Milsson — A Nilsson Education
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Though there wasn’t much fanfare, Harry Nilsson released an album last month. It’s impressive; the man passed away in 1994. Produced by Mark Hudson, Losst and Founnd is an amalgamation of his last recordings. Some are good, some are alright, some are messy, some are funny and all are tinged with a sweet and giggling smile. I’ve been a Nilsson fan for some time now and this album is an early Christmas treat.
However, I realise that most people are unaware of this charming character, being mostly acquainted with songs like ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ or ‘Without You’. So, here’s a ten-song introduction for you, which gives you a new artist to listen to and hell, maybe even fall for. These songs aren’t strictly his hits, but more of a personal overview of the illusive, Harry Nilsson…
Ten Little Indians, Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967)
“Harry that sounded very good for a beginning, now why don’t you try and think about an ending?”
And then the drums thunder in. You learn a lot about Harry from this intro; his impressive vocals, creative lyrics, charming tunes and sense of humour that means he can’t even say the title of his album correctly. Released in 1967, Pandemonium Shadow Show was effectively Harry’s first album (he had recorded Spotlight on Nilsson back in 1966, an album which had the slight issue of not being very good) and from A-side to B-side you’re given near-pitch perfect pop with a cutesy cynical edge. ‘Ten Little Indians’, for example, kills off our titular characters one by one from their own biblical undoing; ‘Cuddly Toy’, the tap-dancing ditty covered by The Monkees, is actually about assault; and ‘1941’ deals with the bitter tale of a father abandoning his children for the circus, a tale close to Harry’s real life. The album may not have aged as well in parts (the Beatles cover of ‘You Can’t Do That’ that lyrically references 18 other Beatles song is definitely interesting, but a little overdone these days), but when it’s good, it’s great and a brilliant place to start our listening!
One, Ariel Ballet (1968)
“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do
One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever know”
‘One’ showcases a certain element of Nilsson’s style: simplicity. At his best, he makes the songs sound effortless; simple chords with simple lyrics, but just the right amount. ‘One’, based off the sound of his phones dial tone, pinpoints the simple feeling of loneliness to a tee: the whispery voice (I think Elliott Smith needs to pay royalties), the sparse arrangement and the falling tune pines for lost love. The album Ariel Ballet is a fantastic follow-up to Pandemonium, with a more consistent sound and kaleidoscope of lyrical subjects: who else but Nilsson could write songs about his desk along with a song about needing to wash after being to a brothel?
Remember (Christmas), Son of Schmilsson (1971)
“Remember, life is just a memory
Remember, close your eyes and you can see
Remember, think of all that life can be
Remember”
We’ve skipped ahead a couple of years… okay three, but we’ll jump back. This ballad, from the wild, bombastic yet oddly brilliant album, Son of Schmilsson, is one of Nilsson’s best. It’s a heartbreaking ode to nostalgia, crawling back to that place when everything is crashing around you. Nostalgia is a prevalent theme throughout Harry’s work, from ‘The Puppy Song’(‘Dreams are nothing more than wishes/And a wish is just dream/You wish to come true’) to ‘Old Forgotten Soldier’, his songs are tinged with this idea of an idealised past. It’s very poignant for Harry at this point; he had just previously released his most successful and acclaimed album, Nilsson Schmilsson, but was personally spiralling out of control, with his marriage breaking apart as he spent most of his time drinking to high heavens with his buddies (Keith Moon, John Lennon, ya know, those types). So, on the topic of drinking…
Daylight, That’s the Way It Is (1976)
“Well, I’m a friend of daylight
Daylight’s no friends of me”
You gotta take the great with the… not so great. Back in 1974 Harry recorded the album Pussycats with John Lennon and ruptured a vocal cord, severely damaging his singing voice. With this, and more and more boozing, Harry’s post-1974 work is patchy at best, with a lot of troughs — but some great peaks. ‘Daylight’ is one of his best drunken rockers with some lyrical content that definitely shows even he knows he’s gone a little off the handle. Everyone on the track sounds hammered: the drums are scattershot, the bass unwieldy and the piano (played by the song’s co-writer, Dr John) with a loose New Orleans bluesy edge. It’s messy, but in the best possible way. Although this is on one of Harrys weaker album efforts it shows that, if you dig a little, you’ll find a gem.
Nevertheless (I’m In Love with You), A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973)
“Maybe I’ll win, maybe I’ll lose
Maybe I’m in for crying the blues
Nevertheless, I’m in love with you”
Knowing that in the next year Harry would lose such a key aspect to his music, hearing this song and this album can bring you to tears. Before every other star started jumping back to the ol’ classics, Harry decided to record a collection of American standards with a full orchestra in true crooner fashion. It includes classics from Humphery Bogart, like ‘As Time Goes By’, and lesser-known tracks from Laurel and Hardy, like ‘Lazy Moon’ — A Little Touch of Schmilsson is honestly one of my personal favourites from Harry. His voice is gloriously rich and Gordan Jenkins’ orchestration glides through each song, so the whole product comes off like a breeze.
