"Harry" By Eric Idle & Charlie Dore from Nilsson's Flash Harry (1980)
Thanks to all who have participated.
Dedicated To The Life & Work Of Harry Nilsson!
"Harry" By Eric Idle & Charlie Dore from Nilsson's Flash Harry (1980)
Thanks to all who have participated.
Nilsson: The Life Of A Singer-Songwriter by Alyn Shipton (July 2013) - EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT
It's been a long time coming, but on July 18th the first official biography of Harry Nilsson hits the shelves. Nilsson's estate has granted author Alyn Shipton unprecedented access to Harry's files, friends, family, and even Nilsson's own unfinished auto-biography, for Nilsson - The Life Of A Singer-Songwriter (Oxford University Press), which is now available for pre-order at Amazon. Shipton, a celebrated author and the jazz critic of The Times of London, has written numerous books about music and the people that make it, including; Hi-De-Ho: The Life Of Cab Calloway, A New History Of Jazz, Out Of The Long Dark: The Life Of Ian Carr, Fats Waller: A Cheerful Little Earful and Groovin' High: The Life Of Dizzy Gillespie, among others. In January, we asked Shipton how a longtime jazzhead suddenly became a Harryhead, and he told us that it began with a BBC documentary he put together on Nilsson producer, Richard Perry (read more from Shipton in the news sidebar on the left). Alyn has very kindly offered us this advance excerpt from the upcoming book, exclusively for Harry's fans here, for which we are most grateful. The new book is also included as part of Sony Music's press campaign for the upcoming 17CD box set. We can't wait.....................................................................................................................
At the very start of July 1984 Nilsson was in New York, hanging out with Terry Southern. The co-author of Candy, creator of the screenplay for The Magic Christian and co-writer of the movies Dr. Strangelove and Easy Rider, among other films. Southern was already discussing with Nilsson the idea that the two of them should form a movie production company. More than that, they had become regular drinking and social buddies. Southern had recently been a member of the Saturday Night Live writing team and during his time on that television show, with its high-pressure demands on the writers to be consistently funny, his drug and alcohol intake had rivaled that of Nilsson. When they hooked up in New York, Southern was working on a possible film biography of Jim Morrison and his early novel, Flash and Filigree, had been newly republished with an introduction by William Burroughs, which reinforced his credentials as one of the hippest of hip writers.
Around the beginning of July, the pair bumped into the singer Jimmy Buffett in a Manhattan bar, who invited them to go up to Boston where he was to appear in a huge free concert. For various reasons Nilsson and Southern arrived late and missed the show, only catching up with Buffett when it was over. Nilsson takes up the story:
I said, “Well we’re gonna go now, goodbye.” And I said to Terry, “Let’s go!” “Where?” “Washington. We’ll catch Ringo playing the drums for the Beach Boys.” “Um, right.”
So, we got a plane from Boston to Washington. It was the largest concert, I think, ever, in history. There were a million plus people who showed up at this street concert. It was very, very hot. 102 degrees hot. I was wearing a black leather jacket and shades, just for a look, and I didn’t care. Terry was looking like a youthful man of indeterminate age who had just found the secret of looking rumpled and acceptable. We went to what was presumably the back entrance, where there’s this poor guard and we gave him a double act.
I said, “Look, obviously we’re not kids looking for autographs.” He said, “But you don’t have any passes.” I said, “Can’t you just call Ringo in his trailer and he’ll okay it?” He said, “I can’t leave my post.” I said, “You can’t leave your post?” And he said, “No.” I said, “Good. Watch my father for me, I’ll leave him as collateral and I’ll be back in ten minutes. Thank you.” And I walked right past him. He couldn’t come after me, because he’d be leaving his post. Meanwhile, Terry‘s sitting there pissed because I called him my father.
Inside, I leaned up against one of the two hundred trailers. “Do you happen to know where Ringo Starr‘s dressing room is?” This guy says, “You’re leaning on it.” I open the door and there were all the Boys, Beach. And they were singing a song, and, they’re all trying to tell Ringo how to play the drums at this one special part. He saw me walk in with a look of relief and disbelief that there I was and there he was. So he stopped everything, we embraced and he explained who I was to everyone. I said, “There’s one other problem. Terry‘s being held hostage, right now, at the back gate. Can we send somebody to bring him in?”
Just then, someone said, “Show time!” And everybody runs out of the trailer. I’m caught up with the crowd, saying, “We gotta find somebody to send back to the gate! I don’t want to go back there, I’ll never get back in.” The next thing you know, a few steps later, we’re standing on the stage, and there are the Beach Boys playing to a million people, and I’m standing on the stage looking at my dear friend Ringo."
