Nilsson - C or D?

Hours later I caught Harry heading for the hotel bar with friends and I asked him about a rumor I heard that their might be a POINT II in the works (animated sequel and album to The Point) and he said there was some talks about it. He said he wanted to call it "Back To The Point". Obviously, it was never made - but he did seem to have some fondness for The Point. At this point in his career Harry's voice was raspier than ever - and he never did recover to the point where he released anything like his earlier albums. I think he had just done the Popeye Soundtrack, which of course he didn't sing himself. But now hearing that there may be demos to it I certainly would love to hear what that sounded like.

My last recollection about Harry is a bittersweet one... he decided to join the Beatlefest house band onstage during one of their sets, and although it got a standing ovation from the audience - it was more out of appreciation for the man than it was for the vocal performance anyone was hearing that night. Harry was obviously drinking and at times when he spoke you either couldn't hear him or understand him - but I remember just the same how everybody went crazy for him. How could you not? I mean - this was Nilsson.

"Put a lot of echo on it if you can..."

I'm probably going to wind up snatching everything through Pussy Cats (already got that, Newman and Aerial Pandemonium Ballet) except Touch Of Schmillson, but I was wondering if anybody wanted to defend his post-Pussy Cats work. I've heard most of its really uninspired but I was wondering if anybody had a differing opinion.

Anyhow, Got the Camden 2CD Aerial Pandemonium Ballet thing. Brilliant stuff. Got a couple of singles back in the day, "Daybreak" and "All I think about is you" which are both fine and grand. too.

You know, I wrote a song in the style of (Harry's lonely version of) "One" — the subject of which was Harry's rumoured death. It was called "Coffin Full of Stones" and, yes, recounted the Marianne Faithful story. You know that story, right, Dada?

"Cuddly Toy", btw, may be Harry's best song from that era. My gf (now fiance) positively adored that song — that is, until I told her what it was about...

"He'd come to town
and he would hound her for a couple o' days
And then he'd sail across the bubbly waves
And those were happier daaaaays
but noooooooooooooooooooooooow..."

Aside from Schmilsson, The Point has to be my favorite of the ones I've got - the storytelling bits are way, way more enjoyable than they could have been, and the whole thing is very warm and sweet without being cloying. It's absolutely perfect for evenings spent inking comic books, or at least that's what I used it for.

Just yesterday picked up Rock N Roll, which seems to be a reissue of Spotlight on Nilsson, and also one of those rare records that doesn't seem to exist on AMG. Haven't gotten to really digest it yet - apparently Spotlight was a collection of minor studio recordings/demos from when he had access to a studio but before he had a contract of his own. Enjoyable but doesn't really jump out the speaker at least so far...

I love this record. It has to be one of the strangest follow ups to a smash-hit LP by a major artist. There's a strong "I'm not going to repeat the formula, but I'll mess up the expectations of my new fans instead" vibe to it that's fascinating (and makes the album title an intentional joke). God only knows what people who loved "Coconut" or "Without You" might have thought of "You're Breaking My Heart" when they first heard it.

And recording a song titled "I'd Rather Be Dead" with back up vocals from residents of a nursing home is twisted genius. Classic, I say.

Son of Schmilsson is one of his I've never heard, but I'm seeking it out right now for this reason alone.

I see only one mention of Sandman on here -- which I've never heard; is it really bad? Can't say I'm not curious...

http://www.lslproductions.com/wihn_home.html

Seattle Weekly says it "breaks no new ground" but still

Oh man, that one floored me the moment I first heard it on the 1978 Greatest Hits album, and it still works its magic. I find it really relatable, and the ascension from the understated opening "bang bang, shoot 'em up, destiny" to Nilsson in his bombastic wailing mode gives it more of a sense of progression and variety than might actually be there in the lyrics and composition.

I love Spaceman as well, he's so clearly at the peak of his powers on that album but just decides to dog it for whatever reason. hard to think of too many non-Zappa albums like that.

Best albums list imo:
1. Harry
2. Nilsson Sings Newman
3. The Point

That’s probably about right. All of the early proper albums are solid. I like most of that more than The Point because I relate to the lyrics more. But The Point, like Nilsson Sings Newman, really does demonstrate his strengths very well. Pre-Pussycats, he could make other people’s material blend seamlessly with his own work. Post Pussy, they were just competent covers.

I like Nilsson a lot. In terms of personal favorites, my three would be Nilsson Sings Newman, Nilsson Schmilsson and Pussycats, but it says a lot that I enjoy all the music that could be tied to those albums as well, whether it's demos, outtakes, prior or later Randy Newman covers or Son of Schmilsson itself. He just has a rich and eclectic discography that's rewarding to sift through even if it's not entirely consistent. I think the only stuff I don't like all that much would be at the tail end when his recording career was winding down. The standards album is okay - I happen to love at least some of those songs, and I treasure the albums Gordon Jenkins did for Frank Sinatra, but Nilsson's album doesn't feel all that special aside from being a detour. (To his credit, he did it while his voice was still in protean shape, so I can't say I regret his decision to make it - if he was going to make a standards album, that was the time to do it.)

I can’t stand the production on Pussycats. I don’t know what it is that Lennon does but a lot of his productions have this smeary shit sound. I more or less accept it with Lennon’s own music because that’s just how he wanted it to sound. Hiding his voice, early rock pastiche, etc. It’s wretched applied to Nilsson who always benefited from clarity and attention to detail. Pussycats has some good stuff on it but the sound of it bums me out, not just the blown-out vocals.

It makes sense to me taking the album as a snapshot of a harrowing lost weekend. Like whenever I was around severely inebriated people who seemed to be having a riotous time, I pretty much figured what they were experiencing in real-time was pretty much a smeared, off-kilter, unfocused and hard-to-grasp perspective of everything going on around them.