Search - Harry Nilsson :: Nilsson Schmilsson

Wonderful Music

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 08/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nilsson is a rarity, an artists' artist, lauded by such names as Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Three Dog Night, Blood, Sweat and Tears and numerous others. Nilsson's commercial success was less dramatic than his artistic influence. However, in November, 1971, Harry released "Nilsson Schmilsson" and achieved his greatest commercial success. This album reached #3 on the charts and remained on the charts for 46 weeks. The album also yielded a cover of Badfinger's "Without You," a powerful tearjerker with incredible vocals that stands as one of the greatest love songs of all times.



In addition to "Without You" are bouncy pop tunes such as "Gotta Get Up," "Driving Along," and "Down." When I listen to "Down" I hear a style that is very similar to that used a few years later by Billy Joel. "Coconut" has been made famous more recently as a commercial for a certain cola brand. Rest assured that Harry Nilsson was not thinking of a soft drink when he original wrote this clever song. All the voices you hear in this song belong to Harry, though it sounds as if three different people are singing.



This CD is made multi-dimensional with songs such as the blues infused "Early in the Morning." "The Moonbeam Song" recalls the work that Harry did for "The Point." This song is ethereal, dreamy and more than a little magical. "Let the Good Times Roll" has country and blues flavors to it, supported by a steel guitar and a harmonica.



This CD originally finished with two longer songs. "Jump into the Fire" has a harder and faster edge to it, and is over seven minutes long. This song is somewhat experimental for Nilsson, but the length is somewhat similar to a few songs by other groups in the era. The song contains lengthy instrumental portions and few lyrics. This song would perhaps not fit onto this CD except it is in the company of other songs that are similarly stylistically different from each other.



The CD originally finished with the beautiful song "I'll Never Leave You." This gorgeous love song is slow and mellow with a lot of strings and harmonies, and Nilsson's wonderful voice. This song is very powerful and even at four minutes in length it leaves you wanting more.



The remastered version of this excellent CD includes six bonus tracks; a Spanish version of "Without You," "How Can I Be Sure," "Lamaze," and demo versions of "The Moonbeam Song," "Old Forgotten Soldier," and "Gotta Get Up." As with most bonus tracks, some are interesting, others are just filler. Many of these have appeared on other CDs, so they may end up being duplicates in a comprehensive collection.



Harry Nilsson had an incredible voice and created music that nearly everyone has heard in one venue or another. Nilsson did the theme song for "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" and more recently the classic song "Coconut" has appeared in a cola commercial. While Harry Nilsson never became as famous as many of his contemporaries, that fault was often as much that of record companies who did not care for his free-thinking ways as the public who sometimes did not know what to make of his music. Looking back we can put into perspective how creative and ground-breaking Nilsson was, and cherish his better recordings. Of those recordings, this one may be the best.

"

5 star album; 3 star remaster

Gordon Pfannenstiel | Russell, KS United States | 12/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was delighted when, finally, Nilsson Schmilsson was finally getting the "deluxe" release treatment. I'd paid big bucks for the import in the late 90s, and that was such a disappointment, sonically.



Well, despite reviews to the contrary, the sonics on this release are not much better, and do not hold a candle to the original LP. My old LP may have a few pops, but it blows this CD release away, sonically. I don't know how that can be, but believe me, it's true



This, along with Son Of Schmilsson, is a truly classic pop/rock album. Maybe someday they'll do it right. After all this time, I'll done holding my breath."