Harry Nilsson Album Reviews

Harry Edward Nilsson III successfully balanced commercial appeal and cult success in the 1960s and 1970s. He enjoyed hit singles like ‘Everybody’s Talkin” and ‘Without You’.

But he followed an idiosyncratic path. In the early 1970s, he released a Randy Newman covers album, a standards album, and a soundtrack to an animated movie. Uniquely, he was both an accomplished songwriter and a gifted interpreter of other people’s songs. He wrote hits for Three Dog Night and Mary Hopkin, but some of his best-known hits were covers.

Nilsson started his music career singing demos for songwriter Scott Turner. He then worked as a songwriter with Phil Spector. The Beach Boys-inspired ‘This Could Be The Night’ is an early highlight. Arranger George Tipton was an early ally, spending his life savings to finance Nilsson’s early singles.

Nilsson’s career faded after the mid-1970s. He shredded his voice recording Pussy Cats with John Lennon, and largely retired from music after 1980’s Flash Harry. He was working on a comeback album when he passed away from heart disease in his early fifties.

Harry Nilsson Album Reviews

Spotlight on Nilsson

1966, 6/10
Nilsson’s first LP is a collection of his early singles, released on Tower, a budget imprint of Capitol Records. Glenn Tipton financed these early singles and arranged them. The recordings are basic – the ten tracks flash by in just over twenty minutes. It doesn’t have much of Nilsson’s musical personality, as it lacks his intricate backing vocal arrangements.

But it has a lyrical personality – even though a lot of the songs are covers, and were released as singles, they form a coherent narrative, with Nilsson a downtrodden, romantic loser. ‘Good Times’ later became the title track to The Monkees’ final album in 2016. It’s more country-oriented than anything else in his discography – he covers Merle Travis and Marvin Rainwater.

In hindsight, Spotlight is more like an interesting prelude to Nilsson’s discography proper, but it’s worth hearing.

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Pandemonium Shadow Show

1967, 7/10
Harry Nilsson signed with RCA Victor in 1967, starting a partnership with arranger George Tipton. Nilsson constructs elaborate backing vocals, overdubbing himself in “a chorus of ninety-eight voices”. With the orchestral arrangements, it’s comparable to Scott Walker’s 1960’s work. But it’s quite different – Nilsson’s much cuddlier, and there’s only a hint of darkness to most of these tunes. Nilsson only wrote half of these tunes. If you’re a pop/rock fan, you’ll probably find his later albums more approachable, but it’s worth checking through here for gems.

Chief among the gems is ‘1941’, a biographical tale that Nilsson named after his year of birth. He also wrote ‘Ten Little Indians’ about the Ten Commandments, later a minor hit for The Yardbirds. A variety of artists later covered ‘Without Her’, including Glen Campbell and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

It’s fun hearing him mimic Lennon’s Greek chorus vocals on ‘She’s Leaving Home’. He also covers The Beatles’ ‘You Can’t Do That’, quoting seventeen other Beatles songs in the process.

Pandemonium Shadow Show is worthwhile, but Nilsson became more interesting as his songwriting developed.

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Aerial Ballet

1968, 8/10
Aerial Ballet is named for the high-wire circus act that Nilsson’s grandparents developed. It’s a step forward – the baroque arrangements are pushed to the background, making it feel more intimate. Nilsson wrote almost all of the songs – the exception is the hit cover of Fred Neil’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin”. It feels much stronger, although its success was belated. ‘Everybody’s Talkin” became a hit when it was featured in 1969’s Midnight Cowboy, while ‘One’ was later a hit for Three Dog Night.

The opener, ‘Daddy’s Song’, was removed after the first copies were pressed, as the Monkees had paid for exclusive rights to record it for Head. It was restored to later pressings, with Nilsson singing the horn breaks. Nilsson would soon toughen his approach, but there’s plenty of whimsy like ‘Little Cowboy’ and ‘Good Old Desk’.

Nilsson’s skills as a writer and an interpreter grew on Aerial Ballet, and it contains two of his best-loved tracks.

