Harry Nilsson (1967 - 1977) [11CDs, Japanese Press]

Harry Nilsson worked at a bank and wrote songs on the side, mostly jingles and pop tunes in the mid-1960s. Under contract with RCA, his first record was a flop, but it yielded hits for The Monkees and Three Dog Night. In the late 1960s Nilsson was everywhere: pal to the Beatles (especially John and Ringo); singer of "Everybody's Talkin'," the theme to the movie Midnight Cowboy (1969); singer of the theme to the TV show The Courtship of Eddie's Father; composer of the soundtrack to the animated movie The Point (with its hit single "Me and My Arrow"); and singer of the number one hit, "Without You." Nilsson had great vocal range and a pop sensibility that was at turns lyrical and whimsical. He released records in the mid-70s and '80s, but he was no health nut and no stranger to alcohol. He died of an apparent heart attack in 1994.

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Harry Nilsson Biography:

Although he synthesized disparate elements of both rock and pop traditions, singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson was at heart a maverick whose allegiance belonged to neither. His initial series of albums in the late '60s made him a personal favorite of the Beatles, who found a natural affinity with his knack for catchy melodies, witty lyrics, and extraordinary vocal range. Thought of as a songwriter first and a performer second, he became a pop star himself in the late '60s and early '70s with "Everybody's Talking" and "Without You." He lost some of his original audience, however, with subsequent detours into pre-rock styles of pop, and did little recording over the last 15 years of his life.

Nilsson had been struggling to make inroads into the music business for over five years before his critically acclaimed 1967 album, Pandemonium Shadow Show. He made demos, sang commercial jingles, and shopped songs, all the while keeping his job at a Los Angeles-area bank. In the mid-'60s, he wrote a few songs with Phil Spector that were recorded by the Ronettes and the Modern Folk Quartet; occasionally he released records of his own. The Monkees recorded his "Cuddly Toy," and the Yardbirds did "Ten Little Indians" on a single in their waning days. But Nilsson didn't quit his bank job until after the release of Pandemonium Shadow Show, which gave him creative rein in the studio for the first time, and showcased his three-and-a-half-octave voice to full advantage.

The album caught the attention of the Beatles (helped, no doubt, by its ingenious medley of classic Beatle tunes, "You Can't Do That"). John Lennon and Paul McCartney named him as their favorite American singer at a press conference, an extraordinary accolade for an unknown. (Nilsson was sometimes even rumored to be joining the group.) Three Dog Night took his "One" into the Top Ten in 1969, and Nilsson's second LP, Aerial Ballet, continued the ambitious pop/rock direction of his debut, marrying his slightly eccentric, bouncy (if sometimes precious) tunes to baroque orchestral production. When one of its songs, "Everybody's Talkin'," was used as the theme for the Midnight Cowboy film, Nilsson had his first Top Ten hit. The irony was that, although Nilsson was primarily identified as a singer/songwriter, the song was actually a cover of a composition by folk-rocker Fred Neil.

But Nilsson would never be content to be pigeonholed into definite categories, as demonstrated by his two 1970 albums. One was devoted entirely to covers of songs by Randy Newman (then just emerging as a performer); another was his soundtrack to an animated children's special, The Point (including the hit "Me and My Arrow"). And it was another cover (of a Badfinger album track) that gave him his biggest single, the number one smash "Without You." Yet Nilsson didn't cash in on his stardom in a conventional manner; he never performed in concert (there were occasional television appearances), preferring to craft his artistry in the studio.

"Without You" appeared on 1971's Nilsson Schmilsson, which included a couple of other hits, the faux-tropical "Coconut" and the surprisingly gritty "Jump Into the Fire," which rates as his hardest-rocking cut. During the first half of the 1970s, he continued to broaden his range from the well-crafted, peppy, sensitive tunes that had dotted his early releases, cutting some tougher, more sour work. He lost some of his constituency, however, with 1973's A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, a collection of pre-rock pop standards with an orchestra conducted by arranger Gordon Jenkins (most noted for his work with Frank Sinatra). His affection for the music wasn't entirely surprising, as there had always been a strong Tin Pan Alley flavor to much of his writing, but it wasn't exactly in step with the times.

