Harry Nilsson - The RCA Albums Collection (2013) [17CD Box Set]

Harry Nilsson spent almost all of his rich, idiosyncratic, sometimes maddening career at RCA Records, releasing his bravura debut, Pandemonium Shadow Show, in 1967 and fading into the sunset with 1977's Knnillssonn. During those ten years, he released 14 albums and left behind a bunch of stray tracks, almost all of which are gathered on Legacy's massive and wonderful 2013 box The RCA Albums Collection. Every one of his albums is here, presented as mini-LP replicas and expanded with mono mixes, outtakes, demos, and alternate takes, many of which previously appeared on turn-of-the-millennium reissues by Buddha and Camden, but there are also three full discs of rarities, adding up to 123 total bonus tracks, 55 of which are seeing their first release here. Notably, the five-song demo session that convinced the Monkees to record "Cuddly Toy" (and also includes Harry's only version of "This Could Be the Night," an early song co-written with Phil Spector) sees its first official release, but there are many other wonderful little gems scattered throughout the session discs.

Those are the necessary, enticing details for collectors, but concentrating on rarities at the expense of the big picture isn't the way to approach The RCA Albums Collection, as this allows the work of one of pop's true eccentric geniuses to be appreciated in its entirety. Nilsson's career divides into two parts, the first tracing the rise of an L.A. studio genius who rode several lucky breaks on the road to becoming a respected and successful songwriter; the second finding Harry ditching almost everything that came before in a successful attempt to indulge his every whim. Usually, the first act overshadows the second, as their attributes are more readily apparent. It's easy to hear the intelligence behind the songwriting and the intricately arranged productions of his work from 1967-1971, whereas the second seven LPs take some work on the listener's part, but the continuum offered by The RCA Albums Collection reveals that these often-derided albums wind up seeming stronger than their rep. Nilsson's relentless wit shines through, albeit often in bawdier form than before, and his musical acumen remains sharp. The only thing missing is that wondrous, pure voice, one which legendarily scaled three-and-a-half octaves and was worn down by Harry's relentless demons, but he was a smart singer, so he knew how to harness his hoarseness to his advantage, at least in the studio. Then again, Nilsson was a creature of the studio, a vocalist who never gave a concert, a songwriter who polished everything within the confines of multi-million dollar recording emporiums. He benefitted from the system then swindled it, creating recordings that evoked and influenced the times and, in doing so, transcended them as well. Seventeen discs may be an enormous undertaking, and admittedly some of the road is rocky, but the journey Harry Nilsson takes on The RCA Albums Collection is distinctive and thrilling, whether it's heard for the first or 40th time.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

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:

Stereo
01 Ten Little Indians
02 1941
03 Cuddly Toy
04 She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune
05 You Can't Do That
06 Sleep Late, My Lady Friend
07 She's Leaving Home
08 There Will Never Be
09 Without Her
10 Freckles
11 It's Been So Long
12 River Deep-Mountain High

Mono
13 Ten Little Indians
14 1941
15 Cuddly Toy
16 She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune
17 You Can't Do That
18 Sleep Late, My Lady Friend
19 She's Leaving Home
20 There Will Never Be
21 Without Her
22 Freckles
23 It's Been So Long
24 River Deep-Mountain High

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:

Stereo
01 Daddy's Song
02 Good Old Desk
03 Don't Leave Me
04 Mr. Richland's Favorite Song
05 Little Cowboy
06 Together
07 Everybody's Talkin'
08 I Said Goodbye To Me
09 Little Cowboy
10 Mr. Tinker
11 One
12 The Wailing Of The Willow

13 Bath
Mono
14 Daddy's Song
15 Good Old Desk
16 Don't Leave Me
17 Mr. Richland's Favorite Song
18 Little Cowboy
19 Together
20 Everybody's Talkin'
21 I Said Goodbye To Me
22 Little Cowboy
23 Mr. Tinker
24 One
25 The Wailing Of The Willow
26 Bath

Bonus Track
27 Aerial Ballet Radio Spot

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:

