I guess I'm still a little in shock today. My good friend Tom woke me up
with a call at 3:30 AM today to tell my that George had passed away. Although it was
probably expected from many Beatle fans, it's still hard to imagine that George and
John Lennon are no longer with us. George's contribution to music with and without
The Beatles can never be over-stated. He was an original performer who only wrote
songs that appealed to himself and never really tried to appeal to the masses.
George was also the perfect "foil" to Lennon and McCartney. He was never afraid to
knock them off their pedistal once in a while, which is something they needed. Here
are my memories and favorites of George's music:
Without babbling too much here, I have quite a few favorites that George Harrison
wrote during The Beatle years. Many people list "Here Comes the Sun" or "Something" as their
favorite Harrison song, period. I would tend to agree; George's contribution to 1969's
"Abbey Road" is what gave the album plenty of heart. Without a doubt, these are the two
most powerful songs on The Beatle's final recording. George truly hit his stride in
taking attention away from the other three... just in time for the band to break up!
But, I think I can also pick a few more obscure Beatle's tunes when I think of my
other favorites. "I Need You" off the "HELP!" soundtrack features some original feed-back
guitar. It's a kind of a strange addition to such a light-hearted song, but it helps to
make the song very memorable.
George truly started to make an impression with songwriting on the "Rubber Soul" album.
One of the better songs on the entire release would be "If I Needed Someone". Here is where
George started to make more on an impression as a guitarist more than anything, but I've always
liked the lyric "carve your name up on my wall and maybe you will get a call from me.". "Think for Yourself" shows off some
funky harmonium while Paul plucks away at a fuzz bass. Seems that George was the one
willing to try new sounds within The Beatles, another case in point would be his sitar on Lennon's "Norweigan
Wood". George Harrison's songwriting also began to grown as The Beatles started to mature
as a unit. The psychedelic "Blue Jay Way" rivals Lennon's "I Am the Walrus" for pure weirdness.
The song's spacey performance was the highlight of the "Magical Mystery Tour" movie. "Savoy
Truffle" off "The White Album" is probably one of the first rock songs to discuss affection
for chocolate and confectionery products! Driving guitar mixed in with jazzy horns is one
of the more original songs off the release. Another favorite from the later era would have
to be "I Me Mine" from the "Let It Be" album. George originally described this song as a
"heavy waltz", but I remember it for featuring a wonderful harmonized vocal with Paul McCartney
during the chorus. By this point in his career, George was ready to go out on his own
as a solo performer. He was definitely the first to make people take notice.
George hit it big with "My Sweet Lord" and "What is Life" off the "All Things Must Pass"
release. I did a full review of this cd back in February, so click
here for the full review. In the early 70's, he also had hits with "Bangla Desh" and
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)". But critics started to beat him up a little by the
middle of the decade because his album work wasn't as consistent. George did rebound quite
well on 1979's "George Harrison". One of my favorites by him, the more pop-oriented release
gave us the bright hit "Blow Away". I remember the album more for songs like "Love Comes To
Everyone", which would have fit nicely on a later Beatle's album, and his tribute to car
racing "Faster". On this particular release, George gave up some of the "moodier" selections
to make this a very accesible album.
After the death of John Lennon, George released the classic "All Those Years Ago" as a dedication
to him. Including Ringo, Paul and Linda, Denny Laine, and producer George Martin on the release,
this song was the first reunion of The Beatles prior to The Anthology. This particular song
appeared on 1981's "Somewhere in England". Another one of my favorites, this release also
featured such unknown jems like the spiritual "Life Itself" and the fun "Blood From a Clone".
The funky "Save the World" comes off as a more modern protest song that shows off George's
sarcastic humor without sounding preachy.
I truly think that the most important era in George's solo career came in the late 1980's. After
taking a 5 year break, he released the highly successful "Cloud Nine" album in 1987. Featuring
help from Ringo, Jeff Lynne, Eric Clapton, and Elton John, this was the strongest solo release
since "All Things Must Pass". The release was best known for the single "Got My Mind Set on
You", but I best remember the album for the bluesy "Cloud Nine" (featuring a solid guitar
jam between Clapton and Harrison) and the amazingly well done "When We Was Fab". "Fab" was a deliberate
attempt to sound like the 1967 Beatles, and he pulled off better than anyone since. The first
Traveling Wilbury release was a bona fide smash the following year. George's main
contribution to the album was "Handle with Care", but the true attraction was how all five
members of the super group contributed to each number. I credit the release with introducing
me to the amazing voice of the late Roy Orbison. Orbison's contribution to "Not Alone Any More"
is the best highlight from this release. "Traveling Wiburys Volume One" was easily the
best album of 1988.
George Harrison finished off the 80's with a volume two of greatest hits, "The Best of Dark Horse
1976-1989". On here, George included the brilliant "Cheer Down" from the "Leathel Weapon 2"
soundtrack. The song shows off some of his trademark slide guitar work. A second Wilburys
release, "Traveling Wilburys Volume Three", was a bittersweet effort because of the loss of
Roy Orbison. The album didn't raise as much attention as the first release, but it was still
a solid effort. Bob Dylan stepped to the spotlight on the bluegrass feel of "7 Deadly Sins",
while George contributed to "The Devil's Been Busy", my favorite on the release. George's main
contributions to the rest of the 1990's was "Live in Japan" and his contributions to "Real Love"
and "Free as a Bird" for The Beatles' "Anthology" project. Besides other projects with Ravi
Shanker and Ringo Starr, George spent the majority of the late 90's fighting the cancer that
eventually took his life. I'm grateful for the quality work that he produced over the years.