There is a film of this event, released as the closing climax to the documentary The Beach Boys—An American Band, which came out in January 1985. On both sides of the stage there is a crowd of onlookers, and Nilsson can clearly be perceived among them in three scenes, wearing his shades and a black leather jacket, with his hair dark with sweat.Nilsson was invited to travel down to Florida for the next Beach Boys show at which Ringo would again be guesting in place of the band’s original drummer Dennis Wilson (who had drowned the previous December). But Nilsson and Southern (who finally talked his way in) were too exhausted after their trip to Boston to accept and so they returned to New York. The city was to become Nilsson’s base for the next few years.
- excerpt from Nilsson: The Life Of A Singer-Songwriter by Alyn Shipton
The RCA Albums Collection (2013) - UPDATED
17CD Box set for release on July 30th. The following information is from Sony's press release (and Amazon, where you can pre-order HERE or HERE).
THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION is the newest entry in Legacy’s critically acclaimed and commercially successful Complete Album Collections series, introduced in 2011. The album catalogues of rock, pop, jazz, fusion, country, R&B, and classical artists from the Sony Music archives have been handsomely reissued in the series. In every case, each album in the box set is packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that LP’s original front and back cover artwork. Where applicable, the albums in each box include the bonus tracks that have been released on the various expanded CD editions over the years. Booklets are included with each box set, containing new liner notes essays and complete discographical information, including sources for all bonus material.
In the case of Harry Nilsson's THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION, extensive summaries of every album have been written by Andrew Sandoval, who compiled and produced the box set with Rob Santos of Legacy Recordings. Sandoval has previously worked on multiple reissue projects on Nilsson.
Within THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION, every one of Nilsson's 14 original albums is expanded with bonus material, starting with the first two, Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967) and Aerial Ballet (1968). On each of those, the full album sequence is presented in stereo, and then reprised in monaural sound. This marks the mono debuts of both programs in the digital era, and the first time they have been available in mono since their original releases 45-46 years ago, respectively. Aerial Ballet also adds a radio spot ad for the album as a bonus track, and with only a handful of exceptions, radio spots are then included for nearly every album in the box set.
Many of Nilsson’s albums have been the subjects of expanded edition reissues over the years. 1970’s 10-song Nilsson Sings Newman, for example, was reissued in 2000, as part of a Buddah Records series, and was expanded with an 11th song (“Snow”) and alternate versions of four songs. In the same Buddah series of 1999-2000, 1971’s Aerial Pandemonium Ballet added five bonus tracks, but this 2013 version ups the ante with newly-discovered Italian versions of five tunes, plus six tracks (four of which are full-length songs) documenting Nilsson’s visit to the BBC’s Saturday Club with compère Brian Matthew.
Likewise, there is the Buddah series expanded reissue of 1974’s Pussy Cats, produced by John Lennon at studios in Los Angeles and Hollywood in March and April 1974. This was the very beginning of John’s 18-month “Lost Weekend” hiatus from Yoko Ono, when May Pang rented a beach-front house in Santa Monica for John, Ringo, Nilsson, and Keith Moon (all of whom play on Pussy Cats). Listening to Pussy Cats, with its contributions by that all-star cast of "roommates" alongside Jim Keltner, Bobby Keys, Jesse Ed Davis, and others, and its freewheelin’ versions of Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross,” Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Doc Pomus’ “Save The Last Dance For Me,” and the bonus tracks of the 1999 Buddah CD reissue, is a heady flashback to 1974.
The dozen swing era standards of 1973’s A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, from Irving Berlin’s “Always” and “What’ll I Do,” to Casablanca’s evocative “As Times Goes By,” could serve as a contemporary template for the likes of Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Steve Tyrell. The orchestral sessions recorded in London were lushly arranged by veteran Gordon Jenkins (renowned for his long association with Frank Sinatra). The LP also marked the debut of former Beatles press officer Derek Taylor as a producer. (It was Taylor who turned the Beatles on to Nilsson, when he gave them all copies of Pandemonium Shadow Show back in 1967). An entire album of completely different songs from the London sessions was issued by RCA Germany in 1988, A Touch More Schmilsson in the Night. Twenty-five years later in 2013, it provides six bonus tracks, among them “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” Bob Hope’s “Thanks For The Memory,” and two by Harold Arlen, “It’s Only A Paper Moon” and “Over The Rainbow.”
Throughout these expanded versions, there are a wealth of demos, single mixes, alternate versions, foreign language versions, radio advertisements, non-U.S. album rarities, and much more. These are put to excellent use on the three compilations entitled Nilsson Sessions (aka Sessions Schmessions). When he was first signed to RCA in early 1967, Nilsson’s humble request was for an office where he could work on his songs. He often answered phone calls there, as many can attest. That office became his laboratory of sorts, and the 18 tracks on Nilsson Sessions 1967-1968 bear witness to his experiments.