01 The Puppy Song
02 Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anymore
03 Open Your Window
04 Mother Nature's Son
05 Fairfax Rag
06 City Life
07 Mournin' Glory Story
08 Maybe
09 Marchin' Down Broadway
10 I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City
11 Rainmaker
12 Mr. Bojangles
13 Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear

Bonus Tracks
14 I Will Take You There (Single Mix)
15 Waiting (From The Motion Picture 'Jenny')
16 Rainmaker (Single Mix)
17 Mournin' Glory Story (Single Mix)
18 Garbage Can Ballet (Alternate Version)
19 Harry Radio Spot
20 Voices Of Vista Radio Spots

Named Stereo Review's album of the year (and, really, can you ask for a better endorsement than that?) upon its release and generally regarded as the album that introduced Randy Newman the songwriter to a wide audience, Nilsson Sings Newman has gained a reputation of being an minor masterwork. This, in a way, is misguiding, since this isn't an obvious record, where the songs are delivered simply and directly. It's deliberately an album of subtle pleasures, crafted, as the liner notes state, line by line in the studio. As such, the preponderance of quiet piano-and-voice tracks (featuring Newman himself on piano, Nilsson on vocals) means the record can slip away upon the first few listens, especially for anyone expecting an undeniable masterpiece. Yet, a masterpiece is what this is, albeit a subtle, graceful masterpiece where the pleasure is in the grace notes, small gestures, and in-jokes. Not to say that this is devoid of emotion; it's just that the emotion is subdued, whether it's on a straightforward love song ("Caroline") or a tongue-in-cheek tale like "Love Story." For an album that introduced a songwriter as idiosyncratic as Newman, it's only appropriate that Nilsson's interpretations are every bit as original as the songs. His clear intonation and sweet, high voice are more palatable than Randy's slurred, bluesy growl, but the wild thing is, these versions demand that the listeners surrender to Nilsson's own terms. He's created gentle, intricate arrangements of tuneful yet clever songs, and as such, the album may be as much an acquired taste as Newman. Once you've acquired that taste, this is as sweet as honey.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

01 Vine St.
02 Love Story
03 Yellow Man
04 Caroline
05 Cowboy
06 The Beehive State
07 I'll Be Home
08 Living Without You
09 Dayton, Ohio 1903
10 So Long Dad

Bonus Tracks
11 Snow
12 Love Story (Alternate Version)
13 Cowboy (Alternate Version)
14 I'll Be Home (Alternate Version)
15 Living Without You (Alternate Version)

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:

01 Everything's Got 'Em
02 The Town (Narration)
03 Me And My Arrow
04 The Game (Narration)
05 Poli High
06 The Trial And Banishment (Narration)
07 Think About Your Troubles
08 The Pointed Man (Narration)
09 Life Line
10 The Birds (Narration)
11 P.O.V. Waltz
12 The Clearing In The Woods (Narration)
13 Are You Sleeping?
14 Oblio's Return (Narration)

Bonus Tracks
15 Think About Your Troubles (Alternate Version)
16 Life Line (Alternate Version)
17 Down To The Valley (Alternate Mix With Extended Ending)
18 I'll Never Leave You
19 The Point! Travel Brochure Radio Spot With Bill Martin

What is hubris? It is Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, a folly Harry Nilsson crafted after winning a Grammy for "Everybody's Talkin'." Riding upon the goodwill generated by the award, he decided to compress and edit his first two (quite brilliant) albums into one record. He remixed tracks, erased old vocals, over-sang some new ones, edited sections out of certain songs, and slowed others down. Apart from the intros and outros, there are no brand-new items, just old tunes presented in slightly new, slightly off-putting ways. If you're not familiar with the debut, this will be pretty enchanting since the two records weren't that far apart stylistically and, let's face it, he was working with pretty terrific source material. Still, it's no substitute for the originals, and if you have a chance (and you do, with Britain's RCA Camden reissue), pick up the originals.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

01 Introduction
02 1941
03 Daddy's Song
04 Mr. Richland's Favorite Song
05 Good Old Desk
06 Everybody's Talkin'
07 Bath
08 River Deep-Mountain High
09 Sleep Late, My Lady Friend
10 Don't Leave Me
11 Without Her
12 Together
13 One
14 Closing

