Nilsson Schmilsson

Amazing Schmazing

Nilsson Schmilsson you couldn't even be bothered to get dressed for the album or even name it properly but these are some jams boy

This one took me by surprise. I didn't know anything about Nilsson before today. Turns out people used to call him "The American Beatle" and The Beatles were on record saying that Nilsson was their favorite American group. Turns out, yeah, he sounds a lot like an american version of early 70s Beatles. Surprisingly good! Also, he's the guy who did the "lime in the coconut" song. I always wondered why that song had such a presence in pop culture. It's because Nilsson had an outsized presence in pop culture for a hot minute. But he never toured or played big concerts and, after Lennin was killed, he stepped away from the music industry (they were good buds, apparently). That said, there were some killer tracks on this album and, apart from the last two tracks, I really enjoyed listening to it.

Confession, "Gotta Get Up" was my morning alarm song for awhile. I'd heard this album a few times when my dad played it in the car. I always enjoyed it but it never made a huge impression on me other than that song, so I was ready to give it a 3. But then "Without You" came on and I couldn't stop myself from belting the hell out of that chorus, and I was like no yeah this is a 4! And lest we forget the man gave us the gift of "Coconut" on this record. Bless you for that absurdity Harry Nilsson. This album may not have had a ton of cultural impact or influence, but man is it a fun listen.

I want to know everything I can about the infamous "Lost Weekend" where John Lennon and Harry Nilsson did everything they could to drink themselves to death. Apparently Nilsson was such a legendary boozehound that all Lennon would have to say about the time was, "I was drinking with Harry Nilsson" and everyone knew exactly what he was talking about. Lennon had such admiration for Nilsson that he was willing to follow the man to the end of the earth. Listening to this album, you hear why Lennon (and apparently the other 3 Beatles) sung Nilsson's praises. The three hits are the standouts, especially "Jump Into The Fire". That one obtained legendary status for scoring the Ray Liotta paranoia coke montage in Goodfellas. I bet Harry Nilsson loved Goodfellas. If you're ever running late somewhere and find the need to go just a tad over the speed limit, I highly recommend scoring your trip to "Jump Into The Fire". You'll find yourself looking up and thinking that helicopters are following you. The song alone is almost enough to rate this baby as a 5 (well, that and the album cover). Back to that Lost Weekend with Harry and Lennon: Apparently video footage of the night Lennon and Nilsson got kicked out of the troubadour because they could not stop heckling the Smothers Brothers doesn't exist. That just breaks my heart. I bet I'd like a movie about their Lost Weekend as much as I love Goodfellas.

Like if you combined John Lennon and Paul McCartney into one person, but in a non-derivative way

My favorite Nilsson album. Nobody sounds quite like him. Has a sort of timeless quality. Amazing voice and gorgeous arrangements. Incredible range on display here in terms of emotions/moods captured and influences that he's woven together with impeccable pop craftsmanship. I feel like he sort of went off the rails in some ways after this album but this is him at his absolute apex. Love the album cover too. It's so bravely honestly vulnerably human, especially for the time. So comfortable with himself/who he is. I feel like it was a comically self deprecating way to balance the sheer beauty of the music. That and poke fun of the egos of so many other music performers.

The songs are pretty great, you’ve probably heard a lot of them before, but didn’t know they were by Harry Nilsson. The coconut song, however, is maddening. The production on this record is great and is the highlight for me, since a lot of these songs kind of feel like kids songs. One final thought: All records should be 35-40 minutes long. It’s the perfect run time for a record. I think the constraint of timing on vinyl was a great thing - it forced artists to put their absolute best work on a record, no filler, and as a result many records felt more cohesive than records do now. Long live the LP length record.

back in the seventies anybody could do the jamaican guy accent. people encouraged it even, hey man, do the coconut voice! Cmon haha! this poor fuck probably got asked to do the coconut voice at every party he ever went to and now all he has to show for it is a vaguely nauseating song. that's showbiz! three stars for you "mon" (just kidding, thats racist now)

Side 1 is an onslaught of weenie songs that's near almost impossible to listen to. Side 2 kicks off with another weiner: "Without You" . On that one he shows that he can sing, but I hate the song. Coconut is a fun novelty song - weenie but fun. He thankfully keeps away from the hotdog stand for a few songs but returns for the finale. I couldn't make it through the last song.

