George Harrison (album)
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''George Harrison'' is the eighth studio album by English rock musician
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, released in February 1979. It was written and recorded through much of 1978, a period of domestic contentment for Harrison, during which he married Olivia Arias and became a father for the first time, to son Dhani. Harrison wrote several of the songs in Hawaii, while the track " Faster" reflected his year away from music-making, when he and Arias attended many of the races in the 1977
Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
World Championship. The album also includes the hit single "
Blow Away "Blow Away" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released in February 1979 on his album '' George Harrison''. It was also the lead single from the album. The song is one of Harrison's most popular recordings from his solo care ...
" and " Not Guilty", a song that Harrison originally recorded with
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
in 1968. Harrison co-produced the album with
Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...
. The contributing musicians include
Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
,
Neil Larsen Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles. Early life Larsen was ...
,
Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...
and
Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)
, with
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
and
Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and po ...
making guest appearances. The recording sessions took place at Harrison's FPSHOT studio in Oxfordshire. Issued on
Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former The Beatles, Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' ...
, ''George Harrison'' was well-received by music critics on release. Commentators regularly cite it among the artist's best works after his 1970 triple album ''
All Things Must Pass ''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 h ...
''. The album was remastered in 2004 as part of Harrison's '' Dark Horse Years 1976–1992'' reissues.


Background

In February 1977,
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
completed the promotion for '' Thirty Three & ⅓'', his 1976 debut on his
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
record label and an album that was widely viewed as a return to form after the critical disappointments of ''
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
'' and '' Extra Texture''.Rodriguez, p. 65. Rather than follow up on this success, Harrison took a sabbatical, which he described as "what the English call 'skyving'". For much of the year, he travelled with his girlfriend, Olivia Arias, and became a regular presence at motor races in the
Formula 1 World Championship Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
. As a rare artistic project during that time, Harrison assisted comedian
Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...
in developing his
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
satire,
the Rutles The Rutles () were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series ''Rutland We ...
, into the 1978 TV film ''
All You Need Is Cash ''All You Need Is Cash'' (also known as ''The Rutles'') is a 1978 television film that traces (in mockumentary style) the career of a fictitious English rock group called the Rutles. As ''TV Guide'' described it, the group's resemblance to the ...
''. After a chance meeting with representatives from
Genesis Publications Genesis Publications Limited is a British publishing company founded in 1974 by Brian Roylance, a former student of the London College of Printing. His aim was to create a company in the traditions of the private press, true to the arts of printin ...
at a hotel near
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
in July 1977, he also began compiling his song manuscripts for a limited edition leather-bound book, leading to his 1980 autobiography ''
I, Me, Mine ''I, Me, Mine'' is an autobiographic memoir by the English musician George Harrison, formerly of The Beatles. It was published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book by Genesis Publications, with a mixture of printed text and multi-colour ...
''. Before resuming songwriting for the new album, Harrison had not written a song since 1976.Rodriguez, p. 175. He said he was compelled to return to making music to satisfy requests from his friends in the Formula 1 community.Harry, p. 188. He also felt a sense of duty towards
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, the company that had taken up the distribution of Dark Horse in 1976, when
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
chose to offload the label, particularly as the Warner's executives had not pressured him for a new album throughout 1977. Harrison said the project was informed by his contentment with how his life had progressed since ''Thirty Three & ⅓''. In June 1977, he was granted a divorce from
Pattie Boyd Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harri ...
, who had left him for his friend
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
in 1974. Boyd's solicitor, a partner at the London firm
Theodore Goddard John Theodore Goddard (1879–27 November 1952) was an English solicitor and founder of the law firm Theodore Goddard (TG) based in London. The firm merged with Addleshaw Booth & Co on 1 May 2003 to become Addleshaw Goddard. Goddard was appoin ...
, later remarked on the sensitivity shown by each party towards the other, and how rare this was in his experience of high-stakes divorces. Among other "profound changes" that influenced the album's creation, according to author Ian Inglis, Harrison became a father for the first time when Arias gave birth to their son, Dhani, in August 1978, three months after the death of his father, Harry Harrison.


