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Skidoo / The Point

Harry Nilsson - Skidoo / The Point Audio CD

A fair review of the Harry Nilsson "Skidoo / The Point" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Harry Nilsson reviews here, or go back to the Harry Nilsson tabs.

Band: Harry Nilsson
Title: Skidoo / The Point
Rating:

Release Date: 2000-08-21
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Cast and Crew 2: I Will Take You There 3: Skidoo/Commercials 4: Goodnight Mr. Banks/Let's Get the Hardware/Murder in the Car Wash 5: Angie's Suite 6: Tree 7: Garbage Can Ballet 8: Tony's Trip 9: Escape: Impossible/Green Bay Packers March 10: Man Wasn't Meant to Fly 11: Escape: Possible 12: Skidoo/Goodnight Mr. Banks 13: Everything's Got 'Em (Narration) 14: Town 15: Me and My Arrow 16: Game (Narration) 17: Poli High 18: Trial & Banishment (Narration) 19: Think About Your Troubles 20: Pointed Man (Narration) 21: Life Line 22: Birds (Narration) 23: P.O.V. Waltz 24: Clearing in the Woods (Narration) 25: Are You Sleeping? 26: Oblio's Return (Narration) 27: I Will Take You There [Alternate Mix][*] 28: Girlfriend [*] 29: Down to the Valley [*] 30: Buy My Album [*]

BEWARE! WARNING ABOUT THE BRITISH PRESSING!
pressing of 2000, supposedly the best sound available. On the advice of another reviewer here i chose the British BMG Entertainment International UK & Ireland Ltd. Unlike many reviewers here I bought it for the Skidoo soundtrack, a classic humdinger of a movie unavailable in video. Like many who have seen the film I felt Carol Channing singing the title song was not only unforgetable, but a standout. In fact to hear a clear unedited version was the reason I bought this CD. Unfortunately about half way through her song the master started to go pop. . . pop. . . pop. . . for almost 30 seconds. This is certainly a factory flaw. I tried playing my flawless brand new CD right out of shrink wrap on various high end CD players in different systems; the pops were still there! Maybe they used the master they did due to its otherwise crisp clean sound, but for me it was a heartbreaking disapointment i spent top dollar on and waited weeks for! I decided to give an extra 2 stars for the 2 splendid versions of I will take You There, and of course the wonderful story The Point, but try to buy the NON british version if there is one for the sake of what may be the best song on here; especially if you have seen the movie. .

THIS PREVIOUSLY BEST-AUDIO VERSION NOW SUPERCEDED BY NEW '07 JAPAN REMASTER
That was split between four UK, one domestic and six Japan CD's, and this CD was one of those titles. In 2006, after painstakingly purchasing and comparing all the Nilsson domestic, European and Japanese CD versions, I posted a review on the best-audio edition of each title.

However, time and technology have marched on. In Q307, the entire Nilsson pre-1978 catalog (except "The Son Of Dracula", announced but subsequently canceled), were remastered anew and released in mini-sleeve format by BMG Japan.

So, what was slightly confusing before, with all the different international and domestic versions, has now been simply resolved: In terms of the best audio available, the fifteen new BMG remasters are head-and-shoulders superior to any pre-existing Nilsson CD. While the older versions were no slouches, these new BMG's are absolutely GLORIOUS. And, finally, there's complete, matched-mastered sound through the entire catalog, in contrast to the dynamic range variations in the older releases from varying remastering schemes.

In A/B comparisons between the new and older versions, it is also obvious different masters were availed of, because there are snippets of additional audio on the BMG's that never appeared elsewhere.

In addition, there are now approximately seventy bonus tracks spread out through the new BMG set; demos, alternate takes, singles and non-album tracks. Only one previously-available track is not in residence on the BMG set: "Waiting", which is found only on the "Harry/Nilsson Sings Newman" UK 2-fer.

If you are a true Nilsson fan, then don't delay in getting these, as all mini-sleeve releases are limited edition. It is possible, of course, that BMG will release these as less expensive jewel-case releases down the road. However, as the original Nilsson LP jackets were often wonderfully imaginative affairs, having these exact replicas only heightens the joy of ownership.

