Did George Harrison have the best solo career of all the Beatles?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Haristar, May 24, 2016.

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  1. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    And, of course, some of the best material on All Things Must Pass was written about John and/or Paul. Indeed, Harrison exorcised a lot of his Beatles "baggage" on that album. And it was a "jump the shark moment" as well...you put out a triple album as yer debut...how th' hell are you ever supposed to top that?!
    Sadly, I agree. Amazing how Lennon went from being possibly the greatest, most original songwriter of his generation, writing songs like "Strawberry Fields" and "I Am The Walrus", to writing stuff like "Luck Of The Irish" and "One Day At A Time". But again, the Plastic Ono Band album is Lennon's solo "jump the shark"- when you bare your soul like that and match such emotional lyrics with some of the greatest music you ever made, how do you top it?
    Absolutely- from a purely "musical" standpoint Harrison trumps Lennon as a songwriter and arranger (after all, Lennon complained more than once even when The Beatles were together that he found some of George's songs "difficult" to play, which certainly says more about John's musical abilities than it does George's songwriting). Hey, when George made a record he mainly worked with his friends but they were some of the musical cream of the crop; George never would have went slumming with a fifteenth rate bar band like Elephant's Memory like Lennon did. Of course after that Lennon saw the light and took the same route of making his records with the best musicians he could find. In both cases, though, the music took on a blander feel and lost some of its edge.

    And as far as "George's preaching" VS "Lennon's politics" goes, I'm not fan of either but give me George's preaching any day...at least his message isn't quite as naive, it's more universal, and isn't as instantly dated as most of Lennon's "message" material was.
     
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  2. Meddle

    Meddle Forum Resident

    Location:
    waxahachie TX USA
    It's the most underrated
     
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  3. ccbarr

    ccbarr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa, USA
    I lean toward McCartney, but I absolutely think Harrison had a fantastic solo career. All Things Must Pass is his high point for sure, but Living In The Material World, 33 & 1/3, Cloud Nine and Brainwashed are all albums that are just a peg or so below ATMP. Materal World is maybe a bit "preachy", but not that bad really, and the melodies are just as strong as ATMP. Also, while I enjoy the Wall Of Sound production on ATMP, it is nice to hear a song like "Give Me Love" or "Be Here Now" or "Try Some Buy Some" with a nice, simple production. I can't imagine what the expectations were following ATMP and The Concert For Bangladesh, huge I know, so LITMW was sorta dismissed by some of the public since it didn't top ATMP. ATMP was one of those "once in a lifetime" albums, there is no way Material World could be that album, but judged on it's own I feel LITMW is a 5 star album.

    33 & 1/3 is George finding the perfect balance of melody, humor and spritualism. Also some very nice love songs to his new wife Olivia, Harrison just seems so happy and at peace on this album, "This Song" is great tune, and the lyrics are as funny and clever as anything Lennon or Dylan wrote IMO. "Crackerbox Palace" is just such a happy, warm song. Great melody, fun lyrics, again Harrison just sounds happy. The album is also kinda funky, with songs like "It's What You Value" and "Woman Don't You Cry For Me" having nice grooves. Cloud Nine is a similar album, an album full of great melodies and lyrics. I suppose Lynne's production gives it that "80s' sound, but I don't mind it. Too many good songs to list, if anyone thinks this album is just "I've Got My Mind Set On You" they are in for a nice surprise.

    Brainwashed is George looking Death in the face, and being both introspective and funny. "Any Road" is a classic Harrisong, and maybe his best album opener. Cool "Alice In Wonderland" lyrics and a great melody. Fantastic guitar playing by George as well, and nice to hear a ukulele. "Pisces Fish" and "Looking For My Life" are raw, personal songs from George, which is somewhat rare. The slide playing on "Marwa Blues" may be the best George ever did, if not top 5 for sure. "P2 Vatican Blues" is a funny send up of George's Catholic upbringing, and the title track is another biting observation on society. "Stuck Inside A Cloud" is just a haunting, yet beautiful song. Such a great album, and Jeff and Dhani did a great job finishing and producing it.

    I've already wrote a novel so I won't go into detail on any of his other albums, Gone Troppo makes me feel at the beach when I listen to it, the S/T album is a sunny pop album, and Dark Horse is a great song cycle on where George's life was at during that time. As I said, solo McCartney is my favorite artist ever, but I can honestly say that there isn't a single track I skip on any of George's solo studio albums, starting with ATMP. I do skip the Apple Jam sometimes, but I've read interviews from George where he said the Apple Jam disc was a bonus, a seperate entity from the first two discs. He said something like since they recorded it he included it as a bonus. The album was priced as a 3 LP set when it came out if I'm not mistaken, but I still view the Apple Jam disc as a bonus disc.

    Sorry everyone for the novel, tried to condense my feelings on an artist very important to me, but I didn't do very well.
     
  4. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Very nicely expressed.

    I too have a highly favorable view of Living In The Material World and also Dark Horse (if you can overlook some of the weak vocals of George on Dark Horse, the songs are instrumentally top notch --- except for "Bye Bye Love" of course; that one was a dud).

    One thing to point out: "Try Some Buy Some", which you mention as having a "nice, simple production", was the one song on Living In The Material World produced by Phil Spector.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2016
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  5. ccbarr

    ccbarr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa, USA
    I had forgot that about "Try Some Buy Some", great point. I remember now George wrote that with Ronnie Spector in mind, and I'm listening to it now and it does have a bit of the Spector sound, but at least not the whole wall of sound. I'm kinda glad Phil flaked out on these sessions, as George was a very capable producer and it shows on LITMW. Great point about Dark Horse, I do long for a version with proper vocals from George, the demo of "Dark Horse" on the remaster is a teaser. :p
     
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  6. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    No. For me it's Paul. Most surprising is how well Ringo did. He held his own against stiff competition. (And help.)
     
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  7. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Excellent critique of Harrison's career, but -and you just knew I was gonna ask this- where does Extra Texture fit in?:D

    I also like yer idea of Dark Horse being a "song cycle"...it makes sense, and, yes, even "Bye Bye Love" fits in in that context:righton:
     
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