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Skidoo

1968, not rated
Nilsson provided the soundtrack for this 1968 comedy film. It’s largely instrumental, but the vocal numbers are solid songs in his 1960s style. The opener ‘The Cast and Crew’ is charming, with Nilsson singing the end credits, while ‘I Will Take You There’ is also worthwhile. Nilsson’s credited as the composer, but it seems like that arranger George Tipton wrote most of the score.

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Harry

1969, 7.5/10
Harry feels like a backward step after Aerial Ballet. It’s half covers, and it often delves into pre-rock styles like Tin Pan Alley. I’m less interested in Nilsson covering ‘Mr Bojangles’ and The Beatles’ ‘Mother Nature’s Son’.

Meanwhile, ‘I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City’ feels like a retread of ‘Everybody’s Talkin’.’ Nilsson wrote it for Midnight Cowboy when the director requested another song that sounded like ‘Everybody’s Talkin’.’

Nilsson cowrote ‘Rainmaker’ with William “Bill” Martin – Martin also wrote ‘Fairfax Rag’ and ‘City Life’. ‘Rainmaker’ points the way forward to his rock-oriented work in the early 1970s – the opening beat has been sampled by The Roots and Cypress Hill. My favourite cover is of Randy Newman’s ‘Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear’ – Nilsson’s next album would entirely consist of Newman covers.

Harry is solid, but it doesn’t emphasise my favourite parts of Nilsson’s style.

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Nilsson Sings Newman

1970, 7/10
After Nilsson covered Newman’s ‘Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear’ on the previous album, the two teamed up for a full collaboration. Sonically, it’s one of Nilsson’s most fascinating projects. Newman’s piano is the main accompaniment, giving Nilsson lots of space to build intricate vocal arrangements – there are reportedly 118 overdubs on a single track here. Nilsson also breaks the fourth wall, sometimes speaking to the engineer.

Nilsson Sings Newman is a cult favourite, beloved by artists as diverse as Jellyfish, Adrian Belew, and Joanna Newsom. But I find it less enchanting than the great albums Newman and Nilsson would release separately in the early 1970s.

There are some great moments. Nilsson pushes his voice to extremes on ‘Cowboy’, places Newman’s limited voice could never go. Nilsson’s version of ‘The Beehive State’ is also much stronger than Newman’s – he captures the vibe of a senator promoting Utah.

I’m probably in the minority here, but I strongly favour Nilsson and Newman’s subsequent solo records to this collaboration.

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The Point!

1970, 8/10
Nilsson took an acid trip. Staring at a tree, he realised that “they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses [each] came to [a] point. I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn’t, then there’s [still] a point to it.'” These acid-fuelled insights formed the basis for The Point!

It’s a multimedia project – on the album, Nilsson alternates narrative tracks with songs. On the original TV broadcast, Dustin Hoffman provided narration. It was later adapted into a stage show.

It sounds goofy, but it works as an album. Nilsson’s narrations are succinct and interesting, and the songs are strong. It uses a gentle Beach Boys/Beatles sound, sophisticated but not overbearing. Songs like ‘Me and My Arrow’ and ‘Think About Your Troubles’ are excellent Nilsson songs, with a life outside of the musical. The gospel of ‘Down in the Valley’ is an excellent bonus track too.

The Point! is charming and unexpectedly satisfying.

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Aerial Pandemonium Ballet

1971, not rated
Nilsson was full of innovative ideas during the early 1970s. With his first two RCA Victor albums out of print, he reimagined them, remixing, tweaking, and re-recording vocals. It’s considered one of the first remix albums.

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Nilsson Schmilsson

1971, 9/10
Nilsson reinvented himself with his first album of original songs in the 1970s. He fell out with Tipton, instead travelling to London to work with producer Richard Perry. Perry was the it producer of the early 1970s – Village Voice reported that “the rungs on the ladder of success seem so much closer together when Perry is your guide.”

Nilsson doesn’t lose the things that made him interesting, like his vocal virtuosity, his whimsy, and his adventurousness. But Perry gives him access to more sounds, like the tough rocker ‘Jump Into The Fire’. And Perry doesn’t streamline Nilsson for the mainstream – it’s his most diverse album yet, ranging from novelty of ‘Coconut’ to the epic balladry of ‘Without You’.

