"Art of Dying" (sometimes titled "The Art of Dying") is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison began writing the song in 1966 while still a member of the Beatles and during a period when he had first become enamoured with Hindu-aligned spirituality and other aspects of Indian culture. The subject matter is reincarnation and the need to avoid rebirth, by limiting actions and thoughts that lead to one's soul returning in another, earthbound life form.
Since Harrison's death in November 2001, the lyrics have received further recognition as a comment on the nature of human existence. The song has been interpreted in a jazz style by American guitarist Joel Harrison and as a grunge song by the band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
There'll come a time when all of us must leave here There's nothing Sister Mary can do, will keep me here with you As nothing in this life that I've been trying Can equal or surpass the Art of Dying.
According to author Alan Clayson, the song's title and subject matter suggest a familiarity with the fifteenth-century Latin text Ars moriendi (lit. "The Art of Dying").[18] The mention of "Sister Mary" refers to the Catholic faith in which Harrison had been raised.[19] Speaking to author Peter Doggett, Harrison's sister Louise qualified his embrace of Hinduism with regard to his upbringing: "Our family were Catholics, but we always had a global outlook. We were spiritual, not religious as such. George didn't change as a person after he went to India [in 1966] …"[20] Rather than "Sister Mary", Harrison's original lyric named "Mr Epstein" (Brian Epstein, the Beatles' former manager).[21][22] Author Bruce Spizer speculates that Harrison was "contemplating life after the Beatles" as early as mid 1966, since "most of the song's original verses recognise that even Mr. Epstein won't be able to keep the group together or help out when it's over..."[23]
A depiction of the Hindu view of reincarnation, whereby the self or soul (atman) repeatedly takes on a physical body, until moksha. The concept forms the basis of Harrison's lyrics in "Art of Dying".
Harrison says in his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, that in most cases one's soul does not in fact "leave here" after death, due to the karmic debt, or "load", accrued through actions and thoughts carried out in one's lifetime.[24] This point is illustrated in the third verse of "Art of Dying":[25]
There'll come a time when most of us return here Brought back by our desire to be a perfect entity Living through a million years of crying Until you realize the Art of Dying.
The mention of "a million years of crying" is a reference to the endless cycle of rebirth associated with reincarnation, where the soul repeatedly fails to leave the material world and attain nirvana[26] or moksha.[27][28]
Written in a period shortly before "karma", "mantra", "guru" and "māyā" all became key words in his vocabulary,[29] Harrison shows an acknowledgment of possible confusion on the part of his listeners, and a degree of humour,[17] with the questions that appear at the end of the verses, "Are you still with me?" and "Do you believe me?"[25] The subject of rebirth was one he would return to frequently throughout his solo career,[30] notably on "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)", with its pleas "Keep me free from birth" and "Help me cope with this heavy load".[31][32][nb 1]
Recording
I've got about 40 tunes I haven't recorded [with the Beatles], and some of them I think are quite good. I wrote one called "The Art of Dying" three years ago, and at that time I thought it was too far out. But I'm still going to record it.[36]
– George Harrison, September 1969
"Art of Dying" was one of many compositions that Harrison stockpiled during the Beatles' career[37][38] due to the continued dominance of Lennon and Paul McCartney as the band's principal songwriters.[23] When discussing his plans for a solo album in an October 1969 interview, Harrison referred to "Art of Dying", saying that he had been "working on a song about reincarnation since 1966".[39] On 26 May 1970, a month after the Beatles' official break-up, it was one of at least fifteen songs performed by Harrison for producer Phil Spector's benefit at Abbey Road Studios in London,[40] with a view to narrowing down the material under consideration for All Things Must Pass.[41][nb 2] Harrison performed the song on acoustic guitar, but as with "Isn't It a Pity", "Run of the Mill", "Let It Down" and other selections, its arrangement was expanded significantly as the sessions progressed.[23] In the case of "Art of Dying", Spector gave the track a heavy production for the official release;[44] authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter describe the production as a "[big] 'kitchen sink' job".[22] A widely bootlegged version known as "Art of Dying (Take 9)", comprising a band performance dominated by acoustic rhythm guitars and piano[45] with Ringo Starr on drums, sees the song somewhere between the solo run-through and the All Things Must Pass arrangement.[22] This take, played in the key of B♭ minor (a semitone up from that of the official version of the song), was still in contention for release during the album's mixing phase.[22][nb 3]
