Nilsson Schmilsson

I think i may have heard a total of 2 of his songs previously, but what songs they are genuine masterpieces of modern music, and one of them is on this record, so looking forward to.wailing along.... Things I know about Harry Nilsson, 1. He recorded 2 of the finest songs ever recorded. 2.. He was great mate of John Lennon and Keith Moon, one of the original Hollywoord Vampires drinking gang in the 70's. 3. He really liked the booze and coke. 3. So much that he literally couldn't live without them. 4. It killed him Here goes. 3 tracks in and all I can think about is Paul MCartney, nothing else springs to mind, quite nice but nothing special.... Track 4 is nice, in a "clearly on ta comedown after a heavy session" kinda way, either that or he's stoned out his.mind.. Track 5 is my favourite song so far, but it's going to be a short reign, here comes the banger. What can I say about track 6..... a song so good not even Mariah Carey could ruin it Pure gold,.. ... although I accept that some will absolutely loathe it as I suspect he did after a couple of years. This is to Nilsson what Streets Of London was to Ralph MacTell or Creep to Radiohead... It's a solo car journey wail along classic, but I thought it was longer and more impassioned than it is... Oh god its the Coconut song, I didnt know this was one of his, i hate this tune for any number of reasons, point removed. Overall impressions are its OK,...not something I will revisit, it doesn't light up the mental dashboard.......Without You excepting.

I genuinely quite enjoyed this apart from the turgid Without You, and I can only assume rmtheres a video somewhere of Harry performing Coconut live in blackface. Those issues aside, yes its a shameless beatles ripoff, but I guess that's acceptable, look at Oasis.

“Jump into the Fire” is fantastic. This album has some of the most disparate songs I’ve encountered so far. “Gotta Get Up” and “Driving Along” are pure pop to me. Nilsson loved some sound effects—cars, waves. “Early in the Morning” and “Down” are bluesy. “The Moonbeam Song” is croony charm. “Without You” easy listening. “Coconut” is silly fun. “Let the Good Times Roll” is beat heavy sing along groovy. After high energy “Jump Into the Fire”, the aBlum ends on a croony number “I’ll Never Leave You” - it would be sort of country if he pulled back on some horns. Not a one trick pony. Some of it sounds 70s dated, but he has a good voice. Giving it a 5 just because he manages to entertain me while being all over the place vibe wise.

I really liked the album. Super fun and went in so many different directions you weren’t expecting

I'm a sucker for any cover of Shirley and Lee's music.

We've all been taught to put the lime in the coconut. But when you actually listen to it, what an utterly bizarre song, especially in the context of the rest of this album. I mean, it is immediately preceded by a power ballad. But this album isn't bad at all.

Great album, I can hear the Beatles comparisons even though it is fairly distinctly American

Fun and interesting album. Some weird stuff on there, but rather good overall.

Album #310 Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Schmilsson Harry Nilsson is one of those artists that I kept hearing about and meaning to listen to, but for whatever reason I always had it in my head that he was an outlaw country singer a la Willie Nelson; so I was quite surprised to discover that he was actually a pop rock oddity a la Paul McCartney. I mean, the McCartney comparisons are unavoidable, so I had to mention it. I especially see the comparison to an album like Ram, which also experimented in genre and tone shifts quite frequently; but despite the similarities, Nilsson does undeniably have his own sound and identity here. I think what really sums up this album best is the fact that you go from Without You, which is one of the grandest and most beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard, featuring angelic harmonies and an epic score, immediately into Coconut, which is about as drastic a change as I’ve ever heard in an album. Nilsson’s songwriting is quite addictive, and Nilsson Schmilsson, despite being only 35 minutes, feels like it has so much depth and diversity to it that you can return to any given song depending on your mood. Though this type of pop music seems to be a relic of the 60s and 70s, I can’t help but always fall in love with this type of songwriter. This is a low-key classic and one I’ll definitely return to. Best Songs: Without You, The Moonbeam Song, Coconut Worst Song: Down Score out of 10: 8.5

Knew way more of these songs than I expected.

