Friday, August 24, 2007




LP
RCA
CPL1-0570
1974

Harry Nilsson - Many Rivers To Cross (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Don't Forget Me (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Old Forgotten Soldier (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - All My Life (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Save The Last Dance For Me (Mp3)

Famously produced by John Lennon during his "Lost Weekend" period in 1974, Pussy Cats is often regarded as one of Nilsson's weaker albums, but it turns out to be one of my favorites. Just imagine, behind the drum kit alone for all the tracks on the LP are Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Jim Keltner. Klaus Voorman shows up on bass. Jesse Ed Davis, Danny Kootch, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Jim Horn and Bobby Keyes all sneak in there too.

And oh, yea -- Harry's on vocals. But if you've been following along all week, you'll note a distinct change in those vocals. Harry injured his vocal cords during the recording sessions which give some of these tunes an extra special resonance...gone is the sugar coating, in place of a whiskey-soaked rasp. And it was to stay that way for the rest of his recording career. A lost weekend, indeed.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the Nilsson background. You got me interested in him so I dived deeper into his bio and such and the one thing that struck me was that he wrote the theme song to the sitcom, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. This was one of my favorite shows that I watched when I was growing up. The theme song got lodged in my head, but it eventually morphed into Jellyfish’s “He’s my Best Friend.” I think Jellyfish must have had Nilsson on their mind when they wrote it.
In a strange correlation, the woman who played Mrs. Livingston (the housekeeper) passed away during my retrospection the TV show. TVD keeping it real and current.