"Sour Milk Sea" is a song written by George Harrison and released by English rock singer Jackie Lomax as his debut single on the Beatles' Apple record label in August 1968. Harrison wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in Rishikesh, India and gave it to Lomax to help launch Apple Records. Lomax's recording is a rarity among non-Beatles songs since it features three members of the band – Harrison, who also produced the track, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Performed in the hard rock style, the song also includes musical contributions from Eric Clapton and session pianist Nicky Hopkins. It was the first of many Harrison productions for artists signed to the Beatles' record label.
Harrison wrote "Sour Milk Sea" to promote Transcendental Meditation, which the Beatles had been studying in Rishikesh with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In the lyrics, Harrison espouses meditation as a remedy for worldly cares. The group recorded a demo of the song while considering material for their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the White Album). On release, Lomax's single was overshadowed in Apple's "Our First Four" promotional campaign by the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Mary Hopkin's "Those Were the Days"; it enjoyed only minor success internationally, becoming a top 30 hit in Canada. Together with its B-side, the Lomax-written "The Eagle Laughs at You", the song was included on the singer's only Apple album, Is This What You Want?, released in March 1969.
"Sour Milk Sea" received favourable reviews in 1968 and has continued to invite praise from music critics, particularly for the energetic quality of the performance. Several writers consider that the song deserved to be a hit for Lomax and that, had the Beatles retained it for the White Album, it would have been among the best songs on the album. The track also appears on the 2010 multi-artist compilation Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records.
"Sour Milk Sea" was one of several songs that George Harrison wrote while staying at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, from February to April 1968.[4][5] Having first visited India in September 1966, following the Beatles' final concert tour,[6] Harrison became enamoured of the teachings of the Maharishi[7][8] and led his Beatles bandmates to Rishikesh to study Transcendental Meditation two years later.[9][10] With Life magazine labelling 1968 "the Year of the Guru",[11] the Beatles' visit generated wide interest in Transcendental Meditation,[12] and Eastern spirituality generally, among Western youth.[13][14] Author Simon Leng writes that with "Sour Milk Sea", Harrison adopted "the role of advertising executive" to further promote meditation.[15] Leng views it as a follow-up to "Within You Without You", in which Harrison had first channelled the teachings of the HinduVedas into a song.[16]
In his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, Harrison says that "Sour Milk Sea" espouses meditation as a means to improve the quality of one's life, as well as advocating a proactive approach when faced with difficulty. He says he named the composition after a picture titled Kalladadi Samudra, which reflects the theme of Vishvasara Tantra in sacred Hindu texts, particularly regarding "the geological theory of the evolution of organic life on earth".[4] Singer Jackie Lomax, whose debut solo album Harrison had agreed to produce before the Beatles departed for India,[17] said that the Sour Milk Sea symbolises "a fallow period" during each of the Earth's 26,000-year evolutionary cycles, before the planet begins its process of regeneration.[18]
As with the other songs he wrote in Rishikesh, "Sour Milk Sea" marked the start of Harrison's return to the guitar as his main instrument,[19] coinciding with a gradual relinquishing of his attempts to master the Indian sitar.[20] In a September 1968 interview, he recalled that he wrote the music "in ten minutes" since he was without a guitar at the time and had to borrow John Lennon's. He also said that, although it was not until June that he decided to forgo Indian classical music and fully re-engage with rock music, "[Even when] I was in India, I always imagined the song as rock 'n' roll."[21]
Composition
Referring to the compositional draft for "Sour Milk Sea", musicologist Walter Everett states that together the various chords suggest "a pentatonic minor scale on A, allowing B♭ as a tritone-related ornament to E7".[22] The song makes limited use of the expected A major chord, however, instead centring on E over the verses and D in the choruses, with the latter representing what Everett terms "the Mixolydian♭VII area".[22] Described by author and critic Richie Unterberger as a melody filled with "tense chord ascensions",[1] the composition shares part of its melodic characteristics with "Savoy Truffle", another Harrison song from 1968.[23][24]
I used "Sour Milk Sea" as the idea of – if you're in the shit, don't go around moaning about it; do something about it:
Looking for release from limitation? There's nothing much without illumination … Get out of Sour Milk Sea You don't belong there …[4]
– George Harrison, 1979