Bonus Tracks
15 You Can't Do That (Remix)
16 It's Been So Long (Italian Version)
17 Sleep Late, My Lady Friend (Italian Version)
18 Without Her (Italian Version)
19 Cuddly Toy (Italian Version)
20 You Can't Do That (Italian Version)
21 BBC Saturday Club Introduction By Brian Matthew
22 1941 (Live On BBC's Saturday Club)
23 Mr. Richland's Favorite Song (Live On BBC's Saturday Club)
24 Nilsson Talks With Brian Matthew
25 Together (Live On BBC's Saturday Club)
26 Good Old Desk (Live On BBC's Saturday Club)
27 Aerial Pandemonium Ballet Radio Spot

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:

01 Gotta Get Up
02 Driving Along
03 Early In The Morning
04 The Moonbeam Song
05 Down
06 Without You
07 Coconut
08 Let The Good Times Roll
09 Jump Into The Fire
10 I'll Never Leave You

Bonus Tracks
11 Si No Estás Tú (Spanish Version Of 'Without You')
12 How Can I Be Sure Of You
13 The Moonbeam Song (Demo)
14 Lamaze
15 Old Forgotten Soldier (Demo)
16 Gotta Get Up (Alternate Version)
17 Nilsson Schmilsson Radio Spots

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:

01 Take 54
02 Remember (Christmas)
03 Joy
04 Turn On Your Radio
05 You're Breakin' My Heart
06 Spaceman
07 The Lottery Song
08 At My Front Door
09 Ambush
10 I'd Rather Be Dead
11 The Most Beautiful World In The World

Bonus Tracks
12 What's Your Sign?
13 Take 54 (Alternate)
14 Campo De Encino
15 Daybreak (Single Version)
16 It Had To Be You / I'd Rather Be Dead
17 Son Of Schmilsson Radio Spot

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:

01 Lazy Moon
02 For Me And My Gal
03 It Had To Be You
04 Always
05 Makin' Whoopee!
06 You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)
07 Lullaby In Ragtime
08 I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
09 What'll I Do?
10 Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)
11 This Is All I Ask
12 As Time Goes By

Bonus Tracks
13 I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
14 Make Believe
15 Trust In Me
16 It's Only A Paper Moon
17 Thanks For The Memory
18 Over The Rainbow

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:

01 Many Rivers To Cross
02 Subterranean Homesick Blues
03 Don't Forget Me
04 All My Life
05 Old Forgotten Soldier
06 Save The Last Dance For Me
07 Mucho Mungo / Mt. Elga
08 Loop De Loop
09 Black Sails
10 Rock Around The Clock

Bonus Tracks
11 Down By The Sea
12 The Flying Saucer Song
13 Turn Out The Light
14 Save The Last Dance For Me (Alternate)
15 Don't Forget Me (Demo)
16 Black Sails (Demo)
17 Pussy Cats Radio Spots With Eddie Lawrence

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:

01 Jesus Christ You're Tall
02 It's A Jungle Out There
03 Down By The Sea
04 Kojak Columbo
05 Easier For Me
06 Turn Out The Light
07 Salmon Falls
08 Puget Sound
09 What's Your Sign?
10 Home
11 Good For God

Bonus Track
12 Goin' Down (Alternate)

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:

01 I'll Take A Tango
02 Something True
03 Pretty Soon There'll Be Nothing Left For Everybody
04 The Ivy Covered Walls
05 Here's Why I Did Not Go To Work Today
06 The Flying Saucer Song
07 How To Write A Song
08 Jesus Christ You're Tall
09 Will She Miss Me?

