Nilsson Sings Newman - Release and Response

Release and Response

In February 1970, the album was released by RCA Records. The cover art was completed by Dean Torrence, known for his teaming with Jan Berry to create the rock and roll duo Jan and Dean. Since Berry's near-fatal auto accident in 1966, Torrence had become a graphic artist; his sepia tone scene depicted Nilsson driving an old American car through the countryside with Newman in the back seat. The car is a 1938 Graham-Paige four-door sedan, rusty but working.

The audio equipment and record review magazine Stereo Review named Nilsson Sings Newman their album of the year. Even so, the album did not sell well, possibly because of the "idiosyncratic quality" of its ballads and the paucity of reviews. Newman said in an interview how he personally went to assess the sales of the album at a record store in Los Angeles. He asked a clerk (who did not recognize him) "do you have any Nilsson albums?" and the clerk guided him through each one, describing its sales and whether he recommended it. He came to Nilsson Sings Newman and said, "this is the one that nearly finished him off." In one of the few reviews, the weekly magazine Cue in New York praised the artistry saying that "Nilsson was dealing with material as powerful as his own, but was free to concentrate entirely on his gifts as a performer." Cue said that this album was free of the "overwhelmingly complex" personal expressions that came earlier from "Nilsson singing Nilsson, and Newman singing Newman".

In April 1970, Newman released his second album, 12 Songs, a collection featuring spare arrangements with simple instrumental parts underneath Newman's vocals, Ry Cooder providing an economical backdrop of slide guitar. The song "Mama Told Me Not to Come", written four years earlier for Eric Burdon, was delivered in stripped-down form, and helped Newman establish himself as a composer of note. Newman appeared in solo engagements beginning in June 1970 on an NBC TV special hosted by Liza Minnelli. "Mama Told Me Not to Come" yielded a #1 chart topper for Three Dog Night in July 1970. Newman's career was in high gear.

Nilsson's next recording project was the soundtrack for a children's fantasy film he conceived, titled The Point!, finished in 1971. His next popular release was Nilsson Schmilsson with its hit single "Without You" composed earlier by Badfinger.