George Harrison
The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992

(Capitol)

Part Two: George Harrison

First Appeared in The Music Box, May 2004, Volume 11, #5

Written by John Metzger

George Harrison
(Capitol)

After the release of Thirty-Three & 1/3, it took George Harrison over two years to release a new album, but the wait was well worth it. Not only did his eponymous outing in 1979 boast guest appearances from Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton (as well as from frequent collaborator Gary Wright, who by now had made a name for himself with the hit single Dream Weaver), but it also featured Harrison’s best set of songs since Living in the Material World. Each track on George Harrison was a folk-pop gem that felt like a lost Beatles tune — in fact, Not Guilty was originally written for inclusion on the White Album — and lyrically, this was the songwriter’s sunniest outing in years, which undoubtedly was due to his time spent vacationing in Hawaii and the Virgin Islands. While it’s true that the collection carried a decidedly ’70s-oriented production style — at times, drawing heavily from Paul McCartney’s work with Wings — the slicker textures weren’t enough to sink the often airy and uplifting arrangements. A lovely acoustic demo of Here Comes the Moon serves as the reissue’s lone bonus track. ½

This is the second installment of a seven-part series,
which will examine The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992 album by album.
The entire set is rated: ½

Part One: Thirty-Three & 1/3

Part Three: Somewhere in England

Part Four: Gone Troppo

Part Five: Cloud Nine

Part Six: Live in Japan

Part Seven: The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992 DVD

George Harrison is available from Amazon.com.
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This album is also part of the box set
The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992 is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!

For Canadian orders, please Click Here!

For UK orders, please Click Here!

Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box