Original Album Classics

I got this for my mom and she loves it. No jewel cases and not even digipacks. Just cardstock sleeves with the original album front and back. Nothing special about this at all. Bare bones and that's fine.

...of Harry Nilsson reissues! :-)You know, I'd known for quite some time about Harry and his works and talents, but it took me until this year to actually explore them. I feel guilty now for ignoring this man's music for so long - I first heard "Best Friend" as the theme song to "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (which I saw in syndication in the mid '70s as a kid watching Saturday morning TV), and of course, I've heard his big hits ("Everybody's Talkin'," "Without You," "Jump Into the Fire") many times in various settings. I even knew about his close relationship with John Lennon during Lennon's "lost weekend." Thus, missing out on his music seems an almost unpardonable sin...until you realise, as I did, that you can be pardoned if you just indulge.And indulge I have - I started with Sony's recently-issued Essential Harry Nilsson, and on one listen, I realised that I loved what I was hearing and resolved to buy at least his first 8 albums or so if I could find all of them. Starting with this Original Album Classics set seemed the smartest way to dive in head-first - here, you have the expanded remasters of his 2nd (Aerial Ballet), 3rd (Harry), 6th (Nilsson Schmilsson), 7th (Son of Schmilsson) and 8th (A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night) albums in one glorious set for a bargain price. They all sound good, and the tuneage is simply not to be missed - from his early originals like "One" (which became a major hit for Three Dog Night), "Good Old Desk," "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" to his later rockers like "Jump Into the Fire" (and you MUST have the full 7-minute track - the single edit on Essential *isn't* essential) and "You're Breakin' My Heart," this is pop music gold. It still, quite frankly, blows my mind that he had bigger hits with others' songs ("Everybody's Talkin'" - written by Fred Neil - being a #6 hit single and "Without You" - originally written and recorded by Badfinger [a story with its own tragic side, but a story for another day] - being his only #1 hit) than with his own, which saw their success in the hands of others...but such is the world of pop music.What this package does not include, unfortunately, is his 1967 debut album Pandemonium Shadow Show, his 1970 album Nilsson Sings Newman (in which he pays loving tribute to another then-ascendent and underappreciated talent, the one and only Randy Newman), and the soundtracks to Otto Preminger's film "Skidoo" (which, in fairness, is only partly Nilsson material) and the cartoon "The Point!" (Harry's own idea, a family-friendly bit of sly punnery that is a joy to listen to). All of these are available on their own, however - BMG packaged Skidoo and The Point! together in their Nilsson twofer/threefer repackaging campaign, and domestically, The Point! can be had by itself in deluxe packaging with bonus tracks. The Nilsson/Newman album is available on its own as is PSS (but PSS is out of print, so it's mostly used copies that are available - what few new copies you can find are prohibitively expensive, although I recommend grabbing them up if you can afford to do so; I went the used route for myself). You will also not find Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, Harry's 1971 distillation of his first 2 albums into remixes which I have elected to pass on - with the originals available to me, it made more sense to go with them.Another NB, this of a technical nature: This box lists, as one of the bonus tracks on the expanded Son of Schmilsson, "It Had to Be You (Jam Session)" - it is the last of 5 bonus tracks, according to the box. However, when I loaded the CD into my PC's disc drive, Windows Media Player omitted this track, listing only 15 on the disc instead of 16. As "It Had to Be You" - NOT as a jam - is included on A Little Touch of Schmilsson..., I didn't miss the track at all. (If anyone else who has this box has noticed this issue, would you let me know? WMP has omitted a track or two in the time I've been using it, even when the track was there - it isn't a case of it showing up as (Unknown Track), it's just plain not there.)Apart from that, I do recommend this set. It's a great entry point for anyone interested in Harry's music, although your best bet will almost invariably be one of the best-of anthologies available - Essential Harry Nilsson truly fills the bill, as it covers his entire RCA catalogue. But if you're feeling more adventurous, put the lime in the coconut and buy this set - then you'll feel better. ;-)

I'd rate this 3.5-4 starts overall. Harry is super talented and this is definitely good value for the money. I really enjoy his Beatle-esque music, however the 'night' album with standards I thought was a waste and very boring. Another album could have easily been substituted for it but I'm sure it was intentional. There is some filler on the other albums and sometimes feels like Harry is just 'noodling' at times but this has been a good introduction to his works for me.

