Pussy Cats


Pussy Cats is the tenth album by American singer Harry Nilsson, released by RCA Records in 1974. It was produced by John Lennon during his "Lost Weekend" period. The album title was inspired by the bad press Nilsson and Lennon were getting at the time for being drunk and rowdy in Los Angeles. They also included an inside joke on the cover – children's letter blocks "D" and "S" on either side of a rug under a table − to spell out "drugs under the table" as a rebus.

Recording and development

The album was started in Los Angeles, but Lennon ultimately finished producing it in New York, where he could better control the sessions. During the recording sessions, Nilsson ruptured one of his vocal cords but chose to keep this from Lennon. He forced himself to push through the sessions, which caused even more damage, that some say he never quite recovered from. The vocal strain is most evident on "Old Forgotten Soldier" and "Loop de Loop," on the latter of which Nilsson's vocals are heavily masked by backing vocals.
The album's intended original title, Strange Pussies, was rejected by RCA Records and modified to Pussy Cats. Among the many musicians on Pussy Cats are drummers Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Jim Keltner, who actually all play together on the closing track, "Rock Around the Clock". Other contributors include Jesse Ed Davis, Klaus Voormann, and Bobby Keys.
After the first night of recording, March 28, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder popped into the studio unexpectedly. Bootleg recordings from this session were later released as the album A Toot and a Snore in '74. The incident is the last known instance of Lennon and McCartney recording together since the break-up of the Beatles.
A quadrophonic version was released on record and eight-track tape. The songs were treated to special mixes for this issue of the album.
Half of the album's original ten tracks were covers while the rest were written by Nilsson.

Release

The album was released August 19, 1974 in the US and August 30, 1974 in the UK.
Longtime Beatles publicist Derek Taylor, who produced A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, wrote the liner notes for the original Pussy Cats pressing. In it he referenced the album's notorious recording background and quipped "Harry and John have been living a vampire turntable recently but have sucked no blood except each other's and not so much of that, Anyway, the cross-transfusion works, so what the hell."
The album had a lukewarm reception, charting a peak of 60 on the US Billboard album charts./ His subsequent RCA releases would chart far lower.

Legacy

In June 1999, a commemorative 25th-anniversary edition of Pussy Cats was released.
In October 2006, a track-by-track cover of the album was released by indie rock band The Walkmen. Several covers of the song "Don't Forget Me" have appeared, including Marshall Crenshaw's treatment on the 1995 Nilsson tribute , alt-country artist Neko Case's March 2009 version on her ANTI- label release, Middle Cyclone, and Mamie Minch's contribution to 2014's tribute to Nilsson by various Indie artists This Is the Town: A Tribute to Nilsson, Vol. 1.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Harry Nilsson except where indicated.

Personnel

  • Nathalie Altman – choir, chorus, children's chorus
  • Curtis Armstrong – liner notes
  • Kenneth Ascher – Piano, Conductor, Orchestration
  • Susie Bell – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Greg Calbi – Mastering
  • Cally – Artwork, Design, Photography
  • Roy Cicala – Engineer, Assistant Producer
  • Gene Cipriano – Saxophone
  • Jesse Ed Davis, Danny Kortchmar – Guitar
  • Eddie Eddings – Research
  • Dennis Ferrante – Mixing
  • Chuck Findley – Trombone
  • Troy Germano – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Jane Getz – Piano
  • Mike Hartry – Digital Transfers
  • Jim Horn, Trevor Lawrence, Bobby Keys – Saxophone
  • Jimmy Iovine – Assistant Engineer
  • Jim Keltner – Drums
  • Sneaky Pete Kleinow – Pedal Steel guitar
  • Bill Lacey – Audio Restoration
  • Acy Lehman – Art Direction
  • John Lennon – String Arrangements, Producer
  • Keith Moon – Congas, Drums, Wood Block
  • Erik Mueller – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Rachel Mueller – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Keith Munro – Producer, Coordination
  • Harry Nilsson – Piano, Fender Rhodes, Vocals, Performer, Author, Adaptation
  • May Pang – Production Assistant
  • Phylida Paterson – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Peri Prestopino – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Andrea T. Sheridan – Liner Notes
  • Willie "The Lion" Smith – Hammond organ
  • Ringo Starr – Drums, Maracas
  • David Steinberg – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Derek Taylor – Liner Notes
  • Cantey Turner – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Kristin Turner – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Damon Vigiano – Choir, Chorus, Children's Chorus
  • Klaus Voormann – Bass guitar
  • Cynthia Webb – Marimba
  • Paul Williams – Tape Research, Reissue Supervisor