In the lyrics to the verses, Harrison focuses on the benefits of Transcendental Meditation rather than detailing the way to achieve these results.[25] While Leng likens Harrison's approach to that of an advertiser selling anti-dandruff shampoo,[15] author Joshua Greene describes the lyrical thrust of the song as: "Is life getting you down? Not getting the breaks you want? Try illumination."[26] Harrison proffers greater awareness and a release from earthly limitations as the other benefits brought about by the meditation experience.[27]
According to theologian Dale Allison, through its promise of a quick solution, the song pre-empts the concept espoused by Lennon two years later in "Instant Karma!"[27] Harrison urges the listener to follow a "very simple process" and to "do it soon",[28] in order to leave the Sour Milk Sea state of mind and "Get back to where you should be".[29] Author Ian Inglis views the chorus lyrics as particularly forthright; he paraphrases the message as "admit your shortcomings, pull yourself together, look for a solution".[28]
Although it originated as an acoustic guitar song, the official recording of "Sour Milk Sea" is in the heavy rock style typical of the late 1960s.[30] Greene comments on the appropriateness of this "hard-driving, blues guitar medium" as a way for Harrison to directly convey "a simple rule of thumb" regarding the human condition.[26]
The Beatles' demo
The Beatles recorded a demo of "Sour Milk Sea" at Harrison's Esher home, Kinfauns, in late May 1968,[31][32] while preparing material for their self-titled double album (also known as "the White Album").[33] By this point, the group had publicly ended their association with the Maharishi.[34] Lennon, who, along with Harrison, was the last to leave Rishikesh, said in mid May that following the Maharishi had been a "mistake"[35] but that the band continued to believe in the benefits of meditation.[36]
The demo was taped on Harrison's Ampexfour-track recorder.[37][38] The performance features Harrison singing falsetto throughout,[39] and a musical backing that includes guitars and percussion.[40] Although the subsequent album sessions were marked by disharmony and a lack of cooperation among the band members,[41] author and critic Kenneth Womack comments that the Kinfauns demos "witness the Beatles working in unison and exalting in the pure joy of their music".[38] Leng similarly describes the group's performance of "Sour Milk Sea" as an "exciting" version "[p]layed with real enthusiasm".[15] The recording became available on bootleg albums,[42] including Acoustic Masterpieces (The Esher Demos).[43] In 2018, it was included on the 50th Anniversary Box Set release of The Beatles, along with all the Esher demos.[44]
As with several of the songs previewed at Kinfauns, the Beatles did not revisit "Sour Milk Sea" during the White Album sessions.[1][45] Harrison decided to give the song to former Undertakers singer Jackie Lomax[46] – a fellow Liverpudlian and one of the first artists signed to the Beatles' record label, Apple Records, in early 1968.[47] In a 2004 interview, Lomax said that he was fortunate to have Harrison's help, adding: "even on a big project like The White Album he only had four songs. I think he was feeling held back [in the Beatles]."[48][nb 1]
Recording
With Harrison as his producer, Lomax recorded "Sour Milk Sea" for release as a single.[52] The sessions for the song began at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London on 24 June 1968,[52][53] before moving to Trident Studios,[54] to use that facility's superior, eight-track recording equipment.[55] Speaking to Melody Maker in September, Harrison described the recording as a "glorified jam session".[56][nb 2] The line-up consisted of Lomax on vocals, Harrison and Eric Clapton on guitars, Nicky Hopkins on piano, Paul McCartney on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums.[57] McCartney was absent from the initial session, however,[52] only returning on 25 June[53] from an Apple-related business trip to California.[58][59] While Apple projects typically featured one member of the Beatles, "Sour Milk Sea" is the only track where more than two members of the band appeared on another artist's recording.[60][nb 3]
With Eric Clapton playing on it, it was on fire. When the backing tape was played back, I thought it worked as an instrumental. "You want me to sing on top of that?!"[18]
– Jackie Lomax, 2010
Clapton's electric guitar playing gave the song a riff-based quality that was absent from the Beatles' version.[30] Lomax later said that he thought the track "worked as an instrumental", and he recalled his nervousness when it came to overdubbing the vocal part, with "three Beatles in the control room watching me".[18] In addition to supplying acoustic rhythm guitar on the song,[28] Harrison played an electric guitar solo, which appears shortly after the two-minute mark on the recording,[62] following Clapton's lead guitar break.[30][55]Hammond organ was also added over this instrumental passage,[52] although the part is uncredited.[63] Recording was completed on 26 June.[64] Like Clapton and Hopkins,[1] Lomax went on to contribute to the sessions for The Beatles,[65] singing backing vocals on "Dear Prudence".[66][67][nb 4]
Eric Clapton (far right, pictured with his band Cream) played lead guitar on the track, initiating a guitar combination with Harrison that continued long after the Beatles' break-up in 1970.
