Music Review: Cruisin'

The most musically talented of The Monkees was Michael Nesmith, who always wore a wool cap. As a solo artist, his best work was his 1979 studio album Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma. And the best song on the album is one that has stayed with me 30 years: Cruisin'. This is a big song, huge in scope, with a hook so big that, as Bill Cosby once said, if it was a belt it would rip the meat off your body if it ever touched you. This is one of those songs that burrows under your skin and won't let go. It forces you to sing along with Nesmith when he growls, "Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam, people on the streets trying to find a plan, people on the streets looking for the land, Lucy and Ramona and their brother Sunset Sam!" This is one of those songs that demands to be played as loud as possible so as to best appreciate the sparse guitars, pounding drums and eerie keyboards. Lucy and Ramona!