Gotta Get Up
Driving Along
Early In The Morning
The Moonbeam Song
Down
Without You
Coconut
Let The Good Times Roll
Jump Into The Fire
I'll Never Leave You
Frogtoon Music Album Info: Nilsson Schmilsson
Published: 02 Feb 2014, 00:41
Harry Nilsson Had A Hit A Grammy And Critical Success Yet He Still Didn't Have A Genuine Blockbuster To His Name When It Came Time To Finally Deliver A Full-Fledged Follow-Up To Nilsson Sings Newman So He Decided It Was Time To Make That Unabashed Mainstream Pop/rock Album. Hiring Barbra Streisand Producer Richard Perry As A Collaborator Nilsson Made A Streamlined Slightly Domesticated Unashamed Set Of Mature Pop/rock With A Slight Twist. This Is An Album After All That Begins By Pining For The Reckless Days Of Youth Then Segues Into A Snapshot Of Suburban Disconnectedness Before Winding Through A Salute To And Covers Of Old R&B Tunes "Early In The Morning" And "Let The Good Times Roll " Respectively Druggie Humor "Coconut" And Surging Hard Rock "Jump Into The Fire" . There Are Certainly Hints Of The Nilsson Of Old Particularly In His Fondness For Tin Pan Alley And McCartney Melodicism -- As Well As His Impish Wit -- Yet He Hadn't Made A Record As Cohesive As This Since His First Time Out Nor Had He Ever Made Something As Shiny And Appealing As This. It May Be More Accessible Than Before Yet It's Anchored By His Mischievous Humor And Wonderful Idiosyncrasies. Chances Are That Those Lured In By The Grandly Melodramatic "Without You" Will Not Be Prepared For Either The Subtle Charms Of "The Moonbeam Song" Or The Off-Kilter Sensibility That Makes Even His Breeziest Pop Slightly Strange. In Short It's A Near-Perfect Summary Of Everything Nilsson Could Do He Could Be Craftier And Stranger But Never Did He Achieve The Perfect Balance As He Did Here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Rovi