Tracks
- Gotta Get Up
- Driving Along
- Early in the Morning
- The Moonbeam Song
- Down
- Without You
- Coconut
- Let the Good Times Roll
- Jump into the Fire
- I'll Never Leave You
Nilsson Schmilsson is an unserious album. The music is baroque pop. There's really no center of gravity. Most of the songs are wild, poppy and fun. But there are some that go way out on a ledge. Coconut is probably the most extreme because it's a calypso song and that's not a style which gets much air play. Without You is a power ballad which is a style that it just coming on the scene. Jump into the Fire is a raging rocker.
The main feature here though is Harry Nilsson's singing. The reason there can be so much variety on this album is his vocal abilities. His range is vast—from pretty low notes to extremely high ones and everything in between. He is also quite charismatic and fun to listen to. He reminds me of a comedic Scott Walker.
Cococut is probably the only problematic part of the album. It's a really fine song, but it doesn't fit. It's also so close to, if not really, a novelty song that it can distract. It's unfortunate because it's a great demonstration of Harry Nilsson's vocal talent.
The album is excellent. Without a doubt it's worth listening to and it's a good addition to any collection. This album drives a wedge between rock and roll and the singer/songwriter kind of folk rock and pop and creates a highly energetic pop that doesn't take itself very seriously. For that, it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list. However, with this style, there is so much opportunity for no talent hacks, that one must wonder if it's worth bargaining with the devil for great albums like this.
All the songs on this album are excellent. The stand outs are Gotta Get Up, Driving Along, Early in the Morning, The Moonbeam Song, Down, Without You, Coconut, Jump into the Fire and I'll Never Leave You.
★★★★★★★★★☆
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