Songs

Harrison began writing " Love Comes to Everyone" in September 1977. It was one of several new compositions that reflected his contentment with Arias and with life generally. Author Simon Leng comments that while familiar Harrison lyrical references to
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and Hindu spirituality appear to be absent on ''George Harrison'', these themes are "rife" but stated subtly; he adds, "Hence, the 'love' that comes to everyone ... is, of course, God's."Leng, p. 202. "
Blow Away "Blow Away" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released in February 1979 on his album '' George Harrison''. It was also the lead single from the album. The song is one of Harrison's most popular recordings from his solo care ...
" was initially inspired by rain damage to a roof at Harrison's
Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. ...
estate in
Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...
, Oxfordshire. He turned the experience into one of positive thinking, reasoning that if he sought to be optimistic by expressing love, the problem would diminish in importance. He later said that he wrote "Blow Away" as a song that
Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...
,
Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afr ...
,
Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...
and others in the F1 "gang" might enjoy. He also wrote " Faster" in late 1977, drawing inspiration from Lauda's successful comeback from a near-fatal crash at the
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
the previous year. The album credits listed former driver
Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...
, whose autobiography was titled ''Faster'', as the other source of inspiration. Harrison listened to his 1970 triple album ''
All Things Must Pass ''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 h ...
'' for inspiration.Huntley, p. 162.Badman, p. 221. He wrote " If You Believe", incorporating musical and lyrical elements familiar from ''All Things Must Pass'', with American musician
Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and po ...
on New Year's Day 1978 at Friar Park. Harrison then met with Warner's staff producers Lenny Waronker,
Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...
and
Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...
in Los Angeles to discuss the new album and play them demos of his latest songs. He recalled that Templeman's appreciation of his 1971 B-side "
Deep Blue Deep Blue may refer to: Film * ''Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads'', a 1992 documentary film about Mississippi Delta blues music * Deep Blue (2001 film), ''Deep Blue'' (2001 film), a film by Dwight H. Little * Deep Blue (2003 ...
" inspired him to begin writing what became " Soft-Hearted Hana". Harrison wrote or finished writing the album's songs while holidaying on the Hawaiian island of
Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
in February 1978, soon after he and Arias learned of Arias's pregnancy. The holiday was a highly creative time for HarrisonRodriguez, p. 365. and influenced the mood of the album. He wrote "Dark Sweet Lady" there as a Spanish-style love song for Arias. " Your Love Is Forever" started as a guitar instrumental to which Harrison added lyrics that, furthering a common trait in his songwriting, expressed love to both a woman and his deity. In addition to revisiting " Not Guilty", a song he had first recorded with the Beatles in 1968, Harrison wrote "
Here Comes the Moon "Here Comes the Moon" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1979 album ''George Harrison''. Harrison wrote the song while on holiday on the Hawaiian island of Maui in February 1978. His inspiration for the composition was th ...
" as a lyrical successor to his 1969 ''
Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although ''Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly re ...
'' composition "
Here Comes the Sun "Here Comes the Sun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. It was written by George Harrison and is one of his best-known compositions. Harrison wrote the song in early 1969 at the country house o ...
". As with "Here Comes the Moon", his inspiration for the lyrics to "Soft-Hearted Hana" was a
psychedelic mushroom Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of mushroom, fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include ''Psilocyb ...
experience he had on Maui.Tillery, p. 121. The song's title references the
Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
standard "
Hard Hearted Hannah "Hard Hearted Hannah, the Vamp of Savannah" is a popular song with words by Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow, and Charles Bates, and music by Milton Ager. The song was published in June 1924 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc., New York. ''Hard Hearted Hannah ...
" and the town of
Hana Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a ci ...
on Maui. " Soft Touch" was a song that Harrison started writing in March 1976, while holidaying with Arias in the
Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...
. Harrison said the melody originated from him playing the horn line from the ''All Things Must Pass'' track " Run of the Mill" on acoustic guitar, after which he sought to convey the atmosphere around him: "the wind, the cool breeze blowing, the palm trees, the new moon rising".