Those are three of Nilsson’s best-loved songs, but there’s plenty beneath the surface. Nilsson combines spooky organ with bluesy vocals on a cover of Louis Jordan’s ‘Early in the Morning’. ‘The Moonbeam Song’ could have easily fitted onto his late 1960s records, but here it’s stripped back and charming. ‘Down’ is a nice bluesy rocker, while the closer ‘I’ll Never Leave You’ is restrained and minimal.

Nilsson Schmilsson is a triumph, introducing Harry to a wider audience without sacrificing his individuality.

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Son of Schmilsson

A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night

Pussy Cats

1974, 8/10
Harry Nilsson and John Lennon recorded Pussy Cats together during Lennon’s famous “Lost Weekend”. Despite their rowdy behaviour, the album captures a kind of resigned sadness, similar to Neil Young‘s contemporary ditch trilogy. Nilsson ruptured a vocal cord during the recording sessions, hiding it from Lennon.

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Duit on Mon Dei

1975, 5.5/10
Nilsson’s career stalled after Pussy Cats. As well as damaging his vocal cords, he’s less focused – the songwriting is hit and miss. Nilsson’s main collaborator is Van Dyke Parks, who helped turn Nilsson’s rough sketches into more realised songs. Parks described himself as Nilsson’s “musical secretary”, and he forged order out of the drug-fuelled chaos.

It’s hard not to like Nilsson, but he’s trying our patience here. He’s suddenly interested in steel drums, while lots of the songs feel like toss-offs. With his diminished voice and sudden heretical streak (his proposed title for the record was God’s Greatest Hits), he’s oddly reminiscent of Randy Newman.

It’s fun hearing a cast of great musicians like Gloria Jones, Dr John, and Jim Keltner playing Nilsson’s slight compositions. The most enjoyable songs hit a fun groove, like ‘It’s A Jungle Out There’ and ‘Kojak Columbo’. With the goofy tone, it’s harder for the mellow songs to connect, but there’s a nice stretch with ‘Salmon Falls’ and ‘Puget Sound’.

Duit on Mon Dei is very slight, but it’s enjoyable despite itself.

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Sandman

1976, 5.5/10
Nilsson seems like he’s trying a bit harder here. He works with arranger Perry Botkin Jr., who provides an old-timey feel to songs like ‘Something True’. Nilsson produced Sandman, supported by mid-1970s mainstays like Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner, Danny Kortchmar, Jesse Ed Davis, and Van Dyke Parks.

The first few songs explore a romantic, orchestral sound. It works, and it feels like a new innovation. The cover of Alex Harvey’s ‘I’ll Take A Tango’ is charming, while ‘Something Good’ is a lovely piano ballad.

But the second half descends back into silliness. ‘The Flying Saucer Song’ and ‘How To Write A Song’ are two of the worst numbers in Nilsson’s catalogue.

If you cut the second half off, there’s a pretty interesting EP here.

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…That’s The Way It Is

1976, 5.5/10
RCA were anxious about Nilsson’s failing sales. They stepped in, insisting on covers and an outside producer. Nilsson complied, agreeing to retitle the record from his original idea – Eldridge & Beaver Cleaver U.S.A.

Saxophonist Trevor Lawrence is a strange choice as producer – it’s his first production job, and he favours syrupy orchestration. But Nilsson’s vocals have recovered from the trauma of Pussy Cats, and it’s fun hearing him deliver easy-listening covers like ‘Just One Look’. It’s less silly than his previous two records, which makes the inclusion of ‘Zombie Jamboree’ jarring.

Conversely, his cover of Randy Newman’s ‘Sail Away’ is excellent, and makes this record worth salvaging. The duet with Dr John on ‘Daylight’, one of two Nilsson originals on the record, is another keeper.

…That’s the Way It Is is the most consistent of Nilsson’s weird mid-1970s albums, but it’s the least interesting.

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Best Harry Nilsson Songs

• Spaceman
• Coconut
• 1941
• Rainmaker
• Cowboy
• Jump Into The Fire
• Everybody’s Talkin’
• Without You
• Me and My Arrow
• Sail Away
• One
• Early in the Morning
• Think About Your Troubles
• Down
• Down to the Valley.