| Pandemonium Shadow Show | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 1967 | |||
| Studio | RCA's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 31:14 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Rick Jarrard | |||
| Nilsson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pandemonium Shadow Show | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 6/10 [4] |
Pandemonium Shadow Show is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released in December 1967 on RCA Victor.
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The album was the first product of Nilsson's three-year, $50,000 recording contract with RCA Victor, and was recorded in their Hollywood studio. Unlike virtually all his earlier records, Show employed the full potential of Nilsson's voice in the recording studio, turning him into what was described as a "chorus of ninety-eight voices".[ citation needed ]
Nilsson had hoped to use the title Something Wicked This Way Comes , and had asked sci-fi author Ray Bradbury for permission. But approval hadn't come by the release date, so the lesser-known title was chosen (of a circus sideshow appearing in Bradbury's novel) instead.[ citation needed ]
As well as original songs by Nilsson, a number of covers were included on the album, including one by Phil Spector (who had earlier co-written a song with Nilsson), Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, "River Deep - Mountain High", and two by The Beatles; "She's Leaving Home" and "You Can't Do That", the latter in an arrangement that quoted lyrics from 17 other Beatles songs. Three other songs were written by Jesse Lee Kincaid, Botkin and Garfield, and Cliff Hess, Howard Johnson and Milton Ager.[ citation needed ]
The album debuted to little public attention in the US or the UK, although it was an immediate hit in Canada, where "You Can't Do That" was a top 10 hit. Beatles publicist Derek Taylor heard "1941" on his car radio waiting for his wife at the supermarket and, enjoying the track, ordered a case of copies, sending them out to various industry people he believed would be interested, including The Beatles, who later invited Nilsson to London and helped further his career.[ citation needed ]
A cover of "1941" by Canadian folk/rock artist Tom Northcott charted in both Canada and the US in 1968; in the same period the singer-songwriter Edoardo Bennato also covered it, with text translated into Italian.[ citation needed ]
Fellow musician and earlier collaborator Chip Douglas introduced Nilsson to The Monkees whom he was producing. Nilsson gave an impromptu audition of his latest songs. The Monkees covered two of his songs -"Cuddly Toy" (which appeared on their fourth album), and later "Daddy's Song" (which appeared on Head ) - as well as becoming friends.[ citation needed ]
"Without Her" was covered by Blood, Sweat and Tears on Child Is Father to the Man, by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass on the album Warm, and by the supergroup Beckley-Lamm-Wilson on their album Like a Brother .[ citation needed ]
His early work sold better after Nilsson had become better established through hits like "Without You" and albums like Nilsson Schmilsson . Nilsson revamped several tracks from his first two albums to produce one of the first remix albums, Aerial Pandemonium Ballet , in 1971.[ citation needed ]
All tracks are written by Harry Nilsson; except where indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ten Little Indians" | 2:13 | |
| 2. | "1941" | 2:36 | |
| 3. | "Cuddly Toy" | 2:45 | |
| 4. | "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune" | Jesse Lee Kincaid | 2:19 |
| 5. | "You Can't Do That" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 2:16 |
| 6. | "Sleep Late, My Lady Friend" | 2:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She's Leaving Home" | Lennon, McCartney | 3:16 |
| 2. | "There Will Never Be" | Perry Botkin, Jr., Gil Garfield | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Without Her" | 2:18 | |
| 4. | "Freckles" | Cliff Hess, Howard Johnson, Milton Ager | 2:21 |
| 5. | "It's Been So Long" | 2:09 | |
| 6. | "River Deep – Mountain High" | Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 31:14 | ||
Beatles for Sale is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 4 December 1964 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label. The album marked a departure from the upbeat tone that had characterised the Beatles' previous work, partly due to the band's exhaustion after a series of tours that had established them as a worldwide phenomenon in 1964. Beatles for Sale was not widely available in the US until 1987, when the Beatles' catalogue was standardised for release on CD. Instead, eight of the album's fourteen tracks appeared on Capitol Records' concurrent release, Beatles '65, issued in North America only.
Harry Edward Nilsson III, sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experiments, a return to the Great American Songbook, and fusions of Caribbean sounds. Nilsson was one of the few major pop-rock recording artists to achieve significant commercial success without performing major public concerts or touring regularly.