Much of Nilsson's notoriety stems from a period in the mid-'70s when he was a drinking buddy of John Lennon in Los Angeles (where Lennon was living during a separation from Yoko Ono). The drunken pair were thrown out of L.A.'s Troubadour club in a well-publicized incident, following which Lennon offered to produce Nilsson's next album. The timing was not opportune; Nilsson lost his voice during the sessions, rupturing one of his vocal cords, keeping it a secret out of fear that Lennon would abandon the project. Released as Pussy Cats, it was his last album to make the Top 100. During the same period, he also embarked on a project with another L.A.-based ex-Beatle, Ringo Starr, acting and writing music for the little-seen Son of Dracula film.

The upper register of Nilsson's voice, which was ultimately his greatest asset, had been permanently (though not irredeemably) damaged. After a few rather unsuccessful late-'70s album, Nilsson withdrew from the studio into family life and other business ventures, spending much of his energies campaigning for gun control after Lennon was shot in 1980. In failing health in the 1990s, diagnosed with diabetes and suffering a massive heart attack, he died in early 1994, just after finishing the vocal tracks for a new album.

~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Родился Нильссон в Бруклине, Нью-Йорк (Brooklyn, New York). Родители его отца были шведскими циркачами и танцорами, особенно прославившимися своим 'воздушным балетом' ('aerial ballet'; в честь этого номера, кстати, был назван один из альбомов Нильссона). Отец, Гарри Эдвард Нильссон-младший (Harry Edward Nilsson, Jr.), бросил семью еще в 1944-м. Воспитывала мальчика его мать, Бетт (Bette).

Музыкой Гарри увлекался с самого детства. Его дядя, механик из Сан-Бернардино, Калифорния (San Bernardino, California), помогал ему развивать вокальные и музыкальные навыки.

Работать Нильссон начал рано – семья его была бедной и дополнительное финансирование ей было просто необходимо. Какое-то время Гарри трудился в театре Paramount Theatre в Лос-Анджелесе (Los Angeles); когда же тот закрылся, Нильссон устроился в банк. В резюме он соврал, что успешно окончил школу; на самом деле, к тому времени у него было лишь 9 классов образования. У парня обнаружился настоящий талант компьютерщика – в то время как раз началась активная информатизация банков; справлялся со своими обязанностями он настолько хорошо, что руководство банка не стало его увольнять даже после того, как его ложь об образовании раскрылась. Надо отметить, что банковские компьютеры Гарри настраивал по ночам; днем он продолжал писать песни и петь.

В начале 1958-го Нильссон увлекся новыми видами популярной музыки; особенно по душе ему пришелся ритм-энд-блюз в исполнении музыкантов вроде Рэя Чарльза (Ray Charles). Собственную пластинку Гарри начал пытаться выпустить еще во время работы в 'Paramount'; созданный им вместе с другом – Джерри Смитом (Jerry Smith) – вокальный дуэт работал в манере, схожей с творчеством тех же 'Everly Brothers'. Уроки дяди Джона и прирожденный талант помогли Гарри найти работу; в 1960-м он устроился к поэту-песеннику Скотту Тернеру (Scott Turner). Нильссон пел демонстрационные версии песен Тернера; за каждую из них ему платили по 5 долларов. Впоследствии, когда Гарри уже стал известным, Тернер решил выпустить эти песни отдельным диском и связался с Нильссоном, предложив обсудить вопросы оплаты; тот ответил, что всю положенную оплату он уже получил.

Слава пришла к Гарри уже в 1963-м, когда он вместе с Джоном Марскалько (John Marascalco) работал над песней для Литтл Ричарда (Little Richard). В дальнейшем о таланте молодого автора узнали представители 'Mercury Records'; вскоре у Нильссона уже был контракт.

В 1966-м Гарри связался со студией 'Tower Records'; именно тогда были выпущены первые его синглы, подписанные его настоящим именем (а чуть позже – и дебютный альбом, 'Spotlight on Nilsson'). К сожалению, особого внимания на нового исполнителя слушатели не обратили.

