John Lennon produced the latest album of the Beatles imitator, who is so good that he nearly fooled the group itself when he began recording several years ago. It's a hit, too. From Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" to Nilsson's own "Don't Forget Me," this is the kind of humor, energy and plain good music almost all superstar productions miss.

-- Dave Marsh (1974) [1]

 

Harry Nilsson has come out with yet another good album. This time it's Pussy Cats, produced by John Lennon and featuring the likes of Keith Moon (from The Who), Jim Keltner and Sneaky Pete (both of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen), Jim Horn ("Layla" and others), Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman and, of course, John Lennon.
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Nilsson's inability to take himself seriously makes its appearance on "Black Sails," a song about a girl with so many veins in her leg they look lie maps ("You're so veiny/You probably think this map is about you."
The album also features a performance by the Masked Alberts Orchestra, whatever that is. On an album by a man who is know to have listed Harrison and Starr on the credits as George Harrysong and Richie Snare, well which former Beatle could be a Masked Albert? It's pure speculation, but why not? Every other ex-Beatie has popped up on one Nilsson album or another. Why not McCartney?

-- Chuck Strinz (1974) [2]

 

Pussy Cats is an interesting experience, to say the least. Featuring some of the era’s most defining characters, it is a peculiar feature in Nilsson and Lennon’s back catalogues. Equally as strange as Paul McCartney’s earliest solo works, you get the feeling that the excesses consumed by the period’s premier musicians were starting to take their toll by 1974. Regardless, there are highlights that make it definitely worth revisiting....

-- Arun Starkey (2021) [3]