Leng identifies "Sour Milk Sea" as marking three important "firsts" in Harrison's career. It was the first song Harrison "gave away" to another artist, a sign that his output as a songwriter had outgrown the quota of tracks typically allocated to him on Beatles releases.[30] The Lomax album project also marked the first time that Harrison served as producer for another artist,[53][70] after he had produced sessions in London and Bombay for his own debut solo album, Wonderwall Music.[71][nb 5] In addition, although Clapton had contributed to Wonderwall Music earlier in the year,[76] "Sour Milk Sea" is the first example of him and Harrison sharing the lead guitarist's role on a recording.[77] Later in 1968, the pair co-wrote Cream's final hit single, "Badge",[78] while their guitar combination would be a feature through much of Harrison's solo career,[79] as well as on Derek and the Dominos' first single, "Tell the Truth".[80]
"The Eagle Laughs at You"
For the single's B-side, Lomax recorded his composition "The Eagle Laughs at You".[81] Produced by Harrison, the song was also recorded between 24 and 26 June.[64] According to Apple Records historian Andy Davis, the musicians on the track comprised an "ad hoc power trio" of Lomax on bass and rhythm guitar, Harrison on lead guitar and "a couple of overdubs", and drummer Tony Newman from Sounds Incorporated.[18] Lomax recalled that he and Harrison overdubbed a cornet part (played by a studio cleaner) and then manipulated the recording to make it sound like the call of an elephant.[18]
Release
The "Sour Milk Sea" single was issued on 26 August 1968 in America (as Apple 1802)[82] and 6 September in Britain (as Apple 3).[64] Along with "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, Mary Hopkin's "Those Were the Days" and the Black Dyke Mills Band's "Thingumybob", it was one of Apple's "Our First Four" singles,[83] marking the official launch of the label.[84][85] The four releases took place on the same day in the United States but were spread out over two weeks in the UK.[86] Apple staged a lavish promotional campaign for the launch, led by Derek Taylor, whom Harrison had invited to help run the Beatles' new enterprise.[87] In advance of the release date, the company declared 11–18 August to be "National Apple Week"[85][88] and sent gift-wrapped boxes of the four records to Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family, and to the British prime minister.[89] In an interview to help promote "Sour Milk Sea", Harrison said that the song's message would "[go] above the heads of some people", but it was a "very good record" and indicative of his and Lomax's decision to put artistic merit before commercial considerations.[21][nb 6] Lomax carried out radio promotion for the single in November,[92] while he and Harrison were in the US recording further material for Lomax's album, Is This What You Want?[93]
Although the single received considerable promotion,[28] it was a surprising commercial failure.[94][95] "Sour Milk Sea" failed to chart in Britain.[1][52] In America, the song reached number 117 during a two-week run on the Bubbling Under listings of Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and "The Eagle Laughs at You" placed at number 125.[96] "Sour Milk Sea" was a hit in Canada, however, peaking at number 29 on the RPM 100 in November 1968.[97][nb 7] In a 1974 feature on his career in ZigZag magazine, Lomax said that the song's release in tandem with "obvious" hits like "Hey Jude" and "Those Were the Days" jinxed its commercial performance, since radio stations were reluctant to risk alienating other record labels by featuring all four Apple singles too heavily on their playlists. Lomax added: "So they kind of lost me in the shuffle."[99]
The song's exhortation to "Get back to where you should be" was partly appropriated by McCartney in his lyrics to "Get Back",[100][101] which the Beatles recorded in January 1969.[102][nb 8] In March that year, both sides of Lomax's single were included on Is This What You Want?,[103] which was his only album for Apple.[52] The album similarly failed to achieve commercial success,[104] a result that perplexed the Beatles, who continued to believe in Lomax's talents.[105][106] In June 1971, Apple re-released "Sour Milk Sea", with "Fall Inside Your Eyes" on the B-side,[107] but this single also failed to chart.[81]