Derek and the Dominos' Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock and Eric Clapton, pictured in 1970
In a chapter discussing All Things Must Pass in his 2010 autobiography, American musician Bobby Whitlock writes of recording the song: "It was awesome when we were doing 'The Art of Dying,' Eric [Clapton] on that wah-wah and it was all cooking, Derek and the Dominos with George Harrison."[47] The sessions led to the formation of Derek and the Dominos,[48][49] whose four members – Clapton, Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon – all played on the track.[50] In a 1990 interview, Clapton said, "We made our bones, really, on that album with George", since the four musicians had no formal plans to work as a band prior.[51]
The released version of "Art of Dying" is in a hard rock style.[17] The track begins with what author Elliot Huntley terms Clapton's "firecracking" lead guitar,[30] and is propelled by Gordon's drumming and Radle's bass guitar.[17][nb 4]Jim Price's horn arrangement provides a countermelody to the various A minor voicings in the song's instrumental passages[52] through to its "galloping" ending.[23] Testifying to the ferocity of the performance, Phil Collins later recalled that his hands were so badly blistered during the run-throughs of the song, he was unable to play his congas with any force once they came to record the track.[53] Although congas are absent in the final mix,[54][55] the recording includes other percussion parts.[22]
Harrison listed Collins as a contributor on the 2001 reissue of All Things Must Pass.[56][57] However, Collins writes in his 2016 autobiography that this credit was merely out of kindness, and that he did not play on the released version of "Art of Dying".[58] In Collins' recollection, the session he attended for the song was an earlier take from May 1970, featuring a different musical arrangement and with Starr, Klaus Voormann and Billy Preston as the other musicians.[59][nb 5] Before giving Collins the mistaken credit in 2001, Harrison sent him a tape that he said was a recording of the song with his conga playing. Collins recalled in a 2016 interview, "I thought, Oh, my god, this sounds terrible." Collins added that the tape was a practical joke at his expense, since Harrison had asked percussionist Ray Cooper to deliberately play poorly, saying: "Play bad, I'm going to record it and send it to Phil."[55][60]
Release and reception
… and then there was the world after the Beatles, when [Harrison] and his music seemed to open up and flower. I will never forget the first time I heard All Things Must Pass ... It was like walking into a cathedral. George was making spiritually awake music – we all heard and felt it ...[61]
– Martin Scorsese, recalling the release of "Art of Dying" and Harrison's other spiritually themed songs on All Things Must Pass
Apple Records released All Things Must Pass on 27 November 1970,[62] with "Art of Dying" sequenced as the second track on side four, in the triple album's original, LP format.[63] While describing the positive response to the album, author Robert Rodriguez includes the song as an illustration of how Harrison's talent had been "hidden in plain sight" behind Lennon and McCartney during the Beatles' career.[64] Rodriguez writes: "That the Quiet Beatle was capable of such range – from the joyful 'What Is Life' to the meditative 'Isn't It a Pity' to the steamrolling 'Art of Dying' to the playful 'I Dig Love' – was revelatory."[64] On 10 December, a portion of the song was included in a segment on the UK television show Top of the Pops that focused on All Things Must Pass.[65]
The album's release coincided with a period when religion and spirituality was emerging as a popular theme in rock music and youth culture.[66][67] "Art of Dying" exemplified Harrison's focus on Hindu-aligned religious concepts as a solo artist from 1970 onwards.[68][69] In his contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Ben Gerson wrote of the wide range of styles found on All Things Must Pass and recognised "Art of Dying" as "a song of reincarnation" with a melody that he likened to "Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones.[70]Village Voice contributor Nicholas Schaffner described it as an "essay" on the subject of reincarnation.[71] In December 1972, Andrew Davies of Record Mirror cited the song in his assessment of the Beatles as solo artists, saying that All Things Must Pass and Harrison's organisation of the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh project ensured he had "far surpassed" Lennon and McCartney since the band's break-up. Davies said that Harrison's lyrics "never sink into banality or become pretentious" and so he could address the themes in "Art of Dying" "without becoming slushy and sentimental".[72]
