Nilsson Throws It Away

How do you followup your commercial breakthrough? Hopefully, nobody ever asked Harry Nilsson. RCA's latest reissues of Nilsson's early 70's work are case examples of someone bent on not heading up the charts. 1972's Son of Schmilsson and 73's Little Touch of Schmilsson In The Night weren't what anybody had in mind for someone who was waxing Top 10 in 1971.
Although the former has some of Nilsson's most popular songs: "You're Breakin' My Heart" and "Remember", it's missing a big commercial kiss of a single. The standards set produced by Rock-hating Gordon Jenkins, was too obtuse for the 1973 record buying public. Of course, ask Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt and others, and they'll say Harry Nilsson was a decade or two too late getting in on the standards covers bandwagon. Basking in alcohol and heroin, Nilsson pissed his career away by the time Little Touch had disappeared. By the time of 74's John Lennon produced Pussy Cats, his voice was a shell of it's self. It would be nice if RCA or someone reissued his mid-70's stuff, but you can find the best of these on 1992's Personal Best, still the best Nilsson compilation. Seen today, I like Son of better than Little Touch. Although the latter has gotten a bad rep, I think it holds up better now.