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Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson Audio CD

A fair review of the Harry Nilsson "Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson" 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: Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-05-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: One 2: Coconut 3: Everybody's Talkin' (From "Midnight Cowboy") 4: Without You 5: Spaceman 6: Jump Into The Fire 7: Turn On Your Radio 8: Me And My Arrow 9: The Moonbeam Song 10: Without Her 11: I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City 12: All I Think About Is You 13: Daybreak (from "Son Of Dracula") 14: Remember (Christmas)

The Unheralded Genius of Harry Nilsson
That may be the way he is best remember in pop history; one of many "fifth Beatles" and as a drinking buddy to John Lennon during his infamous "Lost Weekend" phase. At one time, Harry Nilsson was rumored to be replacing Paul McCartney in The Beatles. Or maybe as the guy who did that goofy "Coconut" song that is so many TV commercials.

One can merely sigh at this injustice. Harry Nilsson is one of a breed that rarely gets his due, that of a meticulous and eclectic/eccentric tunesmith. He moved gracefully between folk/country ("I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City") to stately, brilliant pop that often became a hit for others. Like Three Dog Night, who made "One" a signature smash. Or a fine interpretive voice, making Badfinger's "Without You" into his own signature hit.

Then there is the light-heart Harry had. He scored a children's movie (The Point!) and scored a cheery hit with "Me and My Arrow," along with loopy songs like "Daybreak" and "Coconut. " Even when he was playing oddball ("Spaceman," the psychedelic hard rock of "Jump Into The Fire"), he maintained a sense of craft that made The Beatles' admiration of him easy to understand. It shows best in the sentimental final song on this collection, "Remember. " Dreamy to the point of being ethereal, it is one of the best songs to never be a hit.

Which sums up Harry Nilsson's long career, before his passing in 1994. From his late 60's greats (the classic "Everybody's Talking") to his love of meticulous pop (A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, not represented here), Nilsson was a lovable Teddy Bear of pop, and this collection catches the best known moments in one disc. The more adventurous can move up to Personal Best: The Harry Nilsson Anthology.

everybody's talkin
That is what I purchased this cd for. I have always thought that 'Evevybody's talkin' was one of
the best songs of the mid 60s.
Nilsson's other music is not consistent enough for me. The
other songs in this collection are a bunch of hodge podge
and mix match. .

A great opportunity to reconsider an artist who is largely forgotten today.
Now more than three decades later RCA has seen fit to release a superb collection of his work. While his time in the national spotlight was relatively brief, one can certainly make the argument that Harry Nilsson was among the most influential singer/songwriters of the 1970's.
"Everybody's Talkin': The Best of Harry Nilsson" features 14 of Nilsson finest recordings. Here you will find all 8 of his Top 40 Hits including such gems as "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City", "Cocoanut", the #1 smash "Without You" as well as the title track of the collection "Everybody's Talkin" which many will recall was his first big hit back in the Fall of 1969. I also enjoyed hearing some of his less well known hits once again. It had been quite a while since I had heard "Me and My Arrow" and I had forgotten all about "Spaceman". What a great song! In fact, I can honestly say that I enjoyed all 14 tracks on this disc. These are the original RCA recordings you heard on the radio and the remastering job is terrific. I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed that Harry's haunting interpretation of the great 1930's standard "As Time Goes By" was not included here. Harry loved to record tunes from that period and I would have hoped that at least one of them would have been included on this disc.
At the end of the day "Everybody's Talkin': The Best of Harry Nilsson" is a solid four star offering. This is certainly a disc you can enjoy again and again. Recommended. .

Nilsson Talks again
The advantage for songwriters was that you weren't pigeonholed into a genre, and this collection of vintage Nilsson songs shows the range of a great talent. Harry Nilsson came of age as a songwriter and performer during the infamous Sixties, when anything seemed possible. "One" and "Without Her" are the best pop music has ever offered a too-ravenous public, and "Everybody'sTalkin'" shows Nilsson's ability to sum up the spirit of a movie in a four-minute song. The whimsical "Me and My Arrow" and "The Moonbeam Song" show off another side of this man's talent in reminding us of the rapturous delight of everyday life. He died too young, as many great talents do, and that's a shame. We need his talent and life spark in these bleak days for pop music. .

Dig a little deeper and go for Greatest Hits

This does have two songs not on GH--"Turn Your Radio On" and "All I Do Is Think About You. For another 3 bucks (as of this writing), you get 21 songs instead of just 14. " For most, these won't compensate for the loss of "1941", "Cuddly Toy", "Girlfriend", "The Puppy Song", "Living Without You", "Good Old Desk", "You're Breakin' My Heart", "Don't Forget Me", and "As Time Goes By". The earliest of these, especially "1941", show why the Beatles raved about Nilsson way back when. "You're Breakin' My Heart" is notable for its free use of the "F" word; funny, but maybe not essential. "As Time Goes By" was a minor hit from a standards album (A Touch of Schmillson in the Night) that was as uncommercial a move then as it is commercial now. Go figure.

This man was brilliant. And that's coming from someone who is not a long-time fan; I only knew his biggest hits before buying GH. Spend a little and get a lot more. You won't regret it.

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.