I should have outsourced this edition. Oh well. In honor of today's release of the highly anticipated "greatest hits" collection Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison, I thought we'd spend a little time on George. Not a lot of time, because admittedly, although I do love some George, I've always been more of a Paul girl and my knowledge of George's stuff isn't as vast (and Lord knows I'm not going to do the research to do him justice). This isn't a bad thing. I will link to an article that is worth reading on Harrison, because to know the man is to know his music.
Oddly, one of my favorite Beatles songs, "Here Comes the Sun," is a George song (a live version is on the new album) and I think his guitar playing is one of the main things that made the band so consistent. The Beatles were a lot of things: fantastic songwriters, talented vocalists, and suburb musicians. What really stands out to a longtime fan is how innovative they were and they owe much of that to Harrison's unwavering desire to grow as a musician. Sure, he's known as a guitarist, but without his sitar work on Rubber Soul (my fave Beatles album), it's pretty doubtful the sitar would have found its way into Western music. It's clear to see Harrison's influence on bands such as R.E.M., Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Oasis, and Coldplay. Pure awesome.
Go download Let it Roll from iTunes (you get 2 bonus tracks on iTunes) or buy the cd, you won't be disappointed. As a casual fan, the only thing I'd like to see that's missing from the album is Harrison's work with the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, but I know this is a compilation of his solo work. The Beatles songs on the album are from live performances post-Beatles, so I really can't complain. With the addition of this album, I'll have a pretty decent John, Paul, George, & Ringo playlist (yes, that's what I've titled it) and y'all know how much I love a good playlist. The album art is nice as well.
Here's the track listing:
* Got My Mind Set On You (from Cloud Nine, 1987)
* Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (from Living In The Material World, 1972)
* The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) (from All Things Must Pass, 1970)
* My Sweet Lord (from All Things Must Pass, 1970)
* While My Guitar Gently Weeps (from Concert For Bangladesh Soundtrack, 1971)
* All Things Must Pass (from All Things Must Pass, 1970)
* Any Road (from Brainwashed, 2002)
* This Is Love (from Cloud Nine, 1987)
* All Those Years Ago (from Somewhere In England, 1981)
* Marwa Blues (from Brainwashed, 2002)
* What Is Life (from All Things Must Pass, 1970)
* Rising Sun (from Brainwashed, 2002)
* When We Was Fab (from Cloud Nine, 1987)
* Something (from Concert For Bangladesh Soundtrack, 1971)
* Blow Away (from George Harrison, 1979)
* Cheer Down (from Lethal Weapon 2)
* Here Comes The Sun (from Concert For Bangladesh Soundtrack, 1971)
* I Don't Want To Do It (from Porkys Revenge soundtrack, 1984)
* Isn't It A Pity (from All Things Must Pass, 1970)
And here is a great Rolling Stone article from 2001 about the stories behind the songs, something I love to read about. If you're a music fan, this is a nice read.
I'll leave you with one of my favorites. This clip is from The Prince's Trust All-Star Rock Concert, held in 1987, which I remember watching on HBO at the time. It's fab.
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