The 14 previously unreleased tracks on Nilsson Sessions 1967-1968 begin with five demos taped for the Monkees: “1941,” “World,” “Signs,” “Cuddly Toy” and “This Could Be The Night.” There are three outtakes from his Pandemonium Shadow Show debut, “As I Wander Lonely,” “Miss Butter’s Lament,” and the previously unreleased “The Family.” Early previously unreleased takes of the classics “One,” “Together,” “Bath,” and “I Said Goodbye To Me” did not make the final cut for Aerial Ballet, and are heard here for the first time. Cover attempts of The Coasters’ “Searchin’,” The Addrisi Brothers’ “She’s Just Laughing At Me,” and Procol Harum’s “She Wandered Through The Garden Fence” were all scuttled. Finally, two rare, single-only tracks, “Sister Marie” and the Italian single “Leggenda” make their stereo debuts on Nilsson Sessions 1967-1968.
Nilsson Sessions 1968-1971 and Nilsson Sessions 1971-1974 carry on this unveiling of studio oddities, alternate versions, television rarities, etc. The box set’s concluding ‘souvenir’ track is the previously unreleased ode to Tricky Dick, “Also Sprach Schmilsson Schmixon.”
The release of THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION coincides with the July 18th arrival of Nilsson: The Life Of A Singer-Songwriter by Alyn Shipton. Published by Oxford University Press, this is the first ever full-length biography of Nilsson, drawing on interviews with family, friends, and associates, plus material from Nilsson’s unfinished autobiography. Shipton is a jazz critic for The Times in London, a jazz presenter on BBC radio, and an award-winning author of more than 20 books on music including Hi-De-Ho: The Life of Cab Calloway (2013), A New History of Jazz (2007), and Groovin' High: the Life of Dizzy Gillespie (2001). Shipton outlines Nilsson’s fatherless childhood in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, through his teenage years in Los Angeles where he found his legs as a singer-songwriter, ultimately winding up at the epicenter of the music revolution that engulfed the world in the late 1960s.
Another essential source is the 2010 documentary film, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talking About Him?). A labor of love by executive producer Lee Blackman, producer-writer-director John Scheinfeld, and producer David Leaf, the two-hour documentary is a detailed and authoritative portrait of Harry Nilsson. Film clips, home movies, family photographs, and other revelatory material is worked into interviews and footage starring Nilsson and his family, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, Randy Newman, Dustin Hoffman, the Smothers Brothers, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Paul Williams, Robin Williams, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Stanley Dorfman of the BBC’s Top Of the Pops and In Concert series, Al Kooper, Mark Hudson, Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night, and others. The film is available on DVD from Lorber Films.
“In their marriage of ten years, Nilsson and RCA were the archetypical odd couple,” Sandoval writes. “He certainly was a talented beast: a prodigious songwriter, possessor of one of the most remarkable voices in popular music and a charming, intellectual wit. Through his music, Nilsson interpreted life and longing in a way few others have. . . Over some fourteen studio albums, [Nilsson and RCA] teamed for a musical aerial ballet. Nilsson did his song-and-dance on high while RCA held the safety net down below. The results were a genre-defying array of releases, no two alike in style or substance.
“This set represents nearly every recording Nilsson made under the RCA umbrella: remastered classic albums, alternate versions, single-only tracks, demos, foreign language one-offs, brilliance, whimsy, pathos and just a touch of sadness. This collection definitively documents Harry Nilsson’s gift to us all, a fearless feat of boundless creativity, direct from the center ring.”
