Day 363: Harry Nilsson – Pandemonium Shadow Show
I said yesterday that my final three albums before I complete the year will be ones by some of my favourite bands or artists who I’ve discovered throughout this project – clearly I can’t count because there was four days left yesterday, but my point still stands. Harry Nilsson is by far one of my favourites, I love his stuff so much that I made someone watch Harry Nilsson Live at the BBC 1972 with me yesterday while I ranted about him. It felt fitting to go for him, even though I’ve already listened to five of his albums so far.
Album cover courtesy of RCA Victor
Pandemonium Shadow Show was released as Harry Nilsson’s second studio album in 1967. It was his first album released under his new contract with RCA Victor. It consists of some original songs and some covers, including a cover of "1941" by Tom Northcott and “She's Leaving Home” by the Beatles. The album is whimsical and slightly out there, and it’s frequently been compared to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Ban, and not without reason.
The album was also the start of Nilsson’s personal and professional relationship with the Beatles. Derek Taylor, the band’s PR man, heard a song from it on the radio and liked it so much that be bought a case of copies and gave them to people he thought would be interested. That included members of the Beatles, who became huge fans, and later also became his friends and collaborators. John Lennon said he listened to this album probably more than the rest of the world put together, and he and Nilsson became close friends. After John Lennon was shot, Harry Nilsson dedicated his life to being an anti-gun campaigner.
Pandemonium Shadow Show is packed full of whimsy and charm, and as you’d expect for Harry Nilsson, it’s also funny. It jumps from one direction to another at a dizzying pace and a few times it almost reminds me of fairground music, which doesn’t really sound positive, but somehow I just love it – in anyone else’s hands, this album could be a mess, but Harry Nilsson has a magic touch, everything on the album just works perfectly together. “Without Her” is definitely my favourite from the album, it’s just stunning in every way.
The album wasn’t a commercial success when it first came out and it even failed to chart, which seems wholly unwarranted, because it’s great, especially done so early on in his career. It’s brilliant, this and the following album Aerial Ballet are probably my Nilsson favourites. I’m giving it a 9/10. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Harry Nilsson is criminally underrated, both as a singer and as a songwriter.