Reviewing the 30th anniversary edition of the album, James Hunter of Rolling Stone enthused about the performance: "Imagine a rock orchestra recorded with sensitivity and teeth and faraway mikes: bluesy and intricate on Harrison and Dylan's 'I'd Have You Anytime,' fizzy on 'Apple Scruffs,' grooving on 'Let It Down,' and spookily proto-disco on 'Art of Dying.'"[1] In another 2001 review, for The New York Times, Jody Rosen grouped "Art of Dying" with "Wah-Wah" and "Hear Me Lord" as examples of how Spector successfully transformed Harrison's compositions on an "operatic scale". Rosen added: "The symphonic squall of these songs seems less about rock star hubris than Mr. Harrison's straining to express outsized emotions – sorrow, regret, longing, writ very large."[73][nb 6]
In his feature on Harrison's solo career for Goldmine magazine in 2002, Dave Thompson paired "Art of Dying" with "Beware of Darkness" as songs that "rate among the finest compositions of Harrison's entire career".[75] Writing for Uncut in 2008, David Cavanagh said that, while "My Sweet Lord" was the best-known of the spiritually themed songs on All Things Must Pass, "Art of Dying" was the most "far-sighted", with a lyric that "saw the 27-year-old Harrison prepare for death in an ecstasy of resolved, purified karma".[76] Writing in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Andrew Gilbert highlights "Art of Dying" as an example of the "finely crafted, spiritually charged songs" that ensure that All Things Must Pass "only sounds better with time".[77] Damian Fanelli of Guitar World includes the song among the best of Clapton's many collaborations with members of the Beatles, describing it as "outstanding" and "wah-tastic ... the closest Harrison got to hard rock as a solo artist".[78]
Legacy
Harrison in the Hindu holy city of Vrindavan in 1996
Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone concluded his 2002 article "The Mystery Inside George" with a comment on the relevance of "Art of Dying" to Harrison's legacy. He said the song reflected Harrison's recognition that manifesting love is "among the highest purposes of life" as well as an appreciation that "Sometime darkness is irrefutable, and sometimes love and understanding can't save a troubled heart or a soul in harm's way." Gilmore added that the "love story" surrounding the Beatles best illustrated such a "dichotomy" and none of the band members "carried that knowledge with greater weight, yearning or honor than George Harrison".[79]
In Martin Scorsese's 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, the song's significance is highlighted in the context of the knife attack Harrison endured in December 1999, two years before his death from cancer, when an intruder broke into his home in Oxfordshire.[80][81] In his article on the film, Joe Bosso of Music Radar says that "mastering the art of dying" had been Harrison's prime concern during his final years; he cites Olivia Harrison's and Starr's respective comments as indicating that Harrison achieved his spiritual goal.[82] Harrison's son Dhani supported this contention in a 2002 interview, and he said that his father had found a contentment and lightheartedness that contrasted with the "more serious" outlook evident in "Art of Dying" and "All Things Must Pass".[83][nb 7]
On the 2002 Hare Krishna Tribute to George Harrison DVD, in which devotees from the Radha Krishna Temple (London) offered their reminiscences on Harrison,[85] Shyamsundar Das, a lifelong devotee, expressed his certainty that Harrison had achieved a state of transcendence in line with Hindu teachings. Shyamsundar quoted from the lyrics to "Art of Dying" while remarking that Harrison had successfully grasped the principles of moksha even by the late 1960s.[86] Also in 2002, a Beliefnet writer commented on Harrison's preparations for death and wrote of the song:
In "Art of Dying", Harrison reminds us that death is life's greatest opportunity. There comes a time when each of us must leave this material world, and no amount of prayer and science can keep us here – but what we truly are does not cease to be. The Bhagavad-Gita teaches that "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."[28]
New Zealand Herald journalist Graham Reid cited the song's lyrics and Harrison's example in an article he wrote about the contrasting ways that individuals face the notion of death and live accordingly.[87]