Disc 1 PANDEMONIUM SHADOW SHOW (Stereo and Mono)
STEREO
1. Ten Little Indians
2. 1941
3. Cuddly Toy
4. She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune
5. You Can't Do That
6. Sleep Late, My Lady Friend
7. She's Leaving Home
8. There Will Never Be
9. Without Her
10. Freckles
11. It's Been So Long
12. River Deep - Mountain High
MONO
13. Ten Little Indians
14. 1941
15. Cuddly Toy
16. She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune
17. You Can't Do That
18. Sleep Late, My Lady Friend
19. She's Leaving Home
20. There Will Never Be
21. Without Her
22. Freckles
23. It's Been So Long
24. River Deep - Mountain High
Disc 2 AERIAL BALLET (Stereo and Mono)
STEREO
1. Daddy's Song
2. Good Old Desk
3. Don't Leave Me
4. Mr. Richland's Favorite Song
5. Little Cowboy
6. Together
7. Everybody's Talkin'
8. I Said Goodbye To Me
9. Little Cowboy
10. Mr. Tinker
11. One
12. The Wailing Of The Willow
13. Bath
MONO
14. Daddy's Song
15. Good Old Desk
16. Don't Leave Me
17. Mr. Richland's Favorite Song
18. Little Cowboy
19. Together
20. Everybody's Talkin'
21. I Said Goodbye To Me
22. Little Cowboy
23. Mr. Tinker
24. One
25. The Wailing Of The Willow
26. Bath
BONUS TRACK
27. Aerial Ballet radio spot (previously unreleased)
Disc 3 HARRY
1. The Puppy Song
2. Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anymore
3. Open Your Window
4. Mother Nature's Son
5. Fairfax Rag
6. City Life
7. Mournin' Glory Story
8. Maybe
9. Marchin' Down Broadway
10. I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City
11. Rainmaker
12. Mr. Bojangles
13. Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear
BONUS TRACKS
14. I Will Take You There - single mix
15. Waiting (from the motion picture Jenny)
16. Rainmaker - single mix
17. Mournin' Glory Story - UK single (previously unissued on CD)
18. Garbage Can Ballet - alternate (previously unreleased)
19. Harry Radio Spot (previously unreleased)
20. Voices Of Vista radio spots (previously unreleased)
Disc 4 NILSSON SINGS NEWMAN
1. Vine St.
2. Love Story
3. Yellow Man
4. Caroline
5. Cowboy
6. The Beehive State
7. I'll Be Home
8. Living Without You
9. Dayton, Ohio 1903
10. So Long Dad
BONUS TRACKS
11. Snow
12. Love Story - alternate version
13. Cowboy - alternate version
14. I'll Be Home - alternate version
15. Living Without You - alternate version
Tracks 11-15 first issued on Nilsson Sings Newman (Buddha CD 74465 99703 2, Released 2000)
Disc 5 THE POINT!
1. Everything's Got 'Em
2. The Town
3. Me And My Arrow
4. The Game
5. Poli High
6. The Trial And Banishment
7. Think About Your Troubles
8. The Pointed Man
9. Life Line
10. The Birds
11. P.O.V. Waltz
12. The Clearing In The Woods
13. Are You Sleeping?
14. Oblio's Return
BONUS TRACKS
15. Think About Your Troubles - alternate version
16. Life Line - alternate version
17. Down To The Valley - alternate mix/extended ending
18. I'll Never Leave You
19. The Point! Travel Brochure radio spot w/ Bill Martin (previously unreleased)
Tracks 15-18 first issued on The Point! (BMG Heritage CD 07863 65128 2, Released 2002)
Disc 6 AERIAL PANDEMONIUM BALLET
1. Introduction
2. 1941 - slowed down track and remixed
3. Daddy's Song - new vocals, guitar/piano out of sync
4. Mr. Richland's Favorite Song - new background vocals and remixed
5. Good Old Desk - slowed down track and remixed
6. Everybody's Talkin' - dumped second voice and remixed
7. Bath - re-eq'd original tracks
8. River Deep-Mountain High - new vocals and remixed
9. Sleep Late, My Lady Friend - remixed
10. Don't Leave Me - remixed
11. Without Her - new vocals and remixed
12. Together - new vocals, edited out bridge and remixed
13. One - remixed
14. Closing
BONUS TRACKS
15. You Can't Do That - remix
16. It's Been So Long - Italian version (previously unreleased)
17. Sleep Late, My Lady Friend - Italian version (previously unreleased)
18. Without Her - Italian version (previously unreleased)
19. Cuddly Toy - Italian version (previously unreleased)
20. You Can't Do That - Italian version (previously unreleased)
21. BBC Saturday Club intro (previously unreleased)
21. 1941 - Live on BBC's Saturday Club (previously unreleased)
23. Mr. Richland's Favorite Song - Live on BBC's Saturday Club (unreleased)
24. Nilsson talks with Brian Matthew (previously unreleased)
25. Together - Live on BBC's Saturday Club (previously unreleased)
26. Good Old Desk - Live on BBC's Saturday Club (previously unreleased)
27. Aerial Pandemonium Ballet radio spot (previously unreleased)
Disc 7 NILSSON SCHMILSSON
1. Gotta Get Up
2. Driving Along
3. Early In The Morning
4. The Moonbeam Song
5. Down
6. Without You
7. Coconut
8. Let The Good Times Roll
9. Jump Into The Fire
10. I'll Never Leave You
BONUS TRACKS
11. Si No Estas Tu - Spanish version Of "Without You"
12. How Can I Be Sure Of You
13. The Moonbeam Song - demo
14. Lamaze
15. Old Forgotten Soldier
16. Gotta Get Up - alternate version
17. Nilsson Schmilsson radio spots
Tracks 12-17 first issued on Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA/BMG CD 82876 57265 2, released 2004)
