A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night
Harry Nilsson wrote hits for other people (including the Monkees, Three Dog Night, and the Modern Folk Quartet) yet had his biggest hits with covers of other folks' material (Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," Badfinger's "Without You"). So it makes a perverse kind of sense that his most enduringly popular album is a collection of pre-World War II standards. With Sinatra arranger Gordon Jenkins on hand for traffic control, Nilsson wraps his lungs around such time-honored classics as "Makin' Whoopee!," "It Had to be You," and "As Time Goes By." AlthoughAerial BalletandNilsson Schmilssonare his finest outings, this album is extremely enjoyable on its own terms.--Dan Epstein