Recording

Harrison decided to work with Titelman as his co-producer on ''George Harrison''. The project marked the first time that Harrison had shared the producer's role on one of his albums since working with
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
in the early 1970s.Woffinden, p. 106. While in Los Angeles in mid March, Harrison filmed his role as the narrator in
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
's TV special ''Ringo'', a modern-day adaptation of
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's ''
The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...
''. He and Arias returned to England on 4 April and recording for the album began at Harrison's home studio, FPSHOT, later that month.Kahn, p. 268. Although the album credits list only FPSHOT, Titelman has said that they first recorded "Dark Sweet Lady" at Amigos Studios in Los Angeles.Richard Havers
"Exploring the Expert Popcraft of George Harrison's Self-Titled Album"
''uDiscoverMusic'', 17 March 2021 (retrieved 15 May 2021).
In a 1996 interview, Titelman recalled that he initially had to get past his awe of Harrison, as an ex-Beatle, and that while making the album he came to appreciate the precision and craft Harrison had applied to the band's music, and the "unique" quality of his guitar styles and sounds. He recognised Harrison's "fluid approach" in the guitar parts on "Dark Sweet Lady", "Love Comes to Everyone" and "Blow Away" as a legacy of his immersion in
Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...
. Among the first songs recorded at FPSHOT, on 11 April, was "
Flying Hour ''Songs by George Harrison'' is a book of song lyrics and commentary by English musician George Harrison, with illustrations by New Zealand artist Keith West. It was published in February 1988, in a limited run of 2500 copies, by Genesis Publ ...
", although it did not appear on the album. Another outtake was "
Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
", a song that Harrison wrote in 1968. The core group of musicians on the album included keyboard player
Neil Larsen Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles. Early life Larsen was ...
, who had recently worked on Titelman's production of
Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
' self-titled debut album, and Harrison's
rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...
from his 1974 North American tour,
Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)
and
Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...
. Newmark recalled a far "mellower" Harrison in 1978, compared with his demeanour during the sessions for ''Dark Horse''.Leng, p. 200.
Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
also contributed, on keyboards and backing vocals, and
Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...
played percussion. Leng says that the participation of these two English musicians reflected the apparent waning of American musical influences on Harrison, as suggested by the minimal presence of horns, previously a staple of the artist's sound since 1970. Special guests at the sessions included Gary Wright (on "If You Believe") and Eric Clapton, who contributed the lead guitar intro to "Love Comes to Everyone". In September, a month after the birth of their son, Harrison and Arias were married in a private ceremony in Henley. In Leng's description, the album departs further from Harrison's recent works through its preference for both warm acoustic-based guitar arrangements and using electric guitars as "smooth, ringing purveyors of elegance". In the latter regard, he views the selection of "Love Comes to Everyone" to open the album as a statement declaring: "This is not a rock 'n' roll record."Leng, p. 202. Inglis writes that, furthering the approach introduced on ''Thirty Three & ⅓'', the arrangements convey a "less aggressive, more subtle, musical philosophy that saw music and words as complementary rather than competing ingredients"; he cites "Soft Touch" as especially indicative of this trait. Harrison augmented the
rag-time Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
atmosphere of "Soft-Hearted Hana" with sounds and conversation captured at his local Henley pub, The Row Barge. At the end of the track, the recording was subjected to heavy varispeeding, creating dramatic changes in pitch; Leng views the song as the first example of Harrison evoking
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
in his music.Leng, p. 226. He added Formula 1 sounds throughout "Faster"; the track opens with the cars revving up and then starting the race. String and horn overdubs were added to some of the songs at London's
AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...
in late 1978. The new album was originally titled ''Faster'' after Harrison's F1 tribute song.Madinger & Easter, p. 457. The album was scheduled for release in December but an issue with the artwork delayed the process. On 7 December, Harrison joined Clapton and
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
on stage at
Guildford Civic Hall Guildford Civic Hall was an arts and entertainment venue in Guildford, Surrey, England. Opened in 1962, it closed in January 2004,
to play the encore at the final show of Clapton's UK tour. That same month, he performed with
Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...
's
Mick Ralphs Michael Geoffrey Ralphs (born 31 March 1944, Herefordshire) is an English musician, vocalist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Career Ralphs began his career as a teenager, playing with b ...
,
Simon Kirke Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company. He has been the only continuous member of Bad Company since their inception. Life and career Kirke was born in L ...
and
Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for his singing with King Crimson (1971–1972) and bass playing in Bad Company (1973–1982, 1998 ...
, and
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
members
Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...
and
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only member ...
– as the Pisshole Artists – in the Oxfordshire village of
Pishill Pishill is a hamlet in Pishill with Stonor civil parish about north of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire. It is in the Stonor valley in the Chiltern Hills about above sea level. History The earliest known records of the toponym of Pi ...
, near Henley.


