Harry Nilsson: Son of Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson: Son of Schmilsson

Album 200 - July 1972

Episode date - August 18, 2021

The Top 500 of The Top 40
    0:00
    0:00

    Well, this was certainly a surprise! It turns out that Harry Nilsson is a very, very naughty boy.

    All this time, I thought he was sort of…cuddly, but here he is, cursing like a sailor, belching, dropping sexual metaphors all over the place…he even gets a group of elderly folks to sing a lively tune about preferring death to incontinence! It’s outrageous that the same guy who wrote a loveable children’s story about a kid and his dog would suddenly behave like a smarmy wise ass, but it’s also outrageously entertaining.

    The songs are strong and well-produced, his vocal performance is as incredible as we’d come to expect, and the band contains some of the best session players available. It bounces from one extreme to another with unabashed shamelessness, but the breadth of his scope, although childish at times, is remarkably fun and entertaining.

    It would be easy to dismiss “Son of Schmilsson” as a self-absorbed kiss-off to his previous success and perhaps that is exactly what it is. I guess Nilsson got all of that playful vitriol out of his system on “Son of Schmilsson”, because he would never have another album that reached this level of success.

    Tracks Include:

    Take 54

    Remember (Christmas)

    Joy

    Turn on Your Radio

    You’re Breakin’ My Heart

    Spaceman

    The Lottery Song

    At My Front Door

    Ambush

    I’d Rather Be Dead

    The Most Beautiful World in the World

    July 1972 - Billboard Charted: 12

    Related Shows

    Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Zuma

    Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Zuma

    Album #257 - November 1975

      0:00
      0:00
      The Hissing of Summer Lawns - Joni Mitchell

      Joni Mitchell: The Hissing of Summer Lawns

      Album #256 - November 1975

        0:00
        0:00
         Queen: A Night at the Opera

        Queen: A Night at the Opera

        Album #255 - November 1975

          0:00
          0:00
          Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

          Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

          Album #254 - September 1975

            0:00
            0:00
            Al Green Is Love

            Al Green: Al Green Is Love

            Album #253 - August 1975

              0:00
              0:00
              Bruce Springstein: Born to Run

              Bruce Springstein: Born to Run

              Album #252 - August 1975

                0:00
                0:00
                Fleetwood Mac

                Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac

                Album #251 - July 1975

                  0:00
                  0:00
                  Neil Young: Tonight's The Night

                  Neil Young: Tonight's The Night

                  Album #250 - June 1975

                    0:00
                    0:00
                    Stephen Stills: Stills

                    Stephen Stills: Stills

                    Album #249 - June 1975

                      0:00
                      0:00
                      Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes

                      Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes - Part 2

                      Album #248 - June 1975

                        0:00
                        0:00
                        Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes

                        Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes - Part 1

                        Album #248 - June 1975

                          0:00
                          0:00
                          Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger

                          Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger

                          Album #247 - May 1975

                            0:00
                            0:00