George Harrison's Brainwashed revisited

"All Things Must Pass" has always screamed of needing a treatment like the Paul Archive big boxes like "Ram" and "Wings Over America" got! Maybe a surround sound mix thrown in as well.........one can dream!

 

And finished versions of the unused songs, with contributions from some of the people who played on the original album.

 

I have always wondered why George, who had so many demos and various almost finished studio recordings ("I Live For You") at his disposal chose to include an inferior, second version of "Isn't It A Pity" on ATMP...

 

Because it's ten times better than the overblown first version....

I like everything better on v2 - the lead vocal, Eric's guitar, but especially the Beatlesque backing vocals.

 

Well he could have just included one of the two versions, in this case, either the more laid back 2nd version or the, ahem, "Hey Jude" first version (which I have nevertheless loved for the last 45 years since I discovered it on the b-side of my parent's "My Sweet Lord" single...).

 

I think I read somewhere that George couldn't decide between the two versions so ended up including both. Not sure if that's a fact though. Maybe he should have kept one version as a B-side only track.

I really do think that Version 2 is unfairly overlooked, mainly because it comes near the end of the album, and after the other version. If the two versions had been swapped around I think more people would recognise the beauty (that surrounds them) of that version.

 

Somewhat related - what I find even more puzzling is the variance between George's UK & US singles:

UK: MSL/What is Life
US: MSL/Isn't it a Pity
What is Life/Apple Scruffs
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UK: Ding Dong/I Don't Care Anymore
Dark Horse/Hari's On Tour
US: Ding Dong/Hari's On Tour
Dark Horse/I Don't Care Anymore
-------------
UK: This Song/Learning How To Love You
True Love/Pure Smokey
It's What You Value/Woman, Don't You Cry For Me
US: This Song/Learning How To Love You
Crackerbox Palace/Learning How To Love You
-------------
UK: Blow Away/Soft Touch
Love Comes to Everyone/Soft Hearted Hana
Faster/Your Love Is Forever
US: Blow Away/Soft Hearted Hana
Love Comes to Everyone/Soft Touch
-------------
US: I Really Love You/Circles
UK: n/a
-------------
UK: Cheer Down/Poor Little Girl
US: Cheer Down/That's What It Takes

That's a LOT of changes with b-sides, different a-sides, etc, compared to the other three...

 

And "Soft Hearted Hana" was also the b-side of the European "Faster" single!

I should also add the instrumental version of "New Blue Moon", that appeared on the two consecutive international singles ("She's My Baby" and "Wilbury Twist") from the 2nd Traveling Wilburys album, plus on the European only "Inside Out" single... but which was ommitted from the supposedly complete "Traveling Wilbury Collection" box set!

 

George could write some beautiful lyrics ("While my Guitar Gently Weeps") but his English was at times a little, shall we say, "colloquial". This is the guy who wrote "Like you heard me said, I'm not guilty" Somehow such quirks of language make the songs more appealing!

 

Ok, I wanna bump this. Does no one else find the inconsistencies between the US & UK singles odd? McCartney probably has 2-3 times as many singles (when they still made singles) as George did, but there's really very few differences across the pond. You've got Uncle Albert vs. Back Seat. Some variance with the Back to the Egg/Press to Play singles. A reversed A-side (Pipes/So Bad) and a unique UK b-side (Zoo Gang), but the vast majority of the singles are interchangeable between the two.

But of the twenty UK solo singles by George, only 11 were identical (A&B sides) to their US counterparts. Three of twenty UK A-sides weren't issued as A-sides in the US and, similarly, three US A-sides weren't issued in the UK (four if you count I Don't Want To Do It). Isn't that kind of ... surprising ... given the number of singles we're talking about?

 

Preach. There's a vibe to the second version that's so strong. And yes the harmonies sound right off Abbey Road. It's chilling and a masterstroke in a way that version 1 is not. It sort of floats in an out on the ether and makes its point in far less time than version 1 which is a little too long. I always just assumed that after he'd recorded the song the first time that George got a new arrangement idea and he liked version 2 a lot, but because of whomever else played on the first version he kept that on the record too instead of ditching those fine performances by his friends for this updated one. Still, I think one of them should have been a b-side to make room for another composition on the record. Version 2 is my favorite. IMO.

