“That was the best thing about breaking up: being able to go out and make my own album … And also being able to record with all these new people, which was like a breath of fresh air.” Although each Beatle would release a solo album in the late 1970s, none did it as quickly or as successfully as George Harrison did, their triple album was a release half a decade in the making, Harrison’s best work, and an album worthy of. the best of history. Lennon and McCartney. A colossal who’s who of musicians (Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Bobby Keys, Klaus Voorman, Billy Preston, and the Badfinger members were among the musicians who played on all six sides of vinyl), it turned out cerebral and commercial; ‘My Sweet Lord’ the first number one hit any solo Beatle has enjoyed so far.
Where many of Harrison’s songs had been found in the Beatles catalog rejections, Harrison’s plate was open for the world to hear, going from the whiny to the inventive to the comedic, summarized on the album cover of Harrison surrounded by garden nominees in Friar. Park. Opening with the brooding ‘I’ll Have You Anytime’ (co-written by future Traveling Wilbury Bob Dylan) and closing with the throwaway blues ‘Thanks For The Pepperoni’, the album brought all facets of Harrison’s life to the forefront, the music as celebration. (‘My Sweet Lord’, ‘What Is Life’), music as frustration (‘Wah-Wah’, his greeting with the middle finger written after a heated discussion with Paul McCartney), music in its boldest form (the third album disc consisted mainly of a long jam). All delicately recorded by Phil Spector, mastering his craft that he had not shown on either ‘Let It Be’ or ‘Plastic Ono Band’. Guitars and trumpets go hand in hand, following from one beautiful song to the next, ‘What Is Life’, his best production since his time with The Righteous Brothers.
Harrison’s skill as a songwriter had reached its zenith. ‘Behind That Locked Door’ showcased Harrison’s stoic and meditative beliefs at their strongest points, ‘Run Of The Mill’ and ‘All Things Must Pass’, worthy advice from Robbie Robertson and The Band. ‘My Sweet Lord’, so lucid and witty, convinced Lennon to claim that it almost made him believe that there may well be a God, the same year he sang that he believed neither in religion nor in The Beatles. ‘Awaiting On You All’ started out similarly, though the scathing joke that “the Pope owns fifty-one percent of General Motors” showed it to be the same cynic who wrote “Taxman.” ‘Isn’t It A Pity’, as sad as anyone could hope, proved its relevance when Chris Martin admitted it as a model for ‘The Scientist’.
As the third song changes from musician to musician, jam after jam, you can almost hear Harrison’s exhaling breath. Free from the clutches of the Beatles, free to write and play, Harrison brings you a quality never heard before. Playful to the end, (‘It’s Johnny’s Birthday’ written to celebrate his old bandmate’s birthday), Harrison plays and sings like never before. You can’t help but feel happy for the man, a man who lived off music as a mantra for the rest of his days.