Hopefully, there is enough quality material in the archieves that will start seeing the light
of day after his passing.
Click here to return to the November 2001 review page.
Without babbling too much here, I have quite a few favorites that George Harrison
wrote during The Beatle years. Many people list "Here Comes the Sun" or "Something" as their
favorite Harrison song, period. I would tend to agree; George's contribution to 1969's
"Abbey Road" is what gave the album plenty of heart. Without a doubt, these are the two
most powerful songs on The Beatle's final recording. George truly hit his stride in
taking attention away from the other three... just in time for the band to break up!
But, I think I can also pick a few more obscure Beatle's tunes when I think of my
other favorites. "I Need You" off the "HELP!" soundtrack features some original feed-back
guitar. It's a kind of a strange addition to such a light-hearted song, but it helps to
make the song very memorable.
George truly started to make an impression with songwriting on the "Rubber Soul" album.
One of the better songs on the entire release would be "If I Needed Someone". Here is where
George started to make more on an impression as a guitarist more than anything, but I've always
liked the lyric "carve your name up on my wall and maybe you will get a call from me.". "Think for Yourself" shows off some
funky harmonium while Paul plucks away at a fuzz bass. Seems that George was the one
willing to try new sounds within The Beatles, another case in point would be his sitar on Lennon's "Norweigan
Wood". George Harrison's songwriting also began to grown as The Beatles started to mature
as a unit. The psychedelic "Blue Jay Way" rivals Lennon's "I Am the Walrus" for pure weirdness.
The song's spacey performance was the highlight of the "Magical Mystery Tour" movie. "Savoy
Truffle" off "The White Album" is probably one of the first rock songs to discuss affection
for chocolate and confectionery products! Driving guitar mixed in with jazzy horns is one
of the more original songs off the release. Another favorite from the later era would have
to be "I Me Mine" from the "Let It Be" album. George originally described this song as a
"heavy waltz", but I remember it for featuring a wonderful harmonized vocal with Paul McCartney
during the chorus. By this point in his career, George was ready to go out on his own
as a solo performer. He was definitely the first to make people take notice.
George hit it big with "My Sweet Lord" and "What is Life" off the "All Things Must Pass"
release. I did a full review of this cd back in February, so click 
After the death of John Lennon, George released the classic "All Those Years Ago" as a dedication
to him. Including Ringo, Paul and Linda, Denny Laine, and producer George Martin on the release,
this song was the first reunion of The Beatles prior to The Anthology. This particular song
appeared on 1981's "Somewhere in England". Another one of my favorites, this release also
featured such unknown jems like the spiritual "Life Itself" and the fun "Blood From a Clone".
The funky "Save the World" comes off as a more modern protest song that shows off George's
sarcastic humor without sounding preachy.
I truly think that the most important era in George's solo career came in the late 1980's. After
taking a 5 year break, he released the highly successful "Cloud Nine" album in 1987. Featuring
help from Ringo, Jeff Lynne, Eric Clapton, and Elton John, this was the strongest solo release
since "All Things Must Pass". The release was best known for the single "Got My Mind Set on
You", but I best remember the album for the bluesy "Cloud Nine" (featuring a solid guitar
jam between Clapton and Harrison) and the amazingly well done "When We Was Fab". "Fab" was a deliberate
attempt to sound like the 1967 Beatles, and he pulled off better than anyone since. The first
Traveling Wilbury release was a bona fide smash the following year. George's main
contribution to the album was "Handle with Care", but the true attraction was how all five
members of the super group contributed to each number. I credit the release with introducing
me to the amazing voice of the late Roy Orbison. Orbison's contribution to "Not Alone Any More"
is the best highlight from this release. "Traveling Wiburys Volume One" was easily the
best album of 1988.
George Harrison finished off the 80's with a volume two of greatest hits, "The Best of Dark Horse
1976-1989". On here, George included the brilliant "Cheer Down" from the "Leathel Weapon 2"
soundtrack. The song shows off some of his trademark slide guitar work. A second Wilburys
release, "Traveling Wilburys Volume Three", was a bittersweet effort because of the loss of
Roy Orbison. The album didn't raise as much attention as the first release, but it was still
a solid effort. Bob Dylan stepped to the spotlight on the bluegrass feel of "7 Deadly Sins",
while George contributed to "The Devil's Been Busy", my favorite on the release. George's main
contributions to the rest of the 1990's was "Live in Japan" and his contributions to "Real Love"
and "Free as a Bird" for The Beatles' "Anthology" project. Besides other projects with Ravi
Shanker and Ringo Starr, George spent the majority of the late 90's fighting the cancer that
eventually took his life. I'm grateful for the quality work that he produced over the years.
Hopefully, there is enough quality material in the archieves that will start seeing the light
of day after his passing.