Artwork and music videos

The album design was by Mike Salisbury, who also took the front and back cover photos of Harrison in the gardens at Friar Park.Allison, p. 71. The setting emphasised Harrison's connection with nature, as conveyed in "Blow Away" and further to his self-identification as a "gardener" more than a musician. The LP's inner sleeve highlighted his affinity with Formula 1. One side contained the lyrics of "Faster", along with the album credits, beside a photo of Harrison and Stewart taken in July 1978 at the
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
at
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
. In addition to acknowledging Stewart and Lauda's inspiration, a caption under the song's lyrics gave "special thanks" to Scheckter and dedicated "Faster" to the memory of
Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing car ...
,Inner sleeve credits, ''George Harrison'' LP (
Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former The Beatles, Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' ...
, 1979; produced by George Harrison & Russ Titelman).
who had died as a result of an accident at the start of the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. Harrison filmed a
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the album's lead single, "Blow Away". It shows him miming to the song while interacting with giant replica animals such as a red duck and a swan. He also rides atop a large replica dog, who nods its head along with the music.Peter Watts, "George Solo: George Harrison", '' Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: George Harrison'', TI Media (London, 2018), pp. 88–89. In May 1979, three months after the release of the album, Harrison filmed a video for "Faster". Having attended the
Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
with Starr at this time, Harrison filmed part of the clip on the Monaco street circuit. These portions show Stewart chauffeuring a road car around the racetrack as Harrison sings and plays guitar in the back seat.


Release

The album was previewed by the single "Blow Away", which was released on 16 February 1979 in the United Kingdom and three days later in the United States. ''George Harrison'' was issued on Dark Horse Records on 20 February in the US, with the UK release following on 23 February.Madinger & Easter, p. 635. Shortly before its release, he, Arias and Wright attended the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
in São Paulo. As the first Beatle to have visited Brazil, Harrison was the subject of considerable media attention. He corrected a journalist's assumption that the whole LP was about motor racing, saying that only "Faster" was, although he added that the lyrics were suitably "abstract" and "could be about anyone ... not just about cars and engines".Clayson, p. 366.


