Greatest Hits [2002]

by Harry Nilsson

Overview

Harry Nilsson was always a maverick artist, following his own sense of style down the byways of pop, turning out carefully crafted -- even baffling -- songs that shared no direct affinity with any other artist of his day. He drew heavily on American Tin Pan Alley traditions, using them to craft his own cracked and ironic view of the human condition, making him, in some ways, a singer stuck out of time. That he had hit records really seems more accidental and circumstantial than by any personal design, and maybe because of that, Nilsson never ended up being simply a musical commodity. This 21-song set has most of his key tracks, including the unique "1941," the deceptively wry "Cuddly Toy," his brilliant cover of Badfinger's "Without You," "One" (a massive hit for Three Dog Night), his wonderfully realized and slightly speeded up rendition of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," the infectious "Coconut," and the screaming "Jump into the Fire," making this a perfect single-disc introduction to Nilsson's delicately fractured world.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/19/2002
Label:	Rca
UPC:	0078636510729
catalogNumber:	65107
Rank:	18586

Tracks

1. 1941
2. Cuddly Toy
3. Without Her
4. One
5. Everybody's Talkin'
6. Girlfriend
7. Good Old Desk
8. I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City
9. The Puppy Song
10. Living Without You
11. Me and My Arrow
12. Without You
13. Coconut
14. Jump into the Fire
15. Moonbeam Song
16. Remember
17. Spaceman
18. You're Breaking My Heart
19. Daybreak
20. Don't Forget Me
21. As Time Goes By

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Harry Nilsson   Primary Artist,Piano,Electric Piano,Vocals,Mellotron
Doug Dillard   Banjo
Peter Frampton   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
George Harrison   Slide Guitar,cowbell
Randy Newman   Piano
Ringo Starr   Drums
Gary Wright   Piano
Frank Capp   Drums,Timpani
Gordon Jenkins   Conductor
Plas Johnson   Flute,Saxophone
Tom Scott   Flute,Trumpet,Cornet,Flugelhorn,Saxophone
Lyle Ritz   Bass
Mike Wofford   Piano
Chris Spedding   Acoustic Guitar,Bouzouki,Rhythm Guitar
Mike Deasy   Guitar
Herbie Flowers   Bass
Nicky Hopkins   Piano
Jim Price   Horn
Jimmy Webb   Piano
Jim Keltner   Drums
Jim Gordon   Percussion,Drums
Dale Anderson   Percussion,Timpani
Kenny Ascher   Conductor
Leonard Atkins   Violin
Israel Baker   Violin
Arnold Belnick   Violin
Max Bennett   Recorder
Bobby Bruce   Violin
Paul Buckmaster   Conductor
Roy Caton   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Gene Cipriano   Horn
David Cohen   Guitar
Ray Cooper   Percussion
Assa Drori   Violin
Jesse Ehrlich   Cello
Bernard Fleischer   Flute,Saxophone
Donald Frost   Drums
James Getzoff   Violin
John Guerin   Timpani,Vibes
Milt Holland   Percussion,Tabla
Jim Horn   Flute,Saxophone
Howard Roberts   Guitar
John Thomas Johnson   Tuba
Bobby Keys   Horn
Larry Knechtel   Bass
Michael Lang   Piano
Alfred Lustgarten   Violin
Jacqueline Lustgarten   Cello
Joy Lyle   Violin
Leonard Malarsky   Violin
Lew McCreary   Trombone
Mike Melvoin   Organ,Piano,Harpsichord
Barry Morgan   Drums
Tommy Morgan   Harmonica
Dick Nash   Trombone,Baritone Horn,Baritone Saxophone
Del Newman   String Quartet
Wilbert Nuttycombe   Violin
Earl Palmer   Drums
Richard Perry   Percussion
Jerome Reisler   Violin
George Roberts   Baritone Horn
Emmet Sargeant   Cello
Darrel Terwilliger   Violin
George Tipton   Conductor
John Uribe   Acoustic Guitar
Klaus Voormann   Acoustic Guitar,Bass,Rhythm Guitar
Dorothy Wade   Violin
Tibor Zelig   Violin
Dr. John   Guitar,Piano
Anthony Terran   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
William Weiss   Violin
Hyman Goodman   Violin
Carroll Lewis   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
William Martin   Piano
Casey   Guitar
Raymond Kelly   Cello
Robert Knight   Trombone
David Duke   French Horn,Tuben

Technical Credits

Fred Neil   Composer
John Lennon   Producer
Randy Newman   Composer
Harry Nilsson   Composer,Producer,Piano Arrangement
Gordon Jenkins   Arranger
Kenny Ascher   Orchestration
Paul Buckmaster   Arranger
Tom Evans   Composer
Pete Ham   Composer
Rick Jarrard   Producer
Phil McDonald   Engineer
Richard Perry   Producer
Derek Taylor   Producer,Liner Notes
George Tipton   Arranger
Mathieu Bitton   Art Direction
Curtis Armstrong   Liner Notes