Lots to say. Only listened to the original tracklist and skipped the bonus stuff. Great things: Variety of style (this album moves through rock, pop and blues) and variety of vibe (every song has a different feel), strong performance (Nilsson's voice is extraordinary), wide instrumentation (accordion, harmonica, brass, piano, normal rock rhythm section), just really excellent songs overall. Love that "Jump into the Fire" is one big rock jam song, but it messes with the signal volumes so you get this OTT bass solo and so the whole thing doesn't really drag, maybe my favourite song on here. Things that make this album stand out: The vocal is strong in the mix, but the lyrics are enigmatic, compact and weird, the subject matter is normally quite simple (getting up, driving to work, being sleepy, the moon, being down, being in love whatever) but hard to work out what individual lines mean coz he says unusual things, he wears a dressing gown on the album cover, and the album name is just taking the piss out of himself. Also, this guy writes a beautiful song like "Without You" but follows it up with some cautionary tale about limes and coconuts. That shit is whiplash-level jarring and I love it, and I can't stay mad at him coz his voice is just excellent and the whole thing makes me laugh. Every song has grown on me after multiple listens. I really wanna listen to more of this so gotta be five stars.

He got three “oh that’s who that is” on this album.

I LOVE IT WHEN EVERY SONG ENDS BY FADING OUT IT'S MY FAVORITE WAY TO END A SONG I LOVE HOW THEY KEEP DOING IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN "Without You" is a good song, "Gotta Get Up" is solid, and then "Jump Into the Fire" has its moments. Everything else is generic bullshit or worse. Apparently The Beatles cited Harry Nilsson as the 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 American singer AND LYRICIST. Which sure, I guess "she put de lime in de coconut, she drank 'em bot' up" is an all-time classic and thought-provoking lyric that The Beatles themselves thought they absolutely had to praise Nilsson for his genius (not to say there aren't good lyrics on this album, but holy shit most of them are so fucking dull or downright awful). Fuck this album, and especially fuck Coconut, the fact that that song was popular enough to be widely broadcast on radios is fucked up. No wonder boomers are fucked up.

Soulful, playful, and adventurous. I quite enjoyed this album, and although it is not modern by any means, it did occasionally brush into timeless.

Nilsson was in regular rotation at our house when I was little. I remember my sister and I very dramatically singing and dancing to Without You long before it was covered by everyone under the sun. :) We also listened to "The Point" all the time.

Un album très agréable, sorti à une époque où Renaud n'était pas encore tombé dans la bibine.

💤💤🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

Schmaltzy. Lame. Annoying. Like one of those films when you can tell they had fun making it, but it doesn't come across.

I think Harry may be a madman - no sane person would ever pair Without You next to Coconuts. And yet. He did. And I am absolutely obsessed. What a trip.

This album is me in the 70s, a child trying to understand the adult world. Listened to this album and understood the bittersweet joys of grownup life, a series of fleeting joys and all too real heartache, plus our own limitations and mistakes.

Without You is so wonderful you'd buy the album just for that. Then you get this eclectic mix from The Beatles favourite singer (and favourite band). Jump Into The Fire is a great song that features the that bass legend, Herbie Flowers in one of his finest appearances. The whole album is breathtaking.

I full bore love at least three tracks on this album without even putting it on. Early In the Morning, Coconut and Without You are all classics. And when I put it on you have the dance hall pop of Gotta Get Up too! This is a fantastic album, humour and a love of music all rolled into a really tight 40 minutes. Sublime.

Wow I assumed the song Coconut was a cover and had no idea Nilsson was the origin of that legendary song haha! Also I could heavily hear that he had strong ties with the Beatles and when I read that he was mates with them and they were influenced by HIM I was not surprised. I love the witty word play in the lyrics and catchy melodies. It's light-hearted and fun. Entertaining and inventive. Can't believe this is yet another artist I didn't know about... It seems like Harry was an inventor and an ideas man. I think his music influenced a lot of people. I really like the sound of his voice because it reminds me of the Beatles. Would have loved to see him perform live.