Disc 8 SON OF SCHMILSSON
1. Take 54
2. Remember (Christmas)
3. Joy
4. Turn On Your Radio
5. You're Breakin' My Heart
6. Spaceman
7. The Lottery Song
8. At My Front Door
9. Ambush
10. I'd Rather Be Dead
11. The Most Beautiful World In The World
BONUS TRACKS
12. What's Your Sign?
13. Take 54 - alternate
14. Campo De Encino
15. Daybreak - single version
16. It Had To Be You/I'd Rather Be Dead
17. Son Of Schmilsson radio spot
Tracks 12-16 first issued on Son Of Schmilsson (RCA/Legacy CD 82876 78249 2, released 2006)
Disc 9 A LITTLE TOUCH OF SCHMILSSON IN THE NIGHT
1. Lazy Moon
2. For Me And My Gal
3. It Had To Be You
4. Always
5. Makin' Whoopee!
6. You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)
7. Lullaby In Ragtime
8. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
9. What'll I Do
10. Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)
11. This Is All I Ask
12. As Time Goes By
BONUS TRACKS
13. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
14. Make Believe
15. Trust In Me
16. It's Only A Paper Moon
17. Thanks For The Memory
18. Over The Rainbow
Tracks 13-18 first issued on A Touch More Schmilsson In The Night (RCA Germany 90251, released 1988)
Disc 10 PUSSY CATS
1. Many Rivers To Cross
2. Subterranean Homesick Blues
3. Don't Forget Me
4. All My Life
5. Old Forgotten Soldier
6. Save The Last Dance For Me
7. Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga
8. Loop De Loop
9. Black Sails
10. Rock Around The Clock
BONUS TRACKS
11. Down By The Sea
12. The Flying Saucer Song
13. Turn Out The Light
14. Save The Last Dance For Me - alternate
15. Don't Forget Me - demo
16. Black Sails - demo
17. Pussy Cats radio spots with Eddie Lawrence (previously unreleased)
Tracks 11-16 first issued on Pussy Cats (Buddha CD 74465 99815 2, released 1999)
Disc 11 DUIT ON MON DEI
1. Jesus Christ You're Tall
2. It's A Jungle Out There
3. Down By The Sea
4. Kojak Columbo
5. Easier For Me
6. Turn Out The Light
7. Salmon Falls
8. Puget Sound
9. What's Your Sign?
10. Home
11. Good For God
BONUS TRACK
12. Goin' Down - alternate (previously unreleased)
Disc 12 SANDMAN
1. I'll Take A Tango
2. Something True
3. Pretty Soon There'll Be Nothing Left For Everybody
4. The Ivy Covered Walls
5. Here's Why I Did Not Go To Work Today
6. The Flying Saucer Song
7. How To Write A Song
8. Jesus Christ You're Tall
9. Will She Miss Me?
BONUS TRACK
10. A Tree Out In The Yard (Central Park) (previously unreleased)
Disc 13 ...THAT'S THE WAY IT IS
1. That Is All
2. Just One Look/Baby I'm Yours
3. Moonshine Bandit
4. I Need You
5. A Thousand Miles Away
6. Sail Away
7. She Sits Down On Me
8. Daylight Has Caught Me
9. Zombie Jamboree (Back To Back)
10. That Is All - Reprise
BONUS TRACK
11. . . . That's The Way It Is radio spot (previously unreleased)
Disc 14 KNNILLSSONN
1. All I Think About Is You
2. I Never Thought I'd Get This Lonely
3. Who Done It?
4. Lean On Me
5. Goin' Down
6. Old Bones
7. Sweet Surrender
8. Blanket For A Sail
9. Laughin' Man
10. Perfect Day
BONUS TRACKS
11. Ain't It Kinda Wonderful (from The World's Greatest Lover)
12. Sweet Lorraine - Nilsson & Dr. John (previously unreleased)
13. Shuffle Off To Buffalo (previously unreleased)
14. Ballin' The Jack - Nilsson & Dr. John (previously unreleased)
15. All I Think About Is You - Harry Nilsson & Dr. John (previously unreleased)
16. Knnillssonn radio spot (previously unreleased)
Disc 15 NILSSON SESSIONS 1967-1968
1. 1941 - demo (previously unreleased)
2. World - demo (previously unreleased)
3. Signs - demo (previously unreleased)
4. Cuddly Toy - demo (previously unreleased)
5. This Could Be The Night - demo
6. As I Wander Lonely
7. The Family (previously unreleased)
8. Miss Butter's Lament
9. Mr. Tinker - alternate version (previously unreleased)
10. Leggenda (Italian Single)
11. Sister Marie (previously unreleased stereo remix)
12. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence (previously unreleased)
13. One - alternate version (previously unreleased)
14. I Said Goodbye To Me - alternate version (previously unreleased)
15. Searchin' (previously unreleased)
16. She's Just Laughing At Me (previously unreleased)
17. Together - alternate version (previously unreleased)
18. Bath - alternate version (previously unreleased)
Tracks 6 & 8 first issued on Personal Best: The Harry Nilsson Anthology (RCA CD 07863 66354 2, released 1995). Tracks 1-16 recorded 1967; tracks 17-18 recorded 1968.
