Sound Bite

Nilsson reissues catalog of work

Harry Nilsson
Pandemonium Shadow Show
Aerial Ballet
Nilsson Sings Newman
Pussy Cats
Knnillssonn
(RCA)

Many people aren't familiar with the name Harry Nilsson. Like many of the pop musicians that had their heyday in the late `60s and `70s and don't get played regularly on classic rock stations, only when you mention some of their hits do people associate them with the musician in question. For Nilsson, his performance of "Everybody's Talkin'" from the "Midnight Cowboy" soundtrack, and his own songs "Coconut" and "One" (covered by Three Dog Night) should ring some bells for most people. Unlike many of these types of pop musicians, Nilsson has far more depth than a few hit songs. The reissue of five of his RCA albums provides more than enough evidence of this. They also serve as a way to remember this musician's talent since he died in January of `94.
It's a shame that a great debut album such as 1967's Pandemonium Shadow Show was not reissued until now. All 12 songs showcase Nilsson's impressively effective three octave voice and many of the songs demonstrate his unique pop scat singing. The six songs that he wrote on this album also show that he had an incredible songwriting sensibility with songs that are well as the best singer/songwriter, but also work well as pop songs. All six of his own songs on this album have been covered at some time or another --some with greater success than others. "Without Her" was covered by a great number of people, Harry Belafonte used "Sleep Late, My Lady Friend" and pop pawns the Monkees borrowed two songs from this album.
As good as this album is, Nilsson's sound is not the most original overall. The covers of "You Can't Do That" and "She's Leaving Home" don't need be on the album for you to guess that Nilsson was a huge Beatles fan. Still, Nilsson was not a shameless imitator. He possessed some of the same songwriting genius as that of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Nilsson's follow-up, Aerial Ballet, is much more solid than his debut. All but two of the 13 songs are written by Nilsson. His style is obviously more original, though the Beatles influence isn't entirely shed. Still, Nilsson probably served as an influence to others during this period. Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is, at parts, almost identical to Nilsson's "Together" and it's likely that Joel listened to this album quite often.
While the previous album was more bouncy and fun, this one is more tender and sentimental. Of course that means there are string arrangements, but with Nilsson, they don't seem as melodramatic as they usually do in pop songs. Two songs from this album that everyone should recognize are "Everybody's Talkin'" and "One," but there are 11 other songs on this album that are equally as good. This album is highly recommended.
Nilsson's fourth album, 1970's Nilsson Sings Newman, is Randy Newman supplying the songs and piano and Nilsson supplying the vocals. Those who are only familiar with Newman's `80s work like the song "I Love L.A.," will be pleasantly surprised to find that, in the hands of Nilsson, his songs are tender, witty and generally solid. The stripped-down sound of the album is clean, powerful and an inspiring rarity in pop music--that is, if you could call such well-crafted songs pop.
1974's Pussy Cats may at first seem to be the most appealing of these reissues because of John Lennon's involvement in the project as producer, but in fact, it is the worst. Lennon's production is thin and hollow, Nilsson's voice was damaged during this recording session and guests such as Ringo Starr and Keith Moon tend to clutter the overall sound. There's not too many good things to say about this album because every song that has the potential is somehow ruined.
But Nilsson's voice is intact and the clutter is gone on 1977's Knnillssonn and he once again captures the tenderness he is capable of. This album is as inspired as Aerial Ballet, though the songs (all of which Nilsson wrote) and style are much more original. The strings, choir, acoustic guitar, percussion and bass are the perfect accompaniment for Nilsson's golden voice. It's not hard to figure out why Nilsson picked this as his favorite of all the albums that he had done. This is something to be proud of.
--Adam Stackhouse / Music Editor