Amazon only allows 10 product links per review, so below are the first ten titles. The remainder, you'll have to find on your own (TIP: look for the 2007 release date when searching):

Pandemonium Shadow Show
Aerial Ballet
Skidoo
Harry
Nilsson Sings Newman
The Point!
Nilsson Schmilsson
Aerial Pandemonium Ballet
Son Of Schmilsson
A Little Touch of Schmilsson In The Night
P*ssy Cats
Duit It On Mon Dei
Sandman
That's The Way It Is
Knnillssonn

Just in case you find this review after the `sleeve versions have sold out, here is a list of the previous best-in-audio jewel-case CD versions. I will re-post this review on each of the previous editions:

Pandemonium Shadow Show/Aerial Ballet/Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (2CD) (2000) UK BMG/Camden Deluxe (catalog number) 74321 757422
The Point (2000) UK BMG/Camden Deluxe 74321 757432
Harry/Nilsson Sings Newman (2000) UK BMG/Camden Deluxe 74321 757442
Schmilsson (2004) RCA 82876 572652
Son Of Schmilsson (2000) UK BMG/Camden Deluxe 74321 757462
A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night (2002) Japan K2 BVCM-37249
P*ssy Cats (2002) Japan K2 BVCM-37251 (the UK has one extra track not on the K2)
Duit On Mon Dei (2002) Japan K2 BVCM-37252
Sandman (2002) Japan K2 BVCM-37253
That's The Way It Is (2002) Japan K2 BVCM-37254
Knnillssonn (2002) Japan K2 BVCM-37255

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Nilsson & Tipton were a fab combination
It's utter crap. I can vouch for Greg Cleary's opinion of SKIDOO. With the stunning exception of I CAN TAKE YOU THERE, which benefits enormously from George Tipton's brilliant orchestration. Tipton's harpsichord usage is far superior to, say, Brian Wilson's harpsichord usage in CAROLINE NO.

Childhood Memories
Still to this day we sing the songs to each other. This is awesome!! When I was younger (I'm 19), my mother played The Point for my sisters and me all the time. It's excellent that I could find this, as the original and everything. . . . I'm totally impressed and overjoyed. . . :).

Buy it for "The Point"
e. "Skidoo" is mostly filler, i. , instrumental soundtrack music. It's brassy, sort of like the filler music on the "Graduate" soundtrack. But the album does contain one great song ("I Will Take You There") and one good one ("Garbage Can Ballet") plus Nilsson's awe-inspiring rendition of the film credits, which is not something you will want to listen to every day but is an astounding feat of--for lack of a better term--musical athleticism.

"The Point" is the real reason to buy this CD. It's a charming, whimsical children's story with several songs that wisely focus more on melody than on plot development. The alternating of narrative passages with songs does take some getting used to, but is worth it. I don't listen to "The Point" as often as my other Nilsson albums, because the story line makes it more like watching a movie or reading a book. Still, it is an impressive album that is historically significant because it closed out the first part of Nilsson's career, just before he moved into the more adult themes of the Schmilsson albums. Nilsson's narration of "The Point" reveals him to be a gifted comedian, and also provides some insight into his personality, particularly his love of the absurd.

Now for the bonus tracks: "I Will Take You There" sounds quite similar to the original. (Unless you are a connoisseur of "alternate" versions of songs, which I am not. ) "Girlfriend" is a bouncy, good-natured tune that I am glad to have here. "Down to the Valley" is a very good song that would have fit in well on "The Point. " "Buy My Album" is incredibly annoying--a noisy joke that gets old very quickly. Be ready to leap for the controls before it comes on.

The CD booklet, by the way, is thin and contains some brief but memorable liner notes.

To sum up: This disc is a good value as long as it costs less than one-and-a-half of either of the originals. I would not want to waste my money buying "Skidoo" for its own sake, but it makes an interesting add-on to "The Point. ".

You can see a complete list of all Harry Nilsson discography, or go back to the Harry Nilsson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.