Nilsson Sings Newman
Encyclopedia
Nilsson Sings Newman is an album of Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....

 compositions sung by Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...

, with Newman on piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

. The record was not a great commercial success, but it was critically praised, and helped Newman gain notice. It won a 1970 "Record of the Year" award from Stereo Review
Stereo Review
Stereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles...

magazine, and remains a fan favorite.

Recorded over six weeks in 1969, the album showcases Nilsson's voice multi-tracked in layers of tone and harmony. Its arrangements are otherwise spare and graceful. The LP record
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

 cover art is by Dean Torrence.

Re-released on Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in 1995, followed by a 30-year anniversary CD in 2000, the album has been called a studio masterpiece, and "the best exposition of the ballad in rock."

Background

In 1969, Nilsson's album Harry
Harry (album)
Harry Nilsson's third album for RCA was Harry, released in August 1969. It was his first album to get onto Billboard Magazine's Billboard 200 chart, reaching #120 and remaining there for 15 weeks....

ended with one of Newman's songs: "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear". Years later, Nilsson told Paul Zollo
Paul Zollo
Paul Zollo is a singer, songwriter, author, journalist and photographer.-Author:Paul Zollo is the author of several books, including several on the craft of song-writing...

 that he was in awe of Newman writing so many songs, ones he thought were better than his own.

In 1968, Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...

 released his concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

 Perspective, a move to expand his musical horizons. The album included songs by Newman, Nilsson and others woven together to tell the story of the interactions of a famous family; author Kevin Courrier writes that this album may have been part of the inspiration for Nilsson Sings Newman.

Recording

On August 20, 1969, Nilsson and Newman began to record the album. After basic tracks were laid down, Nilsson spent six weeks overdubbing his voice to create layers and harmonies, line by line. As many as 118 overdubs were laid down for a single song.

In the manner of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

, Nilsson often reminds the listener that he is listening to the recording of a studio album. Nilsson's voice in the control room
Control room
A control room is a room serving as an operations centre where a facility or service can be monitored and controlled. Examples include:*in television production, the master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations, television networks...

 is heard on several songs, instructing the recording engineer to add more echo or remove a voice. On the album's final song "So Long Dad", amid a multi-Nilsson chorus of voices, Nilsson softly asks for "more first voice." Louder, he counters himself by saying "actually I need more current voice. Forget the one that's saying 'more first voice.

Besides piano, other instruments were sometimes used in the studio, including bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...

, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....

 and various electronic keyboards. On the song "Cowboy", Nilsson used electronic harpsichord to bring in a different concluding theme, quoting John Barry's theme from the film Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...

, an inside joke that referenced Fred Neil
Fred Neil
Fred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...

's "Everybody's Talkin'
Everybody's Talkin'
"Everybody's Talkin" is a folk rock song released by Fred Neil in 1966 that became a global success for Harry Nilsson in 1969, reaching #2 and #6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and Pop Singles chart respectively and winning a Grammy after it was featured on the soundtrack for the film...

" from the same film, a major success for Nilsson earlier that year.

Newman was, according to Nilsson, "tired of the album when we were finished making it." "For him it was just doing piano and voice ... over and over." Nilsson explained "once I got the take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...

 down, I knew what I was going to do with it later. He didn't." Newman said of his experience that he "was honored that a writer with Harry's talent would choose to do an album of someone else's songs." Newman continued, "he was such a great singer, a virtuoso singer, really, and he could do so many things as a vocalist that I couldn't do—like hold a note."

A number of alternate takes and songs were recorded but left off the 1970 album. Two such songs were "Snow" and "Linda". Newman wrote one song specifically for the album: "Caroline", a straightforward love song.

Release and response

In February 1970, the album was released by RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

. The cover art was completed by Dean Torrence, known for his teaming with Jan Berry to create the rock and roll duo Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...

. Since Berry's near-fatal auto accident in 1966, Torrence had become a graphic artist; his sepia tone scene depicted Nilsson driving an old American car with Newman in the back seat. The car is a 1938 Graham-Paige
Graham-Paige
Graham-Paige was an American automobile manufacturer founded by brothers Joseph B. Graham and Robert C. Graham , and Canadian Ray Austin in 1927. Automobile production ceased in 1940, and its automotive assets were acquired by Kaiser-Frazer in 1947...

 four-door sedan, rusty but working.

The audio equipment and record review magazine Stereo Review
Stereo Review
Stereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles...

named Nilsson Sings Newman their album of the year. Newman began to record a solo album.

The Nilsson Sings Newman album did not sell well, possibly because of the "idiosyncratic quality" of its ballads and the paucity of reviews. Newman said in an interview how he personally went to assess the sales of the album at a record store in Los Angeles. He asked a clerk (who did not recognize him) "do you have any Nilsson albums?" and the clerk guided him through each one, describing its sales and whether he recommended it. He came to Nilsson Sings Newman and said, "this is the one that nearly finished him off." In one of the few reviews, the weekly magazine Cue in New York praised the artistry saying that "Nilsson was dealing with material as powerful as his own, but was free to concentrate entirely on his gifts as a performer." Cue said that this album was free of the "overwhelmingly complex" personal expressions that came earlier from "Nilsson singing Nilsson, and Newman singing Newman".

