Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats (1974)

Harry Nilsson was a character of an unforgettable nature. A close friend of John Lennon, the man is no where near the famed Beatles name recognition, but that's not surprising given the more limited listenership for the much odder songs he penned. I can't recall where I even ran across the album for the first time, yet I do recall trying to show it to friends and not getting them to understand. However, when the Walkmen came along and covered this album almost entirely, keeping the title even, they began to see it wasn't just me being eccentric again. Nilsson did achieve success in his day, although the staying power of his music is outshone by many contemporaries as far as radio repetition goes (fuck that by the way). Nevertheless, perhaps the moment I realized even I was underestimating Nilsson's strangeness is when I sitting with some of the local musicians of my age range in these parts in a garage attic hearing The Point! That is an album I highly recommend (share if you have it, I haven't downloaded it), a soundtrack completely written by Nilsson and about a round-headed boy in a village where everybody and everything is pointed, most noticeably heads. The songs on Pussy Cats are a mixture of Nilsson's own and off-the-wall covers of Bob Dylan and, my favorite, the children's song "Loop de Loop." He's really not well conveyed by the written word, you must hear what he sang and played.

To be had here:
Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats [192 kbps]

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