Following last year’s acclaimed Live at the Troubadour, 7a Records has unveiled a new live title from another period in the storied career of Michael Nesmith. Cosmic Partners – The McCabe’s Tapes, due on November 15 in CD and LP formats, spotlights the artist with his longtime musical soul brother Red Rhodes and a small group of musicians. It was recorded on August 18, 1973 at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California.

Nesmith hit the road in 1973 for a mini-tour in support of his final album for RCA Victor, Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash. The tour reunited him with the remnants of the house band at Countryside Records, his Elektra-distributed imprint that saw releases from artists including Garland Frady, J.G. O’Rafferty, and Red Rhodes. The rhythm section for the tour featured Danny Lane on drums and Colin Cameron on bass, with Rhodes, naturally, on pedal steel. The set boasted the Monkees-era Ranch Stash highlight “Some of Shelly’s Blues” as well as favorites like “Joanne,” “Grand Ennui,” “Silver Moon,” and “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care).”

This never-before-released soundboard mix (recorded in two-track stereo direct to reel-to-reel analog tape from the soundboard) has been mastered for 7a by the artist’s oldest son and an accomplished musician his own right, Christian Nesmith. Needless to say, there have been no overdubs of any kind, and no remixing was possible, so Cosmic Partners represents Nesmith, Rhodes, and co. as you would have heard them over 46 years ago in Santa Monica.

The CD edition has seventeen tracks while the vinyl picture disc iteration drops one track, the spoken story “The Great Escape,” for a total of sixteen tracks. The vinyl edition is limited to 1,000 units. Both sets are lavishly packaged as per 7a’s usual high standard. The CD version has a 24-page deluxe booklet with liner notes by Ed Heffelfinger, Michael Nesmith, Circe Link, and Joe Alterio, while the vinyl has the note from Nesmith.

Cosmic Partners – The McCabe’s Tapes celebrates the creative journey of Michael Nesmith and Red Rhodes as well as the cosmic American music created by the former and future Monkee during this incredibly fertile period of his remarkable career. Look for it at the links below from 7a Records on November 15 in the U.K., and November 22 in North America!

Michael Nesmith with Red Rhodes, Cosmic Partners: The McCabe’s Tapes (7a 025, 2019)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Deep Discount (U.S.) / Keymail Records (U.K.)
Picture Disc LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Deep Discount (U.S.) / Keymail Records (U.K.)

1. Welcome to McCabe’s
2. Tomorrow and Me
3. The Upside of Goodbye
4. The Sock Cymbal Scared Me
5. Grand Ennui
6. Some of Shelly’s Blues
7. Cosmic Partners
8. Rose City Chimes
9. A Dog Wrote It
10. Poinciana
11. The Crippled Lion
12. Alice Nesmith
13. The One Rose
14. Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)
15. The Great Escape (*)
16. Joanne
17. Silver Moon

(*) CD-only track