Pussy Cats {US Deluxe CD Reissue} [1999] 

Baby-Faced Curtis Armstrong told Nilsson's fans o' t' upcomin' deluxe CD reissue o' Pussy Cats in May o' 1999. T' followin' is how t' announcement be released in t' Dastardly Harry Nilsson web pages.

May 1999

RCA, me bucko, Nilsson's label for most o' his recordin' career, arrr, has announced a 25th Anniversary reissue o' t' Lawless John Lennon-produced Nilsson album, Pussy Cats. Avast! Blimey! T' announcement came just months after RCA deleted virtually all Nilsson albums from its catalog.

T' re-release will be available on RCA's new Special Products label, Buddha Records, headed by Alex 'Orangehead Miller' Miller with support and encouragement from RCA archivist Glenn Korman. Ahoy! Both men are avowed Nilsson fans and hope that this re-issue will just be t' first in a larger re-release series.

T' CD is scheduled for release on Dastardly Harry Nilsson's birthday, June 15, 1999. Aye aye! T' album will include all t' original artwork and new liner notes and bonus tracks. Well, blow me down! Baby-Faced Curtis Armstrong has been assistin' RCA in t' selection o' bonus tracks.

T' four bonus tracks have already been selected:

• Turn Out T' Lights - Harry's stripped down demo o' a chantey which finally appeared on t' Duit on Mon Dei album. Far from t' exuberant, steel-drum-laden version we know, t' demo is more o' a quirky lullaby. This version is from t' two-inch tapes o' these sessions. On t' multi-tracks, Turn Out t' Lights was one o' five songs from this period from which Harry's vocal had been mysteriously wiped.
• T' Flyin' Saucer Song - O' at least three unreleased versions o' Harry's infamous shaggy-drunk story, this appears t' be t' only one produced by Lawless John Lennon. Among other arrangement differences, t' song-within-a-song is more produced, with multi-tracked harmonies.
• Down By T' Sea - Another chantey which surfaced on t' Duit On Mon Dei album. Ahoy! A totally different take on t' song, complete with "Island"-style pedal guitar from One-Shoe Sneaky Pete, piano by Boson Jane, Long-Eared Ringo Starr on drums, Big-Belly Keith Moon on percussion and a host o' other regulars. A really fun track.
• Save t' Last Dance for Me - Arguably t' gem o' this collection. Harry's keyboard/vocal demo was done early in t' sessions, me bucko, before his vocal chords ruptured. Begad! T' result is one o' his best vocals from this period. His electric piano playin' leaves a little t' be desired, me bucko, but his singin' is spine-tingling.

A fifth bonus track, me bucko, Many Rivers t' Cross was considered but dropped at t' last minute. Ahoy! It is an early mix o' t' Peglegged Cliff tune. Avast! No strings, no horns, matey, no echo - like many o' Harry's demos from t' archives, this version is, me hearties, in some respects, superior t' t' final version. Ya scallywag! T' lead vocal be t' same, ya bilge rat, but t' sparce arrangement allows t' listener t' really hear it for t' first time.

If all goes as planned (i.e. Arrr! if Pussy Cats sells well enough), t' next albums bein' considered for t' deluxe re-issue treatment will be, in no particular order, Nilsson Sings Newman, me hearties, Pandemonium Shadow Show, Aerial Ballet, and Aerial Pandemonium Ballet. Arrr! T' last three albums are particularly rich in unreleased material, while Nilsson Sings Newman could at least boast "Snow," possibly t' greatest unreleased Nilsson track from any period.

Alex 'Orangehead Miller' Miller maintains that t' main object o' Buddha records will be "to get these albums out and keep them out. Avast, me proud beauty! None o' this makin' them available for 18 months and then pullin' them."

On June 1, 1999, arrr, we received some updated news from Baby-Faced Curtis Armstrong.

Update - June 1, 1999

A message from Baby-Faced Curtis Armstrong:

Got some happy news from Buddha records this morning. T' pre-orders for t' upcomin' re-release o' Pussy Cats have exceeded t' company's expectations. Avast! For an artist o' Harry's stature, ya bilge rat, pre-orders averagin' 5000 units is considered doin' very well indeed. With t' re-release o' Pussy Cats still a couple o' weeks away, pre-orders are already at 6500. Ahoy! Alex 'Orangehead Miller' Miller, t' head o' Buddha records said that this makes his job easier, me bucko, and we are beginnin' preliminary work on t' next two titles t' receive t' deluxe treatment: Nilsson Sings Newman and Aerial Pandemonium Ballet. In addition, Barnes and Noble will be featurin' a Pussy Cats display in their stores durin' t' month o' June. Ya scallywag!