I totally agree with you. I know George was not a 'better' guitarist than Clapton in the true sense of things perhaps, but he was oodles more melodic and I actually think he had a better and more advanced sense of note choice than his buddy Eric as well, even if he did craft his guitar parts and wasn't a skilful 'jammer' as such. Clapton's part on I'd Have You Anytime is so good because it sounds like the kind of thing George would have played. It's Clapton's most 'George' moment imo.
LOL! I thought you were kidding when you said Eric played the intro to I'd Have You Anytime. It sounds so much like George. I always thought Eric's other George moment was Wonderful Tonight. I guess we have Patti Boyd to thank for all of this?
I cannot find it but there was an magazine interview with a Page and a Beck and they had positive things to say about George. That his guitar was almost like chamber music. Pitch perfect.
I'd love to read that if you can find it. I've always been curious what people like them and David Gilmour had to say about him. I do know Gilmour was a big Beatles fan and personal friend of George's, but I've never seen a direct quote talking about his playing.
It might be this but i cannot get the article. They discuss quite a few guitarists. Guitar World Magazine... October, 1999....Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck
Damn! That's gorgeous. Really sweet embellishments there from George, and he even plays nice fills between his vocal bits. Eric plays tastefully, as you would expect, but GH does own it.
Wow, i've never seen this before. George sounds fantastic here, his singing and playing. It's interesting too, because when Eric does his solo he does indeed play faster than George, but the solo doesn't grab you the way George's does. What George does really draws you in. It's just brilliant stuff. I'd much rather listen to George than Eric here, so what does that say about who is the better guitarist? Count me very impressed.
Since I've mentioned it a few times, here's a clip from the Carl Perkins special. Always makes me smile.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Teddy Roosevelt.
These are some quotes I've found over the years of various people talking about George as a guitarist. It's neat when you can get an overall impression of what other musicians made of his playing because you can see how respected he is. That's one thing I would've liked to have seen Scorsese give more attention to in his documentary.
Thanks for this excellent compilation. Hopefully the person who was in the thread earlier trying to convince us that George wasn't really much of a guitarist will read these quotes. This nicely sums up how great George really was.
I partly believe the 'clumsy' aspect but only when put in proper context. The clumsiness came in-as evidenced by lots of outtakes of the much earlier songs-during the "working-out" periods of the solos. It was quite apparent from very early on that George was very specific about what solos he wanted for many of these songs..he always had specific notes in mind well as how he wanted to play them. In any "working-out" period there will be flubs and mistakes on the road to "perfection". As time went on, this also applied to tone in a very big way. And when one combined all these aspects to the 'finished" solo, "clumsy" couldn't be further from the truth. Harrison was very influential in turning the "Pop/Rock-record guitar solo" into an art form.
John Lennon, Playboy Interview, September 1980 excerpt: PLAYBOY: "Didn't all four Beatles work on a song you wrote for Ringo in 1973?" LENNON: "'I'm the Greatest.' It was the Muhammad Ali line, of course. It was perfect for Ringo to sing. If I said, 'I'm the greatest,' they'd all take it so seriously. No one would get upset with Ringo singing it." PLAYBOY: "Did you enjoy playing with George and Ringo again?" LENNON: "Yeah, except when George and Billy Preston started saying, 'Let's form a group. Let's form a group.' I was embarrassed when George kept asking me. He was just enjoying the session and the spirit was very good, but I was with Yoko, you know. We took time out from what we were doing. The very fact that they would imagine I would form a male group without Yoko! It was still in their minds..." (hypothetically, me/ZackyDog at the Ringo "I'm The Greatest" recording session) Me: What about asking Paul to join? George: Uhh...I think he's really busy and happy with Paul McCartney & Wings.
I think that's why George was never into the idea of releasing tons of outtakes -- he saw the final version as the only one which mattered. Your last point is what stuck out to me from reading all these quotes. George really seemed to be the bridge between that 50s Scotty Moore type playing and the modern use of a guitar in a band.
I read what I'm about to post not that long ago. Never knew it 'till then. The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin - Songfacts "This (song) was written after George Harrison, who is a huge fan, told Zep drummer John Bonham that the trouble with Led Zeppelin is that they don't do any ballads. Bonham brought in the idea, and the rest of the band worked with him to put it together. It is was one of the few Zeppelin songs where all four members shared the composer credit... In a nod to George Harrison, Jimmy Page played the first two notes of the Harrison-written Beatles song "Something" in the intro to "The Rain Song." George's melodic style of guitar is all throughout the song. It's been one of my fave Zep song since the first time I heard it. Now I know why. So here is one of the best ever paying homage to Harrison. Thank you George, for being the inspiration for one of the greatest rock ballads... ever!
Awesome. But that's not rockabilly; it Beckabilly! There isn't many guitar styles Beck didn't become proficient at over his career. Not a shabby guitarist at all, for a gear head.
Wow. That was one heck of a who's who list of Harrison admirers. Thanks for adding in a David Bromberg quote. David know his musicians and has played with the best of them, including George, Jorma, Garcia, etc. He's another one who is underrated when discussing guitarists. Bromberg is one heck of a lead and slide guitarist and just a very talented musician in general. Too bad he and George didn't do more music together.
george harrison was a pretty good guitarist. 7/10 - but if you think about it, he was never really asked to be any more than that anyway, and he was quite adept at what he was asked to do.
Thank you for posting that. What a fantastic compilation of quotes from his musical peers! George has to be smiling somewhere...
My 2 cents: George earned his keep, so to speak, and delivered the goods as the lead guitarist. He was more than adequate and played for the songs, not his ego. If John or Paul played lead, it was likely that they got bored in their roles and wanted to branch out. It nothing to do with George's inability.
No, but he does (did) play (and write) like George Harrison, a talent which earned him the respect and privilege to perform with some of the greatest musicians on the planet. His guitar lines are some of the most tasteful, memorable, and widely adored in all of recorded music history.
