Remember (Harry): Nilsson Box Set Chronicles RCA Albums, Premieres Unreleased Tracks

Long ago, far away…life was clear, close your eyes…Remember is a place from long ago, remember, filled with everything you know…remember, when you’re sad and feeling down…

When you’re sad and feeling down, a sure cure-all is the music of Harry Nilsson.  Sweet and sincere or withering and witty, Nilsson had a song for every occasion.  Even when his own vocal cords deserted him, his sure sense of songcraft never did.  Between 1967 and 1977, Nilsson recorded a remarkable series of albums for the RCA label, dissecting, celebrating and subverting every convention of the pop and rock genres.  Now, the long-rumored box set bringing together all fourteen of those RCA albums is finally here from Legacy Recordings as The RCA Albums Collection.  Even better, this comprehensive 17-CD set compiles the various bonus tracks released on past CD reissues and anthologies, throws in rare mono mixes of Nilsson’s first two albums, and adds more than 50 previously unreleased tracks.  Are you salivating yet?  The treasure chest breaks down as follows:

1. Pandemonium Shadow Show (Mono & Stereo) (1967)
2. Aerial Ballet (Mono & Stereo) (1968)
3. Harry (1969)
4. Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)
5. The Point! (1971)
6. Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (1971)
7. Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)
8. Son of Schmilsson (1972)
9. A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973)
10. Pussy Cats (1974)
11. Duit on Mon Dei (1975)
12. Sandman (1976)
13. . . . That’s The Way It Is (1976)
14. Knnillssonn (1977)
15. Nilsson Sessions 1967-1968
16. Nilsson Sessions 1968-1971
17. Nilsson Sessions 1971-1974

Remastered versions of Nilsson’s fourteen RCA solo albums (including The Point! but not Son of Dracula or Skidoo, although Harry’s unique tracks from that latter soundtrack are present) are included as CDs 1-14 of the new box set.  1967’s Pandemonium Shadow Show (with Harry’s ultimate Beatles tribute of “You Can’t Do That” plus the beautifully pensive “Without Her,” baroque “1941” and thunderous “River Deep-Mountain High”) and 1968’s Aerial Ballet (with the quirky “Good Old Desk,” vaudevillian “Daddy’s Song,” breezy “Wailing of the Willow” and immortal “Everybody’s Talkin’”) are both included in mono and stereo versions.  (Aerial Ballet even adds one previously unreleased track, a radio spot.)  Bonus tracks, either new, old or a blend of the two, are present on each and every album in the box set.  There’s a particular wealth of material on 1971’s Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, a reworked distillation of those first two albums; the Aerial Pandemonium disc here includes four Italian versions, six live-at-the-BBC tracks, plus a remix and a radio spot.  Elsewhere you’ll find alternates (Pussy Cats, Duit on Mon Dei), outtakes (Sandman) and demos (Knnillssonn).  The Knnillssonn disc also premieres four performances with Dr. John of standards like “Sweet Lorraine” and “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.”

After the jump: what else will you find on the box set?  We have more details, plus a pre-order link and a full track listing with discography!

Release Round-Up: Week of May 14

R.E.M., Green: 25th Anniversary Edition (Warner Bros./Rhino)

The Athens, Georgia rockers celebrate the quarter-century mark of their first Warner Bros. LP with a new 2CD deluxe edition featuring an unreleased live show from 1989. (2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Huey Lewis & The News, Sports: 30th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/UMe)

Another hit-filled rock LP paired with a live disc; this one sees live versions of every hit and album cut from Sports over Huey Lewis & The News’ 30-plus year live run. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Doors, Infinite (Analogue Productions)

The Doors’ complete studio discography with Jim Morrison – six studio albums in all – newly remastered for multichannel SACD by Doug Sax and Bruce Botnick. It’s a box fit for a lizard king. (SACD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Kings of Leon, The Collection Box (RCA/Legacy)

In advance of KoL’s anticipated European dates this summer, here’s a new collectible package collecting all five of the band’s studio albums (and the Live at the O2 Arena, London DVD) in a custom, lidded box with high-quality mini-LP jackets. Cool points for collectors: all the original European artwork is used, and bonus tracks are present on several discs. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)