Aerial Ballet Archive

Harry Nilsson – Aerial Ballet – Speakers Corner (2017)

by Audiophile Audition | Jun 27, 2018 | Pop/Rock/World CD Reviews

Fifty years later, this pop album is still important! Harry Nilsson – Aerial Ballet – RCA Victor LSP-3956 (1968)/Speakers Corner (2017) 180-gram vinyl, 25:15 ****1/2: (Harry Nilsson – vocals; Plas Johnson – woodwinds; Dennis Budimir – guitar; Al Casey – guitar; Michael Melvin – piano, organ, harpsichord; Larry Knechtel – piano, bass; Jim Gordon – drums; Milt Holland – percussion) Prior to the advent of the early 1970’s singer/songwriter culture in Southern California, there was Harry Nilsson. The Brooklyn native moved to Los Angeles and balanced his job in a bank with a desire to sing and perform original compositions. After some early songwriting successes with Little Richard, Phil Spector, Glen Campbell, The Yardbirds and The Monkees, Nilsson was signed to RCA Victor as a solo artist. With a three-and-a half octave range as a tenor, he developed a musical style that synthesized baroque psychedelic pop with Caribbean tempos, utilizing vocal overdubs. In 1967, Pandemonium Shadow Show was released to critical acclaim, but disappointing sales. However musical peers like The Beatles were enthusiastic fans and this provided momentum to his career. In 1968, Aerial Ballet fared considerably better, yielding two “hits”. The first, Fred Neiil’s “Everybody’s Takin’” was a minor […]