Nilsson Schmilsson

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.

Nilsson Schmilsson
Studio album by Nilsson
Released	November 11, 1971 (1971-11-11)
Recorded	January–June 1971 (1971-06)
Studio	Trident and Island, London[1] RCA, Hollywood
Genre	Rock, pop[2]
Length	35:17
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Richard Perry
Nilsson chronology
Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (1971) Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) Son of Schmilsson (1972)
Singles from Nilsson Schmilsson
"Without You" / "Gotta Get Up" Released: October 11, 1971 "Jump into the Fire" / "The Moonbeam Song" Released: March 1972 "Coconut" / "Down" Released: June 1972

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	A[4]
The Essential Rock Discography	8/10[5]
MusicHound	4/5[6]
Pitchfork	9.4/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Village Voice	A−[10]

"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

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gotta Get Up"		2:24
2.	"Driving Along"		2:02
3.	"Early in the Morning"	Leo Hickman, Louis Jordan, Dallas Bartley	2:48
4.	"The Moonbeam Song"		3:18
5.	"Down"		3:24

All tracks are written by Harry Nilsson, except where noted

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Without You"	Pete Ham, Tom Evans	3:17
2.	"Coconut"		3:48
3.	"Let the Good Times Roll"	Shirley Goodman, Leonard Lee	2:42
4.	"Jump into the Fire"		6:54
5.	"I'll Never Leave You"		4:11

Additional tracks (2004 edition)

No.	Title	Length
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]

• Harry Nilsson – vocals; piano on 1, 5, 8, 10; Mellotron on 2, 4; organ on 3; harmonica on 8; electric piano on 9
• Jim Gordon – drums on 1, 2, 5, 7, 9; percussion on 7, 9
• Klaus Voormann – bass on 1, 5, 6, 8; rhythm guitar on 2, 9; acoustic guitar on 4
• Chris Spedding – guitar on 1, 5, 8, 9
• Herbie Flowers – bass on 2, 4, 7, 9
• John Uribe – acoustic guitar on 2, 4, 6; lead guitar on 2, 9

Additional personnel

• Henry Krein – accordion on 1
• Richard Perry – percussion on 1, Mellotron on 2
• Jim Price – trumpet on 1, 5; trombone on 1, 5; horn arrangements on 1, 5
• Jim Keltner – drums on 5, 6, 8
• Roger Coulam – organ on 5
• Bobby Keys – saxophone on 5
• Gary Wright – piano on 6, organ on 8
• Paul Buckmaster – string and horn arrangements on 6
• Roger Pope – drums on 7
• Caleb Quaye – guitar on 7
• Ian Duck – acoustic guitar on 7
• Jim Webb – piano on 9
• George Tipton – string and horn arrangements on 10

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. 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. "Nilsson Schmilsson - Harry Nilsson | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
3. ^{[dead link‍]}
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: N". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X.
5. Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 758. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
6. 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.
7. Beta, Andy (February 11, 2004). "Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Schmilsson | Album Reviews". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
8. Archived December 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
9. 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.
10. Christgau, Robert (December 30, 1971). "Consumer Guide (22)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
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.

External links

• Nilsson Schmilsson at The Harry Nilsson Web Pages
• "Nilssoon Schmilsson Review on "Cool Album of the Day" Archived 24 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine