Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats

Harry Nilsson – Pussy Cats
RCA, 1974
Acquired: SXSW Record Sale (Euclid Records), Austin, TX, Used, 2009
Price: $10

This is everything a record should be. Let me rephrase that: This is what I think represents the making of a record. It's a couple of dudes (in this case Nilsson and John Lennon) holed up in a studio banging out an album. Half-standards, half originals, all comprising a pretty outstanding record. Many thanks to the Walkmen for covering this record song for song, otherwise I never would have sought it out. Basically, this thing tastes like drugs and alcohol and apparently Nilsson ruptured his vocal cords during the recording (this sounds audible on “Old Forgotten Soldier”) but didn't tell Lennon, wanting to hammer this out. Though their cover of Jimmy Cliff's “Many Rivers to Cross” is a total knockout, the rest of the high points are a couple of originals. “Don't Forget Me” is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard, and I always wondered why no one ever covered it. Then when Neko Case covered it on her latest record, I realized why. It was because it's apparently a hard song to cover, given that her version sucked. No one can sing “I'll miss you when I'm lonely/ I'll miss the alimony, too” like Nilsson. No one can sell that kind of heartbreak with that kind of sad humor. “All My Life” is a fun cousin of “Gotta Get Up,” and the haunting “Black Sails” is another gem. “You shiver your timbers baby/ I'll shiver mine.” Oof. Love it. But really, I wonder what these guys were on. At what point do you say “Shit! Let's get a children's choir in here! That's what this song needs!” (and it kind of working. See: “Loop De Loop”). This really seems like one of those records where the recording process overshadows the album itself. I mean, it ends with an insane sounding cover of “Rock Around the Clock.” There's a story here. I'd love to read a book about it, just based on this little blurb from Wikipedia:

“When Lennon began producing Nilsson's Pussy Cats album, he thought it would be a good idea for the musicians to live under one roof to ensure they would get to the studio on time, so Pang rented a beach house in Santa Monica in March 1974, for Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, and Keith Moon to live in. During the recording, Lennon and Nilsson were involved in two drinking incidents at The Troubadour after starting work: The first was when Lennon placed a Kotex on his forehead and scuffled with a waitress, and two weeks later when Lennon and Nilsson were ejected from the same club after heckling the Smothers Brothers”