Personal Best: The Harry Nilsson Anthology
Although Nilsson didn't select the tracks for this two-CD collection drawn from his '60s and '70s work for RCA,Personal Bestgenerously touches on the many sides of his musical personality: the whimsical (his layered version of theBeatles' "You Can't Do That"), the soaring ("Without You," "Don't Leave Me"), and the flat-out oddball (a cover of theLouis Jordan-Ray Charlesclassic "Early in the Morning"). Holding it all together is his tremendous melodic sense and a voice that was at first gorgeous, then ravaged by the artist's excesses. When he died in 1994, the world lost one of its truest originals.--Rickey Wright