Think of this as the twee, desperate ramblings of an alcoholic American trying to keep up with the British invasion, then you may see the beauty of it as I do. Sure, it's 70% utter bobbins, fuelled by frozen margaritas and too many meetings with record execs, in the heat and ennui of affluent 70s California. Sure, some of those earworms are sung loud and desperately in the halls of asylums for the insane. But you can be sure when you've ratched Russian Doll and Gotta Get Up starts up for the seven thousandth time, a little smile will creep across your face and your your will tap along.

This is a symphonic pop masterpiece. Harry Nilsson employs techniques from Brian Wilson, the Beatles, and Phil Spector to create an idiosyncratic album that is occasionally silly, and always well produced and arranged. The lush orchestration complements the close harmonies perfectly to create something that has commercial appeal yet pushes the genre forward.

It’s impossible not to love an album that bravely makes the tonal leap from Without You to Coconut… Stupendous! Every song brings a smile.

What an unexpected delight. I love the way "Without You," probably the definitive modern love song, is followed by the playful absurdity of "Coconut," then "Jump Into the Fire" takes us on a psych-rock odyssey. And it does all this without ever losing its focus or missing a beat.

Excellent album and my default choice for choosing a Nilsson album.

Absolutely smashing pop. Heard about the LP, knew a few songs, but never listened to it as a whole. Brilliant, shiny, fun pop. Why wasn't Lennon's material as collectively good on a single album?

Some great tracks. Must have listened to Jump into the fire 10+ times.

5 for the name of the album alone.. really really good.

yesterday the american rolling stones (flamin groovies), today the american beatle. what an incredible record. gorgeous way to start the day. fav track: jump into the fire

We used to sit around in our bathrobes, smoking weed and drinking coffee and speculating that on the cover Harry is holding in a hit he just took from the pipe in his left hand. This is the album that got Harry invited to co-pilot John Lennon's 18-month Lost Weekend of 1973-74. I shudder at the thought of how many Brandy Alexanders this record has to answer for. Credit where it's due: A+ title and A+ cover art. Strong backing band. Quentin Tarantino immortalized Coconut in Reservoir Dogs. Jump Into The Fire, with its excellent extended bass flatulence, and Gotta Get Up, with its get up and go, are really good, too. Don't care for Without You at all but so it goes.

7.5/10. Really enjoyable early-1970's rock music. It features a lot of great and memorable songs. I would have given this album five stars if it weren't for that bloody song about putting a lime in a coconut.

This song started with a track that I might have thought was Billy Joel if I just heard it on the radio. Another mellow album that's fun to just let play. This would be a good road trip album. Enough variation and interest around a common theme to let the time just roll past with the miles. A few songs I knew but from other artists.

Wow... that was fun. I didn't know Harry Nilsson before this, but did know quite a few of the songs. I'll listen to this again and dig into his other albums as well.

Harry Nilsson can remind me of Laura Nero, which is not how I expected to start this, and the reasons haven't quite unblurred, but they might include a Broadway of aroma around the large piano, the relentlessly cheerful horns, his immense lungs - which he does use more selectively that Nyro - and an imagined "ta da!" I hear at the end of half the songs, which I otherwise like quite a bit. Just that Broadway is not my swing. The peaks here are stunning: Jump Into The Fire, with its propulsion and Herbie Flowers' amazing rubber bass, has been a playlist stalwart since I heard it you-know-where, Without You is one of the few pure virtuoso belters that I can love, and Coconut, once just novelty, makes me wonder about different sorts of repetition and iteration in songs, from mindless mantras, through hymn-like variation to this ultimate form, which is of hypnotic, subversive insinuation, slinging off its disguise as a joke to reveal what is actually voodoo. Nilsson was a Satanist, wasn't he? Good man, that'll knock back on the point I knocked off for "the river's far too deep without you" in the mockingly saccharine final track.

Pretty good, schmitty good. Segall Smeagol is also worth a listen

Solid. A nice cool, fun listen, Lots of classics you have her about. I was surprised to find 'Jump Into The Fire" was his song - ["Goodfella" fans will instantly recognize this!]

Well this was a pleasant surprise. This whole album is excellently produced, you really notice it in the first couple songs with all the different instruments popping in from all sides, and it sounds great. It was only when I got to the chorus of 'Without You' that i recognised the song, which apparently this is a cover version, but damn he really sells it. The highlight of the album for sure, but I couldn't really pick a weak track out. Maybe having 'Coconut' right after that is an odd choice, but it's a fun silly song so i can't stay mad at it.