In April 1970, Newman released his second album, 12 Songs
12 Songs (Randy Newman album)
12 Songs is a 1970 album by singer/songwriter Randy Newman. His second album, 12 Songs received much better reviews than his first. On 12 Songs Newman collaborates with Clarence White and Ry Cooder. The album set the stage for Newman's later career with songs sung from the point of view of...

, a
collection featuring spare arrangements with simple instrumental parts underneath Newman's vocals, Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...

 providing an economical backdrop of slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...

. The song "Mama Told Me Not to Come
Mama Told Me Not to Come
"Mama Told Me " is a song by Randy Newman written for Eric Burdon's first solo album in 1966. Three Dog Night's 1970 cover of the song topped the U.S. pop singles charts.-Newman original and first recordings:...

", written four years earlier for Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...

, was delivered in stripped-down form, and helped Newman establish himself as a composer of note. Newman appeared in solo engagements beginning in June 1970 on an NBC TV special hosted by Liza Minelli. "Mama Told Me Not to Come" yielded a #1 chart topper for Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...

 in July 1970. Newman's career was in high gear.

Nilsson's next recording project was the soundtrack for a children's fantasy film he conceived, titled The Point!
The Point!
- Musical play :In 1975, Esquire Jauchem, Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theater, approached Harry Nilsson about creating a stage musical of "The Point!" Although Nilsson said he had been asked many times and had always turned down the request, this time he granted his permission...

, finished in 1971. His next popular release was Nilsson Schmilsson
Nilsson Schmilsson
-Personnel:* Harry Nilsson – piano on 1 5 8 10, vocals, Mellotrons on 2 4, organ on 3, harmonica on 8, electric piano on 9* Jim Gordon – drums on 1 2 5 8 9, percussion on 7 9* Klaus Voormann – bass on 1 5 6 8, rhythm guitar on 2 9, acoustic guitar on 4...

with its hit single "Without You" composed earlier by Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...

.

Legacy

In 1993, Newman prepared to record an entire album of Nilsson songs, a returning of the favor 25 years later. Newman had never before recorded a Nilsson song. After Nilsson's death in January 1994, the intended homage became a memorial, titled For The Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson
For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson
For The Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson, released in 1995, is a tribute album to Harry Nilsson recorded and released after his death. Proceeds went to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.-Track listing:-External links:*...

. To leave room for participation by other artists, Newman sang only one song, "Remember (Christmas)", a sad and dreamy tune which opened the album. Newman said, "I just hope Harry knew how great he was. He was always putting himself down, making fun of himself."

Nilsson Sings Newman was re-released as a CD in 1995. In 2000, the 30th anniversary release was padded with five additional tracks. One was "Snow", unreleased in 1970 for lack of room on the LP, and four were alternate versions of songs that were on the original album. In 2000, Ben Wener of The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which publishes 28 daily newspapers, 23 weekly newspapers, Coast magazine, and several related Internet sites.The Register is notable for its...

wrote that "Newman's sly, dramatically structured impressionistic pop was ideally suited for Nilsson's theatrical tone ... It's not so much that Nilsson's takes are better than Newman's ... just refreshingly different—less wicked and vicious, more melancholy."

Artists who have expressed a fondness for the album include Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...

, Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...

, Jellyfish
Jellyfish (band)
Jellyfish were a power pop band from San Francisco. It formed after Beatnik Beatch broke up in 1989. The core members were drummer/singer/songwriter Andy Sturmer and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Roger Joseph Manning, Jr...

, Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...

 and Shane Tutmarc
Shane Tutmarc
Shane Tutmarc is an American musician. He is the great-grandson of Paul Tutmarc, who has been credited as the inventor of the electric bass . His grandfather, Bud Tutmarc, was a well-known Hawaiian steel guitar player. Shane was the leader of Seattle band Dolour from 1997 to 2007...

. The exhaustive All Music Guide says of Nilsson Sings Newman that it is "a subtle, graceful masterpiece where the pleasure is in the grace notes, small gestures, and in-jokes." Once a listener has acquired a taste for Newman's idiosyncratic songs, "this is as sweet as honey."

Track listing

All music and lyrics by Randy Newman.
  1. "Vine St." – 2:50
  2. "Love Story" – 3:39
  3. "Yellow Man" – 2:16
  4. "Caroline" – 2:05
  5. "Cowboy" – 2:48
  6. "The Beehive State" – 2:04
  7. "I'll Be Home" – 2:35
  8. "Living Without You" – 2:35
  9. "Dayton, Ohio 1903" – 1:50
  10. "So Long Dad" – 2:35
    BMG's 2000 CD re-issue contains the following bonus tracks:
  11. "Snow" - 2:29
  12. "Love Story" (alternate take) - 3:24
  13. "Cowboy" (alternate take) - 2:22
  14. "I'll Be Home" (alternate take) - 2:41
  15. "Living Without You" (alternate take) - 2:40

Personnel

  • Harry Nilsson
    Harry Nilsson
    Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...

     - vocals, additional instruments
  • Randy Newman
    Randy Newman
    Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....

    - piano, electronic keyboards
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