When deciding on what album to choose for this review, I was torn between various albums of different genres and times. It came down in the end to three albums: Liquid Swords (GZA), Speak No Evil (Wayne Shorter), and Nilsson Sings Newman (Harry Nilsson.) I chose Nilsson Sings Newman because I feel that it is an album that I know was historically looked over by people of the time and still has not found much mass acclaim. Where it lacked in popularity, the album was applauded by critics. Nilsson Sings Newman was asking for trouble by collaborating with Randy Newman. Despite writing beautiful song after beautiful song, Newman never found a large audience. Nilsson should have saw that commercially the album would not do well. Enough about the background into the review.
The album starts with the split track "Vine Street" which was only released by Newman as a demo. Before Nilsson covered it, under appreciated artist Van Dyke Parks covered a much closer version than Nilsson's. (Check his album Song Cycle out.) The first half has striking piano with a droning shaker. This love song serves as a not so fluid transition into the beginning of the cover. One of the main reasons which makes this album stand out so much is the vocals. Harry Nilsson's cooing harmonies along with Newman's tough piano make for a great bunch of tracks. The next track "Love Story (You and Me)" provides the same brilliance as the last track giving us a beautiful tale of lovers with the constant vocals of Nilsson and the joking lyrics of Newman. 'We'll have a kid, or maybe rent one. He's got to be straight because we don't want no bent one.' Starting with 'Yellow Man' and ending with the next song "Caroline," these tracks lack in the quality of the rest of the album. I do not think that they are bad songs, but I do not find myself coming back to them in further listens. The extremely emotional "Cowboy" is next and the screaming and soft vocals with the constant wind noise that ends with harpsichord makes "Cowboy" stand out. The silly but funny "Beehive State" is forgettable, but interesting track. Next the sweet "I'll Be Home" is a fantastic cover of Newman's song with the beautiful vocals of Nilsson. Despite enjoying many of the covers more than the originals, this is one that I prefer with Newman. The echoing piano on "Living Without You" is iconic in my mind while Nilsson sings about his loneliness. A man who has given up on everything after he was left. He's too sad to do anything about it. On "Dayton Ohio 1903," despite being a good cover, I do not think that Nilsson captured what made the original track so great. It feels less personal than Newman's version, but works well in the album. Lastly, "So Long Dad" is a track that captures the album well in this tune about talking to a dad in a conversation that seems very distant. It has some of the best lyrics of the songs Nilsson chose, and also the best piano playing.
Overall, I think that this album has power with two great musicians that was greatly overlooked.
FAV TRACKS: VINE STREET, LOVE STORY(YOU AND ME), I'LL BE HOME, LIVING WITHOUT YOU, SO LONG DAD
LEAST FAV TRACK: CAROLINE
classic/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion right?
