Different Drum was written by Mike Nesmith, and we really can stop any discussion about how great it is right there because: it written by Mike Nesmith. Apparently Nesmith tried to get the tune onto the Monkees soundtrack but it was rejected by the idiots in charge, for idiots they must have been.
Apparently the song was first recorded by The Greenbriar Boys in 1966, a version I'm hearing for the first time as I write this, and I like it a lot. Maybe because it's just such a great song that a bad version isn't really possible. (I'm sure George will try to find one though.)
The version that most people are familiar with is this one...
...although I struggle with that version myself. It starts out a bit too jangly-60s for my tastes, although it does redeem itself as soon as Linda Ronstadt starts singing. (By the way: Ronstadt... hardest pop star name to spell in the history of pop star names? Answers on a postcard if you can think of any that are harder to spell.)
I'd still argue that Nesmith's own version, released a few years later, is better. You may, of course, choose to disagree.
However, I first heard this song back in the early 90s, back before I knew The Stone Poneys or anything about Michael Nesmith's involvement. And it's this version, my first love, which will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Take it away, The Slacker King himself...