In 2010, Apple reissued Is This What You Want? as both an individual release and as part of the seventeen-disc box set titled The Apple Box.[108] "Sour Milk Sea" also appeared on the accompanying two-CD compilation, Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records.[3] In conjunction with these releases, a mono mix of the song was made available for digital download.[108] Lomax's 2015 box set Rare, Unreleased and Live, 1965–2012 includes live versions of "Sour Milk Sea" and "The Eagle Laughs at You", recorded by him for BBC Radio.[109]
Critical reception and legacy
On release in 1968, the single received favourable reviews from music critics.[104] Derek Johnson of the NME called "Sour Milk Sea" a "raving r-and-b number" that was "powerfully interpreted" by Lomax and "peppered with twangs".[2]Billboard recognised Lomax as a "super discovery" for the new record label and deemed the song a "groovy beat number" with a "powerful vocal workout".[110]Record World included the single among its Four-Star Picks and described the song as "Hard rock from one of the new Beatles protégés" with Lomax "lay[ing] out the thick sound".[111]
Due to the song's strong association with the Beatles and Eric Clapton, it subsequently retained a degree of renown among rock music fans.[99] In 1970, Sour Milk Sea, one of singer Freddie Mercury's pre-Queen bands,[112] named themselves after the track.[113] Writing for Rolling Stone in 1971, Ben Edmonds described the song as "excellent" but said that Lomax "seemed to get lost among the superstars" accompanying him.[114] Three years later, Andy Childs of ZigZag called it "a classic single – a really dynamic rock song with Lomax in great voice".[99]
Although Jackie Lomax had a full and interesting musical career, he was one of Liverpool's unluckiest musicians … his album for the Beatles' Apple label, Is This What You Want (1969), produced by George Harrison, should have been a best-seller. Most music fans of the era cite "Sour Milk Sea" (1968) as a Top 10 single that never was, so why didn't they buy it?[47]
Among Beatles biographers, Bruce Spizer attributes the commercial failure of Lomax's "great rock single" to the simultaneous release of "Hey Jude" and "Those Were the Days",[81] while John Winn describes it as an "excellent debut" and "an inexplicable flop".[115] Simon Leng writes that the song "just wasn't catchy enough" in Lomax's reading and views the Beatles' "garage rendition" as superior.[116] Although he finds the musical arrangement and Lomax's singing slightly incongruous beside Harrison's philosophical lyrics, Ian Inglis recognises the track as "an early prototype of heavy metal, particularly in the interplay between drums and lead guitar and its relentless sequence of musical climaxes".[28]
Writing in Goldmine in 2002, Dave Thompson included "Sour Milk Sea" and "Badge" in his list of the Harrison-written songs that "rank among the finest Beatles compositions of the group's final years", and he concluded: "the only regret is that neither of the latter two ever made it into a Beatles recording session."[117] In his book on the making of the White Album, Uncut critic David Quantick describes the song as "excellent" and rues how, together with Harrison's "Not Guilty", it was passed over in favour of "old toot" such as "Rocky Raccoon" and "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill".[118][nb 9] Less impressed with the track, Richie Unterberger finds the lyrics "a blend of encouragement and mild scolding", and rates it "a serviceable hard-rock number with a bluesy boogie feel" next to the "considerably superior" "Savoy Truffle".[1] In an online article for Mojo published shortly after Lomax's death in September 2013, Danny Eccleston described "Sour Milk Sea" as "a brilliantly excitable recording". He said that the single had become a "cult rendering" and attributed its lack of commercial success to an "accusatory tone" in Harrison's lyrics.[120]
