"Pussy Cats" was certainly far from the best of the late, great Harry Nilsson's albums, but its back story can't be beat -- a product of John Lennon's infamous "lost weekend" of 1974, which he spent boozing it up with Nilsson in Los Angeles, taking time out from their busy partying schedule to produce this album. The strange, sloppy air of the album, the dazed camaraderie of it, appealed to the Walkmen, who, on a lark, decided to record a full re-creation, which is coming out in October on Record Collection. One of the most fascinating things about "Pussy Cats" is that Nilsson, the silkiest of singers, was losing his voice, and sounded desperate and anything but smooth, and on this track Hamilton Leithauser nails it perfectly, turning in a ragged, bloody, passionate performance.
-- T.B.
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