Sounds waaaaay ahead of its time. Right from the first track. Some songs sound like something you'd hear on the radio now. Can hear some Beatles influence. Decent songs though overall. I recognised 'Without You' and 'Coconut'. Struggled whether to give this a 3 or a 4 cos its not massively my kinda genre but as a whole album it is really well done, feels like a bit of an artistic masterpiece. So, 4/5

4.0 - “Without You” is an indication of the quality of songs on this album. Every song is well composed, many take interesting risks or even seem built on a risk, the synthesized organ sounds come through as confident and bassy as early Elton John. Vocals are sharp and I’d put him up against Mariah on “Without You”, he just crushes on that track.

The artist no one knows they know, and love. I realized I had never sat down and just listened to him. He's just everywhere.

Hard not to love Harry Nilsson, he is so playful and earnest. Quite a few good songs here and I think they hold together pretty well as an album too.

Without You and Coconut back to back in the track order is hilarious. Overall decent album with a mix of styles.

There is one random hit inside a strange album. The name of the album on the other hand is the real hit for me 10/10

I was sure this was going to be a flop, but I was familiar with half the songs on it already. Not bad

Not my cup of tea, although technically pretty accomplished. I wouldn't turn it off, but wouldn't put it on either.

Noteworthy songs - 808080808 Magical Dream - Kinda catchy synth, but the rest is bland. Ancodia - Good background noise. Cobra Bora - Actually kind of cool, reminds me of Bomberman Hero. Pacific 202 - N64 vibes, but melody isn't great. Donkey Doctor - Nothing too special, weird ending. 808080808 - Really cool beginning. A little slow in the middle but stays interesting enough. Sunrise - Nothing remarkable. The Fat Shadow - Eerie. Very short.

Most of the songs on this album are pleasant enough, easy-listening stuff. Nothing really stands out, except for when he goes hard, like during "Down." And that was awkward and didn't work very well. "Without You" is a recognizable power ballad. "Coconut" is cringey.

No. 75/1001 Gotta Get UP 3/5 Driving Along 4/5 Early in the Morning 3/5 The Moonbeam Song 3/5 Down 3/5 Without You 4/5 Coconut 2/5 Let The Good Times Roll 3/5 Jump Into The Fire 3/5 I'll Never Leave You 2/5 Average: 3,0 Nothing to not like here, also nothing really great.

Culturally interesting in general but also ragged/rococo round the edges and overstuffed productionwise. Did we need tubas and glockenspiels and xylophones and .. and ... and?. "Without You" into "Coconut" must be one of the more significant segues in all of '70s pop-rock, manifesting two of that lurid decade's worst tendencies – outright mawkishness and excessive belief in its own cleverness, respectively (though the latter shows that HN coulda been a contender as a crooner). Today, "Coconut" is no better than a novelty track, and not a particularly good one. "Moonbeam Song" is just about the best cut – lovely that one (though likening it to Taoist poetry is a bit much, editors). "Let the Good Times Roll" is utterly forgettable. "Jump Into the Fire" is very cool and the only thing that sounds remotely edgy, and not just for the Goodfellas inclusion, but rather the rollicking drummy and hitching guitar close-out. One knows all the right people were present at the creation and no doubt it was a fun ride for many of them – larkiness may be the album's dominant effect. Certainly HN had all the right mates (starting with Lennon), but the sunny-funny quality reads today like an inside joke not all that worth knowing. Nor does one feel particularly compelled to go explore the rest of his catalog. The ultimate 3.5 but rounding down mainly to be contrarian.

Enjoyed Ken Lee spanish version

Had no idea "Without You" was originally from this album. "Coconut" is my favorite and also had no idea this is where it came from. Loved the bass guitar in "Jump Into the Fire"

2 stars. it's fine.

