George Harrison - Bangladesh Single*

Easy done.
And that isn't even reaching.
I'm looking at you "Think For Yourself".

 

Those are good choices...although I would probably switch out "Ding Dong" for "This Guitar".

Does anybody know if the "Bangla Desh" single is remixed on iTunes? I only ask because I know the live CFBD album was.

 

Eight of the ten tracks on Blast From Your Past were single a-sides, seven of which had been top-ten hits. Ten songs is pretty short weight for an album, but having seven top ten hits makes it commercially feasible.

By contrast, at that point George had also released eight singles, but only three of which had been top ten hits. At the time Best of was released it had been three years since he'd seen the top ten, and his most recent singles were considered disappointments. Three top ten hits and the perception his career was on the commercial downside was not a firm foundation on which to build a compilation album. I think it's totally understandable that Capitol put Beatles songs on there.

True. But it has to have material the record company thinks will sell well enough. Even with half Beatles material, the album only made it to #31 on the charts.

 

George Harrison As & Bs

My Sweet Lord/Isn't It A Pity
What Is Life/Apple Scruffs
Bangla Desh/Deep Blue
Give Me Love/Miss O'Dell
Dark Horse/I Don't Care Anymore
Ding Dong Ding Dong/Hari's On Tour
You/World Of Stone
This Guitar/Maya Love

Eight A sides and 3 non LP B sides

Take the eight A sides, add Isn't It A Pity, Deep Blue, All Things Must Pass and Don't Let Me Wait Too Long and you have a pretty solid 12 track Best Of.

If you wanted to include songs from The Concert For Bangla Desh then drop Deep Blue and All Things Must Pass and add the live versions of While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Here Comes The Sun. Another solid 12 track Best Of.

 

I don't know how accurate it is because the iTunes store lists the single version at 4:00 and my CD rip of the Best of George Harrison clocks in at 3:59, but Steve Marinucci's posted this in his Beatles Examiner page:

George Harrison's "The Concert for Bangladesh" album is now on iTunes as of today, marking the pioneering rock fundraiser's digital debut.
The 21-track setlist features the album and the studio single version of "Bangla Desh" that was originally released on July 5, 1971. The "Bangla Desh" single is taken from the single master 1/4" tape. The vinyl single was longer than the version later released on "The Best of George Harrison" CD. A five-minute video trailer for the album and a 49-minute radio program about the concert are also now available as free streams on iTunes. Here's a link to the article: http://www.examiner.com/beatles-in-...ngla-desh-goes-digital-for-its-40th-anniversa

 

True, but I just tried putting together another strong side of post-Beatles Harrison songs that had been released as of 1976, and it's pretty tough.

I would include Don't Let Me Wait Too Long, Deep Blue, Sue Me Sue You Blues, and Miss O' Dell. I suppose they could have rounded it out with some more tracks from All Things Must Pass, but having too many from one album always looks a bit desperate. Plus, they wouldn't want to cut into the sales of ATMP, which is a fantastic album despite its length.

I do think that someone with any interest in a George Harrison solo album would have already owned most of the songs on side one of Best Of, if not all of them.

 

I think you're holding George to an unrealistically high standard. There are plenty of other best-of albums built around fewer singles and fewer hits. It doesn't make sense to say the lack of solo a-sides forced the inclusion of Beatles material when only one of the Beatles songs was an a-side.

Who's to say an all-solo album wouldn't have sold more? Four of the Beatles songs on The Best of George Harrison had already appeared on compilations (1967-1970 and Rock & Roll Music) which had sold zillions of copies.

 

Well, me and the Capitol A&R people who assembled the album, I guess.

Look, I'm not saying it was an artistically sound decision, I'm just saying I can understand why it was made. Maybe there are "best of" albums with less hits than this one, but that's only because there is nothing else available to put on them. If George had never been in the Beatles and ATMP was his first release, then Capitol probably would have done a best-of with just tracks from his solo albums up to that point. But given the fact they had Beatles material available to use, I can see why they decided to include it, that's all.

 

Can't agree with you on Extra Texture! Apart from one poor track (His Name Is Legs) I really like it.

 

In my book Extra Texture is a masterpiece. One of my favourite GH records.