Promotion

Harrison did minimal promotion for the album.Clayson, p. 369. A plan for him to perform a radio concert in April was under consideration but soon abandoned.Madinger & Easter, p. 458. In early February, Harrison appeared with
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
as a guest singles reviewer on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
's ''Roundtable'', during which he discussed his year away from music and writing "Blow Away" and "Here Comes the Moon". He then appeared in a brief interview segment conducted by
Nicky Horne Nicky Horne (born 3 September 1950) is an English DJ, who has worked for a variety of radio stations, including Capital Radio. Career Horne worked as a road manager for Emperor Rosko in 1969, before presenting shows on BBC Radio 1, from 19 ...
for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's '' Thames at Six'' news programme, and as a guest on Horne's
Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...
show ''Your Mother Wouldn't Like It''. Later in February, he sat for an interview at Warner's London offices with Mick Brown, for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''. Following an accident at Friar Park when a tractor drove over his foot, Harrison required a walking stick during his brief promotional visit to the US. He made fun of his predicament by using a wheelchair when departing from Heathrow. On 8 March, at the Dark Horse Records offices in Los Angeles, Harrison gave his first US press conference since the start of his 1974 tour.The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', pp. 98–99. In journalist
Rip Rense Rip Rense is an American music and film journalist, author, poet, and music producer, based in Los Angeles, California. He has written for numerous Los Angeles publications since the 1970s, including '' LA Weekly'', the ''Valley News'', the '' Los ...
's later description, he was "promptly surrounded – and almost suffocated" by the reporters as microphones were thrust in his face. Harrison's lightheartedness extended to the usual questions about when the Beatles might re-form; the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
photo from the event showed him holding his hands up to his ears in response.Glen Barber
"Photos: Today in history – November 29 – The Denver Post"
''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'', 29 November 2017 (retrieved 17 May 2021).
Dismissing the recent multi-million-dollar offers for a reunion concert, he said, "The Beatles can't save the world. I mean, we'll be lucky if we can save ourselves." When a reporter asked whether "something less than a full reunion" was likely, Harrison suggested they could meet for a cup of tea and televise the proceedings via satellite. He added that he and his former bandmates would have a "great time" together, and "the only thing that would spoil it would be all of you with the cameras and microphones!"


Commercial performance and aftermath

In the US, "Blow Away" peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 2 on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''s
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
chart, while ''George Harrison'' reached number 14 on the magazine's
Top LPs & Tape The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
chart and number 12 on ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
''s Top 100 Albums."Cash Box Top 100 Albums", ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'', 14 April 1979, p. 58.
The album was
certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. Harrison's unwillingness to actively promote the record hindered its commercial performance in the UK.Snow, p. 68. There, "Blow Away" peaked at number 51 and ''George Harrison'' reached number 39. As a further impediment, according to author Elliot Huntley, the UK's fascination with
new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...
meant that "interest in Beatle product was probably at an all time low". "Blow Away" was especially successful in Canada, where it peaked at number 7 on the singles chart. Following the album's release, Harrison's efforts were increasingly directed towards the film industry, after he had formed
HandMade Films HandMade Films was a British film production and distribution company. Notable films from the studio include ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'', ''Time Bandits'', ''The Long Good Friday'' and ''Withnail and I''. History Foundation HandMade Fil ...
in order to help Idle and the other members of Monty Python complete ''
Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It wa ...
''. In April, "Love Comes to Everyone" was issued as the album's second single. It failed to chart in the UK and, despite having been a popular choice on radio as an album track, in the US.Rodriguez, p. 286. The following month, Harrison, Starr and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
performed together on stage at Clapton and Boyd's wedding reception in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. In Huntley's description, it was a historic moment and "the closest the former Beatles had come to a live performance since the break-up". Harrison participated in two fundraising weekends to benefit the cancer research project set up by former F1 driver
Gunnar Nilsson Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Before entering Formula One, he won the 1975 British Formula 3 Championship. Nilsson entered 32 Formula One Grand Prix races, qualifying for all of t ...
before his death from cancer late the previous year. In the second of these, in early June, he drove
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...
's
Lotus 18 The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. Overview Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only ...
from the early 1960s around the
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
circuit.Clayson, p. 365. In July, "Faster" was released as a
charity single A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's " Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-mad ...
in the UK, to raise further funds for Nilsson's cause. In 2004, ''George Harrison'' was remastered and reissued both separately and as part of the deluxe box set ''
The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992 ''The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992'' is a box set of albums by English rock musician George Harrison. It was released in 2004 and comprises most of the singer's output on his Dark Horse record label. The set contains Harrison's five studio albums ...
''. The reissue added a demo version of "Here Comes the Moon" as a bonus track. Following the digital release of much of his catalogue in 2007, Harrison's demo of "Blow Away" became available as an
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
-exclusive download.