Didn't realize how many Harry Nilsson songs I knew from this album. Solid.

3.25 - I didn't realize that I knew some Harry Hilsson songs. Coconut is so weird.

not my vibe but i get it

Listened before?: i recognize Without You but that's about it Gotta Get Up - 4/5 Driving Along - 3/5 Early in the Morning - 2/5 The Moonbeam Song - 3/5 Down - 3/5 Without You - 5/5 Coconut - 4/5 Let the Good Times Roll - 3/5 Jump Into the Fire - 3/5 I'll Never Leave You - 4/5 Average score: 3.4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ not a bad album i suppose. upon further listening, i recognized Coconut from watching Practical Magic as well (it's a pretty catchy tune) aside from that and Without You, there wasn't a whole lot that i found very noteworthy about this album. i wouldn't be upset about hearing most of these tracks again in the future, though i doubt i'll actively seek this album out

Really nice chill vibes

Just the Coconut song is enough to merit making the list, but I dug it all.

Had not really heart anything by Harry Nilsson other than his popular hits but I think this one will become part of my regular rotation. Great album.

3.5/5. Fun pop rock singer songwriter material on this one. I can definitely see his influence but it’s not my absolute favorite.

this one was aa wild ride— like a hipster singer on Saddle Creek records went back in time to 1971…. weird alternative experimental pop before it was even a genre—sure i hear Brian Eno and folksy hints in there but it feels low fi and recorded on a small 4 track recorder to a cassette tape… mixing was odd as the reverb and ambient noise on some tracks

Harry was ok, despite the coconut song. Nothing terrible, but nothing great. I guess he was good friends with John Lennon which is kind of cool, but doesn’t really get him on any preferred musical status with me.

This was actually quite lovely to listen to. I never thought the same person made Coconut and Gotta Get Up. 3.5 limes in my coconut please.

Soft Rock: check Solo album: check Stupid Name: check Released 1971: check White guy with a beard: check Music indistinguishable from 40% of the list: check We have achieved peak 1001 albums core. I knew this would be a 3/5 before I played to the first song, but I still listened to the whole thing for some reason. Edit: I am deducting a star for inflicting coconut upon the world.

Great album by a great still underrated songwriter. It feels quite Beatleesque, which is apropos since this guy became drinking buddies with Lennon. Biggest surprise: Coconut - it still holds up and it really shouldn't.

I was a little disappointed in the outcome because I was expecting better. I only knew for sure “Everybody’s Talkin’l as Harry Nilsson, and hearing some of his covers was a pleasant surprise, but I didn’t really connect with his songs, even if his vocals are decent. “Jump Into the Fire” rocks though.

It's got the coconut song on it.

Not my genre of music at all. 70's pop with some recognisable tunes but not sure if they are the originals? I just can't get enthused by this style of music.

An adventure.

This was fun, quite honestly. Wasn't expecting to recognize so much of the tracks either, really shows how impactful this album was. "Gotta Get Up" sounds so much like a Beatles song, it's uncanny. Just great production/arrangements and songwriting. Pretty even mix of different moods from start to finish too. I feel like Nilsson isn't as regarded as some other artists from this era (from a modern lens at least), yet he put out this mammoth album with all of these recognizable tracks.

Va y viene, me gana y me pierde. NO termina de convencer. Es un 2.5

I was not familiar with your game, Harry. Without You is just the tip of the iceberg for a fantastic record.

Never knew about this guy until today. Pretty outstanding album. Really enjoyed it

pretty good

This guy really likes The Beatles.

Put. The. Lime. In. The. Coconut.

This record feels like it was made by someone who really loves making music and having fun with it. Good vibes and some beautiful tracks and renditions in there. There's an airy, light, carelessness to much of the music.

Helt ok, gillade covern utav Without You! Trodde de var Mariah Careys låt eller att hon gjorde covern ännu kändare men wikipedia håller inte c:

4/5 Good musician.

This is great. I really enjoyed the bulk of this album!