Настоящую славу Гарри принесло сотрудничество с 'RCA Victor'; вышедший в 1967-м альбом 'Pandemonium Shadow Show' был довольно тепло принят критиками – хотя и не очень хорошо расходился. Действительно успешным оказался альбом 1969-го 'Harry'; после него о Нильссоне заговорили уже всерьез.

Некоторое время Гарри успешно работал над различными музыкальными проектами - так, ему довелось потрудиться даже с самим Джоном Ленноном (John Lennon); затем музыкант расстался с 'RCA Victor', и его карьера пошла на спад. Он, однако, продолжал заниматься музыкой – пусть и не так успешно, как раньше.

В 1993-м у Гарри случился сильный сердечный приступ. Пережив его, музыкант связался с 'RCA' и упросил их записать своеобразный ретроспективный альбом, собравший все лучшее из его творчества. Закончил работу над вокальными партиями Нильссон 15-го января 1994-го; этой же ночью у него отказало сердце.

Harry Nilsson's debut album, Pandemonium Shadow Show, was notoriously loved by the Beatles, and it's easy to see why. This is the only record of its time that feels akin to Sgt. Pepper, and in some ways, it's every bit as impressive. Nilsson works on a much smaller scale, leaning heavily on whimsy yet cutting it with sardonic humor and embellishing it with remarkable song and studiocraft; it's as if McCartney and Lennon were fused into the same body. Pandemonium can't help but feel like a cheeky show of strength by a remarkably gifted imp, spinning out psychedelic fantasias and jokes and trumping his idols by turning out a cover of "She's Leaving Home" (recorded ten days after Sgt. Pepper's release) that rivals the original. Beneath all the light playful melodies ("There Will Never Be" is swinging London, L.A. style) or glorious laments (he rarely equaled "Sleep Late, My Lady Friend"), there are serious strains: the lyrics of "Cuddly Toy" are as unsettling as the melody catchy, the circus-stomp "Ten Little Indians" is a darkly addictive retelling of the Ten Commandments, and "1941" is quietly heartbreaking beneath its jaunty cabaret. Throughout it all, Nilsson impresses with his humor, cleverness, and above all, how his songwriting blossoms under his shockingly inventive studiocraft. Psychedelic pop albums rarely came better than this, and it remains a thorough delight.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Ten Little Indians (2:51)
2. 1941 (2:42)
3. Cuddly Toy (2:52)
4. She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune (2:25)
5. You Can't Do That (2:20)
6. Sleep Late, My Lady Friend (2:45)
7. She's Leaving Home (3:20)
8. There Will Never Be (2:31)
9. Without Her (2:20)
10. Freckles (2:22)
11. It's Been So Long (2:13)
12. River Deep-Mountain High (4:28)
13. As I Wonder Lonely (2:01)
14. She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune[Mono Single Version] (2:20)

As "Good Old Desk" opens Aerial Ballet with a cheerful saunter, it's clear that Harry Nilsson decided to pick up where he left off with his debut, offering another round of effervescent, devilishly clever pop, equal parts lite psychedelia, pretty ballads, and music hall cabaret. It's not a carbon copy, however. In one sense, he entrenches himself a little bit, emphasizing his lighter edges and humor, writing songs so cheerfully lightweight – a love song about his mom and dad, an ode to his favorite desk, an address or two to a "Little Cowboy" – that it may be a little too cloying for some tastes, even for fans of Pandemonium Shadow Show. Those are balanced by a couple major steps forward, namely "Everybody's Talkin'" and "One." The former finds Nilsson adopting a rolling folk-pop backing for a Fred Neil song, making it into an instant, Grammy-winning classic. The latter was the greatest song he had written to date, a haunting tale of loneliness reminiscent of McCartney, yet with its own voice. These are the songs anchoring an album that may be a little lightweight, but it's engagingly, deliberately lightweight. If it's a bit dated, it wears its old charms well.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Daddy's Song (2:44)
2. Good Old Desk (2:22)
3. Don't Leave Me (2:21)
4. Mr. Richland's Favorite Song (2:16)
5. Little Cowboy (1:23)
6. Together (2:12)
7. Harry Nilsson & George Tipton - Everybody's Talkin' (2:46)
8. I Said Goodbye To Me (2:15)
9. Little Cowboy (0:52)
10. Mr. Tinker (2:45)
11. One (2:55)
12. The Wailing Of The Willow (2:02)
13. Bath (2:28)
14. Sister Marie (3:02)
15. Miss Butter's Lament (2:22)
16. Girlfriend (1:49)

