26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Listened to this for the first time in 25 plus years....., May 1, 2005
This review is from: Pussy Cats: 25th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)
My son just got DJ turntables and was looking through my old vinyl, hoping for interesting things to sample....and we put "Pussy Cats" on, just out of curiosity.
It was recorded---as most probably know---when Lennon and Yoko had split for a period, and Lennon was pretty much a mess. He was at loose ends, staying in Los Angeles, and wallowing in a miserably depressive phase. During that time, Lennon and Nillsson were hanging out together a lot, drugging and drinking a LOT more than was healthy....and this record was the result.
I hadn't played "Pussy Cats" for...well...decades... and remembered it as a chaotic muddle. But hearing it now, all these years later, I'm captured by its heartbreaking, ragged, untidy beauty. First of all, in addition to John and Harry---both music makers of staggering talent---it features an array of that era's best session musicians: Jim Keltner on drums (with Ringo sitting in), Klaus Voorman on bass, Bobby Keys on piano, Jesse Ed Davis on lead guitar....with the amazing Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel. Take a minute and listen to "Save the Last Dance.."...."Don't Forget Me.."...and, especially... "Many Rivers to Cross..."... all are laced with an incredible range of unfiltered but artful emotion.
People who are reviewing this as a Nilsson album are completely missing the point. This record is a strange and astonishing moment in time. In playing it, you're sitting in on an extended lost weekend, listening to two truly amazing men jamming messily, wonderfully, badly, brilliantly with their friends. Is it sloppy and uneven? Oh, sure. Heck, yeah. And we're very, VERY fortunate to have it at all.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The lost weekend revisited..., July 7, 1999
This review is from: Pussy Cats: 25th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)
1974. John Lennon and Harry. The lost weekend. Need I say more? This was the period in Harry's life where the partying took its toll--he permanently damaged his voice (he was spitting up blood during the sessions, but refused to tell Lennon for fear he'd cancel them).
It's clear that some of his range is missing and the arrangements are very reminiscent of Lennon's Walls & Bridges album. The originals are very good and the covers are thoughtful and powerful. Many Rivers To Cross, despite Lennon's sluggish arrangement, is brought to life by the sense of desperation in Harry's voice.
It's nice to see this reissued, but I'd rather see his first two albums (as well as the last one he had just finished in 1994 before his untimely death).
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give Harry a Chance, April 1, 2002
This review is from: Pussy Cats: 25th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)
Seeing as how this work has been torn to shreds by other Nilsson devotees, I can only add that the recording is indeed highly uneven, yet there are many redeeming moments as well. The album is dominated by Nilsson, and whether or not he shredded his vocal chords in the process, he makes numerous outstanding contributions, particularly in the renditions of "Save the Last Dance for Me," which is equal to or better than any other cover of that memorable song. "Black Sails" is a wonderfully orchestrated bit of musical drama, full of the true yearning and
melancholy that Harry was so adept at conveying. The same could be said for "Don't Forget Me." "Mucho Mongo" is built around forgettable, but innocuous lyrics and a beautifully rendered melody line. Other songs, such as "The Flying Saucer Song" and "Down by the Sea" probably were indeed accompanied by bouts of the d.t.s. This still ranks as a must-have possession for true Nilsson fans, if only for the four or five gems that don't appear in other collections.
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