Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
08 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: harry nilsson, son of schmilsson
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
24 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: harry nilsson, nilsson, together
Nilsson: “Together” (1968)
One of the many overlooked gems from Nilsson’s early career, when only fellow musicians seemed to be hip to the genius of his music.
Before he ever had an American hit, Nilsson songs were covered by The Monkees (“Cuddly Toy”), Three Dog Night (“One”) and others, and the Beatles famously cited him as their favorite singer.
“Together” itself was covered by British songbird Sandie Shaw:
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/04/03/songs-you-may-have-missed-381/
03 Apr 2013 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: harry nilsson, nilsson, the most beautiful world in the world
Nilsson: “The Most Beautiful World in the World” (1972)
Harry Nilsson…where do I begin? Underrated singer, overlooked songwriter, a favorite of the Beatles, a bad influence on John Lennon, and kind of a wacky character. But never dull.
After his massive breakthrough album, 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson, and just when he’d caught the world’s attention with his Grammy-winning worldwide hit recording of Badfinger’s “Without You”, Harry seemed bored already with the whole platinum-selling record thing. Follow-up Son of Schmilsson featured: a lead single with an F-bomb in the chorus, a false take interrupted by a belch, a Jim Stafford-esque parody country song, and a sing-along featuring residents of a retirement home with a chorus of “I’d rather be dead than wet my bed“.
The album’s closing track is a cheeky tribute to…the world. Like, personified. Hence:
Your mountains when you’re mad/Your rivers when you’re sad/And those deep blue seas
I love you for your snow/Your deserts down below/I love the way you wear your trees
The most beautiful world in the world/And though there are times when I doubt you/I just couldn’t stay here without you
So when you get older and over your shoulder/You look back to see if it’s real
Tell her she’s beautiful, roll the world over/And give her a kiss…and a feel
So much for a mainstream career.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/05/24/songs-you-may-have-missed-419/
22 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in Articles, Best of the Blog Tags: harry nilsson, paul mccartney, rod stewart
The Overdone: Rod Stewart’s Great American Songbook was the album series that wouldn’t go away. It spawned five volumes (with Roman numerals, no less–like the Super Bowls), a four-disc box set and even had its own best-of. As Rod points at you in the above photo he’s thinking: I’m glad YOU don’t realize how much better Bobby Darin could do this.
Rod, write some songs now. Or…retire?
The Overdue: Paul McCartney’s first-ever standards album is Kisses On The Bottom. It’s badly titled but tastefully arranged and given a pleasant, relaxed vocal treatment by one of the all-time great songwriters, who ironically seems to bring some of his best performances to others’ material. (Entered into evidence: his “It’s So Easy”, by all accounts a fiery highlight of a 2011 Buddy Holly tribute album:
Paul even includes two new originals which fit in quite well among the all-time standards. A nice trick, that.
On the downside, these arrangements are quite spare at times, and the vocals “in close”. The 69-year-old McCartney, despite having amazingly well-preserved vocal range, is not always ready for his closeup. Just a little breathy or rough around the edges here and there. It’s a small distraction, especially when I consider how much I love Jimmy Durante doing the same kind of material. My only real complaint for Sir Paul is that he didn’t do this sooner. His reason? Had to wait for Rod to finish. (No, really!)
The Overlooked: Harry Nilsson’s A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night came, in 1973, at a point in his career when he should have been consolidating the mainstream success he’d found with the hit Nilsson Schmilsson album. Instead he insisted on singing an album of standards with Sinatra’s arranger Gordon Jenkins. Not the best career move perhaps. But in hindsight we’re probably just as lucky to have this collection of timeless songs, impeccably arranged and sung by one of the great voices of his era, as we’d have been to have another Nilsson Schmilsson. This one’s a comparatively little-known gem today, but worth seeking out. Of all the rock musicians who moonlighted singing the standards, no one could touch the voice of Nilsson.
Every Moment Has A Song 