A photograph of Planet Earth is taken from Satellite ATS-III. (I'm running it here because I'm guessing the folks in Detroit probably never got a chance to see it.)
Michael Nesmith books RCA studio time for today and tomorrow to record his vanity project, "The Wichita Train Whistle Sings". It is a collection of instrumental interpretations of some of his work (7 of the 10 tracks are Monkees tunes), and employs some of the best (and most expensive) studio musicians in California.
The whole event is a catered affair (Chasen's) and when all was said and done, the sessions probably cost Nesmith upwards of $50,000 … and the album probably sold about a dozen copies. (I'm one of the few who actually owns a copy of this … I've probably listened to it twice in my entire lifetime! It's AWFUL!!!)
One mistake Michael acknowledged later was that he probably shouldn't have served alcohol until AFTER the recording session was complete. Nesmith later explained to session drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine "Uncle Sam was about to remove 50 Grand from my pocket and, instead of paying taxes, I decided to spend it on a raucous write-off."