 

Seems many out there forget that Isn't It A Pity was a number one (double A-side). That is THE missing song from the collection. How about this set:

Side One:
My Sweet Lord
Don't Let Me Wait Too Long
What Is Life
Dark Horse
You
All Things Must Pass

Side Two:
Give Me Love
Bangladesh
Deep Blue
Living In The Material World
Isn't It A Pity

This would include 3 number one singles, 5 Top 25 singles, 3 strong album tracks that were all radio favs and a charting B-side (Deep Blue was actually a double A-side with Bangladesh and peaked at #23). Certainly one could include If Not For You (another popular radio track) or even Ding Dong, Ding Dong if the mood fits.

 

I like it. I think it's better than the one that was released. I remember being very disappointed that Beatles songs were included. I wouldn't argue with 'The Answers At The End' being included somehow.

 

Am I the only one who thinks that Beware Of Darkness should be in the mix?
Isn't It A Pity is a gimme, as I thought it was a double A to begin with.

The worst part is that George offered to put it together himself and they TURNED HIM DOWN!!!

 

George has to get my vote for the most mistreated artist ever.

1) Held down while in the Beatles (only getting 2 tracks per LP, 1 A-side).
2) The Concert for Bangelsdesh is ahead of its time in that he put together an all-star concert and record to help people. But it becomes a logistical nightmare and much of the money doesn't get where it needs to go.
3) The label forces him to record Dark Horse (and tour) while his voice is shot.
4) Then turning him down to compile his own greatest hits record.
5) And finally butchering "Somewhere in England" by forcing him to make a weaker product than it needed to be (then he went "Troppo").

Anything else?

This is not how you treat a Beatle!

 

That's just because he wrote a song on it for your avitar.

At least it sounds better than Dark Horse.

But George did call it his worst record.

 

Not at all, I totally agree with you

 

With all due respect that is a silly rediculious suggestion that he was the most mistreated artist ever? The problem with George Harrison was that he was 'far too nice and humble' and the business men took advantage !!

 

If you think George Harrison was the most mistreated artist ever, what about Pete Ham, then?

 

I disagree. While in the Beatles he releases two solo albums. He had his chance right there to release an album of great material.
He didn't.

 

I could argue that before the White Album he already had too many tracks per album, especially on Revolver where I would prefer if he only had 'Taxman' .

 

George wasn't even treated very well on disc by his own family.The "Let It Roll" comp could be a lot better, and should certainly have included Bangladesh.

 

Blame the right party. It was EMI who quashed the 2-CD set, after Giles Martin remastered all the tracks approved by Olivia and Dhani. They figured a single CD set would sell better, when it in fact angered his fanbase so much it didn't meet sales expectations. A comprehensive, reasonably-priced 2-CD set would have been the right fit. I guess EMI still thinks the model is Beatles 1. But that was such a unique release in that it contained, more or less, every number one single in the US and UK. That model doesn't work for Beatle solo records.

PS Why is it that 2CD sets STILL retail for over $20??? It doesn't make any sense. Most Greatest Hits-type single CD sets should retail for $8.00 or less and double CDs for $14.00 or so. The days of $18.98 retail for single CDs and $25.98 for doubles is LONG over... especially for archival best of sets.

 

It's a great song, but not one that received much airplay back in the day. If Not For You, on the other hand, was a big radio fav and the cover by Olivia Newton-John was a hit single. All Things Must Pass also was played frequently as was Don't Let Me Wait Too Long (an almost single) and Living In The Material World (would have been a KILLER single if one of the bridges was edited out). Either George had very little cache with EMI/Capitol back in the day, or he chose not to push. It made NO sense that only two US singles were released from ATMP (a smash number one and a strong Top 10 followup) and just ONE from Living In The Material World. I think only My Sweet Lord was released in the UK from ATMP. As the old lady in the Let It Be film says... "it don't seem to make any sense." Ron

 

+1

George's songs before 1968 were subpar.

1967 especially weak

exceptions

If I needed someone and Taxman

Lennon and Macca were far superior


While My Guitar Gently Weeps was George's first masterpiece

 

Ringo created BLAST FROM YOUR PAST; Capitol Records executives created BEST OF GEORGE HARRISON.