“Nilsson Schmilsson” indeed. Way to advertise up front that you don’t matter. That no one will remember you. And it’s funny, because everyone remembers “Without You” and “Coconut.” Though for completely different reasons. Never had any clue who sang them (because Nilsson Schmilsson), and it was wild to encounter them back-to-back on this album. What a weird tonal shift. In fact, I can’t imagine “Coconut” fitting anywhere on any album other than at the end or as some hidden bonus track you had to leave the album playing for through five minutes of dead silence. Those two tracks are iconic, but although “Coconut” is quite memeable, I would be perfectly happy to never hear it again. And then right into a “Let the Good Times Roll” cover! What a weird album. The first couple of tracks suggested Nilsson’s potential as a singer-songwriter, though you would never guess that this guy ever had the cache to be called the “American Beatle” or join Alice Cooper’s Hollywood Vampires drinking club alongside Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, and John Belushi. But at least now I know about the Hollywood Vampires, both the drinking club and the supergroup Cooper formed in 2015 with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry. I want to know more about the Hollywood Vampires now (the drinking club, not the supergroup). What were their preferred spirits? What kind of wild stories have been told about their times together? What I don’t want to know any more about is Harry Nilsson. Nilsson Schmilsson.

Meh. 2.5

I mean… there’s plenty of schmaltz on this album to not like. And then the man goes and adds de lime to de coconut and suddenly you’re back to being 7 years old, laughing at it, and wanting to throw on another star.

Trodde faktiskt han hade skrivit Without you, och så är det Badfinger. Habilt, men nä.

The stellar and diverse production on this record can’t distract from the overwhelming lack of engaging songwriting. It’s as though Nilsson doesn’t know how seriously to treat this record, jolting between sincere reflections and downright bizarre affectations in the space of the same track. His reputation as one of the Beatles’ favourite songwriters makes sense from a production standpoint but ultimately the songs on this album seldom leave an impression.

Nilsson has shown that he can put out high quality material like Everybody’s Talking (Theme from Midnight Cowboy) but this album is just classic dreck with songs like Without you and Coconut. Even the Spanish version Si no estas is pure shmaltz.

70s pop is really good pop. 5/5

Starts strong with "Gotta Get Up" - love that song. I had no idea "Without You" was by this artist, so beautiful and powerful! Then he spins to a totally different direction with "Coconut" and "Let the Good Times Roll" - iconic - a whole album of amazing songs.

Turns out he wrote and performed like 5 songs on this album to which I've known the chorus lyrics for most of my life, so that's nice to discover. Good stuff, Harry! Funny but serious! Sooooo pop!

Very influenced by the Beatles with an even lighter touch. Not genius, just plain entertaining on the highest level. 4.5/5

Wow a 5 on a first listen. I loved this album. A few of them I recognized, but it was all pleasant and nice. Man can Harry Nilsson belt it out. I got a lot of John grant vibes from it. Plus just the title, Nilsson schmilsson. Gold !

What a treat--decades since I last heard this and I'm worse for that. Beautiful music with a profound lack of ego, so rare!

I loved this. This might be my favourite so far. It’s very weird and I can’t believe how many of these songs I know.

Good chill rock.

I'm utterly brainwashed by Russian Doll, so yeah.. 5

This is an album I'd been meaning to dive into for a while and it did not disappoint. His vocals are powerful and the instrumentation is so full and beautiful.

I can’t be objective on this one…I bought it in the 70’s and have listened to it countless times. It is one of my favorites. This was a good reminder of the wonderful things Harry Nilsson could do with his voice before he ruined it with self abuse. On a side note, there is a terrific documentary out there called “Who is Harry Nilsson?” that is worth watching. Anyway, you may have guessed that l love this album. My only complaint is that Jump into the Fire is just too long, but I really like all of these songs. Even the weird and discordant I’ll Never Leave You is something that I can listen to over and over. I am sure a lot of my love for this record comes from nostalgia and my introduction to it while I was coming of age, but I still think it’s terrific, displaying Nilsson’s versatility and fearless approach to unconventionality. One other side note: Even though I own this on both vinyl and CD and as I mentioned had listened to it countless times, today I accessed it via Amazon music for convenience. I don’t know what Amazon did to this recording, but they somehow messed it up. The balance and mix on some of these songs were really off compared to the vinyl and CD versions. Any event, this is still a 5 star album for me.

just siiiick, start to back

Such a fun album, and I knew more songs than I expected.

