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In which the whimsy and vocal pyrotechnics of Aerial Ballet and Pandemonium Shadow Show (now cunningly collapsed into a disc called Aerial Pandemonium Ballet) are apotheosized under the direction of popmeister Richard Perry. The bathrobed recluse who shows his unshaven face on the cover (his well-stocked fridge is on the back) veers from kitsch fantasy both romantic ("Without You") and comic ("Coconut") to terrified evocations of everyday existence (the cockeyed antemeridian triptych -- "Gotta Get Up," "Driving Along," and "Early in the Morning" -- that kicks off side two). The two-and-a-half years since his last real LP, Harry, have been worth it -- if only every artist could learn to mark time until a good one was ready. A
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
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Nilsson's most successful album was a bouncy Richard Perry production, whose catchy songs were deepened by the singer's puckish humor. Contains the hits "Without You," "Jump Into The Fire," and "Coconut." * * * *
- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
Nilsson Schmillson is a fine mix of hits and lesser-known delights. * * * 1/2
- Simon Glickman, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.
Dim the lights and hang with your honey, but first, slip on this whimsical, dark, quirky record, featuring Nilsson's "Without You," a tearjerker that really yanks on the heart making this album of not-so-mindless pop his most commercially successful. An icon, humorous Harry also proved to be a magnificent storyteller and all-time great vocalist, capable of sharing many moods and styles -- no wonder he's sadly missed. * * * * *
- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.
Even before Harry Nilsson scored a hit, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, in 1968, proclaimed the Brooklyn-born, L.A.-based songwriter as their favorite American singer. This was shortly after the Monkees recorded his cute and cleverly nasty "Cuddly Toy" but before Three Dog Night reached the Top Ten in 1969 with a cover of his lyrically despairing "One," which Aimee Mann and others have subsequently rendered evergreen. As a singer, Nilsson got lucky when his wistful rendition of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" became the theme for Midnight Cowboy.
Blessed with a tenor that could make angels weep and the smarts to know how to use it, Nilsson nevertheless failed to ignite the album charts until 1971's Nilsson Schmilsson. The hit single was Nilsson's powerful cover of "Without You," a previously overlooked cut written and first recorded by Badfinger. The rest of the album established Nilsson as a talent of unusual depth and scope: Years before public escapades with future drinking buddy Lennon confirmed Nilsson's personal excesses, Schmilsson plays like a study in bipolar disorder.
Beginning with the manic "Gotta Get Up" and continuing with the equally breezy and busy "Driving Along," the mood takes a dip with the skeletal and enchanted "Early in the Morning" before plummeting with the bluesy "Down." Side Two starts out with the Caribbean giddiness of "Coconut," then goes bonkers with "Jump Into the Fire," a wailing seven-minute bass-and-drum tantrum recently covered live by dance rock's LCD Soundsystem. On the albums that followed, Nilsson ventured into standards and ragged rock, but he would never again be this consistent or popular. * * * * *
- Barry Walters, Rolling Stone, 10/20/05.
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The album Nilsson Schmilsson was a pivotal point in his career. Nilsson had decided to team up with British producer Richard Perry for the recording and Perry unleashed a new, crazily creative side to Nilsson. "Gotta Get Up," a witty tale about needing sleep, immediately strikes a chord with its 1930s ragtime tone, while "Down," with its earth-shattering, bluesy piano ensemble, commands attention. The insanely catchy calypso track "Coconut" was a hit (No. 8 in the U.S., No. 42 in the UK), and featured years later in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs. "Jump Into The Fire" is dirty rock, proving that Nilsson could get down with the best of them.
Oddly, Nilsson's greatest success came from his cover of Badfinger's mesmerising "Without You," which made both U.S. and UK No. 1. His interpretation of this timeless classic whirls the listener on an emotional rollercoaster ride and subsequently earned him a second Grammy Award.
The success of "Without You" led to the album shooting rapidly up the charts in both America and the UK. It spawned three hit singles and went gold before reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard chart, yet somehow Nilsson still remains the unsung hero of the American pop music scene.
- Kate Taylor, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 2005.
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