George Harrison's Brainwashed revisited

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by johnny moondog 909, Jul 29, 2016.

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  1. Selteab

    Selteab Free-hand sketcher and dancer of the hokey-pokey.

    I've always wondered if it's George playing on Marwa Blues. Doesn't Marc Mann get a strange credit on this song: something like "guitar restoration"? Sorry, I don't have the CD handy.
     
  2. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    If there ever had been a full Beatles reunion, Paul and John would have sounded great on the chorus of 'Looking for My Life"
     
  3. No Bull

    No Bull Forum Resident

    Location:
    Orlando Florida
    Pretty distinctive George playing. Mann did string arrangement.
     
  4. johnny moondog 909

    johnny moondog 909 Beatles-Lennon & Classic rock fan Thread Starter

    Jeff Lynne spoke about editing, adding quite a bit on Marwa.

    It's another one he made 'posh'. I'm glad he did. The ones with posh production are the keepers, the ones that are more stripped aren't as good.

    Even the more poshly produced cuts, still have a lot of restraint in the production, they aren't hugely produced or even close to that. In fact....

    Never get over you, could have been beautiful, with more lush production.. wearing armchair producers hat...for a moment.. Never Get Over You, is a sweet, poignant, lovely song, but almost woefully under produced, demo like.... I would have said Jeff, his voice is wrecked, you & Dhani sing some close unison & close harmony ala early Beatles, add a small tasteful, brass or string overdub, along with some oohs & aahs make it a bit more lush. The tune is a beauty, right up there with Something or Beware of Darkness. Or close to that level of quality... but the record you've turned in, of that tune, it's not finished. It's intimate yes, but make it a bit more lush, don't go over the top, but light strings, background vocals

    Same thing on Looking For My Life, great confessional heart rending lyric, knowing he hasn't long to live, meaningful tune. But under produced..

    They were trying to preserve the integrity of Harrison's songs respect George's wishes, not over produce them, bury them in production & overdubs.. they honored George's wishes.

    Lynne was a bit less restrained on Rising Sun, Any Road, Marwa Blues, & Stuck Inside a cloud, & they're the best ones, they sound like records not demos...

    Now the title cut Brainwashed, oh I cried when I heard that.. hearing him sing shortly before death... now there is fascinating production on that, but very restrained, it worked. That could have been produced much bigger, but the restraint works..

    Devil & deep blue sea, is the comic relief in a way, the his name is legs, or Miss O'Dell of the album... done 1940s style 8 guys live in a room... ok fine.... it works, the song maybe doesn't belong on the album, but it's fine

    Looking for my life, Run so far, Never get over you.... those three needed a bit more production in my view.... they are just a bit too much like demos, Looking for my life is poignant & hooky... Harrison's voice was gone, he'd lost half a lung... to compensate for that, adding a bit more close harmony, small strings on Never get over you...

    Rocking chair in Hawaii... of course this is the reworked bit from the ATMP sessions.... again thin small vocals, but maybe this one is ok as it is...

    Bottom line, the album is a joy, and a mixed bag of great production & a few that are under done.. all the songs are good... if few more Brainwashed style tracks ever do surface, I hope Jeff Lynne will be allowed to give the songs what they need to bring them home.

    This might've been Harrison's best album, if the production on all 12 cuts, would have been as good, as it is on Any Road, Rising Sun, & Stuck Inside a cloud.

    Looking for my life & Never get over you, are just as good as songs. But someone made a decision to under produce them

    One last illustration. If you listen to Harrison & Lynne doing Heading For The Light, that's normal production with George before his voice was ravaged by cancer... that's what's missing on Looking For My Life, musically a similar type of track . But if you compare them back to back . The smaller, drier sound on Looking fmy, is ok, but a couple more vocal & overdub tracks could have fleshed it out.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2016
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  5. Wingsfan2012

    Wingsfan2012 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Junior's Farm, IL
    I have not played it start to finish in years but it was nice even though it was after his death to finally have another "new" George album! "Any Road" is one of his best singles ever!
     
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  6. No Bull

    No Bull Forum Resident

    Location:
    Orlando Florida
    It was a real thrill for me... I had lost hope of every getting more new George music...
     