Ironically, Harry is where Harry Nilsson began to become Nilsson, an immensely gifted singer/songwriter/musician with a warped sense of humor that tended to slightly overwhelm his skills, at least to those who aren't quite operating on the same level. This aspect of his personality surfaces partially because the record is a crazy quilt of originals, covers, bizarre Americana, quiet ballads, show tunes, and soft-shoe shuffles. It doesn't really hold together, per se, due to its lack of focus (which, if you're a cultist, is naturally the reason why it's charming). Due to the sheer number of shuffling nostalgia trips, it seems as if Nilsson is attempting to sell the entire album on personality and, to anyone who isn't converted to his unique perspective, these may the moments that make Harry a little difficult to take, even with songs as expertly constructed as the delightful "Nobody Cares About the Railroads Anymore," an attempt to ape Randy Newman's Tin Pan Alley style. Then, there are the songs that really work, such as the sardonically cute "The Puppy Song," the gentle "Mournin' Glory Story," and "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City," a thoroughly winning folk-rock song he wrote for Midnight Cowboy but which was rejected in favor of "Everybody's Talkin'." These are the moments that deliver on the promise of his first two records, while the rest suggests where he would go next, whether in the immediate future (a cover of Newman's "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear") or several years later (the weird in-jokes and insularity of portions of the album, which would become his modus operandi as of Nilsson Schmilsson).

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. The Puppy Song (2:44)
2. Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anyone (2:46)
3. Open Your Window (2:09)
4. Mother Nature's Son (2:45)
5. Fairfax Rar (2:16)
6. City Life (2:33)
7. Mornin' Glory Story (2:16)
8. Maybe (3:10)
9. Marchin' Down Broadway (1:06)
10. I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City (2:45)
11. Rainmaker (2:50)
12. Mr.Bojangles (3:58)
13. Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear (2:52)
14. Waiting (2:22)
15. Rainmaker (mono single version) (2:26)
16. Wasting My Time (3:33)

The Point! is the soundtrack to a cartoon feature originally aired on ABC TV in 1971. Especially at this stage of his career, Harry Nilsson was uniquely suited for writing and recording children's music, given his sweet melodicism and love of whimsy. As it happens, The Point! worked out better than anyone could have expected, not just because "Everything's Got 'Em," "Me and My Arrow," "Think About Your Troubles," and "Are You Sleeping?" are songs strong enough to have been on a proper Nilsson record. There's also an intangible quality to this record, a warmth and generosity that really wasn't on any of his other albums, quite possibly because his humor is never sardonic or reliant on in-jokes. It's gentle and loving, as is the music. The tale is fantastical enough to be of interest to children (and the moral is strong enough to reassure them and their parents), but the songs and music are so strong that the album continues to be a source of wonder, even as those children become adults.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1.Everything's Got 'Em
2.The Town
3.Me And My Arrow
4.The Game
5.Poli High
6.The Trial & Banishment
7.Think About Your Troubles
8.The Pointed Man
9.Life Line
10.The Birds
11.P.O.V. Waltz
12.The Clearing In The Woods
13.Are You Sleeping
14.Oblio's Narration
15.Down To The Valley
16.Buy My Album
17.Think About Your Troubles (Take 4)
18.Life Line (Take 4)
19.Down To The Valley (Alternative Version)

