His recorded legacy is all over the place with individual albums being lisenced out for re-issue with various labels and more Best Off compilations than you can shake a stick at. Many of the re-issues are available with bonus tracks - some of which are great, some not so as is generally the case with bonus tracks - but US, European & Japanese versions rarely have identical additions and there seem no definitive versions.
All but two of his albums are available on CD, 1979's UK only "Flash Harry" and his soundtrack to Robert Altman's Popeye from the same year are both still awaiting official re-issue. Furthermore, his final album "Papa's Got A Brown New Robe", apparently finished just days prior to his death in early 1994, remains unissued.
Not one for live outings, due to an early and unsatisfactory appearance in Los Angeles, there are no live recordings of him. However he did make a BBC concert special in the early 70's, portions of which can be found on You Tube whilst we await a proper DVD release. (Likely sometime never. Harrumph)
So... to investigate in a little more depth.
Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967) Clearly coming from Nilsson's Tin Pan Alley/Brill Building roots, this album was famously The Beatles favourite at the time and began friendships between Harry and the Fabs which were to have enduring effects over the following 20 years.
Actually its like Lennon & McCartney made one - the sweetness and light of Macca is liberally laced with the sly wit and a sour/sharp sadness of John Lennon. Generally addressing themes of abandonment and loneliness
"1941" is partly autobiographical in relating a father leaving a wife and son, and his cover of The Beatles own "She's Leaving Home" from the just released Sgt Pepper is pretty inspired. He also covers The Beatles "You Can't Do That" which manages to pack in about twenty-five other Beatles references. It's a cool homage but a little slavish! His other homage on the record is a Wall Of Sound rendition of "River Deep, Mountain High". He'd previously written with Phil Spector and had obviously been paying attention to his working methods. Sonically it's quite out of kilter with everything else on the album - but works well as a finale. There's also a cover of Jesse Lee Kincaid's "She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune" which came some months before Hearts & Flowers more famous version.
And Nilsson's originals? Well, theyr'e uniformly excellent and polished as you'd expect of a debut album. Other than the aforementioned "1941", amongst others, "Ten Little Indians" is a clever rewrite of the biblical 10 Commandments. "Without Her" is a masterpiece ballad with the first great string arrangement found on a Nilsson record. There's be many more. "Cuddly Toy" was a gift to The Monkees, who also proved important friends in the future, and a rather unpleasant little story of groupies and date rape. Quite a juxtaposition with the music, which is rather, innocous and well-behaved.
But that was Harry - he liked to shock. Quite how much wasn't initially apparent - however subsequent releases would make that quite clear much to the horror of RCA, portions of his fans and radio controllers everywhere.
In summary - a strong debut, well showcasing Nilssons extraordinary vocal range and studio skills. Possibly a little over reliant on covers for someone with a well-head of his own compositions to dip into. Certainly not my favourite of his albums but Ten Little Indians, 1941 & Without Her would most certainly make it onto my c90 compilation tape.
So... Pandemonium Shadow Show Have At It!
[Jeez - that was exhausting... I'll post the next episode later, possibly tomorrow, unless someone else would like to take a bash at 1968's "Aerial Ballet"]
), but of course you al must know that all his records up until Son of Schmilsson (and a few others after that one) are essential.