 

There's lots more US/UK divergences in Paul singles than you mention. US never got Once Upon a Long Ago, for example, and we got Ever Present Past as lead single off MAF, while the UK got Dance Tonight (and the US, oddly, still got the Dance Tonight video)

 

I'm talking percentages. And I'm also talking physical singles - the US effectively quit that concept with Flowers (45s) and Flaming Pie (cd5s). As a whole, I'd say Paul's singles were VERY similar, and so were John's and Ringo's.

I think even some of the regulars on solo threads might not realize that "It's What You Value" and "True Love" were singles in the UK, while "Crackerbox Palace" was not, for example. It just isn't talked about.

Or maybe it's just not that interesting.

 

Picked up a vinyl copy of Brainwashed today for a (relative) bargain. What a great album! Has anyone compared the CD and the vinyl? Are they different masterings? It sounds quite compressed & cluttered to me, although not deal-breakingly so.

 

Great album, but you're right on the SQ. Could do with a remaster if you ask me.

 

I have so much admiration for George on so many levels and yet, I find this record to be extremely difficult to listen to. If George hadn't been literally dying when he recorded this, it would probably be in my top three. As is, hearing the painfully obvious weakness in his voice, it's just too sad listening to it, imo.

 

It is interesting. You're right, I didn't realize "It's What You Value" and "True Love" were singles in the UK, while "Crackerbox Palace" was not.

For the ATMP singles, maybe the idea was giving value to the home crowd by not releasing four sides of singles with album tracks, meanwhile going for the cash in the US, since they had to come to expect it there anyway.

Maybe "Hari's On Tour" going on the b-side quicker made more sense in the US, since the tour was coming up there.

After that, it seems like the UK singles are subtler releases, maybe hoping his home crowd would follow along and root for him, while the US singles seem like safer commercial choices where arguably catchier songs were prioritized for quicker 45 release. Of course, I think his US audience turned out to be a bit more loyal in hindsight.

Maybe he let the USA record company marketing people do what they want and he only controlled the home market.

 

Listening to Brainwashed - on vinyl - for the first time in quite awhile. Just finished both sides and listening to the album one more time. Currently listening to Pisces Fish. What a great record. Thank you George. RIP.

 

I'd love a George Rarities album that focused on Cloud 9 through Brainwashed. Outtakes and demos from the late 80s til the end, sort of the Cloud 9 follow-up that never was. Throw in a couple Wilburys demos/outtakes, a couple remixes of Brainwashed tracks (more demo-like as George had wanted), the song "Valentine," the version of "Raunchy" he possibly cut for Anthology, "Horse to Water"...Could be a great set!

 

Am glad we have Brainwashed, but I don't think it's one of his best. I'd put it somewhere in the middle of the pack. I love Rising Sun and Any Road, Stuck Inside A Cloud and Never Get Over You are very strong songs. But there are a lot of old leftovers, like Vatican Blues, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Run So Far and Rocking Chair in Hawaii that sound like they are just there to fill out an unfinished album.

 

Never really understood all the love for this album.
Yes, it was his last so there is some sentimentality in that.
But as far as listening pleasure goes, I agree with Mumbojunk that it isn't his worst but I would rate it down in the lowest 1/3 of all his albums. In fact, after some dedicated listening when I first got it, it went on the shelf where it has stayed.

In fact, I put this right alongside John's Milk and Honey, which has a couple of listenable tracks but it just an album of leftovers and unreleased stuff put out after his death.

 

I love this album. His second best solo album to my ears. No weak tracks.

Does anyone know if Clapton plays lead on the Vatican Blues? I love the guitar work on this album.

 

The album is definitely among his best for me. Any Road, Pisces Fish, Looking For My Life, Rising Sun, Marwa Blues, Stuck Inside A Cloud and Brainwashed are all among my very favourite Harrisongs. (the old standard, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is also a favourite). I can't think of too many of George's albums where quite so many songs are top tier.

I also think Jeff Lynne must take enormous credit for piecing the album together and making it a cohesive 'whole'. We'll probably never know how unfinished these recordings were when Lynne began work but I think he did George proud. The arrangements are good, the sound is warm and importantly, the lead vocal is always the most important feature - not always the case with George's albums.

 

Some months ago Olivia Harrison made a public statement, that her son Dhani may supervise the completion of a new album. From the Harrison archives.