Harry Nilsson Greatest Hits CD

Harry Nilsson was always a maverick artist, following his own sense of style down the byways of pop, turning out carefully crafted -- even baffling -- songs that shared no direct affinity with any other artist of his day. He drew heavily on American Tin Pan Alley traditions, using them to craft his own cracked and ironic view of the human condition, making him, in some ways, a singer stuck out of time. That he had hit records really seems more accidental and circumstantial than by any personal design, and maybe because of that, Nilsson never ended up being simply a musical commodity. This 21-song set has most of his key tracks, including the unique "1941," the deceptively wry "Cuddly Toy," his brilliant cover of Badfinger's "Without You," "One" (a massive hit for Three Dog Night), his wonderfully realized and slightly speeded up rendition of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," the infectious "Coconut," and the screaming "Jump into the Fire," making this a perfect single-disc introductio

Gordon Jenkins (arranger, conductor); Peter Frampton (acoustic & electric guitars); George Harrison (slide guitar, cowbell); Arnold Belnick, Leonard Atkins (violin); Jesse Ehrlich (cello); Pop Arts String Quartet (strings); Tom Scott (flute, saxophone, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn); Richard T. Nash (baritone saxophone, trombone); Mike Melvoin (piano, harpsichord); Randy Newman, Gary Wright (piano); John Guerin (vibraphone, tympani); Alfred McKibbon (bass); Donald R. Frost (drums); Milt Holland (tabla, percussion).

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

21 digitally remastered tracks from the genious troubadour.

Recorded at RCA, The Record Plant, Hollywood, California; Trident, CTS Studios, London, England between February 17, 1967 and April 3, 1974. Includes liner notes by Curtis Armstrong.

Producers include: Rick Jarrad, Harry Nilsson, Richard Perry, Derek Taylor.

Personnel: Harry Nilsson (vocals, piano, electric piano, Mellotron); Peter Frampton (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); John Uribe (guitar, acoustic guitar); Mac Rebennack (guitar, piano); David Cohen, Mike Deasy Sr. , Howard Roberts , Al Casey (guitar); Chris Spedding (acoustic guitar, bouzouki); Klaus Voormann (acoustic guitar); George Harrison (slide guitar, cowbells); Doug Dillard (banjo); Assa Drori, Jerome Reisler, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Darrel Terwilliger, James Getzoff, Dorothy Wade, William Weiss, Hyman Goodman, Joy Lyle, Tibor Zelig, Alfred Lustgarten, Leonard Atkins, Leonard Malarsky, Israel Baker, Arnold Belnick, Bobby Bruce (violin); Emmet Sargeant, Raymond Kelly, Jacqueline Lustgarten, Jesse Ehrlich (cello); Tom Scott (flute, saxophone, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn); Bernard Fleischer, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson (flute, saxophone); Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Max Bennett (recorder); Richard Nash (baritone saxophone, trombone, baritone horn); Roy Caton, Carroll Lewis, Anthony Terran (trumpet, flugelhorn); David Duke (French horn); Robert Knight , Lew McCreary (trombone); John Thomas Johnson (tuba); Jim Price, Gene Cipriano, Bobby Keys (horns); George Roberts (baritone horn); Mike Melvoin (piano, harpsichord, organ); Gary Wright, Jimmy Webb , Michael Lang , Mike Wofford, Nicky Hopkins, Randy Newman, William Martin (piano); John Guerin (vibraphone, timpani); Frank Capp (drums, timpani); Jim Gordon (drums, percussion); Earl Palmer , Donald Frost, Jim Keltner, Ringo Starr, Barry Morgan (drums); Milt Holland (tabla, percussion); Dale Anderson (timpani, percussion); Ray Cooper , Richard Perry (percussion).

Liner Note Authors: Derek Taylor; Curtis Armstrong.

Recording information: CTS, London, England (02/17/1967-04/03/1974); RCA Studio B, Hollywood, CA (02/17/1967-04/03/1974); RCA Studio C, Hollywood, CA (02/17/1967-04/03/1974); RCA Studios, Hollywood, CA (02/17/1967-04/03/1974); the Record Plant, Hollywood, CA (02/17/1967-04/03/1974); Trident Studios, London, England (02/17/1967-04/03/1974).

Arrangers: George Tipton; Gordon Jenkins; Paul Buckmaster.

Personnel includ