The last Harry Nilsson album-ever released?

IIRC, the liner notes of the Harry Nilsson RCA 2-CD retrospective said Harry had just finished an album not long before his death. Has it been released, or is it languishing since '94?

 

The last one was "Flash Harry" in 1980 which wasn't even released in the U.S....

But yes, the '94 album, tentatively titled "Papa's Got a Brown New Robe" was being worked on for awhile with Mark Hudson.

Some tracks have come out on promo copies from Warner Chappell (his publishing company).

People aren't wild about them in general, but it's wacky, fun stuff. Much has been booted, too.

Tracks include, "UCLA", "Lay Down Your Arms", "Animal Farm" (which I love) and... more I can't think of right now!

Jeff

 

Thanks!

 

They are pretty bad. It actually made me wish I had never heard them and just allowed them to keep their "legendary lost album" status.

 

Bah! People are so desperate for people and artists to be perfect. I feel the same way about my grandma before she died. She should have just not made that fried chicken, because it just wasn't as good as it was when I was younger. I will always wish I never ate it. It certainly tainted what I had before.

 

I know exactly what you mean, leave well enough alone, quit while you are ahead.

 

To paraphrase Leonard Maltin on "Love Happy" - "... It's still the Marx Bros."

I feel the same about Harry - it's still Harry, so it's essential if you love him.

But average Marx Brothers fans don't need to go past "Go West" and the average Harry fan doesn't need to go past "Knnillssonn"

Jeff

 

I consider myself a big Nilsson fan, but I don't think one needs to go beyond ***** Cats. He kind of lost the plot after/during that.

 

I was going to say, "... you don't need to go beyond "Son of Schmillsson'" but "***** Cats" is an important record (produced by Lennon) - if one likes mellifluous Harry accompanied by strings, "Knnillssonn" is pretty essential I think.

But yes, there's plenty of confusing and random albums after "***** Cats" but to me, they are all worth owning. I do listen to "Duit On Mon Dei" and the others quite a bit, but I am a fanatic I guess.

Nilsson considered "Knnillsson" a comeback album and put a lot into it but apparantly RCA didn't agree - if there's a latter day Nilsson record to get, I do think it's that one.

Jeff

 

I've about given up any hope of ever hearing the unreleased stuff. As for Flash Harry, even though I have a pretty good needle drop, I really wish some reissue company, like Wounded Bird, would finally put this one out on CD. Whatever you might say about the Brown New Robe stuff, Flash Harry was a pretty good album and not very different from Harry's latter era stuff on RCA.

 

I agree - plus there are a few outtakes from "Flash Harry" that could be included. I think the label was Mercury UK.

Jeff

 

In the phrase, the average person doesn't need to go beyond, I wouldn't have any trouble inserting "Son of Schmillson". I think ***** Cats is abysmal, given the talent involved. It's barely so-so by any standard. If the exact same album had been issued by two no names, it wouldn't be in print now, nor would anyone be clamoring for it to be. Between ***** Cats and Knnillssonn...Well, you can pick and choose some decent songs. But too much tom foolery and the voice was no longer there.

Knnillssonn, on the other hand is, as you suggest, not only an important album for Harry lovers, but a very decent album on its own merits. His voice is shot by then--sorry, no way to get around that. But the songs are pretty strong and the arrangements are good. It was a last ditch attempt to rescue his career from years of figurative and literal foolishness.

 

This is *slightly* OT, but Nilsson's Popeye OST is FINALLY coming out on CD in Japan as a mini-LP On April 23rd- Nilsson fans should pre-order post-haste! This will fill a huge gap in any legit Nilsson collection. I'm not huge on the sound of the last batch of paper sleeve titles...but I prefer them to the RCA or Buddha remasters.

 

***** Cats is half a great album-Old Forgotten Soldier, All My Life, Save The Last Dance For Me & Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga are first rate songs. Loop De Loop has a certain charm as well- I like the Lennon production sound and Harry's weary voice suits 1/2 the material perfectly.

 

I always liked Many Rivers To Cross, it just has that certain something that makes me want to hear it again and again.

I think his last really great vocal was with Lennon on Old Dirt Road from Walls and Bridges.

 

I agree. "Knnilssonn" is a gem.

 

Thanks for the Popeye tip. My order is in to cdjapan!

 

Shortly after the release of Knnillssonn, Elvis had the temerity to drop dead. You do the math...RCA did

Knnillssonn was a crown jewel for Harry; it had his best singing (and songs) perhaps of his entire career. It's a lost masterpiece and anyone who loves Harry, pop music or music in general should hear it.

Here's a good overview of the Knnillssonn story:
http://mog.com/DetroitBob/blog/1832529

 

At one time, I had a homemade cassette copy of a demo track Harry was working on in 1983, called "Let The Tears Dry". It was written in on the tape as "Nilsson/Riccio", and I assume it's Rick Riccio.

I wish I could say it was some sort of lost gem, but it struck me as repetitive and dirge-like. A lot like Peter Gabriel's "Biko", only with no focus.

That cassette is long-gone, unfortunately...

 

That's a Yoko Ono cover.

Harry Does Yoko

 

Glad to see Knnillssonn get some props here, but there's no way, NO WAY, you can assert it has his best singing. The singing is fine, given the limitations of his post-Pussycats voice. But there are many places where you think "time to go up an octive here..." and he doesn't, because he no longer can.

 

Frankly I find a lot of his early vocal gymnastics tiresome and gimmicky (although indeed impressive). Knnillssonn finds his voice almost completely recovered from the ravages of the Cats sessions and I like how he'd settled into a more traditional, mellower, less fireworks-driven approach.

 

Oh come on.

I have the Warner/Chappell disc and the songs aren't bad at all.

I'd certainly buy the album if it were to be released.

Last year, I asked Mark Hudson about it and he said the album WAS completed and that Harry's wife, Una, owns the rights. He had no idea whether or not it'll ever be released.

 

Agreed... There are some nice tunes on that one.