Ten Essential George Harrison Songs

Everything written about George Harrison’s contribution to The Beatles has been notarized and scrutinized to death (super guitar game, spiritual seeker, sarcastic and grumpy interviewee, underrated songwriting genius, etc.). But where John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave the Beatles their best (neither had the tenacity to keep writing at the level of brilliance they brought to the fabulous four), Harrison found himself in the position where he could prove his worth as a composer in his own right. Releasing eight albums over the course of his career, Harrison wrote a collection of beautiful songs that certainly rivaled (often improved upon) the best of Lennon-McCartney’s solo material. Here are ten of his best:

My Sweet Lord (All Things Must Pass, 1970): Perhaps the best song ever written about God, ‘My Sweet Lord’ gave Harrison the first number one hit that any Beatle enjoyed in their solo careers. A sparkling and sparkling acoustic gem (Harrison, Eric Clapton and the Badfinger members lend their hand playing acoustics), with vocal support from “the George O’Hara-Smith Singers” (surprise, surprise, Harrison himself overdubbed) and a gentle guitar. The solo Noel Gallagher was later pinched by ‘Supersonic’, this turned out to be Harrison’s most famous and enduring work, somewhat tainted by a court case where Harrison was found to have unconsciously borrowed from The Chiffon (this was partly instigated by Allen Klein, the former Beatles manager!). However, when it comes to religious ballads, no one has improved this song for its sincerity or musical beauty.

What Is Life (All Things Must Pass, 1970): Beautifully produced by Phil Spector (perhaps the last single he produced with his Wall of Sound effect still at its zenith), this vibrant and raucous pop song found itself very well on Martin’s Goodfellas. Scorsese. ‘(1990) (Scorsese later directed a valuable documentary on Harrison, entitled’ Living In The Material World ‘). A fused Motown classic, the song was a hit in the US, though it was strangely relegated to the flip side of ‘My Sweet Lord’ in the UK! Amplified by Harrison’s dazzling opening riff, this is the best song from Harrison’s debut.

Isn’t It A Pity Version One (All Things Must Pass, 1970) – One of the songs the Beatles foolishly rejected, this was Harrison’s ‘Hey Jude’ pantheon, a plaintive look at life sung over a brilliant display of Piano chords, orchestrated guitar lines and a superb blaring gospel, ‘Pity’ would always be defended by Eric Clapton as one of Harrison’s best. Clapton himself played the song on ‘The Concert For George’ in 2002, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (Living In The Material World, 1973): This is Harrison’s best solo song and rivals ‘Something’ as the best song he’s ever written. Skillfully supported by Ringo Starr on drums, this is a beautiful piece of pop delight, Harrison at his pinnacle as a lyricist. There is a humility and vulnerability here from Harrison, a delicate slide guitar line (almost Hawain in sound) made this Harrison America’s second No. 1.

This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying) (Extra Texture, 1975) – Sort of a sequel to Harrison’s White Album masterpiece, and it wasn’t just Harrison’s instrument that cried. If a picture of Harrison could ever be painted in 1976, this was a period of uncertainty for him after an unsatisfactory tour of the United States in 1974 and the breakdown of his marriage to Patti Boyd. Here he puts his mind, denouncing the veneral mockery of the critics (“he can even climb the walls of Rolling Stone”) to the state of his isolated mind (“I found myself in a limb”). Saturated with Dylan’s influence, ‘Guitar’ is a heady deep cut.

Crackerbox Palace (Thirty-Three-Third, 1976): Harrison, a lifelong Monty Python fan and vocal supporter of comedy, delivered this laconic piece of irreverence, complete with bon mots a la “growing up, trying from / without knowing where I start “. Featuring a music video directed by real-life friend Eric Idle (cohorts of Python, John Cleese and Neil Innes), Harrison’s rants in schoolboy uniform and bon viveur at his mansion, Friar Park, is a slice of brilliance. Goon aspired to.

Dream Away (Time Bandits soundtrack, 1981) – Recorded just hours after John Lennon’s death, this is a song fueled by emotion and momentum, all sung in the jovial, fairy-tale frivolity of the first play. Terry Gilliam’s teacher, ‘Time Bandits’ (1981). Opening with a little synthetic babble, ending with a superlative set of slides, this is one of the craziest pieces of gum of the eighties, armed with lyrics of “darkness in mythology” and “travel through history.” .

This is Love (Cloud Nine, 1988): Armed with Jeff Lynne as a co-writer, George Harrison’s return to the mainstream after a half-decade sabbatical brings a Beatlesque quality to the proceedings, albeit with lyrics that only Harrison could write. “Since our problems have been our creation / They can also be overcome,” he sings, more chant than adage “When we use the power freely provided to all.” Perhaps Harrison’s most beatlite song (be it this, or the tongue-in-cheek ‘When We Was Fab’), has been a mainstay of radio since the late eighties.

Cheer Down (Lethal Weapon 2, 1989): Although Harrison’s rockers were few and far between, this closer from ‘Lethal Weapon 2’ showed that the rocking of the stadium was as natural to him as the chants of God. Collaborating with Tom Petty, his title comes from Harrison’s wife, Olivia, an adage he would utter if emotion got the better of him. More Wilbury Tours Jeff Lynne offers be-bop-inspired harmonies, and Harrison’s guitar playing is reminiscent of his early Beatles days.

Any Road (Brainwashed, 2002): Written in 1988 and first featured on VH1 during an interview between Harrison and mentor Ravi Shankar, ‘Any Road’ was posthumously released in 2002. Completed by Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison, ‘Brainwashed’ It was poignant Listen, nothing but ‘Any Road’, a song that seemed to end the message that began with ‘My Sweet Lord’ in 1970. Fittingly, it would be nominated for Best Male Pop Performance at the 2004 Grammys. Written for ukulele, ‘Road’ proved to be a busker’s dream, a journey full of chords that promised “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there”.