Huvitavad lood ja legendaarne "Without You". Aga plaat on pilla-palla oma mõtetega ja terviklik album ta kindlasti pole. Esimest korda kuulen Harry Nilssonit ning mulje on pigem hea. 3.2/5

What a ride, an album with some average pop songs, classic songs that have been hugely overplayed, novelty songs and then Jump into the Fire

I really can see why Lennon liked Nilsson so much. Nilsson is about 80% Lennon and 20% McCartney in how he writes and the inverse in how he sings. Good album.

Carnivalesque. Didn't get past the 2nd song

what a great lyric delivery and instrumental progression!

6/10 I'd never heard of Harry Nilsson before today, which is interesting considering how he was so incredibly significant a figure in rock in the early 70s (and considering how "put the lime in the coconut" remains part of modern parlance even today). The music is very Beatles meets Queen for me, if that makes sense? Like, early Queen and acoustic Beatles. Some of the tracks on the album are pretty good (I particularly enjoy Gotta Get Up) but most are mediocre. I'm okay with this album being on this list since it's pretty unique for an American album from the time, but I don't think it's amazing by any means.

Really enjoyed this album! Very beatlesque! Some of the songs sound a little dated though

Owned. Classic soft rock pop

нормалек, без негативчика.

The album starts slow but gets much better as it plays. 4 stars or B.

Track By Track Gotta Get Up - Poppy beginning. Nice! Sounds like it’s in the same world as Elton John but also a bit more kooky. There’s a circus vibe here happening too. Like a more indie alt Paul McCartney in terms of the lyrics and jovial tune. Driving Along - It’s a nice pop vibe so far on this album. Very ‘70s this one! Cool soloing from the guitarist. Early In The Morning - Nice that it’s stripped back. It’s bluesy but it’s still got his jaunty, fun feel with that peppy syncopated rhythm. The Moonbeam Song - This is nice. A slow, almost psychedelic one. Nice harmonies. Bit like late ‘60s Beatles. Down - This one reminds me of Billy Joel a little. Liking the bluesy honky-tonk groove. Sounds very singer-songwriter as well. Quite classic. He’s really going for it on the vocals, slightly a-la McCartney on ‘Oh, Darling!’. Without You - Very sweetly and tenderly sung. This is so heartfelt and ‘70s, even a bit ‘80s. Kind of genius and cheesy but he gives this class and heart. Didn’t know this was a Badfinger cover. Coconut - This I remember from being played a Muppets version. It’s like the furthest you could crank the dial on his silliness scale, at least on this album (there are definitely wackier songs that exist!). Did not love massively but it’s fun for its novelty value. Let the Good Times Roll - Sounds like his version of the classic track, I think Sam Cooke did a version, which I’m pretty sure is the same. Fun little jaunt of a song. Jump Into the Fire - Sort of a similar vibe to Down earlier on. Leaning into that classic ‘70s rock sound. Quite liking the fuzzy bass on this. I’ll Never Leave You - This is decent enough as a closer. Tender and strange & almost evokes some ‘50s jazz or soundtrack music as well as being a ballad of the time. Not a huge stand out though. Overall Review: This seems like a very Nilsson collection of songs. Like he’s got a lot of creative control and he’s doing whatever he feels without regard to how it’ll be received and I respect that. Very short and sweet. Enjoyable enough tunes, although there weren’t many that I really liked or loved. I did think it was a little disjointed at times as there’s quite a few different styles thrown together. But great playing and his style is pretty unique which I was into at times. Saying that, I can hear The Beatles’ influence on a few tracks. Also can I just say I love the name of this album. It’s brilliant. 3.4/5 Favourite Songs: The Moonbeam Song, Without You

Pretty good

Que disco más chulo, a ratos me ha recordado un poco a Sufjan por ejemplo.

