But it does get better. Harry was in his element in Son of Schmilsson, which includes appearances by Ringo Starr (Richie Snare), George Harrison (George Harrysong) and Peter Frampton. This preceded by two years the wretched excess of Pussycats, Nilsson's binging collaboration with John Lennon during the latter's infamous Lost Weekend period in 1974.

Although not without its own uneven moments, this album charted a couple of singles in "Remember (Christmas)" and "Spaceman," the latter highlighted by a pointed Frampton solo. A few of the songs were not ready for Prime Time, however, such as "Take 54," with its "I sang my balls off for you" lyric and "You're Breakin' My Heart" "You're breakin' my heart/you're tearin' it apart/so fuck you..." It's a sign of both Harry's stream-of-consciousness lyrical style and his newfound clout after the huge success of Nilsson Schmilssonin 1971.

The bonus tracks, like the original set, are a mixed bag. One is an alternate take of "Take 54" and shows why it was relegated to the can; another is the spare-but-effective "Campo De Encino," a Jimmy Webb tune recorded solo, with Nilsson on piano. There's also a single edit of "Daybreak," which turned out to be Harry's final chart single.

The new collection, Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson, contains 14 tracks, including nine of ten Hot 100 singles, together with (in addition to the obligatory title tune) "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City," "Without You," and the unavoidable (even now) "Coconut." The disc spans a period of ten years of RCA recordings, from 1967's Pandemonium Shadow Show("Without Her") to 1977's Knnillssonn ("All I Think About is You").

It's a compact collection for fans who don't want to lug the 49-track 1995 compilation Personal Best in their cars, and a good introduction to Nilsson for younger folks who missed it all the first time around.