George Harrison: Search & Destroy

def a step up from Extra Texture and Dark Hoarse

there's a lovely tribute to Smokey that vocally he almost pulls off

dude really milked diminished chords for everything he could

there's a lovely tribute to Smokey that vocally he almost pulls off

dude really milked diminished chords for everything he could

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XdvDeI-neI

33 1/3 is one of his better albums, yes.

on the whole his solo releases after All Things are an exercise in frustration; every album has at least one good song, most of them have a handful of really good songs, and an equal or greater proportion of shit.

On Gone Troppo I liked the Time Bandits song and Circles is alright for a Beatles leftover.

Most people will stick up for one after ATMP; I will for Living in the Material World and Cloud Nine (which doesn't have bad songs if you consider "Got My Mind..." an annoyance instead of shit).

every album has at least one good song, most of them have a handful of really good songs,

yeah when i was on a Harrison kick last year i *think* Extra Texture is the one i decided was the worst but "You" is still awesome

that's such, to quote him, a "grotty" album. His coke album, apparently, but it sounds as if he were on quaaludes.

"You" is still awesome

yes!! And yet I still kinda wish it was Ronnie Spector singing it instead of George, it really strains his range. But what a killer riff.

I feel like this is the case with a lot of the better material scattered across his solo albums - often they're marred by poor production choices. Lynne really was a corrective in this respect.

I dunno -- that SNL sax in "You" is an irritant. I'd rather George imitate the sax.

My favorite cover songs of George and John tunes.

Lynne really was a corrective in this respect.

I disagree. The four Dark Horse albums that precede Cloud Nine are all nice sounding. Also disagree that there's a lot of substandard stuff on them, but I suppose I am a fan. They're about a wash for me, probably 33 1/3, the '79 album, and Gone Troppo all about equal, with Somewhere in England a notch below.

And Gone Troppo is the nicest sounding of the bunch.

Start the cement mixer!

Start the cement mixer!

― timellison

put-ti put-ti

there's a lovely tribute to Smokey that vocally he almost pulls off

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

i mean soul in a bowl is great but now i'm imagining george singing "piss slave", badly

i'm just not sure he was vocally assertive enough for the song

re: covers - robert wyatt's "love" and, funnily enough, "weird" al yankovic's completely straight "what is life" are particular loves of mine

oh, and i do enjoy the bush tetras' "cold turkey" as well

the one thing about a lot of his solo albums that bugs me is that his voice sounds too high. this is particularly true on Extra Texture; maybe it's the coke, but it also just sounds like he sped up the tape a lot of the time.

"the '79 album" this is my second favorite solo albums of his. I think it's mostly completely marvelous. I even like "here comes the moon moon the moon the moon the moooooon"

"Your Love is Forever"! "Blow Away"!

I even like "here comes the moon moon the moon the moon the moooooon"

no need for shame, this is a v pretty song

I dunno -- that SNL sax in "You"...

"pretty" is exactly the word i'd used for "here comes the moon" - have been a fan since first listen.

Interesting tidbit I just leaned—sax courtesy of Jim Horn of Wrecking Crew fame, who also supplied flute on Canned Heat’s Goin Up the Country.

learned

I’m realizing that I’m still not over that terrible Scorsese documentary. One of the few I can remember that left me thinking less of its subject.

Listening again to BRAINWASHED. I'm fond of this record. 'Looking For My Life' a favourite.

I like that record a lot. I tend to stop before it gets to the title track, but everything else on it is lovely.

That's definitely one of his better records. All Things Must Pass is hands down my favorite by a huge margin (sans the "jam" disc, which George originally intended as a free 'bonus' rather than an actual part of the album proper), but Living in the Material World, the self-titled 1979 album and Cloud Nine aren't bad albums, and I'd put Brainwashed on par with those three.

"Any Road" is especially good, he's had that since the late '80s and even played it in his last TV performance several years before he passed away. "P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night" and the gorgeous instrumental "Marwa Blues" are two more highlights - I think those three tracks are the ones I'd return to the most, but the rest ain't bad. I haven't listened to them in years but I still remember bits from "Pisces Fish," "Stuck Inside a Cloud" and I think a few others. ("Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" is a charming cover, I've seen the video it came from quite a few times.)

Once a year I get to come on here and say "I reviewed that."

I reviewed that.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2002/12/31/shiva-shiva-yall/

Clem, that's a lovely review. I especially liked your pointing out how unusual and protean Harrison's guitar was, soaking up Hawaiian as well as Indian influences.

and, yes, Cloud Nine, birdistheword, is one of the most assured of Beatles solo albums.

Thanks, Alfred.

The strongest memory I have of that album--more Harrison's death, actually--is that, on the news, it was the very first break in non-stop 9/11 coverage. I remember checking the national news that night, and one or two networks led with 9/11, and the other(s) let with Harrison's death.

I recently discovered this 1987 interview with Harrison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1wkRVUlCzM

Pretty funny spot around the 7-minute mark when the interviewer mentions that Lennon was quoted as saying young George idolized him. George's response is kind of hilarious.

He's lying, of course, but the lack of sentimentality endears me to him.

and of course he's right about Lennon -- the bit from the 1980 Lennon interview exposes the power relationship. George is course correct about his own contributions to John songs.

LOL, re: that interview that was an excellent response. (And more than the others, Lennon was very vocal about every little contribution he made to everyone else's songs - there's a book that tried to break down the contributions of each member to each song, and the author said figuring out Lennon's required far less guesswork because he was more prone to bringing them up in great detail.)

I loved George's blunt sense of humor as well. You see that next to his sentimental side in that interview alone. He's often like that with John's death, and I think he can be because of his spirituality (i.e. his belief on what will happen to everyone after death).

Another example of that humor:
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/arts/no-3-beatle-reunion-george-harrison-says.html

And I always loved how he talked about John and Paul during the Beatles' HOF induction (both absent for very different reasons).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO-HK_csGwk

I like George’s smile, it was slightly mischievous but warm

“Be here now” and “the day the world gets round” are good stuff

"Crackerbox Palace" at CVS yesterday, "This is Love" at Publix this morning. WHAT ARE YOU TELLING ME

Without you, there's no point to this song.

Quite a bit of his music is enjoyable in small doses, like when you hear a minute of it in the background. I noticed this in the Scorsese doc - there were a few Living in the Material World songs that were beautiful when they scored a few scenes, but when I tried listening to the album, the same tracks in their entirety came off as boring and monotonous.

I need you is some weak shit

i've warmed on it a little since my comments (probably like ten years upthread) about its droopiness, but it's probably my least favorite beatles number by him.

listened to Sgt. Pepper's last night for the first time in an age and really adored WYWY. as a teen i just took its message as generic "spirituality" or "mysticism" but paying attention as an adult, it really is deep/heavy/trippy stuff to try to get over to a hundred million teenagers, good job george imo.

he and George Martin outdid themselves with that string arrangementt.

*arrangemen

ack

i've warmed on it a little since my comments (probably like ten years upthread) about its droopiness, but it's probably my least favorite beatles number by him.

"You Like Me Too Much" is hopeless as well.

It sounds like half the backing track is missing.

"I Need You" sounds like he just starting figuring out how to use the volume pedal two minutes before recording and said, "That's good enough." The song is decent, unlike "You Like Me Too Much", which is a weak song weakly arranged.