George Harrison: Search & Destroy

No love for "don't bother me"?

Ouch.

For a short time I had a cassette of his "Dark Horse Years" greatest hits, until the tape got screwed up at the very beginning of a long Greyhound ride. Some great stuff on there - "Gone Troppo," "Crackerbox Palace," "Here Comes The Moon," "Blow Away." Could really do without the 'thoughtful' stuff, especially the 'all your money doesn't make you happy' trip on "Cheer Down." But some really nice material - wish it had had "Faster" on it but hey.

"Crackerbox Palace" may have been the first music video I've ever seen...I recall George popping out of a pram which was being pushed by a woman with John Lennon glasses...

I still own that Dark Horse tape; it's all you need own from the era. "Cheer Down" is terrific -- god, the guy needed collaborators.

"Blow Away" would make a solo Beatles CD-R comp.

Proof that McCartney wasn't a control freak is that mewling, turgid pomposity like "While My Guitar Noisily and Repititiously Whines" and "Something"(genius lyric - "I don't kno-o- ow, I-I-I don't know") was allowed on their albums.

"Something" has been recorded in, what is it?, 300-400 different versions or Something. So I guess there must be Something to it....

So, if there is any song that summarizes George Harrison solo it's "That Is All."

On the Living In the Material World, it's this histrionic atrocity with one of the man's worst vocals ever (and that's saying something). Witness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTb0SurR2p4

Thankfully, I got to know the song as the lead track on Harry Nilsson's 1976 ...That's the Way It Is record, which reveals the song to be one of the best, most lovely things George ever wrote. Witness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9jmq_8oTLI

http://thisiheard.blogspot.com/2009/12/george-harrison-dream-away-1982.html

i like that harrison vocal
xpost

this is weird

http://www.youtube.com/user/pizzatimeplayer

But destroy a lot of the rest, and destroy his ethos above all: it's the Sham 69 of hippiedom, the ugly meme that discredits all the good stuff.

― Robin Carmody, Friday, August 31, 2001 12:00 AM (9 years ago)

wonder what the hell this was supposed to mean.

I think it was an accusation that there was too much dogma in his lyrics.

Does Robin post here anymore? He was all over ILM in its early days -- and he has a nice British name.

A musician friend and I discussed George on Saturday; he was even more violent in his dismissal. "The guy's almost as bad a crank as Lou Reed, except he had the fortune never to record Berlin.

I remember when a friend played me "It's Johnny's Birthday." I thought they were singing "This song is worthless." I agreed.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Saturday, August 19, 2006 9:

lol

Remove Living in the Material World and Somewhere in England from his discography and I don't think anyone ever makes that accusation, Alfred.

A musician friend and I discussed George on Saturday; he was even more violent in his dismissal. "The guy's almost as bad a crank as Lou Reed, except he had the fortune never to record Berlin.

I thought George came off really well in the Anthology series - maybe a bit dismissive of The Beatles legacy, but he seemed to really have good humor about it.

He had moments of Cranky Old Dad that mitigated Ringo and Paul's sentimentality -- gestures and remarks you imagine John would have made -- but I always remember this moment when the three are jamming on stools and Paul, obviously having a ball, says, "Another one?" and George aims the briefest of evil scowls at him, as if he's thinking, "It's not 1969, motherfucker."

Download zip file of "Beware of Abkco", solo demos for "All Things Must Pass." Love this, could even bring some of the haters around:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YLWVTLIV

I watched the Concert for Bangladesh recently & was pretty shocked at how thin George's voice was. I like his Beatles songs from "If I Needed Someone" on (though not before that), but haven't ever gotten into anything post-Beatles (not for lack of trying, esp. with All Things Must Pass). But that live set, yeesh; George's vocals sound like hard work & that's no fun to hear, especially when the singing is so cringeworthy otherwise. It's a drag, isn't it?

That's exactly my problem with most of his solo albums: he can't sing worth a damn, which makes his homilies a chore to sit through, and he's not resourceful enough a producer to arrange his songs in a way that mitigates the preaching.

