Harry Nilsson - The Monkees Demos/Cuddly Toy (Unreleased 1967)

Harry tells the story in the Personal Best anthology about these tapes, recorded on March 17, 1967 while auditioning material for The Monkees and their producer Chip Douglas, less than a month after Harry signed to RCA Records. The performances here are short and sweet, and the sound is incredible, as Harry quickly breezes through his material on acoustic guitar and piano - often changing his mind about what he wanted everyone to hear. Michael Nesmith was floored, and you can understand why. The Monkees were struggling to record Headquarters, their first album as a real band, when Harry comes bounding in like a one-man music machine. You can hear Harry chuckle as he effortlessly shifts into harmony on "Cuddly Toy," but note the Rubber Soul feel of Harry's acoustic original (and his obvious, Lennon-esque phrasing) during the "You're not the kind of girl..." bridges. The Monkees, already accustomed to high quality songwriters, would eventually cover Harry's "Cuddly Toy," among others. Harry even played keys and sang backup vocals on a few Monkee sessions over the years. (For The Love Of Harry)

I Live In A World (2:05)
Signs (2:36)
Countin' (false start) (1:00)
Countin' (2:30)
Cuddly Toy (2:49)
Hey Little Girl (2:34)
Good Times (1:53)
Superman (false start) (0:22)
This Could Be The Night (2:10)
The Story Of Rock And Roll (1:02)