In January 1991, Starr contributed a preface to the book Walking After Midnight in which he reproduced Harrison's I, Me, Mine entry on "Art of Dying".[88] The book followed the 1988 documentary film Walking After Midnight,[88] in which well-known figures such as Starr, Martin Sheen, Willie Nelson, Donovan and the Dalai Lama speculate on their past incarnations.[89][nb 8] Gary J. Moore of the Staten Island Advance referenced Harrison's song and Olivia's description of her husband's passing in his review of Katy Butler's 2019 book The Art of Dying Well, in which Butler outlines practical steps to prepare for death.[91][nb 9]
Among Harrison biographers, Elliot Huntley describes "Art of Dying" as "certainly the most dramatic" track on All Things Must Pass and "one of the most scintillating rock songs in the Harrison canon".[30] Ian Inglis writes that "Art of Dying" fully reflects Harrison's "post-Beatles confidence" and notes the Middle Eastern "musical antecedents" despite the obvious Hindu concepts within the lyrics.[93] In his book While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Simon Leng views "Art of Dying" as picking up "where 'Tomorrow Never Knows' and 'Within You Without You' paused", and adds: "If ever a song challenged the one-eyed nature of the rock world, this is it. Nothing could be further from superficial pop culture."[17]
Other versions
Harrison never performed "Art of Dying" live,[94] although he included it in his proposed setlist for the Concert for Bangladesh,[95] which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York on 1 August 1971.[96]Jim Horn's horn chart for the song is reproduced at the end of I, Me, Mine.[97] The acoustic demo of "Art of Dying" from May 1970 has been available unofficially since the 1990s on the bootleg Beware of ABKCO![98][99] Early mixes of the released track, showing the recording at various stages during the overdubbing process, have been issued on the bootlegs The Making of All Things Must Pass[100] and Songs for Patti – The Mastertape Version.[101] The latter also includes the discarded "Take 9" version.[101]
Jazz guitarist Joel Harrison covered "Art of Dying" on his 2005 album Harrison on Harrison: Jazz Explorations of George Harrison.[102][103] At the George Fest tribute concert in Los Angeles in September 2014, "Art of Dying" was performed by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.[104][105] Their version appears on the 2016 film and album release from the event, co-produced by Dhani Harrison.[106][nb 10] In a subsequent interview, Dhani highlighted this version as one of the George Fest performances that had particularly impressed him, saying: "I didn't realize that was like grunge until I saw BRMC play it; I was like, 'Oh. This is a shoegazey grunge song!' They unlocked that song for me."[108] Megan Volpert of PopMatters similarly considers it to be one of the concert's two "particularly great, more interpretive covers". She highlights the use of slide guitar as a "bold" new feature, given the reverence afforded Harrison's slide playing.[109] In his review for American Songwriter, Hal Horowitz also considers BRMC's performance to be among the best at George Fest and he describes the song as a "seldom heard Harrison gem".[107]
Personnel
According to Simon Leng, the following musicians played on "Art of Dying":[52]
↑ Along with "Isn't It a Pity", which also dated from 1966,[42] "Art of Dying" was the oldest of the songs Harrison recorded for All Things Must Pass.[43]
↑ The master tape sheet lists take 9 as "Art of Dying (Version One)", with drums, bass, "stereo guitars", piano, percussion and vocals filling seven of the available tracks on the 8-track tape.[46]
↑ Simon Leng considers Clapton's guitar riff to be partly an adaptation of a "lick" played by Harrison on the Beatles' 1969 song "The End". He adds: "['The End'] had been a track on which Harrison was lauded for sounding like Clapton. Reincarnation indeed."[52]
↑ Reviewing Starsailor's album Silence Is Easy in 2004, Jason Heller of Westword said that the track "Four to the Floor" was "eerily similar" to "Art of Dying", a gesture he viewed as "either mocking or paying tribute to Spector" after Starsailor had dismissed Spector from the project.[74]
↑ Shortly after Harrison's death, drummer Jim Keltner similarly reflected: "George has been prepared for this for a long time. Just listen to his songs; for instance, he wrote and sang 'The Art of Dying' over 30 years ago ... It's us who weren't prepared. So we flounder around looking for words to try and describe him and flounder around deal[ing] with not ever hearing his voice again, ya know."[84]
↑ Author Gary Tillery states that the Beatles could have released a final "first-rank" album drawn from All Things Must Pass alone. In such a scenario, he visualises Starr as the lead vocalist on "Art of Dying" and "What Is Life".[90]