I’ll Be Home (Alternate Version), Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)
“I’ll be here, to comfort you
And see you though
I’ll be home”
Harry was also one of the best collaborators, known to be open to any suggestions, new instruments, or talented musicians and producers. Once he knew someone was good, he’d make sure to do something with them. One of the most notable examples would have to have been recording an entire album of somebody else’s music — Randy Newman’s music to be precise, with Newman on piano. It’s a match made in heaven, a simple stripped back album featuring some of Newman’s early songs. Personal favourites would have to be the opening, ‘Vine Street’, and the bizarre ‘Beehive State’, but honestly the whole album is a gem, getting better on every listen. ‘I’ll Be Home’ is just stunning; the album version is just as brilliant as this version, however the alternate take just has a little more of a stripped-down approach which I prefer. Harry’s voice here is gentle and as intimate as possible, with numerous overdubbed harmonies creating a rich wall of sound that swells in the right places.
All My Life, Pussy Cats (1974)
“All my life, I have been waiting
To find a reason, to give it up for and do a lot more
Every day of my life”
As was the case with ‘Daylight’, ‘All My Life’ is a diamond among the rougher parts of Harry’s career. ‘All My Life’ is a party of a track, but like any good track, it’s a little different. The rhythms are off-kilter and the strings are chromatic and disorientating. This is an anti-party party song, and the whirlwind production, catchy lyrics and melody all add up to that feeling of things going too far. On Pussy Cats the party life had caught up to Harry and this track feels like a confession of regret. He had a real self-destructive instinct in him that went a little too out of control and ‘All My Life’ is basically the theme tune.
Down, Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)
“And you gotta have hope, it’s the price you gotta pay
And you gotta give love, or your love will walk away”
And it was one hell of a career. Nilsson Schmilsson was, at least for the public, Harry’s biggest album, with tracks like ‘Without You’, ‘Coconut’ and ‘Jump Into The Fire’. It is a magnificently orchestrated pop record! Producer Richard Perry carved this brilliant album out of Harry; every damn song could’ve been a single. But the track I always come back to wasn’t a single. ‘Down’, the closer of side one, is a real rocker, containing within it a swinging swagger and one of Harry’s best vocal performances. It’s as if there’s no limit to Harry’s vocal capacity. The trumpets blare, the kit begins again and it’s as if Harry’s doing the curtain call and encore before the album is even done.
I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City, Harry (1969)
“Well, here I am lord, knocking at your back
Ain’t it wonderful to be
Where I’ve always wanted to be
For the first time I’ll breath free here in New York City”
Dialling a little bit down, we go back to a song that put Harry onto the cultural map… Or the track that would’ve. Harry Nilsson’s version of ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ is one of the greatest movie songs ever made, used in Midnight Cowboy, however, if the world had turned a little differently it would’ve been this track. Nilsson’s version of ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ was used as a place holder by producers so Harry could write a new song specifically for the movie. However, once he was finished and gave them ‘I Guess the Lord’, director John Schlesinger selected ‘Talkin’’ instead. This isn’t a big loss or anything — ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ is a brilliant cover. Yet here, we have Nilsson doing what he did best; singing an infuriatingly catchy melody steeped in hope and nostalgia. It’s a terrific song, beautifully sung, but it isn’t the track I’ll leave you with.
All I Think About Is You, Knnillssonn (1977)
“How can I run away,
From darkness at the close of day?
When all I think about is you?”
Knnillssonn is Harry’s last great album. He did release Flash Harry in 1980, however, it’s not very well put together. Every song here is Harry, and it has something the later albums don’t have: learning from the past, being happy with the present and moving forward in hope for the future. All these feelings are summed up in this opening number, the last Nilsson standard. It’s a beautiful song, one that I can never ever skip. The orchestration and arrangements are pitch-perfect; the boy chorus and the melodic bass run through the song, set against these slow-moving strings that melt like butter. Yet there’s that voice, deeper, a little gritty and hitting just the right tone. Yes, it is just a breakup song really, but underlying it is this hope and beauty that somehow still hits me and makes itself into something bigger. It’s back to what Harry did best: A simple tune, sung with a little more substance just under the wings.
People aren’t perfect: they aren’t infallible. Harry definitely wasn’t perfect and that’s fine with me. But when he was perfect, nothing could outdo him. Who wouldn’t want that?
I hope you enjoy these ten tracks, and if you do like em, why not listen to the newest record Losst and Founnd!
‘Milsson — A Nilsson Education’ is the first in a series of articles on underappreciated artists that we love. Find out more on this, and our other articles, on our twitter!
