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. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/19/2002
Label:	Bmg Heritage / Rca
UPC:	0078636510729
Rank:	7000

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

Technical Credits

Kenny Ascher   Orchestration
Jeremy Holiday   Production Coordination
Richard Perry   Producer
Fred Neil   Composer
John Hudson   Product Manager
John Lennon   Producer
Derek Taylor   Producer,Liner Notes
Rob Santos   Compilation Producer
Phil McDonald   Engineer
Rick Jarrard   Producer
Randy Newman   Composer
George Tipton   Arranger
Harry Nilsson   Composer,Producer,Piano Arrangement
Tom Evans   Composer
Elliott Federman   Mastering
Pete Ham   Composer
Gordon Jenkins   Arranger
Sue Raffman   Project Coordinator
Paul Buckmaster   Arranger
Betty Ann Rizzo   Project Coordinator
Mathieu Bitton   Design,Art Direction
Stephanie Kika   Project Coordinator
Curtis Armstrong   Liner Notes
Neil Carfora   Project Coordinator
Laura Dorson   Project Coordinator