Remove Living in the Material World and Somewhere in England from his discography . .

The former has two of my favorite George songs, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long."

he can't sing worth a damn

Given his multitracked backing vocals all over "All Things Must Pass," some of which are pretty dense and complex, this is madness.

You just made my point though: the vocals were multitracked and produced by Phil Spector. George needs help.

There's a gulf of difference between "can't sing worth a damn" and "requires a producer's guidance."

When I hear him mangle the line "you made me such a big star" on the Bangladesh "Wah Wah", I'm inclined to say "can't sing worth a damn".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDCP4UeXgw8

Phil, I only mentioned those two albums because I think they might have the heaviest concentration of the type of lyrics that were being criticized. No one's ever going to say they can't take Gone Troppo because it's too heavy-handed.

And Alfred, as ever, I disagree with your producer stance. Phil Spector is one thing, but I really like the sound of the Dark Horse-era albums. And there are collaborators on those records - all the people who play on them.

What's the name of that Harrisong playing at the very end of the Time Bandits movie?

"Dream Away" - one of his greatest!

yeeesss!

Well, it's like "All things must pass", I quite like the first third, but the second gets very "more of the same" but more heavydraggy.

(The "jam" album I don't mind, actually!)

Well, I do mind the jam album. A lot. Then again I got a whole lotta love for most of what comes before it. On ATMP.

Wonderwall is one very decent soundtrack too.

Yeah, I'd call it the very definition of "overlooked"

Alfred's constant dismissals of George reminiscent of famous talent scout putdown of Fred Astaire

He had moments of Cranky Old Dad that mitigated Ringo and Paul's sentimentality -- gestures and remarks you imagine John would have made -- but I always remember this moment when the three are jamming on stools and Paul, obviously having a ball, says, "Another one?" and George aims the briefest of evil scowls at him, as if he's thinking, "It's not 1969, motherfucker."

It seems like George took the opportunity of the Anthology to assert himself and stand up to Paul's condescension. He insisted on Jeff Lynne to produce, shut things down when a third Threetles song wasn't working out, and vetoed "Carnival Of Light" on Anthology 2 (that last one rankles, though).

According to Peter Doggett's indispensable You Never Give Me Your Money, George only did the Anthology because he was nearly bankrupt from his film company and a shady business manager or two.

George is my favorite Beatle

Bangladesh album is a mess though, I'm not gonna defend that. Dylan's version of Maggie's Farm from that is pretty fun tho

tho

Jim Keltner and Ringo doubling their drum parts during the Bangladesh Concert is one of the alternately most pointless/entertaining things about ti

When I hear him mangle the line "you made me such a big star" on the Bangladesh "Wah Wah", I'm inclined to say "can't sing worth a damn".

I've honestly never seen Bangladesh straight through, just snippets here and there (must rectify) but damn if that youtube didn't give me chills. I didn't hear that line (or any of his singing on that song) as mangled; I think he sounds ragged but right.

yeah it's not like he Amy Winehouse'd it or anything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2wrte1ijlY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng511CKPt3w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D9JuiJNizw

George stuff I like from the seventies:

"Blow Away" (who needs Macca when you've got this chorus?)
"This Song" (not very funny, but he sounds like he's enjoying himself over this 'ere beat)
"Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" (a God song about being real horny; one of the few times he understood Al Green)

I've honestly never seen Bangladesh straight through, just snippets here and there (must rectify) but damn if that youtube didn't give me chills. I didn't hear that line (or any of his singing on that song) as mangled; I think he sounds ragged but right.

Also, he seems pretty at-ease and comfortable for a guy who hadn't been on a concert stage in five years.

George is maybe the best thing about this tune (apart from the lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwWp98IuGE

His dual slide guitar solo on "Day After Day" is great, too.

I've always had a soft spot for this drunken hootenanny of a b-side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lum7Pow-vTA