Customer Reviews

As Time Goes By

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In 1973 I was listening to Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin Etc, Etc. This album changed my life. After buying a few Nilsson albums I rolled the dice and got this one. From the opening notes of "Lazy Moon" to the end of "As Time Goes By" I was mesmorized. I still am. And even more so with the 6 tracks that I had never heard until now. I HIGHLY suggest this album to ANYone that is interested in the human voice. The closing vocals acrobats at the end of "Nevertheless" still makes the hair on the back of neck stand up. After hearing "Over The Rainbow" for the first time, (26 years after it was recorded!) I was convinced that Harry should have recieved some kind of an award for his performace on this astounding work of art.

This album has been tested by my Grandfather, a "true" lover of the standards. He loves it. Anyone I've ever played this for has loved it. My Mother, her friends. We pass it around like a family heirloom.

This masterpiece blows away any of the newer albums by pop artists, in my humble opinion. Harry's voice is hair on the back of the neck raisingly beautiful. That means I love it :) He weaves through the songs with ease and passion. Hitting notes that almost make dogs come to your door.

The production and orchestration by Gordon Jenkins is very nice also. There are some great Nilsson twists on the album which gives it that Nilsson stamp. (Check out "Making Whoopee").

This is the import version of "A Little touch of Schmillsson in the night". It has some great bonus tracks including a beautiful verson of "Over The Rainbow". It would make a great Christmas or Birthday present for anyone who loves the standards.

I would like to write the definitive sentence, phrase, or single word of praise that would guarantee that every Amazon reader of my little "review" here would order this wonderful CD....That is, of course, impossible to do, so I won't even attempt to do that....All I can honestly say is that those people who DO order this glorious collection of standards will begin to treasure it upon first hearing, as I and so many others do....For me, this is THE album from the 70's that I have most loved over the last 28 or so years....At that time I was going to the Fillmore East a couple times a month, and the Who, The Band, Chicago, Laura Nyro, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Jimmy Webb, and about 98% of the music from Motown defined where my musical tastes lay....And I somehow, luckily, heard of this particular Nilsson album....I got it eventually, doubtful that I would like it, but curious enough, I'm glad to say, to want to find out what was so, supposedly, "special" about it....I didn't know WHY, but I LOVED it when I heard it, and I played this album daily until I nearly wore the grooves off the surface....And I still listen to it whenever I want to really relax and take a sweet, simple trip into these songs....I have enjoyed and collected many artists' interpretations of these classics over the years, but Nilsson's particular performance of these songs remains my favorite.... Obviously, not EVERY person who hears this collection will enjoy it as I do, but I am sure that MOST listeners, by far, will feel so very happy to have it in their collections....They may not be able to define WHY they enjoy it so much, but they will....And it will become one of, or perhaps the most, frequently played CD that these people own....

Harry, beloved Harry, one of the greatest vocalists in the 2oth century. This album, which was the forerunner to Linda Ronstandt's and Lo! and behold, Rod Stewart's complilation of musical standards, is the truly an amazing piece of artistry, and can honestly bec called "timeless." Arranged by one of Sinatra's best arrangers, Gordon Jenkins and produced by the late Derek Taylor (of the Beatles fame), this lush, romantic, timeless musically superbly sung by a great singer. Its easy to neglect Nilsson. His fame seems centered ironically around his drinking days with John Lennon, and a few major hits that he didn't write. A prolific songwriter, his material always had a charm, a boyish innocence of looking at the world. Look up "Remember" if you want to hear a sad, sad song. But buy this music, light some candles and it will be Valentines every night.

Let me say from the outset, that this has become my favorite popular album of all time. Harry Nilsson demonstrates his empathy for these tunes so forthrightly (and you thought he was just another rock artist), and conveys the deepest sense of sincerity in all but two or three of the tunes; "As Time Goes By" will never be the same simple experience once you've heard Harry's way with it. Unlike another reviewer, who finds the additional songs not found on the original unneccessary, I find them indispensible in coming to a full understanding of the sessions; sound quality on the import is decidedly better too. Well worth the few extra dollars more the original costs.

Please note that Amazon[.com] also offers the British import of this recording with its original title, A Little Touch of Schmilsson In The Night (B00006J4CK). It costs a little more, but offers the complete original artwork, which, in my opinion, is worth the added cost. Buy either and enjoy.

After 32 years, this exquisite sentimental journey stands tall and strong. As other reviewers stated, no other pop artist, not Ronstadt, Stewart or Ringo, has come within a country mile of creating such a relaxing mood for lovemaking or dreaming by the fire. This album rates in my personal all time top ten, and always will. After all this time it hasn't lost even a whisper of magic. Other albums I feel are in almost the same league are Anne Murray's unheralded "Croonin' " , Andre Gagnon's "Twilight Time" and Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable".

The songs on this album, reaches across the borders of time, and anyone can relate to the songs on this album, it's torchy enough for an evening by the fire, with someone special and a good cabernet.Or can be shared with a younger person learing to appreciate good music, these songs are very special to a lot of us, for various sentimental reasons. Purchase it and "Enjoy"

This release is A Little Touch of Schmilsson with the addition of 6 outtakes not included in the original release. It's a lovely album, with a mostly great performance by Nilsson, and the new songs are a nice bonus, even if they're not quite as good as the original album tracks.

Long before Rod Stewart, George Michael and others got on the old standards bandwagon, Harry Nilsson recorded "A Little Touch of Schmilsson In The Night" which was played all over San Francisco in the 1970's in elegant cafes. This cd has been retitled, but is basically the same music he recorded back in the 70's. It still holds up. Harry Nilsson fans will love hearing him again, and those not familiar with his unique voice and style will enjoy it also.

When Nilsson released this in '73, it confused a lot of his fans, and most everyone else. There wasn't a big market in American nostalgia of the pre-WWII period. The arrangements by Gordon Jenkins (whom Nilsson specifically sought out) were considered old-fashioned and syrupy.

But there is an honest deep yearning, a tenderness and affection, in Nilsson's voice, and in the way he reaches to the interior meanings of these songs, that transcends fashion, time, and changing tastes. It's as if he knew that all that separates us from all other humans in all other times are changing mores of fashion, food, and current events. The big meaningful things and the big emotions are always the same.

Thus these songs, which meant so much when first written and then fell into a trashbin labeled "Not relevant", become the way Nilsson connects himself and all his listeners to the eternal feelings and verities that really do make us all human, starting with the sweetness, pain, and longing of love between two people. These are truths that no amount of overproduced Diva music can ever begin to emulate.

Give this to a quiet teenager. It will change the way they feel about themselves and their feeling, and may just change how they bear themselves through life.

Harry, you are still missed. You died much too young. But in this recording, your spirit still sings for us.