↑ In 2016, after the Catholic Church warned against pantheism and launched a website titled The Art of Dying Well, a BBC News report commented: "[The] website coincidentally shares its name with George Harrison's 1970 song, whose lyrics appear to reject the Catholicism of 'Sister Mary' and turn towards the pantheistic spirituality of Hinduism."[92]
↑ Dhani organised the 2014 concert to showcase his father's influence on a more diverse range of artists than had been the case at the all-star Concert for George in November 2002.[107]
↑ Madinger and Easter write that the various in-progress mixes of "Art of Dying" reveal the presence of tubular bells on the recording but make no mention of a piano part,[22] for which Leng credits Whitlock as playing.[52] In his autobiography, Whitlock states that his contribution was the tubular bells, which he played with a leather hammer.[110]
Related Research Articles
All Things Must Pass is the third studio album by English rock musician George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes the hit singles "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life", as well as songs such as "Isn't It a Pity" and the title track that had been overlooked for inclusion on releases by the Beatles. The album reflects the influence of Harrison's musical activities with artists such as Bob Dylan, the Band, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends and Billy Preston during 1968–70, and his growth as an artist beyond his supporting role to former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney. All Things Must Pass introduced Harrison's signature slide guitar sound and the spiritual themes present throughout his subsequent solo work. The original vinyl release consisted of two LPs of songs and a third disc of informal jams titled Apple Jam. Several commentators interpret Barry Feinstein's album cover photo, showing Harrison surrounded by four garden gnomes, as a statement on his independence from the Beatles.
"All Things Must Pass" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, issued in November 1970 as the title track to his triple album of the same name. Billy Preston released the song originally – as "All Things (Must) Pass" – on his Apple Records album Encouraging Words (1970) after the Beatles had rehearsed the song in January 1969 but did not include it on their Let It Be album. The composition reflects the influence of the Band's sound and communal music-making on Harrison, after he had spent time with the group in Woodstock, New York, in late 1968. In his lyrics, Harrison drew inspiration from Timothy Leary's poem "All Things Pass", a psychedelic adaptation of the Tao Te Ching.
"What Is Life" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. In many countries, it was issued as the second single from the album, in February 1971, becoming a top-ten hit in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, and topping singles charts in Australia and Switzerland. In the United Kingdom, "What Is Life" appeared as the B-side to "My Sweet Lord", which was the best-selling single there of 1971. Harrison's backing musicians on the song include Eric Clapton and the entire Delaney & Bonnie and Friends band, with whom he had toured during the final months of the Beatles. Harrison co-produced the recording with Phil Spector, whose Wall of Sound production also employed a prominent string arrangement by John Barham and multiple acoustic rhythm guitars, played by Harrison's fellow Apple Records signings Badfinger.
"Beware of Darkness" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. It is the opening track on the second disc of the album. The lyrics warn against allowing illusion to get in the way of one's true purpose in life, an admonition that, like the content of "My Sweet Lord", reflects the influence of Harrison's association with the Radha Krishna Temple. Several critics recognise the song as one of the best tracks on All Things Must Pass.
"Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. It was scheduled to be issued as a single in September that year, as the follow-up to "Give Me Love ", but the release was cancelled. Music critics have traditionally viewed "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" as a highlight of the Material World album, praising its pop qualities and production, with some considering the song worthy of hit status.
"Sue Me, Sue You Blues" is a song written by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. Harrison initially let American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis record it for the latter's Ululu album (1972), in gratitude to Davis for his participation in the Concert for Bangladesh. When writing the song, Harrison drew inspiration from the legal issues surrounding the Beatles during the early months of 1971, particularly the lawsuit that Paul McCartney initiated in an effort to dissolve the band's business partnership, Apple Corps.
