Flash Harry - Harry Nilsson

Though �Knnillssonn" supposedly ends Harry Nilsson's American discography, there's another item, a little-known one-off album for Mercury/Phonogram that was recorded in Los Angeles and released in Great Britain but apparently not in the U.S. This would be �Flash Harry" -- the English nickname for a snappy dresser, which at this time, Harry was notoriously not. Surrounded by his pals and many crack L.A. sessionmen and guests, with Steve Cropper behind the production controls, Nilsson seems to struggle to stay interested in this project, conserving his cigarettes-and-alcohol-ravaged voice, collaborating on some new songs but often relying upon others for material. He doesn't even appear on the leadoff track; instead Eric Idle and Charlie Dore open the album with Idle's happy-go-lucky ode to �Harry." �Cheek To Cheek" soon dissolves in faux-Mexicanisms,�Rain" experiments amiably with a reggae groove, �I've Got It!" is another of those nutty late-period Nilsson doodlings, this time apparently about a transaction with a hooker. As a reminder of his friendship with then-retired John Lennon, Nilsson covers �Old Dirt Road" in a somewhat strangled voice; in any case, it's not much of a song (Nilsson had a hand in the lyrics), nor does he cast it in a different light from Lennon's own version. Another ex-Beatle buddy, Ringo Starr, plays drums on the album and collaborates with Nilsson on the relaxed reggae tune �How Long Can Disco On" -- whose title is easily the cleverest thing about the track. The best tune of all is the closer -Nilsson's lazily loping singalong cover of Idle's wickedly ironic �The Bright Side Of Life" (from �The Life Of Brian"), which has tripping orchestral trappings that harken back to Nilsson's first RCA recordings with George Tipton. On that cheery note, Nilsson bowed out of the recording studio until the early `90s, when, only three days before his death, he allegedly put the finishing touches on one last album that as of 2003 had yet to see release. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide