This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Much of ’70s singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson’s fame seemed to come second-hand. As a singer, the golden-voiced New Yorker is perhaps best known for the Midnight Cowboy theme Everybody’s Talkin’ — which he didn’t write — and the novelty number Coconut. As a composer, his most enduring song might be One — though Three Dog Night had a bigger hit with the tune. And as a pop culture icon, he’s known mainly as John Lennon’s sidekick during the Beatle’s 1974 ‘lost weekend’ in L.A. Still, Nilsson’s influence on contemporary music — particularly the quirky, literate pop of artists like Ben Folds, XTC, Rufus Wainwright and Hawksley Workman — is undeniable. To give credit where it’s due, BMG has reissued virtually the entire Nilsson catalog, some 15 albums spread across 10 CDs. I sifted through them all so you don’t have to.
Harry Nilsson
Nilsson Schmilsson
FIRST RELEASED: 1971.
HIGHLIGHTS: The Harry record everybody’s just wild about, Nilsson Schmilsson is the best starting point for newbies. Along with two bona fide hits — the Caribbean novelty ditty Coconut and the wrenching ballad Without You — jewels like the bluesy organ vamp Early In The Morning, the Lennonesque rocker Down and the power-pop Jump Into the Fire make this Harry’s strongest outing.
EXTRAS! EXTRAS! Seven piano and guitar demo versions that are every bit as compelling.