"Who Can See It" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. The lyrics reflect Harrison's uneasy feelings towards the Beatles' legacy, three years after the group's break-up, and serve as his statement of independence from expectations raised by the band's unprecedented popularity. Some music critics and biographers suggest that he wrote the song during a period of personal anguish, following the acclaim he had received as a solo artist with the 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass and his 1971–72 Bangladesh aid project. The revelatory nature of the lyrics has encouraged comparisons between Living in the Material World and John Lennon's primal therapy-inspired 1970 release, Plastic Ono Band.
"Wah-Wah" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison wrote the song following his temporary departure from the Beatles in January 1969, during the troubled Get Back sessions that resulted in their Let It Be album and film. The lyrics reflect his frustration with the atmosphere in the group at that time – namely, Paul McCartney's over-assertiveness and criticism of his guitar playing, John Lennon's lack of engagement with the project and dismissal of Harrison as a songwriter, and Yoko Ono's constant involvement in the band's activities. Music critics and biographers recognise the song as Harrison's statement of personal and artistic freedom from the Beatles. Its creation contrasted sharply with his rewarding collaborations outside the group in the months before the Get Back project, particularly with Bob Dylan and the Band in upstate New York.
"I'd Have You Anytime" is a song written by George Harrison and Bob Dylan, released in 1970 as the opening track of Harrison's first post-Beatles solo album, All Things Must Pass. The pair wrote the song at Dylan's home in Bearsville, near Woodstock in upstate New York, in November 1968. Its creation occurred during a period when Harrison had outgrown his role in the Beatles and Dylan had withdrawn from the pressures of fame to raise a family. "I'd Have You Anytime" is recognised as a statement of friendship between the two musicians, whose meetings from 1964 onwards resulted in changes in musical direction for both Dylan and the Beatles. The song reflects the environment in which it was written, as Harrison's verses urge the shy and elusive Dylan to let down his guard, and the Dylan-composed choruses respond with a message of welcome.
"Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison wrote the song as a tribute to Frank Crisp, a nineteenth-century lawyer and the original owner of Friar Park – the Victorian Gothic residence in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, that Harrison purchased in early 1970. Commentators have likened the song to a cinematic journey through the grand house and the grounds of the estate.
"Run of the Mill" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison wrote the song shortly after the Beatles' troubled Get Back sessions in early 1969, during a period when his growth as a songwriter had inadvertently contributed to the dysfunction within the Beatles' group dynamic. The lyrics reflect the toll that running their company Apple Corps had taken on relationships within the band, especially between Paul McCartney and the other three Beatles, as well as Harrison's dismay at John Lennon's emotional withdrawal from the band. Commentators recognise "Run of the Mill" as one of several Harrison compositions that provide an insight into events behind the Beatles' break-up, particularly the difficulties surrounding Apple.
"Awaiting on You All" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1970 triple album, All Things Must Pass. Along with the single "My Sweet Lord", it is among the more overtly religious compositions on All Things Must Pass, and the recording typifies co-producer Phil Spector's influence on the album, due to his liberal use of reverberation and other Wall of Sound production techniques. Harrison recorded the track in London backed by musicians such as Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Klaus Voormann, Jim Gordon and Jim Price – many of whom he had toured with, as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, in December 1969, while still officially a member of the Beatles. Musically, the composition reflects Harrison's embracing of the gospel music genre, following his production of fellow Apple Records artists Billy Preston and Doris Troy.
"Let It Down" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. The recording was co-produced by Phil Spector and employs the latter's Wall of Sound production technique to lavish effect. Its brash opening and choruses contrast with the ethereal quality of the verses – a loud/soft approach that has been credited with influencing indie bands during the 1980s and 1990s.
"I Dig Love" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. A paean to free love, it marks a departure from the more profound, spiritually oriented subject matter of much of that album. Musically, the song reflects Harrison's early experimentation with slide guitar, a technique that he was introduced to while touring with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends in December 1969.
"Hear Me Lord" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. It was the last track on side four of the original LP format and is generally viewed as the closing song on the album, disc three being the largely instrumental Apple Jam. Harrison wrote "Hear Me Lord" in January 1969 while still a member of the Beatles, who rehearsed it briefly at Twickenham Film Studios that month, but passed it over for inclusion on what became their final album, Let It Be.
"Beautiful Girl" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1976 album Thirty Three & 1/3. Harrison began writing the song in 1969 and considered recording it for his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. In its finished, 1976 form, the lyrics of "Beautiful Girl" were inspired by Harrison's second wife, Olivia Arias.