Harry Nilsson had a hit, a Grammy, and critical success, yet he still didn't have a genuine blockbuster to his name when it came time to finally deliver a full-fledged follow-up to Nilsson Sings Newman, so he decided it was time to make that unabashed, mainstream pop/rock album. Hiring Barbra Streisand producer Richard Perry as a collaborator, Nilsson made a streamlined, slightly domesticated, unashamed set of mature pop/rock, with a slight twist. This is an album, after all, that begins by pining for the reckless days of youth, then segues into a snapshot of suburban disconnectedness before winding through a salute to and covers of old R&B tunes ("Early in the Morning" and "Let the Good Times Roll," respectively), druggie humor ("Coconut"), and surging hard rock ("Jump Into the Fire"). There are certainly hints of the Nilsson of old, particularly in his fondness for Tin Pan Alley and McCartney melodicism – as well as his impish wit – yet he hadn't made a record as cohesive as this since his first time out, nor had he ever made something as shiny and appealing as this. It may be more accessible than before, yet it's anchored by his mischievous humor and wonderful idiosyncrasies. Chances are that those lured in by the grandly melodramatic "Without You" will not be prepared for either the subtle charms of "The Moonbeam Song" or the off-kilter sensibility that makes even his breeziest pop slightly strange. In short, it's a near-perfect summary of everything Nilsson could do; he could be craftier and stranger, but never did he achieve the perfect balance as he did here.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Gotta Get Up (2:24)
2. Driving Along (2:03)
3. Early in the Morning (2:50)
4. The Moonbeam Song (3:22)
5. Down (3:25)
6. Without You (3:25)
7. Coconut (3:50)
8. Let the Good Times Roll (2:43)
9. Jump into the Fire (6:53)
10. I'll Never Leave You (4:20)
11. Without You (Demo) (3:54)
12. Driving Along (Demo) (0:56)
13. Gotta Get Up (Demo) (1:53)
14. Coconut (Demo) (4:02)
15. Down (Demo) (4:00)
16. Moonbeam Song (Demo) (1:49)
17. Jump into the Fire (Short Version) (3:34)
18. Per Chi (Without You - Italian Version) (3:16)
19. Si No Estas Tu (Without You - Spanish Version) (3:19)
20. How Can I Be Sure of You (Previously Unreleased) (3:06)
21. Moonbeam Song (Previously Unreleased) (3:32)
22. HLamaze (Previously Unreleased) (1:44)
23. Gotta Get Up (Previously Unreleased) - Radio Spot (5:07)

Emboldened by a huge hit and hanging with Lennon and Ringo, Harry Nilsson was ready to let it all go when it came time to record a follow-up to Nilsson Schmilsson. The very title of Son of Schmilsson implies that it's a de facto sequel to its smash predecessor but, as always with Nilsson, don't take everything at face value. Yes, he's back with producer Richard Perry and he's working from the same gleefully melodic, polished pop/rock territory as before, but this is an incredibly schizoid record, an album by an enormously gifted musician deciding that, since he's already going unhinged, he might as well indulge himself while he's at it. And, wow, are the results ever worth it. Opening with a song to a groupie – he sang his balls off, baby, he nearly broke the microphone – and ending with an ode to "The Most Beautiful World in the World," this record careens all over the place, bouncing from one idea to another, punctuated with B-horror movie sound effects, bizarre humor, profanity, and belches. There are song parodies, seemingly straight piano ballads, vulgar hard rock, lovely love songs, and a cheerful singalong with retirees at an old folks home who all proclaim, "I'd rather be dead than wet my bed." The sheer perversity of it all would be fascinating, yet if that's all it had to offer, it'd merely be a curiosity, the way his post-Pussy Cats records are. Instead, this is all married to a fantastic set of songs that illustrate what a skilled, versatile songsmith Nilsson was. No, it may not be the easiest album to warm to – and it's just about the weirdest record to reach number 12 and go gold – but if you appreciate Nilsson's musicality and weirdo humor, he never got any better.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Take 54 (4:18)
2. Remember (Christmas) (4:06)
3. Joy (3:42)
4. Turn On Your Radio (2:39)
5. You`re Breakin` My Heart (3:08)
6. Spaceman (3:34)
7. The Lottery Song (2:25)
8. At My Front Door (2:59)
9. Ambush (5:21)
10. I`d Rather Be Dead (3:20)
11. The Most Beautiful World In The World (3:38)
12. Joy (DEMO-Guitar) (1:56)
13. Joy (DEMO-Piano) (0:57)
14. What`s Your Sign? (Unreleased) (3:05)
15. Take 54 (Alt. Take) (3:39)
16. Campo De Enchino (Unreleased) (4:54)
17. Daybreak (Single) ~ It Had To Be You (Jam) (5:50)