When " The Beatles" were asked " What is your favorite American Band?" they humorlessly answered " Harry Nilsson" knowing he was a solo artist. It may have been a " Cheeky" answer, but in truth they did listen to Harry Nilsson a lot & loved his work!!! I would recommend this purchase just based on having the full length version of " Jump Into The Fire"!!! But there is much, much more to be enjoyed here. It is like a greatest hits on steroid's!!! Harry Nilsson's three Octave voice can be soothing and calming or energetic and raucous enough to get you on your feet & moving!!! This is a great way to bulk up your Rock & Roll music Library with a lot of classic songs that deserve to be in there. The only thing missing here is the beautiful music he made for the now classic Cartoon " The Point". If you purchase this fine collection you can add " The Point" soundtrack as a capstone to your Harry Nilsson collection. If you purchase this collection that is in great musical quality you will get anything you would find on any " Anthology", " Best Ofs'" Or " Greatest Hits" plus a whole lot more not found on the former mentioned collection C.D.'s. I guess it is all based on personal preference & taste as to whether or not a " Greatest Hits" is enough " Harry Nilsson" to satisfy your needs ... as for me I have zero regrets making this purchase & I already own his " Greatest Hits" & " The Point" both sound track & Movie. But that's me. Harry Nilsson did a lot in the movie industry doing the soundtrack for " Skidoo", "Popeye" ( live action with Robin Williams) & the song used in " Midnight Cowboy" , " Everybody's Talkin'." included in this collection as well as a song from " The Son of Dracula". Harry Nilsson was a very interesting & super talented man. In one infamous bar hopping evening Harry Nilsson & John Lennon got into a bar fight literally back to back fighting the local tough guys! This incident was amazingly captured on a photograph. I'm sure not their favorite moment but nothing to be ashamed of either...after all a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do!!! But seriously this 5 album set captures Harry at his best!!!

What can you say, Harry fans probably have most of these but if you’re missing a couple it’s well worth the price. Great packaging, 5 little mini album covers in a small box. Brilliant!

My Wife loves Harry but got into him after he was dead. This was a fantastic way to grab five albums of his and flesh out the collection.

Classic Nilsson albums with a few extras thrown in. Once known as the fifth Beatle, Harry Nilsson Produced albums for Ringo Starr & John Lennon.Lennon also produced one of Harry's better L.P.s "Pussycats" (not in this collection) One nice thing about this release is that the original cuts have not been "re-mastered". One of Nilsson's later albums," Knnillssonn" Was re-mixed after its original release ( and after Nilsson's death) by Paul Williams and it totally sucked. They even dropped a track off as I recall. If you can fine the original (I have on vinyl) grab it.This collection is probably Nilsson at his best. If you add the point & Pandemonium Shadow Show you have the definitive HARRY NILSSON collection.

This record was excellent even though it was fairly old.

Mini replica original covers in a decent little box, so packaging is good. CD's are good quality too. Harry Nilsson's music is as brilliant as ever. Pick your extra Beatle number for Harry - 5th, 6th, 7th or whatever - except he was more than a Beatle biographer sideshow.An intelligent singer-songwriter who surprisingly made a career from not engaging with any of the levers of promotion or marketing himself. His music is, in my opinon, more closely related to Randy Newman but usually without the caustic wit and whom he held in such high esteem that he released a covers album.The quirky McCartney-esq melodies intermingle with soft ballads, rock and roll workouts and gloriously arranged Tin Pan Alley standards. The latter album being released at the apogee of glam rock (think Bowie, Bolan, Elton etc..) in the UK itself indicative of Harry going his own way.On this evidence I now need to collect every recording Harry made and you should too..

Harry Nilsson was a curious artist; he rarely performed live, and went through periods of substance and alcohol abuse problems before dieing at the tragically early age of fifty-three, in January 1994. His peak recording period - from the late 1960s to the mid seventies - is covered here, in the Sony / BMG 'Original Album Classics' - five albums in minituarised reproductions of the original vinyl album covers. Of course, you don't get the original gatefold covers, and there are no sleeve notes, but if it's the music that you're after, you simply can't argue that these sets represent great value for money. The albums reveal Nilsson's great artistic range - from the soaring pop of his number one smash hit, a cover of Badfinger's 'Without You' (disgracefully violated by Mariah Carey, of course), on 'Nilsson Schmillson', through to the schmaltzy, but charming album of standards, 'A Little Touch of Schmilsson In The Night', and the awesome vocal gymnastics of 'Aerial Ballet', I can't possibly do anything but heartily recommend this collection - plus, there must be space for a 'Volume 2' featuring Nilsson's RCA albums such as his set of Randy Newman songs, and the soundtrack to 'The Point'. Lovely stuff.

This is an excellent mix of albums which contains such a wonderful mix of music, best hits from films, fantastic covers and some original gems - I would highly recommend this for any Harry Nilsson Fans - I would highly recommend this!

I've played these to death all year and have even gone on to purchase his other albums. These five albums are brilliant in their own right (Harry being my favourite) and at such a ridiculous price, provides everybody with an opportunity to immerse themselves into the beautiful world of Harry Nilsson. A brilliant song-writer and a brilliant vocalist! Could've replaced McCartney or become a fifth Beatle, but he was probably too good.

Highly recommended