Essentially, this album came out of the morass that was the infamous "Lost Weekend" period which saw John Lennon and a host of other famous rock stars descend upon Los Angeles, and make drunken fools out of themselves. Nilsson, because of his close Beatles association, was lucky (or unlucky) to be right in the thick of it - in fact, by many accounts he was either Lennon's wing man, or competition. So much that, he damaged his vocal cords during the recording sessions! This would seem to preclude a terrible listening experience, but despite the setback it's a solid record, even if it is far from his Nilsson Schmilsson peak of 3 years ago. An equal amount of covers vs. self-penned originals is what you will find - somewhat reminiscent of Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album which was released around the same time.

Instead of re-issuing his first 2 albums at a time when they were out of print, Nilsson went back into the studio, remixed a selection of tracks from both albums, and released it as this mashed-up product. Perfectly in line with the artist's aesthetic, but pleasant enough to appeal a wide range of listeners as well.

Nilsson's second release is an odd yet engaging mix of standards-based music and modern singer-songwriter material. And very substantial, too, as "One" and "Everybody's Talkin" will attest.

The standards album that was so hip it came out 20 years before standards albums were considered to be hip again.

Well, just about everything that the previous album was, this album is a laughable parody of it. Or at least it comes out sounding that way. The intention was to capitalize on Nilsson Schmilsson's success, but Harry had other ideas. Right from the first track ("Take 54") it's clear he's in a bawdy, reactive mood ("I sang my balls off for you baby!"). Oh yes, there is also "You're Breaking My Heart" which contains the classic line - "you're breaking my heart/you're tearing it apart/so fuck you!" Most of the other songs just feel fragmented, or ramble on the same goofy note ("The Lottery Song"). Nilsson's wacky personality is about the only good sell here, otherwise, this was quite the interesting flop as far as flop albums went.