Apart from the classic but overplayed “Without You”, classic but underplayed “Everybody’s Talkin” and “Coconut” (thanks to Reservoir Dogs), Nilsson wasn’t an artist I knew much about so I was intrigued what I would find. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I feared an album packed full of dreary ballads but there is a decent amount of variety here and I genuinely enjoyed most of the songs (“Jump Into The Fire” was a surprising favourite). In fact I thought “Coconut” was one of the weakest songs on the album (along with the turgid “I’ll Never Leave You”). Overall all decent effort - Harry gets a respectable 3 from moi

A very solid listen

Вряд ли вернусь, но послушал с интересом.

Just… 10/10

Alors franchement, j'ai vu le nom pas franchement inspirant de l'album et la photo avec le gars en robe de chambre, je m'attendais encore à un album totalement osef. Eh ben pas du tout, finalement, j'en suis même étonné. Bon, c'était très bien, finalement. Grand moment "aaaah, c'est lui qui chante ça !", avec Without You, que j'ai entendu des milliers de fois sur Nostalgie, à l'époque. Et passer de ce chant très intense à Coconut, complètement délirant, c'est un contraste plutôt rigolo. C'est les meilleurs moments de l'album, mais le reste est aussi très agréable, j'ai bien aimé.

Nah.

1. that song from that show 2-6. nice 7. midnight margaritas didnt finish the rest but im sure it's good too

Maintenant que je suis vieux, j'aime aussi les balades.

Ça a beaucoup joué chez nous, cet album. Un personnage talentueux et intéressant!

Super prod, qualité des tounes un peu inégale. 3.5 étoiles

Odd and fantastic with a great silly title, 'Nilsson Schmilsson' is Harry at his best. This album has some wonderful melodies and interesting syncopation and holds up as one large reason 1971 might be the GOAT music year. Top tracks: "Jump into the Fire," "Gotta Get Up," "Without You," "Down"

weird 70s shit. Or more like a maturing late 60s sound. Liked it.

--Gotta Get Up...black coffee humor --Driving Along...fun sugar pop with a dark side. it's obvious why he and Lennon got along --Early in the Morning...saucy vanilla blues --The Moonbeam Song...the sound of honey and butter mixing --Down...fun but maybe a skosh too aggressive --Without You...one of the greatest recordings ever --Coconut...followed by one of the weirdest continuously culturally relevant songs ever. Thanks, Tarantino? --Let the Good Times Roll...throwback throwaway --Jump into the Fire...a bass can't possibly go that low, can it? it can?! hell yeah! --I'll Never Leave You...feels like an Andrew Lloyd Webber song (laudatory)