Disc 16 NILSSON SESSIONS 1968-1971
Disc 17 NILSSON SESSIONS 1971-1974
1. You Are Here (previously unreleased)
2. The Cast And Crew (from Skidoo)
3. Garbage Can Ballet (from Skidoo)
4. I Will Take You There (from Skidoo)
5. Girlfriend
6. Wasting My Time - alternate mix (previously unreleased)
7. Rainmaker - alternate version (previously unreleased)
8. Open Your Window - alternate take (previously unreleased)
9. Postcard (previously unreleased)
10. Think About Your Troubles - alternate version (previously unreleased)
11. Marry Me A Little (previously unreleased)
12. Ballin' The Jack (previously unreleased)
13. Gotta Get Up - demo (previously unreleased)
14. Down To The Valley - single mix
15. Buy My Album - single mix
16. Joy - alternate version
17. Blackbird (previously unreleased)
18. Paradise (previously unreleased)
19. Lucille (previously unreleased)
20. Early In The Morning - alternate version
Tracks 2-4 first issued on Skidoo RCA 1152, released 1968. Track 5 first issued on Personal Best: The Harry Nilsson Anthology (RCA CD 07863 66354 2, released 1995). Tracks 16 & 20 first issued on Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (Buddha CD 74465 99704 2, released 2000). Tracks 1-8 recorded 1968; tracks 9-11 recorded 1969; tracks 12-17 recorded 1970; tracks 18-20, 1971.
1. Walk Right Back
2. Jump Into The Fire - alternate version (previously unreleased)
3. Isolation
4. Without You - demo
5. Driving Along - demo
6. Gotta Get Up - demo
7. Coconut - demo
8. Old Forgotten Soldier - alternate demo
9. Down - demo
10. The Moonbeam Song - alternate demo
11. Jump Into the Fire
12. Per Chi - Italian Version Of "Without You"
13. Joy - guitar demo
14. Joy - piano demo
15. You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) - alternate version
16. Lullaby In Ragtime - alternate version
17. Always - alternate version
18. It Had To Be You - alternate version
19. I Want You To Sit On My Face (previously unreleased)
20. A Souvenir - Also Sprach Schmilsson Schmixon (previously unreleased)
Tracks 1 & 3 first issued on Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (Buddha CD 74465 99704 2, released 2000). Tracks 4-10 first issued on Nilsson Schmilsson (UK Camden Deluxe CD 74321 75742 2, released 2000). Tracks 13 & 14 first issued on Son Of Schmilsson (UK Camden Deluxe CD 74321 75746 2, released 2000). Tracks 15-18 first issued on A Touch More Schmilsson In The Night (RCA Germany 90251, released 1988). Tracks 1-12 recorded 1971; tracks 13 & 14 recorded 1972; tracks 15-19 recorded 1973; track 20 recorded 1974.
HOWARD KAYLAN Shell Shocked: My Life With The Turtles, Flo & Eddie and Frank Zappa (2013)
The autobiography of Turtles lead singer Howard Kaylan (a.k.a."Eddie" of Flo & Eddie) is out. As fans know, The Turtles were early supporters of Nilsson's music, recording a couple of Harry's songs during the sessions for 1968's The Turtles Present The Battle Of The Bands. And, in the years that followed, Kaylan (along with partner Mark Volman, "Flo") were frequently in Nilsson's orbit, as both colleagues and drug buddies, twice featuring Harry as a guest on their infamous radio show. Sadly, though, Shell Shocked doesn't delve very deeply into the Nilsson/Kaylan relationship, as Harry is only name checked for his session work ("singing with Harry was like working with Gershwin"), a "free for all" recording session in London with Alice Cooper, Marc Bolan and Keith Moon (this one) and Flo & Eddie's debut By The Fireside radio program for KMET ("It never got better than that"). But Howard does relay one heartbreaking anecdote about the last time he was with Harry. Viewers of the documentary, Who Is Harry Nilsson..., may remember the story that songwriter Jimmy Webb tells about driving around Los Angeles with Harry, listening to Nilsson's music, after it was known that Nilsson didn't have long to live. Kaylan had the same experience, which you can read above. Click on the page for a readable pop up. Shell Shocked is available at Amazon.