In his preview of Apple's 2010 reissues, for Rolling Stone, David Fricke listed Is This What You Want? third among the label's top five non-Beatle album releases and praised "Sour Milk Sea" as a "get-off-your-ass rocker" and a "dynamite" track.[121]Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot called it "a knockout version".[122] Among reviews of the Come and Get It compilation, Douglas Wolk of Pitchfork opined that "Sour Milk Sea" "would've been one of the best songs on [the White Album] if George had kept it for himself",[123] while Uncut's David Cavanagh described the track as "sensational".[124]AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls the song "a dense, brilliant, and soulful psychedelic rocker".[3] In his liner notes to the compilation, Andy Davis, formerly the editor of Record Collector, calls "Sour Milk Sea" "the greatest record The Beatles never made".[125]
↑ After his stay in Rishikesh, Harrison's output as a writer had become prolific,[26][49] yet the extent of his contributions to the Beatles' releases continued to be limited by the band's primary songwriters, Lennon and Paul McCartney.[50][51]
↑ In his interview with the NME that same month, Harrison said that it was when he visited New York in early June that he finally decided to abandon the sitar. He cited the music he heard there, by the Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix, as his inspiration for dedicating himself to the guitar once more.[21]
↑ On another occasion, in October 1969, Harrison, Starr and Lennon were all present at Leon Russell's session for "Pisces Apple Lady" at London's Olympic Studios, but Lennon observed rather than participated.[61]
↑ Lomax was also among the chorus singers on the long coda of "Hey Jude",[48] which the Beatles recorded at Trident during sessions for the same album.[68][69]
↑ In the same interview, with Alan Smith of the NME, Harrison said that, having enjoyed producing another artist for the first time and rediscovering his "rocker" self, he would welcome the chance to produce Little Richard next.[90][91]
↑ By comparison, "Hey Jude" became the Beatles' best-selling single and "Those Were the Days" also topped charts around the world.[85] "Thingumybob", a brass-band instrumental, "baffled radio programmers", according to author Bruce Spizer, and failed to meet with any commercial success.[98]
↑ During early rehearsals of "Get Back", Spizer writes, McCartney also copied Lomax's singing style and, in one run-through, called out "C'mon Jackie".[100]
↑ Quantick also writes that, in the Beatles' demo, "Sour Milk Sea" was already "a belting number, with a superb wailing Harrison vocal and a nice twisty melody that's a superior cousin to 'Savoy Truffle'".[119]
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.
The discography of English singer-songwriter and former member of the Beatles, George Harrison consists of 12 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, 35 singles, two video albums and four box sets. Harrison's first solo releases – the Wonderwall Music film soundtrack (1968) and Electronic Sound (1969) – were almost entirely instrumental works, issued during the last two years of the Beatles' career. Following the band's break-up in April 1970, Harrison continued to produce recordings by his fellow Apple Records acts, notably former bandmate Ringo Starr. He recorded and collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Gary Wright.
"Savoy Truffle" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album The Beatles. The song was written by George Harrison and inspired by his friend Eric Clapton's fondness for chocolate. The lyrics list the various flavours offered in Mackintosh's Good News chocolates and serve as a warning to Clapton about the detrimental effect that his gorging would have on his teeth. Along with Clapton's guest appearance on the White Album track "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Harrison reciprocating on Cream's "Badge", it is one of several songs that mark the start of a long-lasting musical association between the two guitarists.