Critical reception


Contemporary reviews

''George Harrison'' received favourable reviews from music critics. During his interview with Harrison, Mick Brown said the critical reception had been "exceptionally good" in the UK and suggested that the new album was the artist's best since ''All Things Must Pass'', a contention that several critics supported. ''Billboard'' featured ''George Harrison'' as its "Spotlight" album (meaning "the most outstanding new product of the week's releases") and highlighted "Love Comes to Everyone", "Here Comes the Moon" and "Not Guilty" among the "best cuts".Ed Harrison (ed.)
"Billboard's Top Album Picks"
''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', 24 February 1979, p. 80 (retrieved 21 November 2014). From the magazine's reviews key: "Spotlight – The most outstanding new product of the week's releases".
''Rolling Stone''s album reviewer,
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
, deemed it "refreshingly light-hearted" and wrote: "After several highly uneven LPs that saw the audience for his mystic musings dwindle dramatically, Harrison has come up with his finest record since ''All Things Must Pass''. A collection of ten catchy pop songs, ''George Harrison'' reminds us that this artist was always a much better tunesmith than priest." Writing in ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'', E.J. Thribb said it was an album that "grows in its effect" and highlighted "Love Comes to Everyone", "Blow Away" and "Not Guilty" as songs in which "the chords roll and tumble, the melodies are good to chant, and the lyrics are simple but tell their story." Harry George of the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' likened ''George Harrison'' to
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's ''
New Morning New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' and
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
's ''
Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to ...
'' and said that Harrison's "guileless romanticism surprisingly carries the album". He recognised "Faster" and "Not Guilty" as examples of Harrison's growth as a songwriter, and identified "melodies of unassuming completeness" in other tracks where "Crafty harmonies and skilfully-layered guitars recall the sun-soaked vistas of
he Beatles He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
' Because' and '
Sun King , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...
' on ''Abbey Road''."
Bob Spitz Bob Spitz is an American journalist and author best known for biographies of major cultural figures, including '' Reagan: An American Journey'', the ''New York Times'' bestseller '' The Beatles: The Biography'', the ''New York Times'' bestseller '' ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' praised the album for its "sense of structure", a quality he found lacking in Harrison's four "dreadful" LPs since ''All Things Must Pass'', and said that it re-established him as a "first-rate composer". Less impressed, ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
''s reviewer found the music "arch-Harrison: lyrically cheery and thematically uplifting" but "so restrained and subdued that the tunes track through a whole side unnoticed and indistinguishable".
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
was more critical in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981), giving it a "C" grade and singling out "Faster" as the record's only good song. According to authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, further to the welcome "lightening up" evident on ''Thirty Three & ⅓'' in 1976, Harrison's self-titled album completed his "musical rehabilitation". Writing in 1981, ''NME'' critic
Bob Woffinden Robert Woffinden (31 January 1948 – 1 May 2018) was a British investigative journalist. Formerly a reporter with the ''New Musical Express'', he later specialised in investigating miscarriages of justice. He wrote about a number of high-profi ...
opined: "''George Harrison'' is his most successful album since ''All Things Must Pass'', and would probably have sold in its millions had it arrived at the beginning rather than the end of the decade." Woffinden praised Harrison's songwriting and the "co-production arrangement" with Titelman, before describing the record as "one of the best Beatle solo efforts". In their review in the 1981 edition of '' The Beatles: An Illustrated Record'',
Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Blackpoo ...
and
Tony Tyler James Edward Anthony Tyler (31 October 1943 in Bristol – 28 October 2006 in Hastings, East Sussex) was a British writer who authored several books and wrote for the ''NME'','' Macworld'', '' MacUser'', '' PC Pro'' and '' Computer Shopper''. ...
welcomed Harrison's continued avoidance of the "half-baked proselytisation" that they thought had marred his solo work until 1976, saying that it showed he had shed his past insecurities. The authors added: "To detect this pleasing phenomenon here, the trick is to back away from the musical and lyrical detail (not that this is by any means incompetent or jarring) and allow the totality of the sound ... to wash over one in a series of charmed ripples."