RELATED POSTS: (click for a pop up windows)
THE TURTLES "The Battle Of The Bands"/"The Story Of Rock And Roll" (1968)
FLO & EDDIE By The Fireside (Radio Interview With Harry 1974)
FLO & EDDIE Radio Show (Radio Interview With Harry 1990)
HARRY NILSSON "Paradise" (Demo 1965)
UNKNOWN "Stand By Him" (Acetate 1965)
Covers by The Ronettes, The Shangri-Las, Jean King, Gogi Grant, The Supremes, Cyrus Faryar, Bette Midler, Shonen Knife & Shivaree (60s-00s)
UNKNOWN "Stand By Him" (Alternate "Paradise" - Unreleased Acetate, 1965)
Written by Perry Botkin, Jr./Gil Garfield/Harry Nilsson/Phil Spector
UNRELEASED DEMOS: In 1965, Harry was moonlighting as a songwriter with Perry Botkin & Gil Garfield's publishing concern, Rock Music Co. After Botkin introduced young Harry to Phil Spector, the two began working together, and "Paradise" became one of only three songs the pair are known to have "co-written" (along with "Here I Sit" and "This Could Be The Night"). Talk to Perry Botkin, however, and he'll tell you that Spector had absolutely nothing to do with composing the song. Not a surprising suggestion, since power players like Phil (or Alan Freed, or Elvis) sometimes received compositional credits (and royalties) in return for the opportunities they provided to lowly, up-and-coming songwriters. Botkin reiterated this claim as recently as 2012, when discussing "Paradise" with Andrew Sandoval: "There are four writers on this, right? Garfield, Botkin, Nilsson... and Spector. Well, Phil Spector didn't have anything to do with the writing," he laughed. "That was written between Harry, Gil and I up in our office in Hollywood."
Yet, Harry recalls things differently, saying he actually sat down with Phil to hash out one of Spector's original tunes. According to Dave Thompson's, Phil Spector: Wall Of Pain, Nilsson told Goldmine magazine that "'Paradise' began life as a Spector original called 'Stand By Him.' We started working on it and he kept changing it, trying to make it better... 'I want something more Hawaiian, rainbows, paradise!'" Further, there's an incredibly rare, unreleased 1965 acetate of "Stand By Him" (recorded at Gold Star Studios by an unknown singer), that appears to back-up Nilsson's recollection of events. Note the very Harry-esque piano introduction of both Nilsson's demo and Spector's Gold Star acetate, almost enough to make you wonder which came first. It's Harry's demo rendition, however, that has been covered by numerous artists over the years, though the piano intro was abandoned after the demo stage. "Stand By Him," on the other hand, never surfaced again in any other form. Listen to both, below.
Harry Nilsson "Paradise" (1965) - Demo, Unreleased
Unknown "Stand By Him" (Paradise) (1965) - Acetate, Unreleased
To add more confusion to the mix... there are the label credits. Early releases of "Paradise" credit only "Harry Nilsson" as songwriter - including The Shangri-Las' 1966 Red Bird 45 (the song's first public appearance), Jean King's promo-only version on New Nilsson Songs, and later covers by Gogi Grant (1969), The Supremes (1973) and Cyrus Faryar (1973). The Ronettes' 1966 version, finally released on 1976's UK-only Phil Spector Wall Of Sound Vol. 5: Rare Masters, Vol. 1 compilation, credits all four writers, while the BMI database, like Bette Midler's studio & live renditions (1977/1980), don't mention Spector at all. Phil himself even released a bizarre 1976 "Ronnie Spector" 45 (in reality, The Ronettes exact same 1966 recording), that is credited to Spector/Nilsson.
The 1969 release by Gogi Grant might be of interest to Harry's fans, since it was produced by Perry Botkin, Jr. and arranged by George Tipton - Harry's arranger from Spotlight On Nilsson to The Point! To connect a few more dots, Cyrus Faryar, who covered the song in 1973, was a member of The Modern Folk Quartet - the first to record Nilsson's "This Could Be The Night" in 1965 (credited to Nilsson/Spector, more on that here). While The Supremes' rendition was produced and arranged by Harry's close friend, songwriter Jimmy Webb. According to Flo & Eddie, Chip Douglas tried to get The Turtles to cover "Paradise." We couldn't have put this post together without the help and expertise of David A. Young, who supplied the ultra-rare "Stand By Him" acetate, graphic (and more), as well as important details and information. David also provided help on another of our Spector-related posts, "Let Me Go." Many thanks, David. Give a listen below to all of the cover versions of "Paradise" we could scrounge together for you. Grab everything HERE.
