Early Nilsson albums

Anybody familiar with Nilsson's 1st 3 albums,

Pandemonium Shadow Show
Aerial Ballet
Harry

None really sold that well at the time, making them obscure classics in my opinion.

They made him into one of my favorite singers, a truly unique talent with an astounding multi-octave vocal range. Full of both humor and sadness, these 3 albums are def. something to check out if you've never heard them before.
He perfected the "sadness behind the clown" routine, and his parents were Swedish circus performers (the Aerial Ballet was one of their acts). I much prefer this phase in his career as opposed to the later "Schmilsson"/drunken slob persona that he later had. Much more unique and one-of-a-kind.

As to the name of the 1st album, even Harry has trouble pronouncing the title at the beginning of the album...

 

I hadn't heard the early albums until I got the Nilsson box set a few years ago. I was expecting them to be embryonic or less than fully formed, but Harry was pretty much what he was, right out of the starting gate.

 

One of those early tracks, 1941 I believe, covered his life story in two and a half minutes.

 

Lots of Harryheads here. Know the first three rather well (although I do like some of the changes that he made on Aerial Pandemonium Ballet to some of the songs.

 

I think you'll find that Harry's intro and closer for Pandemonium Shadow Show is deliberate (and humorous).

The first two Rick Jarrard produced RCA albums are quite different to the later albums. Arrangements and instrumentation were closer to MOR or Pop, yet retained a unique approach that made them neither. Depending on one's taste, some might consider them to be twee or sometimes saccharine, though I find them very satisfyingly accomplished lyrically and musically.

Richard Perry's production of Nilsson Schmilsson and Son of Schmilsson inhabit a rock sensibility and take Harry into the rock mainstream, the third album "Harry" is stylistically between these and the first two.

 

I just found a 1s pressing of Harry this week and diggin it. Never heard before.

 

I’m MOSTLY familiar with Nilssons 60s albums (The clean- shaven, blonde mop top era) and only know the hits and the odd track from his 70s work.

I never thought of the 60s albums as particularly obscure in the context of his career - his 2nd biggest hit hails from this era, as well as signature original compositions such as ‘1941’ and ‘Mr Richland’. There’s something unique about the ‘Carny barker goes baroque crooner’ atmosphere of the first 2 LPs in particular that I find more compelling than the more commonplace singer/songwriter/rock idiom he was operating in by the 70s.

 

To be technical, his real debut album was Spotlight on Nilsson from 1966. It's basically just a compilation of his singles for Tower Records, mostly average R&B-influenced pop. Never been reissued, so I don't feel too bad about linking to the full 22-minute album.

 

Those three albums are the ones I listen to the most by far. Not that I don't really appreciate his other stuff, those are just my favorites from him.

 

Yes I love all the first 3 albums and pretty much all of Harry's stuff. I am too young to have bought them at the time and got into his music following his big Without You hit in in the UK and then becoming aware John and Paul were fans. The RCA Albums Collection is excellent but on checking appears to be out of print. Big shame as it has just about everything.

 

LP Stickers on Aerial Ballet:

 

In 1967, Nilsson recorded The Beatles’ You Can’t Do That, cleverly using quotes from 14 other Beatles songs. That had led to an invitation to a party at George Harrison’s rented house in the Hollywood Hills. Harry recalled that the Beatle, ‘in a white windblown robe with a beard and long hair, looking like Christ with a camcorder’, had listened to his songs and been ‘very complimentary’.

Somewhere between three and four o’clock on a Monday morning in April 1968, the telephone rang in the little office at RCA Records in Los Angeles where an obscure singer-songwriter named Harry Nilsson was keeping his usual nocturnal hours.
‘I was half asleep,’ Nilsson recalled. ‘A voice says: “Hello, Harry. This is John. Man you’re too f***ing much, you’re just great. We’ve got to get together and do something.”
‘I said, “Who is this?”
‘“John Lennon.”
‘I said: “Yeah, right, who is this?”
‘“It’s John Lennon. I’m just trying to say you’re fantastic. Have a good night’s sleep. Speak to you soon. Goodbye.”

The Monday after Lennon’s call, Paul McCartney rang. ‘Hello, Harry. Yeah, this is Paul. Just wanted to say you’re great, man! John gave me the album. It’s great; you’re terrific. Look forward to seeing you.’

The next Monday, Nilsson dressed and waited for a four o’clock call from Ringo. It didn’t come.

 

Harrison was bigger than 'Christ with a camcorder'

 

You can't go wrong with any of Harry's albums. There is a huge change in his voice and style from the mid 60's into the middle/late 70's. He did release a few other things after that last RCA album but except for the Popeye st he was pretty quiet.

I hope that some of his unreleased material finally gets released one of these days. I'd like to see Annie Nilsson work on his unreleased work and get it out.

His first 3 RCA albums are unique and do sound innocent compared to his later releases. They are still a pleasure to listen to with that incredible voice.

If you haven't really listened to Nilsson but think you might like it you need to make a special effort to check out the complete RCA box and track down a copy. For me it is one of the top 5 box sets of all time. Incredible songwriting, incredible singing, wide range of music, lots of humor, very emotional songs, and just plain fun much of the time.

Long live Harry!!!

 

If you do a search, you’ll find that Harry is pretty popular here. His early albums are very strong but there are gems throughout his career. That second disc of the Popeye set shows that even then he could still write a song.

 

I was unfamiliar with his work until I bought the boxset last year. Needless to say my mind was blown, and I simply could not believe it took me that long to familiarize myself with Harry’s work.

In the 90’s I became a fan of Rufus Wainwright and at the time I wondered how does an artist like this write this kind of music? Who could they possibly have listed to, to get this inspired? Obviously his Dad came to mind, but it was after I heard Harry’s music that I finally found the answer to that question.

I hear so much influence of Harry in the music of Rufus Wainwright.

 

Debut rCA album for me.

 

Ok, I'll say it: I love Harry, but I've got an especially warm spot in my heart for his two 'off the beaten track' albums, The Point and A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night. Sheer awesomeness!!

 

"1941" is my favorite Nilsson track.

(From his second album, Pandemonium Shadow Show.)

 

Actually I have an obscure-looking album I think called "Rock and Roll" (I'll have to check), which seems to be a bunch of early-mid 1960's songs, I wonder what the history behind that album is.

Also forgot to mention the wonderful "Nilsson Sings Newman", where he covers all Randy Newman songs with just him and a piano. Amazing how he makes such a minimalistic album work so well just by personality and sheer cleverness of arrangements, vocal overdubs, etc. It won Stereo Reviews "Album of the year" award in 1970, though it didn't help sales much.

 

I love 'Aerial Pandemonium Ballet' too! A great compilation!

 

The first remix album ever?

 

It has, I've got it on CD.

 

You are correct, I couldn't find it listed on Discogs because it's combined with a John Stewart album.

https://www.amazon.com/Spotlight-Nilsson-Early-Tower-Masters/dp/B003IMEREM

Not cheap though.

 

And the early music of Randy Newman is in the same spirit although he didn’t have the beautiful voice. But his worked for his material.

Nilsson Sings Newman is also amazing.