*Nilsson Schmilsson* is widely considered Harry Nilsson's crowning achievement—a record that manages to be both his most commercially successful and his most artistically idiosyncratic. It arrived in 1971 after a two-and-a-half-year gap since his last proper album, and the result was a near-perfect fusion of his whimsical baroque pop instincts with producer Richard Perry's streamlined, radio-friendly sensibility. ### Lyrics: Whimsy and Darkness in Equal Measure Nilsson's lyrical voice on *Schmilsson* operates on a knife's edge between comedy and despair. Robert Christgau described the album as veering "from kitsch fantasy both romantic... and comic... to terrified evocations of everyday existence" . That tension is the record's engine. The opening triptych—"Gotta Get Up," "Driving Along," and "Early in the Morning"—functions as a kind of morning-after meditation on adulthood's relentless demands . "Gotta Get Up" frames the daily grind with a music-hall piano riff that sounds like an alarm clock, while the narrator mourns the salad days slipping away . "Driving Along" offers a portrait of suburban disconnection so precise it feels like a short story . Then there's "Coconut," a calypso novelty about a doctor, a nurse, and a lime in the coconut. It's absurd, repetitive, and nearly four minutes of the same chord—and yet it works as a masterclass in comic timing and character voice . Nilsson's fake Jamaican accent for the doctor is the kind of thing that would sink a lesser song; here, it's part of the charm . But the album's emotional core lies in its quieter moments. "The Moonbeam Song" is a deceptively simple lullaby tracking a beam of light across "windowpanes," "weather vanes," and "a fence with bits of crap along its bottom"—a line that captures Nilsson's gift for finding poetry in the mundane . And "Without You," his cover of the Badfinger song, transforms a relatively straightforward lament into something operatic and almost unbearable in its intensity . ### Music: A Streamlined Art-Rock Extravaganza Musically, *Nilsson Schmilsson* is a shapeshifter. It opens with accordion and tuba, moves through piano balladry, detours into calypso, and climaxes with a nearly seven-minute hard rock jam. That it coheres at all is a testament to Nilsson's melodic instincts and Perry's production discipline. "Jump Into the Fire" is the album's heaviest moment—a pounding, detuned-bass rocker that Pitchfork noted "could still burn up dancefloors" decades later . It's a world away from "The Moonbeam Song," yet both feel unmistakably like Nilsson. His voice is the unifying thread. As the *New York Daily News* observed, Nilsson "sang in a way that wasn't quite pretty," and his songs "weren't quite folk, rock, cabaret or blues—though they borrowed from each" . That in-between quality is precisely what makes the album so distinctive. He could skip octaves effortlessly, but he could also convey weariness and regret in a single phrase. The musicianship is impeccable throughout. The sessions drew on players who had worked on *All Things Must Pass*, *Layla*, *Sticky Fingers*, and *Transformer*—a murderers' row of early-'70s session talent including Klaus Voormann, Herbie Flowers, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, and Chris Spedding . Paul Buckmaster's string arrangement on "Without You" and George Tipton's orchestration on the closer "I'll Never Leave You" add baroque grandeur without tipping into schmaltz . ### Production: Richard Perry's Commercial Breakthrough The hiring of Richard Perry was a deliberate strategic move. Perry had produced Barbra Streisand and would later work with Ringo Starr, and his mandate was clear: make Nilsson a mainstream star without sanding off what made him strange . The result was Nilsson's most accessible album—but "accessible" here means something closer to "cohesive" than "compromised." Perry's production is clean and punchy, giving each track its own sonic identity while maintaining an overall warmth. The album was recorded primarily at Trident Studios in London in June 1971, with additional sessions at Island Studios and RCA Studios in Hollywood . The mix balances Nilsson's voice against the arrangements with remarkable clarity; even the densest moments, like the horn-blasted "Down," never feel cluttered. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and Nilsson won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Without You" . Commercially, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and became his best-selling record . ### Themes: The Reluctant Adult If *Nilsson Schmilsson* has a unifying theme, it's the collision between youthful recklessness and adult responsibility. The cover image—Nilsson in a bathrobe, unshaven, staring blankly—captures this perfectly . He looks like a man who has just woken up to the realization that the party is over, or at least changing shape. The opening track sets the tone: "Gotta get up, gotta get out, gotta get home before the mornin' comes" . It's a song about the grind, about the endless cycle of obligations that define adult life. "Driving Along" extends this into a portrait of suburban ennui, while "Early in the Morning" (a cover of a Bobby Darin song) adds a note of bleary-eyed resignation . But the album isn't purely about decline. "Coconut" and "Let the Good Times Roll" offer moments of pure release, however temporary or absurd. And "Without You" is a reminder that even in the midst of all this ambivalence about growing up, the capacity for overwhelming emotion remains intact. The closer, "I'll Never Leave You," functions as a farewell to a certain kind of ornate pop craftsmanship—the baroque arrangements of his earlier work—while also serving as a genuinely moving love song . ### Influence: The Brainy Songwriter's Blueprint *Nilsson Schmilsson*'s influence is hard to overstate. The *New York Daily News* called it "a true touchstone in the history of sonic weirdness" and noted it "sounds like nothing you've heard, before or since" . WYEP's *Discumentary* argued that the album "would influence a new generation of brainy, sardonic songwriters" . You can hear its DNA in the work of artists as varied as Rufus Wainwright (who shares Nilsson's blend of theatricality and emotional candor), Randy Newman (the sardonic eye for suburban detail), and even modern pop eccentrics who refuse to choose between accessibility and strangeness . The album demonstrated that a songwriter could be simultaneously commercial and unclassifiable—that a calypso novelty and a gut-wrenching ballad could coexist on the same record without either undermining the other. John Lennon and Paul McCartney had already named Nilsson their favorite American singer before this album; *Schmilsson* justified that praise and expanded it . It remains the entry point for most listeners discovering Nilsson, and for good reason: it's the record where his quirks and his craft achieved their most perfect equilibrium. ### Pros and Cons **Pros:** - **Exceptional songwriting range**: The album moves effortlessly between comedy, melancholy, rock, and balladry without losing coherence . - **Vocally stunning**: Nilsson's voice is at its peak—capable of both tenderness and operatic intensity . - **Killer backing band**: The roster of session players reads like a who's who of early-'70s rock . - **Richard Perry's production**: Streamlined without being sanitized, commercial without being cynical . - **Enduring influence**: It set a template for brainy, idiosyncratic pop songwriters . **Cons:** - **"Without You" may overshadow the rest**: The album's biggest hit is also its least characteristic moment, potentially giving first-time listeners the wrong impression of what Nilsson is about . - **Some tracks feel slight**: "Early in the Morning" and "Let the Good Times Roll" are enjoyable but don't reach the heights of the album's best moments . - **"Coconut" divides listeners**: The novelty track is either a brilliant comic miniature or an irritating gimmick, depending on your tolerance for Nilsson's sense of humor . - **Not representative of his full range**: As a "mainstream" move, it doesn't showcase the full breadth of his earlier baroque pop experiments or his later, more eccentric work . *Nilsson Schmilsson* remains the essential Harry Nilsson album—the one that best captures why he was so beloved by his peers and why his influence persists. It's a record that refuses to be one thing, and that refusal is its greatest strength.

