Various Artists – Gotta Get Up! The Songs of Harry Nilsson Vol. 2

Back in 2017, Ace Records released a wonderful collection dedicated to Harry Nilsson, the songwriter, not the performer. The collection was a curious mix of the well known (The Monkees), the family member (his daughter Annie Nilsson) and the down right obscure (Jimmie Cross). The album sleeve said that all of the songs came from 1965-1972, and then opened with a song recorded in 2013. Oh well. That is a bit of nit picking on my part, but Ace Records did a really good job with this compilation as it made some of the pre fame singles that I had only ever heard on scratchy vinyl transfer, available in crystal clear sound for what could have been the first time.

As Nilsson has had his songs covered by a myriad of artists that were not covered by this compilation, I thought I would see if there was enough material to make a volume 2. What I found is there was indeed enough for not only a second volume, but a third as well. I decided to try and follow the template of the original compilation as close as I can, starting the disc with a cover of the song ‘Gotta Get Up’. This is not one of Nilsson’s most covered songs but luckily there were two additional covers I could use. Both discs contain 24 songs and once again, they feature a mix of well known artists as well as the obscure. These include Hugo Montenegros’s rather bizarre cover of ‘Me & My Arrow’; a song from The Walkman, who decided to cover the entire ‘Pussy Cats’ album and are a couple of novelty covers from The Muppets and British DJ Kenny Everett (who on this occasion, plays it quite straight).

Unlike Ace Record, I do not have access to the original tapes so some of these have been taken from vinyl transfers, so please excuse the pops etc. The sleeve is similar in style to the Ace Records volume. The differences being that I could not match the original font and there are no dates under the title. I decided that that was unnecessary as this was meant to highlight Nilsson songs throughout the years. Its not really the covers you are here for though, but the music. Well, that is top notch. Enjoy!

1. Gotta Get Up – Davy Jones & Mickey Dolenz
2. Rainmaker – Bobbie Gentry
3. All For The Beatles (Stand Up & Holler) – The Originals
4. The Battle Of The Bands – The Turtles
5. Daddy’s Song – The Casuals
6. Baby, It’s Over – Debbie Burton
7. Wailing Of The Willow – Astrid Gilberto
8. Me & My Arrow – Hugo Montenegro
9. Super-Dupa Man – Jimmie Cross
10. Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anymore – George Tipton
11. Sister Sue – The Soul Men
12. So Proud Of You – Vivian Roberts
13. I’d Do It All Again – Dore Alpert
14. Readin’ Ridin’ & Racin’ – The Super Stocks
15. Open Your Window – Ella Fitzgerald
16. Don’t Leave Me – Griffin
17. One – Three Dog Night
18. Coconut – The Muppets
19. Without Her – Kenny Everett
20. Maybe – Barbra Streisand
21. Chicago – The Citations
22. Headlines – The Sunday Funnies
23. Paradise – The Ronettes
24. I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City – Sagittarius