"Paradise" by...
The Ronettes (1966) Phil Spector Wall Of Sound Vol. 5: Rare Masters, Vol. 1, 1976
The Shangri-Las (1966) - Single, Red Bird 10-068
Jean King (1967) - New Nilsson Songs, Publishing Demo LP
Gogi Grant (1969) - Single, Pete-708
The Supremes (1972) - Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb
Cyrus Faryar (1973) - Islands
Bette Midler (1977) - Broken Blossom
Bette Midler (live version, 1980) - Divine Madness
Shonen Knife (1996) - The Birds And The B-Sides
Shiveree (2007) - Tainted Love: Mating Calls And Fight Songs
.jpg)
RELATED POSTS: (Click For Pop-Up Windows)
This Could Be The Night (Harry's Demo, Produced By Phil Spector 1965)
The Peculiarly Incestuous 30-Year Journey Of Harry Nilsson's This Could Be The Night (Multiple Versions 1965-1995)
Let Me Go (Harry's Demo, Produced By Phil Spector 1965)
THE RONETTES Paradise & Here I Sit (Spector Collaborations 1965)
New Nilsson Songs (Publishing Demo LP 1967)
NILSSON/CHER A Love Like Yours (Produced By Phil Spector 1975)
Perry Botkin, Jr. (Known Associates)
Full Moon: The Amazing Rock & Roll Life Of Keith Moon (1981)
RELATED POSTS: (click for a pop up windows)
Son Of Dracula (The Movie 1974)
Jump Into The Fire (Performance Clip From Son Of Dracula 1974)
The "Together" Sessions (Keith, Ringo & Harry Cover "Together" 1974)
Pussy Cats TV Commercial (1974)
The Unpublished Interview (Hair-Raising Tales of Harry & Moon 1978)
RINGO & HARRY "No No Song" (Video 1974) + "No No Song," "Only You" & "Easy For Me" (Goodnight Vienna, 1974)
Now this is a party. A clip from an NBC musical variety special, The Hoyt Axton Country Western Boogie Woogie Gospel Rock And Roll Show, circa March, 1975, featuring Ringo Starr singing Hoyt's "No No Song." Just take a look at the guest list that crashed this "after-party," as Axton calls it. You'll find Harry (right of center, blue cap) and many of his close friends, including Micky Dolenz, songwriter Paul Williams, Doug Dillard (cowboy hat), Bill Martin (red beret), Keith Moon, as well as Kris Kristofferson, Buffy St. Marie, Ronnie Blake and a few other recognizable characters. Follow the links to other posts for some of their connections to Harry. As you might guess with some of this crowd, the party didn't end here. It continued into the night... with pictures to prove it. Click on the images for pop-ups.
While we're on the subject… the studio version of Ringo's "No No Song," featuring Harry's background vocals, appeared on 1974's Goodnight Vienna, and was produced by Richard Perry (Nilsson Schmilsson, Son Of Schmilsson). Harry also sings back-up on "Only You" and contributes a new, unreleased composition for Ringo, the challenging "Easy For Me" - which would be retitled "Easier For Me" when it appeared a year later on Nilsson's Duit On Mon Dei. Trevor Lawrence, who would later produce Nilsson's …That's The Way It Is, co-arranges the strings for Ringo's rendition. Follow the links below for the rare demo of "Only You" by Harry & John Lennon (the guide track used for Ringo's version) and the song's video, featuring Harry & Ringo goofing around on the roof of L.A.'s Capitol building. Hear Harry's contributions to Goodnight Vienna, below. Grab them HERE.No No Song (2:32) (Axton) - Goodnight Vienna, 1974
Only You (And You Alone) (3:23) (Ram) - Goodnight Vienna, 1974
Easy For Me (2:16) (Nilsson) - Goodnight Vienna, 1974
RELATED POSTS: (Click For Pop-Up Windows)
Only You (JOHN & HARRY Demo 1974)
Only You (RINGO & HARRY Video 1974)
Bobby Keys: Every Night's A Saturday Night (2012)
The printed memoir of the great Bobby Keys, saxophonist to the stars in the 70s, known most prominently for his work with the Rolling Stones. But, Keys also played on numerous Nilsson albums (Nilsson Schmilsson, Son Of Schmilsson, Pussy Cats, Duit On Mon Dei and ...That's The Way It Is), and talks about Harry in Every Night's A Saturday Night. You'd think there might be a little more in the way of legendary excess between these two hard-partiers, but Keys has either forgotten it all or is just keeping mum. Check out the pic below... is that a young Harry Nilsson on sax? Nope... it's Keys, looking like Harry's doppelgänger in 1964. Click on the pages below for pop ups. Keys' autobiography is at Amazon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)