"Pure Smokey" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1976 on his debut album for Dark Horse Records, Thirty Three & 1/3. The song was the second of Harrison's musical tributes to American soul singer Smokey Robinson, following "Ooh Baby " in 1975. Harrison frequently cited Robinson as one of his favourite vocalists and songwriters, and Robinson's group the Miracles had similarly influenced the Beatles during the 1960s. In the lyrics to "Pure Smokey", Harrison gives thanks for the gift of Robinson's music, while making a statement regarding the importance of expressing appreciation and gratitude, rather than forgetting to do so and later regretting it. The song title came from the name of Robinson's 1974 album Pure Smokey.
"So Sad" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison that was released on his 1974 album Dark Horse. Harrison originally recorded the song for his previous album, Living in the Material World, before giving it to Alvin Lee, the guitarist and singer with Ten Years After. Lee recorded it – as "So Sad " – with gospel singer Mylon LeFevre for their 1973 album On the Road to Freedom. The latter recording includes contributions from Harrison and marked the first of several collaborations between him and Lee.
Apple Jam is the third LP included in English rock musician George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. It consists of four instrumental jams, three of which were recorded during the album sessions, and "It's Johnny's Birthday", a 30th birthday tribute to John Lennon. The disc was Apple Records' way of placating record buyers for the high retail price of All Things Must Pass, which was one of the first triple albums in rock history. It was given a dedicated design by Tom Wilkes, with a logo depicting a jam jar and apple leaves.
George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's 1974 North American tour was a 45-show concert tour of the United States and Canada, undertaken by English musician George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar in November and December 1974. It is often referred to as the Dark Horse Tour, since the concerts served as a launch for Harrison's record label Dark Horse Records, to which Shankar was one of the inaugural signings, and Harrison's concurrent single was the song "Dark Horse". The release of his delayed album, also titled Dark Horse, followed towards the end of the tour. The shows featured guest spots by Harrison's band members Billy Preston and Tom Scott.
References
1 2 James Hunter, "George Harrison All Things Must Pass 30th Anniversary reissue", Rolling Stone, 29 March 2001; quoted in The Super Seventies "Classic 500", George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (retrieved 4 June 2014).
↑ Mick Gold, "The Act You've Known For All These Years: The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper", unpublished, 1974; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
↑ Dave Thompson, "The Music of George Harrison: An album-by-album guide", Goldmine, 25 January 2002, p. 17.
↑ David Cavanagh, "George Harrison: The Dark Horse", Uncut, August 2008, p. 40.
↑ Album review by Andrew Gilbert, in Robert Dimery, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Universe (New York, NY, 2005); quoted in The Super Seventies "Classic 500", George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (retrieved 4 June 2014).
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Joshua M. Greene, Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison, John Wiley & Sons (Hoboken, NJ, 2006; ISBN978-0-470-12780-3).
George Harrison, I Me Mine, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002; ISBN0-8118-3793-9).
Olivia Harrison, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Abrams (New York, NY, 2011; ISBN978-1-4197-0220-4).
Bill Harry, The George Harrison Encyclopedia, Virgin Books (London, 2003; ISBN978-0753508220).
Elliot J. Huntley, Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles, Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ISBN1-55071-197-0).
Ian Inglis, The Words and Music of George Harrison, Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ISBN978-0-313-37532-3).
Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ISBN1-4234-0609-5).
Ian MacDonald, Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Pimlico (London, 1998; ISBN0-7126-6697-4).
Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium, 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ISBN0-615-11724-4).
Chris O'Dell (with Katherine Ketcham), Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved, Touchstone (New York, NY, 2009; ISBN978-1-4165-9093-4).
Robert Rodriguez, Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980, Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ISBN978-1-4165-9093-4).
Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ISBN0-07-055087-5).
Bruce Spizer, The Beatles Solo on Apple Records, 498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2005; ISBN0-9662649-5-9).
Gary Tillery, Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison, Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; ISBN978-0-8356-0900-5).
Richie Unterberger, The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film, Backbeat Books (San Francisco, CA, 2006; ISBN978-0-87930-892-6).
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