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Beach Boys' Party! is the tenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spawned one single, a cover of the Regents' "Barbara Ann", which reached No. 2 in the US and No. 3 in the UK, and was their highest-charting British single to that point.
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A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night is a 1973 album of classic 20th-century standards sung by American singer Harry Nilsson. The album was arranged by Frank Sinatra's arranger Gordon Jenkins, and produced by Derek Taylor. This album is notable in being a standards album produced a decade before such works started to become popular again.
Pussy Cats is the tenth album by American singer Harry Nilsson, released by RCA Records in 1974. It was produced by John Lennon during his "Lost Weekend" period. The album title was inspired by the bad press Nilsson and Lennon were getting at the time for being drunk and rowdy in Los Angeles. They also included an inside joke on the cover – children's letter blocks "D" and "S" on either side of a rug under a table − to spell out "drugs under the table" as a rebus.
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"You Can't Do That" is a song written by John Lennon and released by the English rock band the Beatles as the B-side of their sixth British single "Can't Buy Me Love". It was later released on their third UK album A Hard Day's Night (1964). A live rendition of the song was released on the 2016 re-release of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl.
"Chains" is a rhythm and blues song written by husband-and-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was a hit for the American girl group the Cookies in 1962 and for the English rock band the Beatles, who recorded the song for their debut album in 1963. King recorded a solo version of "Chains" for her 1980 album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King.
"I Call Your Name" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was written primarily by John Lennon, with assistance from Paul McCartney. It was released in the US on The Beatles' Second Album on 10 April 1964 and in the UK on the Long Tall Sally EP on 19 June 1964. On 7 March 1988, the song appeared on Past Masters, a compilation album that includes every song commercially released by the band that was neither included on the 12 UK studio albums nor the US Magical Mystery Tour LP, meaning that "I Call Your Name" appeared for the first time on a core catalogue album.
Stop and Smell the Roses is the eighth studio album by English rock musician Ringo Starr. Released in October 1981, it followed the twin commercial failures of Ringo the 4th (1977) and Bad Boy (1978). The album includes the hit single "Wrack My Brain", written and produced by George Harrison, but otherwise failed to find commercial success. It also includes contributions from Paul McCartney, Harry Nilsson, Ronnie Wood and Stephen Stills.
Douglas Farthing Hatlelid, better known as Chip Douglas, is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s. He was the bassist of the Turtles for a short period of time and the producer of some of the Monkees biggest hits, including "Daydream Believer" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday".
"Lazy Sunday" is a song by the English band Small Faces, which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1968 and number 42 in Canada. It was written by the Small Faces songwriting duo Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, and appeared on the band's 1968 concept album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. Against the band's wishes, it preceded the album as a single release.
"Mony Mony" is a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry, and Tommy James, the song has appeared in various film and television works such as the Oliver Stone drama Heaven & Earth. It was also covered by English singer-songwriter Billy Idol in 1981. Idol's version, which took in more of a rock sound, became an international top 40 hit and additionally revived public interest in the original garage rock single. Idol recorded a live version in 1985 which was ultimately released in 1987 where it became an even bigger hit than the Shondells' 1968 original, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Everybody's Talkin' (Echoes)" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Fred Neil in 1966 and released two years later. A version of the song performed by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson became a hit in 1969, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and winning a Grammy Award after it was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy. The song, which describes the singer's desire to retreat from the harshness of the city to a more peaceful place and an easier life, is among the most famous works of both artists, and has been covered by many other notable performers.
Evergreen, Vol. 2 is the second album from the Stone Poneys, released five months after The Stone Poneys. It was the most commercially successful of the Stone Poneys' three studio albums.
"This Could Be the Night" is a song recorded by the American band Modern Folk Quartet (MFQ) in 1965. The lyrics describe a couple on the verge of conquering their inhibitions. Written in tribute to the Beach Boys' leader Brian Wilson, the song is one of three that are credited jointly to Harry Nilsson and Phil Spector, although Nilsson submitted that he was the sole writer on a 1966 copyright form.
Diane Hildebrand is an American pop singer-songwriter. She wrote for several musicians during the 1960s and 1970s, but is most notable for her work with Screen Gems Music Publishing, penning material for the band the Monkees. In 1969, Hildebrand recorded her debut studio album, Early Morning Blues and Greens. She later released two additional albums under the name Joya Diane Skye.