"Ding Dong, Ding Dong" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, written as a New Year's Eve singalong and released in December 1974 on his album Dark Horse. It was the album's lead single in Britain and some other European countries, and the second single, after "Dark Horse", in North America. A large-scale production, the song incorporates aspects of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique, particularly his Christmas recordings from 1963. In addition, some Harrison biographers view "Ding Dong" as an attempt to emulate the success of two glam rock anthems from the 1973–74 holiday season: "Merry Xmas Everybody" by Slade, and Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". The song became only a minor hit in Britain and the United States, although it was a top-twenty hit elsewhere in the world.
"That Is All" is a song by English musician George Harrison released as the final track of his 1973 album Living in the Material World. A slow, heavily orchestrated ballad, it is one of many Harrison love songs that appear to be directed at either a woman or a deity. Harrison wrote and recorded the song during the height of his public devotion to Hinduism; on release, Rolling Stone described its lyrics as "a sort of Hindu In Paradisium".
John Barham is an English classical pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. He is best known for his orchestration of George Harrison albums such as All Things Must Pass (1970) and for his association with Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.
"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.
"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. The band rehearsed it briefly at Twickenham Film Studios that month, but it was passed over for inclusion on what became their final album, Let It Be.
"Deep Blue" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison that was released as the B-side to his 1971 charity single "Bangla Desh". Harrison wrote the song in 1970, midway through the recording sessions for All Things Must Pass, and recorded it in Los Angeles the following year while organising the Concert for Bangladesh. The composition was inspired by the deteriorating condition of his mother, Louise, before she succumbed to cancer in July 1970, and by Harrison's feelings of helplessness as he visited her in hospital in the north of England. Given the subject matter, "Deep Blue" also served to convey the suffering endured by the millions of refugees from war-torn Bangladesh in 1971, as sickness and disease became widespread among their makeshift camps in northern India.
"Māya Love" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1974 album Dark Horse. The song originated as a slide guitar tune, to which Harrison later added lyrics relating to the illusory nature of love – maya being a Sanskrit term for "illusion", or "that which is not". Harrison's biographers consider the lyrical theme to be reflective of his failed marriage to Pattie Boyd, who left him for his friend Eric Clapton shortly before the words were written. Harrison recorded the song at his home, Friar Park, on the eve of his North American tour with Ravi Shankar, which took place in November and December 1974. The recording features Harrison's slide guitar extensively and contributions from four musicians who formed the nucleus of his tour band: Billy Preston, Tom Scott, Willie Weeks and Andy Newmark. Reviewers note the track as an example of its parent album's more diverse musical genres, namely funk and rhythm and blues, compared with the more traditional rock orientation of Harrison's earlier solo work.
"Can't Stop Thinking About You" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1975 on his final album for Apple Records, Extra Texture . A love song in the style of a soul/R&B ballad, it was written by Harrison in December 1973, towards the end of his marriage to Pattie Boyd and while he was having an affair with Maureen Starkey, the wife of his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr. Having first considered the song for his 1974 release Dark Horse, Harrison recorded "Can't Stop Thinking About You" in Los Angeles in May 1975 for his so-called "soul album", Extra Texture. Some authors view its inclusion on the latter release as an obvious attempt by Harrison to commercialise the album, in response to the harsh critical reception afforded Dark Horse and his 1974 North American tour.
"You and Me (Babe)" is a song by English musician Ringo Starr, released as the final track on his 1973 album Ringo. Starr's fellow ex-Beatle George Harrison wrote the song along with Mal Evans, the Beatles' longtime aide and a personal assistant to Starr during the making of Ringo. The track serves as a farewell from Starr to his audience in the manner of a show-closing finale, by lyrically referring to the completion of the album. During the extended fadeout, Starr delivers a spoken message in which he thanks the musicians and studio personnel who helped with the recording of Ringo – among them, Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and his producer, Richard Perry.
"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 Scruffs" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. He wrote it as a tribute to the die-hard Beatles fans known as Apple scruffs, who used to wait outside the Apple Corps building and other London locations for a glimpse of the band members. This tradition continued after the group's break-up in April 1970, as the scruffs were a regular presence outside the studios where Harrison recorded his album. The song was also issued on the album's second single, as the B-side to "What Is Life".