Great record !

I was surprised at how many of these songs I've heard before not knowing they were performed by Harry Nilsson. All I really knew about Nilsson was that he was one of John Lennon's drinking buddies during Lennon's lost "weekend". I enjoyed this but it didn't quite rise to a 4 for me. 3.5/4

This album hit like a warm, comforting hug. I’ll Never Leave You made me feel like I was ascending to the heavens.

Harry Nilsson is an artist I’m aware of and how celebrated he was. I don’t get it myself. This album just sounds like “goofy ahh music” to my ears. Full of decently written novelty songs.

carried by a couple tracks, but damn if they aren’t great. “Coconut” got stuck in my head all day after

Hade nog egentligen bara hört "Everybody's talkin'" (kanonlåt) och "Without you" tidigare med Harry. Måste säga att jag blir mäkta besviken. Det låter mest som medelmåttlig svensk svensktopp från samma tid, några divisioner under Lill Lindfors, Lasse Berhagen och Göran Fristorp. Ett par gånger försöker han rocka lite mer men misslyckas. Det finns lite blås som livar upp nån gång men det är på marginalen. Minst tråkig är faktiskt den minimalistiska bluesen "Early in the morning" med enbart nåt instrument som låter som en blandning av xylofon och elpiano. Den blir åtminstone nåt annorlunda.

Balanserar på en fin linje mellan banalt och rätt bra och faller lite åt båda hållet. Det funkar rätt bra i Down, Early in the morning och Driving along. Men blir outhärdligt banalt i låtar som Without You, Coconut och Never leave you.

Ompa ompa pop, utan någon större kvalité. Vad hänt med Nilsson om han inte varit polare med Lennon? The Moonbeam song och framförallt Jump into the fire höjer sig över mängden. Without You hör jag betydligt hellre i såväl Badfingers original eller i Maria Careys version.

Ännu ett album som verka utvalt på grund av kommersiell framgång med några singlar. Påminner ljudmässigt om Randy Newman. Men till skillnad från Newman är texterna högst medelmåttiga. Når upp till en mycket svag två i brist på konkurrens.

