Post subject: [Closed] B1974 1W: Pussy Cats v. Here Come the Warm Jets
Harry Nilsson's famous Nilsson Schmilsson was five albums ago. Always trying new things, this master songwriter teamed up with John Lennon and sang cover versions for half the songs on the album. He wrote the other half. It's called Pussy Cats.
Ugh. Both Eno matches are vs albums I truly love and wish would get more love, but the Eno records are phenomenal.
I have a feeling Repo is cringing at this matchup. I'm a huge fan of Pussy Cats. Harry Nilsson was a special songwriting talent and this is a once in a lifetime album. Partying hard with John Lennon, Nilsson gave his all in the vocal performances. No better example of this is the cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross".
It's one of those rare vocal performances that can cut me open like a knife and bring me to tears.
But alas, it's up against Eno's debut. My favorite album of 1974, and one of the my all time favorites. Fripp, Manzanera, Wetton all contribute major performances. This is art rock at its finest.
This match-up is kind of ... unfair. Many respectable works will loose when compared to Here Come the Warm Jets and that is what Pussy Cats sounds to me: a respectable collaborative effort. _________________ "And can’t you see you’re in on it?
You were born though you need not
And is that not some cause
For worship, being born among these trees?"
Want to know who hipsters turn to when they need a good cry? Harry Nilsson. That’s who. No one nailed saccharine sweet but crying-in-my-booze ballads in the 70s better than Nilsson. Despite his sugar coated voice and a string of hits, Nilsson was always far too much a freak to ever really break out and have prolonged success. But, he was lovable loser who usually did things his way. Which is ironic because on Pussy Cats he caved in to his idol and friend, John Lennon who had agreed to produce Pussy Cats, hiding the fact that his vocal cords were compromised by an illness for fear that Lennon would back out. And that cost him everything. And by everything I mean it cost him his voice as he irreparably damaged the highest register of his vocal range which was kind of his calling card. Regardless, this is a lovable mess of an album. As with all of Nilsson’s albums, it’s the ballads that stand out - Many Rivers to Cross, Don’t Forget Me, Save The Last Dance, and Black Sails all are fantastic. And they positively kill it on Rock Around The Clock bringing incredible energy to what is usually a stale listen for me.
But, it really doesn’t matter does it. Because like Nilsson, Pussy Cats is just a lovable loser next to the masterpiece that is Here Come the Warm Jets.
Here Come the Warm Jets
... he caved in to his idol and friend, John Lennon who had agreed to produce Pussy Cats
That explains why the arrangement for "Many Rivers to Cross" sounds like the one from "#9 Dream".
These four match-ups have been good because I've liked all of the albums. Unfortunately, that means I have to vote against an album I like in each case. Warm Jets is probably my favorite Eno record, so Pussy Cats had a steep hill to climb; even so, it gave me something to go back to, being the first Nilsson experience that caught my attention.
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