Is This What You Want? is the debut album by English rock and soul singer Jackie Lomax, released in 1969 on the Beatles' Apple record label. It was produced by George Harrison and features contributions from Harrison's Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The album includes Lomax's debut single for Apple, the Harrison-written "Sour Milk Sea". The US version added "New Day", which was produced by Lomax and released as a non-album single in Britain.
Doris Troy is an album released in 1970 on the Beatles' Apple Records label by American soul singer Doris Troy. It features songs written by Troy and a number of the participants on the sessions, including George Harrison, Stephen Stills, Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr. Through the extended period of recording, the album became an all-star collaborative effort, typical of many Apple projects during 1968–70, although it was Troy's only album on the Beatles' label. Other guest musicians included Billy Preston, Peter Frampton, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton and members of the Delaney & Bonnie Friends band. Like the Harrison-produced single "Ain't That Cute", Doris Troy failed to chart in Britain or America on release.
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.
"That's the Way God Planned It" is a song by American musician Billy Preston and the title track to his 1969 album of the same name. Issued as a single, the song was Preston's first release on the Beatles' Apple record label, following his guest role on the band's "Get Back" single. The lyrics to "That's the Way God Planned It" partly reflect the long musical apprenticeship Preston had served since childhood, mentored by artists such as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, while musically the track combines the gospel tradition with rock. Produced by George Harrison in London, the recording also features contributions from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ginger Baker and Doris Troy. Having been edited down to three minutes for its single release, the full version appeared on the album, as "That's the Way God Planned It ".
1 2 3 4 5 Liner notes by Andy Davis, Is This What You Want? CD booklet (Apple/EMI, 2010; produced by George Harrison, Jackie Lomax, Mal Evans & Paul McCartney).
↑ Michael Halpin, "Jackie Lomax: Rare, Unreleased and Live, 1965–2012", Kaleidoscope, 15 May 2015; available at Michael Halpin Journalism (archived version retrieved 24 February 2021).
Dale C. Allison Jr., The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison, Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ISBN978-0-8264-1917-0).
Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975, Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976; ISBN0-345-25680-8).
Alan Clayson, George Harrison, Sanctuary (London, 2003; ISBN1-86074-489-3).
Peter Doggett, You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup, It Books (New York, NY, 2011; ISBN978-0-06-177418-8).
The Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison, Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ISBN0-7432-3581-9).
Walter Everett, The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology, Oxford University Press (New York, NY, 1999; ISBN0-19-509553-7).
Philip Goldberg, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, Harmony Books (New York, NY, 2010; ISBN978-0-385-52134-5).
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).
Chris Ingham, The Rough Guide to the Beatles, Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2003; ISBN978-1-84353-140-1).
Ian Inglis, The Words and Music of George Harrison, Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ISBN978-0-313-37532-3).
Lesley-Ann Jones, Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury, Touchstone (New York, NY, 2011; ISBN978-1-4516-6395-2).
Peter Lavezzoli, The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ISBN0-8264-2819-3).
Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ISBN1-4234-0609-5).
Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962–1970, Bounty Books (London, 2005; ISBN978-0-7537-2545-0).
Ian MacDonald, Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Pimlico (London, 1998; ISBN0-7126-6697-4).
Barry Miles, The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years, Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ISBN0-7119-8308-9).
Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970), Emap (London, 2003).
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).
David Quantick, Revolution: The Making of the Beatles' White Album, A Cappella Books (Chicago, IL, 2002; ISBN1-55652-470-6).
Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ISBN0-07-055087-5).
Stuart Shea & Robert Rodriguez, Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles... and More!, Hal Leonard (New York, NY, 2007; ISBN978-1-4234-2138-2).
Bruce Spizer, The Beatles on Apple Records, 498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2003; ISBN0-9662649-4-0).
Bruce Spizer, The Beatles Solo on Apple Records, 498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2005; ISBN0-9662649-5-9).
Doug Sulpy & Ray Schweighardt, Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of The Beatles' Let It Be Disaster, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY, 1997; ISBN0-312-19981-3).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
