Nelson jumps into the fire of Nilssons tormented genius.
Nelson jumps into the fire of Nilsson's tormented genius. Design by Evan Sult, from elements of the 1865 satirical novel The Loyal Man in the Moon, author/artist unknown

Sean Nelson, "Down" (self-released)

Eighteen years in the making, Nelson Sings Nilsson is Sean Nelson's elaborate labor of lust to the ornately melodious songbook of Harry Nilsson, of whom John Winston Ono Lennon MBE was a No. 1 fan. Throughout the '60s and '70s, Nilsson—who died in 1994 at age 52—was a songwriter's songwriter, beloved by some of the industry's highest ranking hotshots. But despite scoring hits such as "Everybody's Talkin'" (from the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack), "Without You," and "Coconut," he somehow seemed tragically undervalued by the general public, who excel at tragically undervaluing geniuses... even those who pen the theme song to television shows such as The Courtship of Eddie's Father ("Best Friend").

Whenever I see the name Nilsson, I hear a phantom sad trombone... that's playing "Daddy's Song," which ex-Harvey Danger singer/ex-Stranger editor Nelson covers spectacularly on this digital-only album. You may know this cheerful ditty via the Monkees' version on the Head OST. FYI: Sean outshines the late Davy Jones on the mic.

Anyway... Nelson Sings Nilsson consists of 13 songs Sean recorded with a 27-piece rock band/orchestra that features some of Seattle’s finest players, with multi-instrumentalist/arranger Mark Nichols (Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen) and Steve Fisk (Stranger genius and much more) producing, mixing, and engineering them. The impetus behind the project? Nelson explains in the liner notes: "Everything about [Nilsson] struck a deep chord in me—the humor, the pathos, the pathos camouflaged by humor, the marriage of rock and roll and music hall, the take-me-or-leave-me attitude to the music biz, and above all, of course, the astonishing voice."

"Down" is one of many show-stoppers on the 1971 LP Nilsson Schmillson, a favorite of many fans, including this one. The brassy bravado of "Down" belies a song about a descent into decadence. Nelson ups the ante with a more robust rhythm section while slightly intensifying the horn power and vocal desperation. It's a potent display of swanky swagger, elevated further by a stealth insertion of the lyrics to "Jump into the Fire," Nilsson's toughest-rockin' and motorik-funkin' track. Make no mistake: Nelson rode "Down" hard and put it away wet.

Nelson Sings Nilsson is available via Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, and iTunes. Nelson says, "I'm not happy it's only available via streaming platforms, but my perspective on mortality has changed a lot in the past several months, and I didn't want to die without releasing it. In the end I decided that for all its drawbacks, Spotify was better than a rusty hard drive in my basement."