Tag Archives: Harry Nilsson

Nilsson’s children: Dent May and Professor and the Madman

29 Thursday Oct 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Harry Nilsson was an original: eclectic, prolific, and unwilling to sit still creatively. His influence can be found percolating throughout the contemporary indie rock scene. Here are just two acts that really get their Nilsson on in distinct ways.

Apparently album #7 is The Big One for baroque LA pop hipster Dent May. Not that I need much convincing. Just one spin told me this is one mood-smithing masterpiece. May really has a genius for evoking different melodic milieus, particularly complementary shades of 1970s sonic wallpaper. “Here We Go Again” nails a 1971 prime-time enchanting musical landscape, using electric piano to sketch in some pillowy sonic clouds before things melt into a classic Nilsson tempo shift that really brightens the mood. “I Remember…” is a slice of mannered early 1970s Barachian pop. This is the stuff of a Mary Tyler Moore montage. Then title track “The Big One” is the hidden hit single, starting from subtle hooky suggestions before building to a break-out chorus. The judicious choice of instrumentation really elevates the proceedings here. “I Don’t Like You (But I Love You)” mixes guitar and piano in a very Andrew Gold or Niel Sedaka way. “I Want to Believe” sounds like it opens with melodica and perhaps some ukulele, using that to aid and abet a stripped back Electric Light Orchestra. Both “Silly Me” and “Second Wind” rely heavily on piano, the latter with a decidedly Macca feel. By contrast, “I-55” has that easy-going, sun-kissed 1970s California rock sound. “Such A Thrill” and “Last Night I Saw A UFO” practically ooze a 1970s élan, the latter with a hint of a Quinn Martin Productions vibe in the mix. The record wraps with “Tell ‘Em All I Said Hi.” This time we have a 1970s folk texture crossing over into singer-songwriter territory with just a touch of Brian Wilson. The Big One is a time machine right back to a 1970s aural sensibility, ably fueled by May’s superior songcraft. Make room on your record shelf for this one.

The cover of Professor and the Madman LP Dreamworld is definitely eye-catching, riffing on the Beatles Revolver. I initially linked this album with Harry Nilsson because the opening piano chords of the album’s kick-off track “Dreamworld” kinda reminded me of his song “One,” a hit for Three Dog Night. But the Nilssonian element here is really about its raucous juxtaposition of style. “Tolerant World” covers so much ground in just one song, veering between obvious Beatle-isms and a tight Todd Rundgren/Utopia-like song structure while the vocals could be mistaken for Andy Partridge. Should-be hit single much? Definitely. Both “Brand New World” and “The Light” give off similar stylistic vibes. Then “Mental Tape” shifts the mood with a jazzy Bacharach feel until it transforms into something with a more modern indie-rock polish. This is a band that knows how to embed the hooks, even when things turn heavy. The tunes get a bit rougher on “Temple of Madness,” “Nuclear Boy” and “12 Strings and Tambourines,” the latter exhibiting a hint of “I Am the Eggman.” And then there are tunes that fall somewhere between, like The Odds-like style of “Adams Street” or the distinct scent of Pugwash all over “Songs in my Head.” Dreamworld is not a dream, it’s real. You could even hold a vinyl copy in your hands (though don’t dawdle, it’s a limited edition).

Today it seems everyone’s wild about Harry. But some acts really know what to do with that sentiment. Get your fill of Harry-inspired music via the hyperlinks above.

Photo courtesy the Harry Nilsson website.

Harry versus Hardy Nilsson

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by in Artist Spotlight

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Two musical acts separated by a single differentiating letter – there must be some connection? But no, Swedish band Hardy Nilsson are not some Harry Nilsson cover band. Nor do they seem influenced by the commercially successful American friend of the Beatles, originator of a kind of baroque pop and the mash-up song. Hardy Nilsson actually take their name from a Swedish championship hockey player and coach. I guess everything in music doesn’t revolve around an Anglo-American axis after all. Well now that we’ve brought them together we might as well dig into what they do a bit.

A lot has been written about Harry Nilsson. He wrote hits for himself (“Me and My Arrow,” “Spaceman”) and others (“One” for Three Dog Night, “Cuddly Toy” for the Monkees), made other people’s songs big hits (Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’,” Badfinger’s “Without You”), and managed to be a big star in the early 1970s without ever touring or playing live much at all, a feat very much against the grain of the times. But eventually his music career appeared to be eclipsed by his more outrageous public behaviour, particularly repeated drunken outings with John Lennon. By the mid-1970s his records had stopped selling and after 1980 he never released another one in his lifetime. To get a sense of his playful inventiveness and what would become his trend-setting production techniques, check out his revisionist take on the Beatles “You Can’t Do That” from his 1967 album Pandemonium Shadow Show. Nilsson slows the song down and then proceeds to invent the ‘mash-up’ form, incorporating snippet references to 18 other Beatles songs into the track. He also recorded a version in Italian.

Harry Nilsson – You Can’t Do That

Swedish band Hardy Nilsson put out three albums in the 1990s, all very pleasant Teenage Fanclubby poprock outings. Shortly after starting one band the same members started another, Tommy 16, with a similar musical MO, though perhaps with a touch of Badfinger thrown in. The big difference between the two was a swap on lead singing duties and a shift from Swedish to English lyrics. Fans of both bands still debate which had the best shot at success and should have been the main focus of the musicians and record companies involved. A good illustration of what both produced can be found in the singles singled out below. Hardy Nilsson’s “Popsang” was a minor hit for them while “Come On Come On” was a single for Tommy 16 that got included on a number of 1990s compilations of Swedish acts.

Hardy Nilsson – Popsang
Tommy 16 – Come On, Come On

Harry Nilsson died not long after Hardy Nilsson put out their first album. It would have been cool if he’d heard about them, even if he wasn’t their inspiration. Could have made a great double bill.