Himself is the debut album by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, released in the United Kingdom by MAM Records in August 1971, following the top 10 success of its single "Nothing Rhymed". O'Sullivan originally intended the album to feature only his voice and piano playing, until his manager and the album's producer Gordon Mills persuaded him to use full instrumentation and arrangements by Johnnie Spence. Mills also aided O'Sullivan with his songwriting, which incorporates an observational style and word play, the usage of the latter being influenced by Spike Milligan.
Upon release, Himself was a commercial success in the UK, reaching number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It received a warm reception from critics, and O'Sullivan became noted for his satirical lyrics and eye-catching, atypical dress style, which included a cloth cap and short trousers. The album was released with a revised track list in the United States in 1972, this time boasting the hit single "Alone Again (Naturally)". It reached number 9 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. A remastered edition of the original version of Himself was released by the Salvo label in 2011 as part of the Gilbert O'Sullivan - A Singer & His Songs collection.
Background and recording
Born in Waterford, Ireland in 1946, Raymond Edward O'Sullivan began playing the piano after moving to Swindon, England around the age of seven. A period of going to piano lessons was short-lived, as he was not enamoured with music theory and preferred to play pieces by ear. O'Sullivan began writing songs as a teenager, inspired by the Beatles and identifying with their ability "to write music without being able to read it, just through their love of it". By 1967, O'Sullivan had left Swindon for London, determined to get a record deal. Looking to stand out, he created an unorthodox image comprised a pudding basin haircut, cloth cap and short trousers. O'Sullivan has said his love of silent film inspired the look. After coming to the attention of manager Stephen Shane, O’Sullivan attained a five-year contract with April Music, CBS Records' house publishing company, on the strength of demo recordings made in his garden shed. Shane suggested O'Sullivan changed his name from Ray to Gilbert as a play on the name of the operetta composers Gilbert & Sullivan.
CBS issued "Disappear", O'Sullivan's first single in November 1967, credited to the mononym 'Gilbert'. It failed to chart, as did a follow-up, "What Can I Do", released in April 1968. A switch to the Northern Irish record label Major Minor in 1969 yielded a third single, "Mr. Moody's Garden", again unsuccessful. O'Sullivan then sent some demo tapes to Gordon Mills, the manager of Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck, and was signed to Mills' newly-founded label, MAM Records. Mills reportedly hated his image, but O'Sullivan insisted on using it initially. O'Sullivan's debut single on MAM Records, "Nothing Rhymed", was released in October 1970. It became the label's second major success when it peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart on 19 December 1970, after "I Hear You Knocking" by Dave Edmunds had topped the chart that month. "Nothing Rhymed" was followed in February 1971 by the uptempo "Underneath The Blanket Go", which stalled at number 40.
Gordon Mills produced Himself, which was recorded at Audio International Studios in London with sessions beginning in November 1970. With engineer Peter Rynston, recording sessions would last three hours and would also feature arranger Johnnie Spence. Gilbert O'Sullivan's original intention was to record the album with just piano and voice, but Mills persuaded him to use full instrumentation and string arrangements. In a 1971 interview, O'Sullivan elaborated: "Gordon says work up to it gradually so probably by the time of my third album it will be done like that. If I'd done it with piano and voice it wouldn't have been successful. It's a question of what fits the songs and I think the backings are appropriate." Mills had a strong influence even on the structure of the songs, as O'Sullivan would write "three middle eights and three times as many verses" and Mills would pick out which lyrics he found best. O'Sullivan considered it "an awful lot of fun" to have alternatives to play around with.