The Hit Monkees Album Mike Nesmith Thought Was the Worst Album Ever
The Monkees received plenty of scorn from music critics over the years and Monkees member Mike Nesmith seems to dislike his band’s work more than many of their critics. He felt one of their hit albums was the worst album ever. This is interesting, as he produced two of the album’s tracks.
The Monkees album that became one of the best-selling albums ever
The Monkees have a few hit singles which receive airplay to this day. That’s more than most bands from the 1960s can say. However, this obscures how huge they were at their peak.
The follow-up to the Monkees’ self-titled debut album was simply titled More of the Monkees. According to the book So You Think You Know Rock and Roll?, it was a massive hit, replacing the Monkees’ previous album at the top of the charts. AllMusic reports More spent 70 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the 12th best-selling album ever up to that point. However, according to Mental Floss, the album is no longer one of the top 35 best-selling albums in the United States.
The singles from the album
These numbers make sense when you look at the singles from the album. The album included the song which might be the band’s most enduring hit: “I’m a Believer.” The song resonated so much it became a hit again years later thanks to Smash Mouth’s cover. According to Billboard, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In addition, More features the hit single “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” which hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Some see the song as a predecessor to punk rock. Despite all this success, Nesmith wasn’t a fan of the album.
Mike Nesmith’s contributions to the album
According to book Total Control, Nesmith called More “the worst album in the history of the world.” Nesmith didn’t like how his band got credit for the work of others, as they often didn’t write their own songs. He longed for his band to become a “real band.” Nesmith would get his wish — and the Monkees would subsequently suffer a commercial downturn.
Nesmith’s feelings about More are surprising since he wrote and produced two songs on the album. One of the songs, “Mary, Mary,” didn’t reach the charts when it was first released. However, Billboard reports Run-D.M.C.’s version of the song reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. Nesmith had reason to be proud of the song, as it resonated with listeners years after its release.
In addition, Nesmith contributed the song “The Kind of Girl I Could Love” to More. AllMusic reports “The Kind of Girl I Could Love” is the only track from its parent album where Nesmith performs the lead vocal by himself. Regardless, Nesmith didn’t like the album — although the public clearly did.
