Music / Nilsson Schmilsson

"Gotta get up, gotta get out
Gotta get home before the morning comes!"

Nilsson Schmilsson is the seventh album by singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released on October 1971 by the RCA Victor label. It was Nilsson's most commercially successful album, with his cover of "Without You" reaching the #1 position on March 11, 1972. The album was also supported by well-known hit singles "Coconut" and "Jump into the Fire"

Tracklist

Side One

1. "Gotta Get Up" (2:24)
2. "Driving Along" (2:02)
3. "Early in the Morning" (2:48)
4. "The Moonbeam Song" (3:18)
5. "Down" (3:24)

Side Two

1. "Without You" (3:17)
2. "Coconut" (3:48)
3. "Let the Good Times Roll" (2:42)
4. "Jump into the Fire" (6:54)
5. "I'll Never Leave You" (4:11)

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I can't trope if troping is without you:

• Break-Up Song: "Without You", about the narrator of the song coping with a breakup.
• Cover Version: "Early in the Morning" (Louis Jordan), "Without You" (Badfinger) and "Let the Good Times Roll" (Shirley and Lee).
• Epic Rocking: The album version of "Jump into the Fire" nears the seven minute mark.
• Healing Potion: Apparently, if you put a lime in a coconut and drink 'em both up, your belly-ache should be gone in the morning. Only, not.
• Looped Lyrics: "Jump into the Fire" has the recurring lyric of "We can make each other happy" reapeated four times per appearance.
• New Sound Album: The album added extensive rock elements to his music for the first time, culminating with the Epic Rocking of "Jump into the Fire".
• Non Standard Prescription: In the song "Coconut", a woman puts lime in the coconut and drinks them both up, and gets a bellyache. She calls her doctor (wakes him up) and the doctor prescribes... lime in the coconut, drink them both together. Then she'll feel better.
• Power Ballad: "Without You" was an early attempt to mix ingredients that later became Power Ballad mainstays.^note solo piano intro, musical buildup, prominent drums at key moments, vocal starting out soft then getting more forceful toward the end. The only thing keeping it from being the Ur-Example is not having a guitar solo. What makes it interesting is that Nilsson was approaching it from the opposite direction: a pop guy adding heavier elements to his music.
• Word, Schmord!: The title of the album.

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