Nilsson Schmilsson

Nilsson Schmilsson
Studio album by
Nilsson
ReleasedNovember 11, 1971 (1971-11-11)
RecordedJanuary–June 1971 (1971-06)
Studio
GenreRock, pop[2]
Length35:17
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerRichard Perry
Nilsson chronology
Aerial Pandemonium Ballet
(1971) 		Nilsson Schmilsson
(1971) 		Son of Schmilsson
(1972)
Singles from Nilsson Schmilsson
  1. "Without You" / "Gotta Get Up"
    Released: October 11, 1971
  2. "Jump into the Fire" / "The Moonbeam Song"
    Released: March 1972
  3. "Coconut" / "Down"
    Released: June 1972
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Christgau's Record GuideA[4]
The Essential Rock Discography8/10[6]
MusicHound4/5[7]
Pitchfork9.4/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
The Village VoiceA−[5]

Nilsson Schmilsson is the seventh studio album by American singer Harry Nilsson, released by RCA Records on November 11, 1971. It was Nilsson's most commercially successful work, producing three of his best-known songs. Among these was the number 1 hit "Without You", written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of the group Badfinger. The album was the first of two Nilsson albums recorded in London and produced by Richard Perry.

"Jump into the Fire" and "Coconut", both written by Nilsson, also became hits. The album performed well at the 1973 Grammy Awards, earning a nomination for Album of the Year, while "Without You" won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. In 2006, Nilsson Schmilsson was ranked number 84 on Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s".[11] The album was ranked #281 in the 2020 revision of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Harry Nilsson, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gotta Get Up" 2:24
2."Driving Along" 2:02
3."Early in the Morning"Leo Hickman, Louis Jordan, Dallas Bartley2:48
4."The Moonbeam Song" 3:18
5."Down" 3:24
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Without You"Pete Ham, Tom Evans3:17
2."Coconut" 3:48
3."Let the Good Times Roll"Shirley Goodman, Leonard Lee2:42
4."Jump into the Fire" 6:54
5."I'll Never Leave You" 4:11
Additional tracks (2004 edition)
No.TitleLength
11."Si No Estás Tú" (Spanish version of "Without You")3:14
12."How Can I Be Sure of You"3:04
13."The Moonbeam Song" (Demo version)3:30
14."Lamaze"1:44
15."Old Forgotten Soldier" (Demo version)2:41
16."Gotta Get Up" (Demo version)2:25
17."Interview with Richard Perry" (Hidden track)2:41

Personnel

According to the 1971 LP credits:[1]

Additional personnel

Technical

  • Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer (Trident Studios)
  • Richie Schmitt – engineer (RCA Studios)
  • Phil Brown – additional engineer (Island Studios)
  • Acy Lehman – graphics
  • Dean Torrence – photography

Charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 2
United States (Billboard 200) 3

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[14] Gold 20,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1973 Grammy Awards "Without You" Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Won
"Without You" Grammy Award for Record of the Year Nominated
"Nilsson Schmilsson" Grammy Award for Album of the Year Nominated
"Nilsson Schmilsson" Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b Nilsson Schmilsson (CD booklet: reproduced 1971 LP sleeve). Harry Nilsson. BMG Entertainment. 2000.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b "Nilsson Schmilsson - Harry Nilsson | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  3. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: N". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 30, 1971). "Consumer Guide (22)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  6. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 758. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
  7. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 815. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  8. ^ Beta, Andy (February 11, 2004). "Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Schmilsson | Album Reviews". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  9. ^ [2] Archived December 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 586. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s" from Pitchfork
  12. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rollingstone.com. September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 218. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "International News: Australian Gold" (PDF). Cash Box. November 2, 1974. p. 36. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  15. ^ "American album certifications – Nilsson – Nilsson Schmilsson". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 24, 2023.