Bonus Track
10 A Tree Out In The Yard (Central Park)

Well, what do you expect from an artist who's reading Penthouse, surrounded by liquor bottles and cigarettes, on the cover of his album? Perfection? Accessibility? Sanity? Well, you ain't gonna get that from Nilsson, a man who left sanity behind shortly after he entered the mainstream with Nilsson Schmilsson. Instead, you get a record from an artist who's just at the fringe of popular culture, not really caring if he has a hit, but not really wanting to be so weird that he's just a cult. Realizing all of this, the artist also knows that he doesn't need to try so hard – he can be as lazy as he looks on the cover. So, that means That's the Way It Is is essentially a covers record, with songs ranging from material penned by longtime favorite Randy Newman ("Sail Away") to longtime fan George Harrison ("That Is All") to oldies ("Just One Look/Baby I'm Yours") to obscurities ("She Sits Down on Me" and "Zombie Jamboree"). Only two original songs then: the faux-reggae "Moonshine Bandit" and "Daylight Has Caught Me," co-written with Dr. John. Everything's given a rather lush, but not particularly sleek treatment, placing it closer to soft rock than to the unabashed cult rock that Nilsson was producing at this point. So, this winds up being an album that's not as gleefully weird and funny as its predecessors and yet is stranger because of that. Because, for chrissake, who wants this album? It doesn't have enough perversity or indulgence for those who treasure his weirdness, but it's way too idiosyncratic and odd for anyone who might like the L.A.-style vibe. Not a bad record, really, but certainly not a very good one, even by latter-day Nilsson standards.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

01 That Is All
02 Just One Look / Baby I'm Yours
03 Moonshine Bandit
04 I Need You
05 A Thousand Miles Away
06 Sail Away
07 She Sits Down On Me
08 Daylight Has Caught Me
09 Zombie Jamboree (Back To Back)
10 That Is All (Reprise)

Bonus Track
11 …That's The Way It Is Radio Spot (Recorded 1975)

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:

01 All I Think About Is You
02 I Never Thought I'd Get This Lonely
03 Who Done It?
04 Lean On Me
05 Goin' Down
06 Old Bones
07 Sweet Surrender
08 Blanket For A Sail
09 Laughin' Man
10 Perfect Day

Bonus Tracks
11 Ain't It Kinda Wonderful (From 'The World's Greatest Lover')
12 Sweet Lorraine (Harry Nilsson And Dr. John)
13 Shuffle Off To Buffalo
14 Ballin' The Jack (Harry Nilsson And Dr. John)
15 All I Think About Is You (Demo / Harry Nilsson And Dr. John)
16 Knnillssonn Radio Spot (Recorded 1977)







Tracklist:

01 1941 (Demo)
02 World (Demo)
03 Signs (Demo)
04 Cuddly Toy (Demo)
05 This Could Be The Night (Demo)
06 As I Wander Lonely
07 The Family
08 Miss Butter's Lament
09 Mr. Tinker (Alternate Version)
10 Leggenda
11 Sister Marie
12 She Wandered Through The Garden Fence
13 One (Alternate Version)
14 I Said Goodbye To Me (Alternate Version)
15 Searchin'
16 She's Just Laughing At Me
17 Together (Alternate Version)
18 Bath (Alternate Version)







Tracklist:

01 You Are Here
02 The Cast And Crew
03 Garbage Can Ballet
04 I Will Take You There
05 Girlfriend
06 Wasting My Time (Alternate Mix)
07 Rainmaker (Alternate Version)
08 Open Your Window (Alternate Take)
09 Postcard
10 Think About Your Troubles (Alternate Version)
11 Marry Me A Little
12 Ballin' The Jack
13 Gotta Get Up (Demo)
14 Down To The Valley (Single Mix)
15 Buy My Album (Single Mix)
16 Joy (Alternate Version)
17 Blackbird
18 Paradise
19 Lucille
20 Early In The Morning (Alternate Version)







Tracklist:

01 Walk Right Back
02 Jump Into The Fire (Alternate Version)
03 Isolation
04 Without You (Demo)
05 Driving Along (Demo)
06 Gotta Get Up (Demo)
07 Coconut (Demo)
08 Old Forgotten Soldier (Alternate Demo)
09 Down (Demo)
10 The Moonbeam Song (Alternate Demo)
11 Jump Into The Fire (Single Version)
12 Per Chi (Italian Version Of 'Without You')
13 Joy (Guitar Demo)
14 Joy (Piano Demo)
15 You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) (Alternate Version)
16 Lullaby In Ragtime (Alternate Version)
17 Always (Alternate Version)
18 It Had To Be You (Alternate Version)
19 I Want You To Sit On My Face
20 A Souvenir (Also Sprach Schmilsson Schmixon)






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