For a while I’ve only had a copy of this on LP, which was generally OK. But last night I couldn’t get to sleep so I wound up hooking my turntable up to my computer and ripping this from the vinyl. It sounds great and is one of my favorite Nilsson covers.

MP3: Harry Nilsson – River Deep Mountain High (Ike & Tina cover)
Pretty ballsy cover choice, huh? The core of the song stays the same, but with most of the heavy lifting done by piano and — of course — Harry’s godlike voice. This still doesn’t top my love of his cover of Newman’s “Sail Away,” but luckily we don’t have to chose. We’ve got both, even though we no longer have Harry.

And of course, much love for the original. Here’s Ike & Tina performing it from their great live in Europe DVD.