Hated it

Harry Nilsson's often dubbed "The American Beatle" and from the single Beatles album I've listened to so far (courtesy of this list) I can hear why! He has a talent for catchy feel-good pop rock songs as well as some pretty captivating slower moments. Also, the "here, damn" energy of the cover and the cheesy rhyming title added to the record's mellow charm :)

There are some nice moments in this. Feels very much like a morning album. I was in the right mindset to hear this as I woke up much earlier than I needed to today. In particular, nice harmonies/vocals in The Moonbeam song. Feels very much like a morning song. Generally, the first 3-4 tracks in particular. Gentle feeling to them. Without you was a sad, endearing ballad. I saw it was one of his popular songs, so I was expecting something good. "Coconut" was a silly song and sounded like a white guy trying to be 'black'. Bit cringey. Not a fan, it sounds like a piss-take but at the same time, you can also tell he's being serious. (After checking spotify, I was amazed that this is his third most played song at 58M+ streams! HOW?) Let the good times roll" was cheap, cheerful, but ultimately forgettable. Too corny for my liking. "Jump in the fire" not a massive fan of this one either, despite its popularity. Basically not a big fan of any of the tracks after track 6. The album is very split for me: pretty solid first side, much weaker second side. The second side is more rock heavy, so perhaps that is why it is weaker. Acoustic style suits Harry Nillson better on this album. Favourite track is Gotta get up, which put me in a positive mood for the album. Given its mix of good and bad, 3 stars seems more than fitting.

Really fun and peppy but also morose and long.. Some graet songs I've heard on this one

cute and good vibes

I prefer Aerial Ballet but this album is great.

Dachte erst, ich erkenne "Gotta Get Up" aus "Groundhog Day", aber es war dann doch die Netflix-Serie "Russian Doll" mit dem gleichen Konzept. Auf jeden Fall ein toller Song, der hier eine handwerklich gut gemachte Pop-Rock-Platte verspricht. Dieses Versprechen wird nur teilweise eingelöst, da hier die Fühler auch in andere Genres ausgestreckt werden. Am besten hiervon hat mir der Baroque Pop-Einschlag in u. a. "Without You" gefallen, den ich irgendwie schon dutzend Mal gehört habe, aber noch nie einem Interpreten zuordnen konnte. Der Novelty-Song "Coconut" ging mir zwar anfangs ziemlich auf die Nerven, aber irgendwas hat der Track dann doch, was mich fasziniert zuhören ließ. Gegen Ende wird es mit "Jump Into the Fire" sogar noch ziemlich hard-rockig (auch wenn der Song definitiv nicht auf 7 Minuten hätte gestreckt werden müssen). Leider haben mich auch die Balladen "Early in the Morning", "The Moonbeam Song" und der Closer eher ratlos zurückgelassen. So gesehen bietet die Platte sogar etwas zu viel Abwechslung für mich, was ich so am Anfang nicht erwartet hätte. Da die sonstige Song-Qualität aber durchgängig hoch ist, sind doch noch knappe 4 Sterne drin.

Alleine der Titel natürlich Gold. Ansonsten geschmeidiges Album, das trotzdem ein wenig so wirktals wären die Titel nicht aus einem Guss, sondern zusammengewürfelt.

Also erstmal für das Cover Artwork und den Albumtitel gibts einen Bonuspunkt. Großartige Arbeitsverweigerung. Aber auhc inhaltlich macht mir das Spaß. Kleine Singer Songwriter Momente neben großen Rock Gesten, das macht Spaß, das wird noch häufiger gehört

Good listen very pleasant

Nilsson Schmilsson is one of those albums I really wanted to love, but it just didn’t click with me. Some of the songs felt more like a parody than something I could take seriously, and the eccentric production didn’t always work for me. That said, “Without You” is absolutely the standout—powerful, emotional, and easily my favorite track here. Overall, an interesting album, but not quite my thing.

You can see why the Beatles were enamoured by Harry Nilsson. He shared the same talent that they had in crafting a great pop rock tune. He also had a sense of humour and doesn't take himself too seriously despite the talent he was gifted with. Any man eccentric enough to sing his heart out on the lovesick ballad "Without You" and immediately follow it up the incredibly infectious goofball number "Coconut" deserves my respect. Dude is clearly marching to the beat if his own drum and I love that for him. This record was a breeze to get through and is full of memorable songs that I'm sure most people know, even if they are not familiar with the name of Harry Nilsson.

