Maps of Music

Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)

Where the lyrics of Nilsson Sings Newman take you, and where it was really made.

The album sold poorly, yet Stereo Review named it album of the year, and a record store clerk told Randy Newman it nearly finished Nilsson off.

Key places

Basic tracks at RCA's Music Center of the World (1970)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — The basic tracks for the album were engineered by Grover Helsley at RCA's Music Center of the World in Hollywood, California. This point is set at the city center, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Nilsson Sings Newman: fifth album by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson
• All songs written by Randy Newman
• Released February 1970 on RCA Victor
• Nilsson's voice multi-tracked in layers of tone and harmony
• Arrangements sparse; Newman plays most of the instrumentation on piano
• Not a great commercial success

Background

• 1968: Ricky Nelson's concept album Perspective used songs by Newman, Nilsson and others
• Kevin Courrier writes that Perspective may have been part of the inspiration for this album
• August 1969: Nilsson released his fourth album Harry, which ended with a Newman song
• Nilsson later said he was in awe of Newman writing so many songs he thought were better than his own

Recording

• Recording began on 20 August 1969 with Nilsson and Newman
• Basic tracks were laid down first, then Nilsson spent six weeks overdubbing his voice line by line
• As many as 118 overdubs were laid down for a single song
• Nilsson's voice from the control room can be heard on several songs

Cover

• Cover art by Dean Torrence
• Sepia-tone scene of Nilsson driving an old American car through the countryside with Newman in the back seat

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Harold Edward Nilsson III, born June 15, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York; known as Harry Nilsson.
• Moved to Los Angeles as a teenager; worked as a bank computer programmer while pursuing songwriting from 1962.
• Debuted on RCA Victor with Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967); collaborated with arranger George Tipton until 1971.

Career

• Known for a versatile tenor range, pioneering vocal overdubbing, Great American Songbook explorations, and Caribbean fusion sounds.
• Nine singles reached the US or UK top 40 between 1968 and 1974, including top 10 hits "Everybody's Talkin'", "Without You", and "Coconut".
• Won two Grammy Awards, for "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You".
• Nilsson Schmilsson and Son of Schmilsson were certified gold by the RIAA.
• Close friendships with John Lennon and Ringo Starr; Lennon produced Pussy Cats.
• Largely avoided touring and live concerts, a rarity among major pop-rock artists.
• Died of heart failure on January 15, 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, aged 52.
• Ranked 62nd in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Stereo Review, an audio and record review magazine, named the album its album of the year in 1970
• Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice, gave it a B+
• Christgau wrote that the record is not so dynamic musically, with just Nilsson singing and Newman behind on piano
• Cue, a weekly in New York, praised the artistry and said Nilsson could concentrate entirely on his gifts as a performer
• Cue said the album was free of the overwhelmingly complex personal expressions of earlier work

Reappraisal

• Kevin Courrier speculates that weak sales may be due to the idiosyncratic quality of its ballads and the paucity of reviews
• AllMusic described it as a subtle, graceful masterpiece where the pleasure is in the grace notes, small gestures and in-jokes
• In 2000, Ben Wener of the Orange County Register wrote that Nilsson's takes are refreshingly different from Newman's rather than better

Records

• Sales were underwhelming
• Newman checked the album's sales at a Los Angeles record store; the clerk called it the one that nearly finished Nilsson off
• Stereo Review award: 1970 Record of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was recorded with as many as 118 overdubs on a single song, layered line by line over six weeks.
• A number of alternate takes and songs were recorded but left off the 1970 album.
• The Cowboy track quotes John Barry's theme from Midnight Cowboy as an inside joke.
• Nilsson's Harry (1969) ended with a Newman song, and Newman's songs became the focus here.
• The 2021 Weezer album OK Human was influenced by Nilsson Sings Newman.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

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