael Nesmith, formerly of the Monkees. Nesmith produced the video through his company Pacific Arts. ''Elephant Parts'' is one hour long with parody commercial ...

''-era career, where he is seen driving a pink Cadillac (referring to his song, "Eldorado to the Moon"); 4) His later life as an author, entrepreneur and philanthropist, driving a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and asking, "where am I?"; 5) And in the center of the cartoon, Nesmith is sitting peacefully under a tree on a hill, content with himself, stating, "suddenly, I’m not as hungry as I’d thought".

Track listing

All songs written by Michael Nesmith. # "Zip Ribbon" – 3:05 # "Dynaflow" – 4:11 # "Friedrider " – 3:08 # "Carhop" – 3:58 # "Boomcar" – 3:43 # "Best of It" – 2:29 # "Ed's October Café" – 3:18 # "Rays" – 3:37 # "Bells" – 4:28 # "Land o Pies" – 2:50 # "There It Is" – 3:40 # "Follows the Heart" – 3:12

Personnel

*Michael Nesmith – vocals, synthesizer, guitar, keyboards *

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...

- drums *

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– percussion *John Hobbs – keyboards, keyboard bass * Kurt Wagner – vocals Production notes *Michael Nesmith – producer, engineer, sampling, technician *Richard Bryant – engineer, technician *Drew Friedman – text, cover art *Michael MacDonald – engineer, technician

References

External links

Rays Album Site
2005 albums Michael Nesmith albums {{2005-rock-album-stub