Nilsson was nearly a decade ahead of Linda Ronstadt and other nouveau crooners in hiring a conductor/arranger of the pre-rock era (in this case Gordon Jenkins) and recording an album of standards before a full orchestra. And he did it better than most, proving to be a marvelous interpreter of songs like "What'll I Do?" and "Makin' Whoopee!" His version of "As Time Goes By" became a minor hit.

by William Ruhlmann, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Lazy Moon (3:22)
2. For Me And My Gal (2:48)
3. It Had To Be You (2:30)
4. Always (1:48)
5. Makin' Whoopee! (4:29)
6. You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) (2:33)
7. Lullaby In Ragtime (3:41)
8. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (2:39)
9. What'll I Do (2:27)
10. Nevertheless (2:39)
11. This Is All I Ask (3:36)
12. As Time Goes By (3:27)
13. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows [bonus track] (3:32)
14. Make Believe [bonus track] (2:23)
15. You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) [bonus track - alternate version] (2:29)
16. Trust In Me [bonus track] (2:28)
17. Lullaby In Ragtime [bonus track - alternate version] (3:47)
18. Always [bonus track - alternate version] (1:46)
19. It's Only A Paper Moon [bonus track] (3:14)
20. It Had To Be You [bonus track - alternate version] (2:39)
21. Thanks For The Memory [bonus track] (2:46)
22. Over The Rainbow [bonus track] (3:46)

The relationship between Harry Nilsson and John Lennon is legendary. They were notorious booze hounds and carousers, getting kicked out of clubs for misbehavior and generally terrorizing L.A. during Lennon's "lost weekend" of 1974. They wanted to make an album together – hell, anyone working at such a peak would – and the result was Pussy Cats, a Nilsson album produced by Lennon. Almost immediately, Nilsson got sick, resulting in a ruptured vocal cord. Not wanting Lennon to stop the sessions, Nilsson never told his friend, stubbornly working his way through the sessions until he lost his voice entirely. These are the sessions that make up Pussy Cats, an utterly bewildering record that's more baffling than entertaining. Like many superstar projects of its time, this is studded with contributions from friends and studio musicians, all intent on having a good time in the studio – which usually means hammering out rock & roll oldies. In this case, it meant both Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and the children's song "Loop de Loop," which gives a good idea where Nilsson was at. Through its messiness, Pussy Cats winds up showing how he and Lennon violently careened between hedonism and self-loathing. Of the new songs, the inadvertently revealing "All My Life" is the strongest, followed by the sweet "Don't Forget Me," yet this is more about tone than substance. It's about hearing Nilsson's voice getting progressively harsher, as the backing remains appealingly professional and slick. It doesn't quite jibe, and it's certainly incoherent, but that's its charm. It may not be as wild as the lost weekend itself, but it couldn't have been recorded at any other time and remains a fascinating aural snapshot of the early days of 1974.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Many Rivers To Cross (5:01)
2. Subterranean Homesick Blues (3:21)
3. Don't Forget Me (3:40)
4. All My Life (3:13)
5. Old Forgotten Soldier (4:16)
6. Harry Nilsson and Ken Ascher - Save The Last Dance For Me (4:31)
7. Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga (3:46)
8. Loop De Loop (2:44)
9. Black Sails (3:18)
10. Rock Around The Clock (3:17)
11. Down By The Sea (5:37)
12. The Flying Saucer Song (6:30)
13. Save The Last Dance For Me (4:29)
14. Old Forgotten Soldier (Demo 1) (3:09)
15. Old Forgotten Soldier (Demo 2) (2:43)

More tongue-in-cheek wordplay from Harry Nilsson. The album was originally titled God's Greatest Hits, but powers that be persuaded Nilsson to change it. His voice as well as his talent for writing catchy tunes was wearing thin here, and as with previous efforts, nothing stands out like his earlier material. Duit On Mon Dei is an artist on the wane.