  7. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    As devastated as I was by his loss at the time, I felt like it drastically increased the odds of finally hearing new music from him (my only surprise was how quickly Brainwashed materialized). I'm not sure George ever would've finished Brainwashed on his own, at least not by the early 2000's. As another poster pointed out, several tracks on the record still sound like fleshed-out demos, rather than serious recordings intended for release, which indicates to me he wasn't particularly focused on making an album during the 90's.

    I am rather surprised that subsequent archive/vault releases haven't happened, other than that sort of half-hearted Early Takes LP that accompanied the movie.
     
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  8. No Bull

    No Bull Forum Resident

    Location:
    Orlando Florida
    I was hoping a new track or two would be included on his Let it Roll comp...but unfortunately it didn't happen...
     
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  9. Wingsfan2012

    Wingsfan2012 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Junior's Farm, IL
    I am guessing everyone on this thread knows what Dhani said happened to the "Let it Roll" compilation?
     
  10. vitorbastos123

    vitorbastos123 Forum Resident

    I dont! What did he say?
     
  11. Wingsfan2012

    Wingsfan2012 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Junior's Farm, IL
    When "Let It Roll" came out and Dhani and Olivia heard all the flack from fans about all the "hits" missing, Dhani said not to blame him but blame Capitol Records at the time (hopefully better now that Paul is back there next year!) who did not want to issue a double CD compilation for George. So what we got was only Disc! Disc 2 was chopped and obviously had the other missing singles like "Crackerbox Palace", "You", "This Guitar", "Dark Horse", "Faster" etc. I even remember the first Beatlefest in Chicago after it came out how people were complaining about how incomplete it was!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2016
  12. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I've always like George's voice---particularly how it complemented John and Paul so perfectly--and he sounds fine to me on Brainwashed. The only singing of his I don't like is on Dark Horse, and even there, I think the singing is pretty good on most of the album.
     
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  13. mandtman

    mandtman Forum Resident

    Location:
    LA, CA
    When Brainwashed first came out, Dhani did a chat on MSN and answered my question about the recording of Marwa Blues - see attached. You can tell it is authentic from how old school the technology looks. We've come a long way!

    [​IMG]
     
  14. albert_m

    albert_m Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atl., Ga, USA
    I enjoyed this album a lot. I wished he had done more in the 90s
     
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  15. MikeVielhaber

    MikeVielhaber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    You saw the cover and said "I'm not buying this"?
     
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  16. I333I

    I333I Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ventura
    It's a beautiful record. Playful, cathartic, angry and optimistic. It's strangely reassuring. Seems like he had a great attitude about meeting the end. The record is a gift.
     
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  17. johnny moondog 909

    johnny moondog 909 Beatles-Lennon & Classic rock fan Thread Starter

    Mr Harrison seems to have left this plane, with a lot of bravery & class. I know having his wife & son there, & a last visit from Paul & Ringo must have given him. Tremendous comfort. Even in dying, Harrison taught us something valuable.

    When I go, I dearly hope my loved ones are near.
     
  18. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I really like it. One of his best solo albums, maybe 2nd to All Things Must Pass.

    I don't care for the recording style and mastering; but I like the songs and the sentiment or energy infused in the whole album. It shows strength and peace in the face in mortality.
     
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  19. Rockinrob

    Rockinrob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Sometimes I am confused at what other people are hearing, "Looking for my life" is killer and perfectly produced!

    This is such a great album. I was very happy to find the vinyl at a local used shop last year for $20!
     
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  20. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    I ain't saying that was smart or anything. :) But at the time, I didn't know anything else about it (there wasn't much press about it that I knew of), and the cover made me wonder what the heck it was. Posthumous releases are always a little suspect, so I was hesitant. Of course, it's now one of my favorites of his, so i wish I got it sooner.
     
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  21. Rockinrob

    Rockinrob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
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  22. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Don't worry, I see you tomorrow... ;)
     
  23. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Seriously: You said something very touching and nice.
     
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  24. MeanMrMayo

    MeanMrMayo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    I really have grown to love Brainwashed. When it was first released I felt it was so-so. But now I think it's among George's finest. He's in good form throughout. My favorite track may be "Any Road".
     
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  25. Jimi Bat

    Jimi Bat Forum Resident

    Location:
    tx usa
    I like the songs but I wish I had a pre Jeff Lynne version of the material.
    I like Jeff Lynne but sometimes grow weary of the way he makes things sound.
     
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