This is #day771 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to some early-'70s pop rock, if you will. Prog/art-rock touches, though, make it more than just pop/soft rock. "Without You" is a gem of a song, sitting right in the middle of the record. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day772.

This is a pretty fantastic album. So much creativity, fantastic musicianship, beautiful and catchy songs. Can't believe this one (though not all the tracks) have escaped my attention to this point.

russian doll song mention

Mr. Lime In The Coconut guy should have lived longer because he would've made even more money in this century with how some of his songs are still very popular, even if only being known for being in commercials over his own artist's touch. I didn't really know Harry Nilsson's work or his life as much. Kind of paradoxical to want to make pop music and not be a public figure (within his lifetime), but if you had to be that in any era of pop music, your best bet for that was in the 1970s. Schmilsson has one of Nilsson's most famous songs in 'Without You', which is one of the first power ballads in pop music. It's definitely a good song, but not one I would want to rehear on my everything on shuffle playlist. My favorite parts were Down/Jump Into The Fire and even the hokey songs I probably would have disliked normally in Driving Along/Gotta Get Up and even Coconut were pretty good. Harry was a pretty good singer, but a bit too much shine for my taste which prefers something punkier or more aggressive. Definitely an above average pop record, especially from one of pop's lowest decades. Not my sort of thing, but definitely better than I would have expected. Good work.

Standouts Coconut Jump Into the Fire

I really liked this

Strong start, slows down a bit. 5.9/10

Hot to trot

Honestly going into this I thought I’d hate it! I’m glad I was wrong. This was just a pretty good listening experience. 4/5 ⭐️ 257/1081

I’m surprised how much I liked this album. It’s clear it is a 1970s vibe and I honestly enjoyed every song and the sequencing until the last track. It was so jarring to be engrossed in this music and then get thrown off. I thought I didn’t know this artist, but I knew three songs. “Without You” played in my house a lot as a little kid. I discovered “Coconut” my sophomore year of college and instantly loved it: Listening to this album, I found myself wondering if “Coconut” would have been a hit if it had been placed elsewhere in the record or on a different record. I feel like it got traction because it followed a Grammy-winning song and, back in the day, people listened to music by listening to an album all the way through. I also knew “Let the Good Times Roll.” I was really impressed with the vocals, instrumentals, and lyrics. Nilsson’s vocal range and creativity in writing were great. The first song made me think of The Beatles, but later tracks made me feel like Nilsson was bringing me along on an acid trip. Other moments made me feel like I was listening to a show tune or future sitcom theme song. The variety / range was really cool. My favorite track ended up being “The Moonbeam Song.” It just really struck me. I learned after listening that Nilsson is known for being famous without touring or doing other concerts. He was also a pioneer of vocal dubbing. He was friends with / worked with John Lennon and became an anti-gun activist after Lennon was killed.

6.8/10. This album sounds remarkably similar to a Beatles album, and after some research, it's obvious why. It was heavily inspired by the group, features Ringo Starr on drums, and has McCartney and Lennon backing it. The project is very theatrical in its production, created utilizing a vast amount of instruments and has a very personality-driven sound to it. I enjoyed it, but it did slow down and get weaker at points, so I don't know if I would listen to the album in full again.

Pleasant, 3,5 for me.

This is the first time I listen to Harry Nilsson’s music, except an occasional radio or algorithm hit. After listening to this album in its entirety, I can honestly that I didn’t miss anything. Learning about it widened my pop music knowledge, but nothing more. I think it didn’t survive the passage of time test. The songs (most of them) are middle of the road, not interesting or exciting (but not completely introspective or otherwise engaging), and the humor in the lyrics is outdated. It sounds like a mainstream attempt at a now extinct mainstream.

Good tracks but some filler too.