Chicago musician Neal Francis included Nilsson Sings Newman as one of the albums that "inspired his musical education and evolution":

I vividly remember the first time I heard this album. It was well over a decade ago on Christmas eve, and I was drinking at a bar called Skylark in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. The street outside was snowy and quiet. This record was playing and it connected with my emotions in that moment so viscerally that I’ll never forget it. I was feeling sad but I was happy to have a beer in my hand, which encapsulates the bucolic melancholy of tracks like ‘I’ll Be Home’, ‘Dayton Ohio (1903)’ and ‘So Long Dad’. Although I had been a fan of Randy Newman for a while, Harry Nilsson had yet escaped my radar and this record became my introduction to his music.
Just the sound of this album is incredible. I love the way the muted warmth of the grand piano underlays the lush layers of Harry Nilsson’s voice. Newman’s piano playing on this record is deceptively simple. His arrangements are sparse, but the voicings are elegant and remind me of Scott Joplin. Nilsson’s vocal arrangements provide the perfect counterpoint, his prodigious range allowed him to fill the remaining space, a veritable one man orchestra. The whole record sounds like an echo of a time long ago, much further back than even the time in which it was created: a bittersweet memory. ‘Nilsson Sings Newman’ remains a great record to cry to.

-- Neal Francis (2025)[1]

 

Neal Francis (born Neal Francis O’Hara; September 4, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Influenced by classic New Orleans artists such as Dr. John, the Meters, and Allen Toussaint, in addition to Sly Stone, Billy Preston, and Curtis Mayfield, he released his first album in 2019. His second album, In Plain Sight—a "revelatory blast of soul, R&B, and off-the-rails piano jams"—was released on ATO Records in 2021.

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