Classic underrated album

Super Dope

twee but good. Didn't realise Harry Nilsson was both the "can't live if living is without you" but also the "coconut" song guy. diverse.

Neste álbum aparece a Without you que lembra Mariah e uma fofinha coconut! Gotta get up é demais! Jump into the fire é animada!

Volvemos al ruedo después de unos días de descanso, también sólo por unos días: éste viernes se viaja a Buenos Aires, así que retomaré el 1001 recién el martes. Toca hoy un artista que sólo ubico por su nombre. De entrada, tiene un innegable sonido beatle y ése mood se mantiene a lo largo del álbum. Automáticamente cuando escucho "Without you", ya sé de quién estamos hablando. "Coconut" me retrotrae a Reservoir Dogs y a mis años de descubrir qué podía ser el cine. Una más que grata sorpresa en un año/mes/semana particulares en Argentina y en mi vida. Hasta mañana.

Was not familiar with Mr Nilsson’s game

Such an enjoyable album. Perfect length too. Probably not a 5 in most people’s eyes but I really enjoyed it

The Dude Abides! I was surprised that I had never really heard of this artist before, especially since four of the songs are famous. This was a great album, it had a wide variety of styles, catchy tunes, and Harry can belt it out. This is the kind of album that redeems some of the other choices in this 1001 list. I'll be listening again. Jump into the Fire is my favorite, never realized who the artist was before.

Loved this! Variety, well written, well sung,

Harry Nilsson is the tortured artist who tortured himself and self-sabotaged until he died. He is one of those “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” types. A guy with unbelievable talent that terrified him into a bottle and album decisions to derail any chance of the massive success he was capable of. This album is the perfect representation. Starting with the self-deprecating title and continuing through the disjointed beauty, anguish of everyday life, and absolute bombast of the songs with full bands. Harry liked to drink and he was good at it. You can tell. But dammit he was good. This album is all of that: beauty, heartbreak, gin-soaked and piano-driven tottering pieces about love, loss, and his inevitable failure pushing people away. I love it in a perverse sad way, this is the perfect representation of Nilsson.

This is a fabulous discovery. I saw a review saying he was a mix between McCartney and Lennon and that feels spot on

Coconut baby!

8,7/10 reminds me of the beetles least fav: Jump into the fore fav: gotta get up

Absolutely phenomenal!

- if you don't know this record, do yourself a favor and devour it. -

Great album. I have been a fan over 40 years.

Fantastic album, didn’t realize most of these songs were by him

First time listening to the entire album and it is definitely a masterpiece. Completely holds up over time. A pleasant palette cleanser after the past week's selections on this list. Nilsson seamlessly slips into each genre and wears them as comfortably as the bathrobe on the cover of the album.

I always thought the “lime in the coconut” was just a funny phrase! Who knew it has origins as an actual song!!! Never heard of this guy but he’s great! Thoroughly enjoyed this album and have already replayed it!

Related to a few songs pretty heavy. Phenomenal, timeless and well produced. 9/10 Fav tracks - Gotta Get up, Down, without you, coconut, I'll never leave you, Si No Estas Tu,

You could hold you own discussing pop music from 1930-1970 having only heard this album. He created trop rock (Coconut) and hair metal (Jump into the Fire) on the same record in his bathrobe.

Everyone should hear this album

Great, memorable, and enjoyable album. Very Beatlesque.

Heard of this album, and heard a couple songs on it but never listened to it all the way through. I'm a big fan of the Cooper Black font on the cover here, such a classic font, and I'm also now a fan of this album, such a classic album. Cooper Black has been around since 1922 and has found many uses in display lettering, on storefronts, signs, print ads, online ads, album covers etc. in that time; this album has been around since 1971 and has surely been accompanying dinner parties and lazy Sunday afternoons, since then. One of my favorite things about music law is that when you cover someone else's song, the original songwriter (or whoever owns the song I guess) gets the royalties. So putting a cover on your album means you love that song enough to make someone else some money. Harry Nilsson cared enough about Let the Good Times Roll to make Shirley Goodman's estate some dough. I've been trying to find a place to use the word "rollicking" in these comments and I never quite found it, so I'll put it here: god damned rollicking.

I didn't know the line in the coconut came from here! Awesome!

What an album. Brilliant from start to finish. Massive Beatles influences throughout.