by James Chrispell, AMG

Tracklist:

1. Jesus Christ You're Tall (1:27)
2. It's A Jungle Out There (3:52)
3. Down By The Sea (2:31)
4. Kojak Columbo (3:18)
5. Easier For Me (2:27)
6. Turn Out The Light (2:35)
7. Salmon Falls (4:15)
8. Puget Sound (2:25)
9. What's Your Sign? (2:53)
10. Home (3:37)
11. Good For God (3:34)
12. Turn Out The Light (2:32)

Nilsson started going off the tracks at Pussy Cats, but his descent into sheer, unhinged lunacy became apparent with Sandman, his second album of 1975. It was easy to view Duit on Mon Dei as transitory, but this proves that it was a transition to craziness and cultdom. At this point, he was abandoned by Lennon, left alone in L.A. and Nilsson just didn't care. He continued to roam, rampage, and record, ensconcing himself in his own world of in-jokes, Tin Pan Alley melodies, soft rock, clever wit, and sheer drunkenness. Check the cover: on the front, he has a bottle of wine between his legs, on the back he's overcome by a sand crab. On the album itself, he repudiates rock & roll, realizes "Pretty Soon There'll Be Nothing Left for Everybody," has a drunken conversation with himself (so extreme that he's thrown out of the bar), explains why he did not go to work today, writes an ode to flying saucers, offers cheekily literal instructions on how to write a song and then covers a song from the last album. Melodically, he's still strong, but the gleeful craziness overwhelms the pretty music and accessible production, resulting in an album that makes Son of Schmilsson and Pussy Cats seem normal, which may only signal just how far away from the mainstream Nilsson was at this point. But, in a way, he was still brilliant – these are exceptional recordings, and his warped sense of humor is funnier than its ever been. That's not to say that Sandman is an easy record – you have to not only accept Nilsson's quirks, but embrace them more than his talents to love this album – but if your head is properly calibrated, this is one to treasure.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. I'll Take A Tango (3:01)
2. Something True (2:58)
3. Pretty Soon There'll Be Nothing Left For Everybody (2:53)
4. The Ivy Covered Walls (3:16)
5. (Thursday) Here's Why I Did Not Go To Work Today (4:08)
6. The Flying Saucer Song (6:45)
7. How To Write A Song (3:15)
8. Jesus Christ You're Tall (4:10)
9. Will She Miss Me (4:48)

Realizing that he had nothing left to lose when he got to the end of his RCA contract, Harry Nilsson wound up recording his best, most distinctive record since Pussy Cats, maybe, Son of Schmilsson. Abandoning the very idea of a mainstream pop album is just the beginning of his conceptual coup here with Knnillssonn. Recording almost all of the sounds with keyboards and guitars, Nilsson also decided to drive the guitars into the background. In some ways, this may make it similar to A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, but instead of being a standards record, this is all new material, written in a classical pop style and delivered in a slightly modernistic fashion. The result is an album that's out of step with its time and with the era's music in general. With its old-fashioned pop sensibility and weirdly out of sync production, plus Nilsson's trademark clever songsmithery and impish humor, Knnillssonn is a pop album like no other. It has his best set of songs in many a year, and the production is fascinating, yet at times it sounds like he's trying a little too hard. Still, there are brilliant moments, whether it's a tune as seductive as "All I Think About Is You" or the Agatha Christie murder mystery salute "Who Done It?" For all the cultists who struggled with, and at times embraced, his years of uneven records, this is their reward: an album that may only appeal to a small audience, but that satisfies their every desire about what an album from their favorite artist should be.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

1. All I Think About Is You (4:04)
2. I Never Thought I'd Get This Lonely (5:03)
3. Who Done It? (5:18)
4. Lean On Me (2:49)
5. Goin' Down (3:10)
6. Old Bones (2:59)
7. Sweet Surrender (4:39)
8. Blanket For A Sail (2:32)
9. Laughin' Man (2:53)
10. Perfect Day (3:51)
11. Ain't It Kinda Wonderful (2:10)





All thanks go to glebchic