Retrospective assessments and legacy

Following Harrison's death in November 2001, Carol Clerk of ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' referred to his 1979 LP as the "acclaimed ''George Harrison'' album",Carol Clerk, "George Harrison 1943–2001", ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'', February 2002, p. 55; available a
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required).
while
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
's assessment for ''Rolling Stone'' read in part: "'Here Comes the Moon' is a dreamy little wonder, the kind of incantation that underscores the lbum'sromantic subtlety … Harrison is breezingly ingratiating on 'Blow Away' and 'Faster.'" Writing for '' Goldmine'' magazine in 2002, Dave Thompson deemed it Harrison's "most natural-sounding album" since ''All Things Must Pass'' and an "exquisite" work that reflected changes in the artist's life as profound as those in
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's during the latter's five-year hiatus from recording between 1975 and 1980.Dave Thompson, "The Music of George Harrison: An album-by-album guide", '' Goldmine'', 25 January 2002, p. 18. Among reviews of the 2004 reissue, Kit Aiken of ''Uncut'' gave ''George Harrison'' a rating of four stars out of five, and described it as "a freshly enthused, minor treat – a fulsome acoustic rocker replete with sunshine melodies and gorgeous slide guitar".Kit Aiken, "All Those Years Ago: George Harrison ''The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992''", ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'', April 2004, p. 118.
''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' Jason Korenkiewicz similarly welcomed the reissue, saying that the album's "languid and addictive" mood conveyed Harrison's humour and a "new found sense of calm and peace that speaks through his ever-emotive guitar". Writing in ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' that same year, Mac Randall highlighted "Not Guilty" and the "understated gem" "Your Love Is Forever" as the album's best songs, but considered that "elsewhere mellowness overwhelms musicality". An unimpressed Richard Ginell of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
gives the album two-and-a-half stars, describing it as "a painstakingly polished L.A.-made product" and "an ordinary album from an extraordinary talent". Ginell writes of the preponderance of "halfhearted songs lurking here, although some are salvaged by a nice instrumental touch", and while he considers "Blow Away" the album's "most attractive" song, he finds Harrison's new reading of "Not Guilty" "an easy listening trifle".Richard S. Ginell
"George Harrison ''George Harrison''"
,
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
(retrieved 23 August 2014).
Reviewing Harrison's solo releases for ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
'' in 2011, John Harris considered ''George Harrison'' to be "millionaire soft-rock to the max" although he recognised "Here Comes the Moon", "Faster" and "Not Guilty" among the album's successful musical statements.John Harris, "Beware of Darkness", ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
'', November 2011, p. 82.
In a similar overview of Harrison's solo career, on his website ''Elsewhere'', ''
New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'' critic Graham Reid wrote that the album "has its moments" and concluded: "He still crafted beautiful melodies but it's a lyrically patchy album and the start of the artistic decline. A sound three stars."Graham Reid
"George Harrison"">"George Harrison Revisited, Part Two (2014): The dark horse at a canter to the end" > "George Harrison"
, '' Elsewhere'', 24 October 2014 2 November 2011(retrieved 25 July 2016).
On the occasion of the LP's 40th anniversary in 2019, Morgan Enos of ''Billboard'' described it as Harrison's "most peaceful album", with songs that showed him "happier than he'd been in years", and where "inner tranquility and outer splendor were one and the same". Enos added that "The results don't get as much play as agreed-upon classics, such as ''All Things Must Pass'' or '' Cloud Nine'', but ''George Harrison'' conjures an intoxicating world all its own."


Track listing

All songs written by
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, except where noted. Side one #" Love Comes to Everyone" – 4:36 #" Not Guilty" – 3:35 #"
Here Comes the Moon "Here Comes the Moon" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1979 album ''George Harrison''. Harrison wrote the song while on holiday on the Hawaiian island of Maui in February 1978. His inspiration for the composition was th ...
" – 4:48 #" Soft-Hearted Hana" – 4:03 #"
Blow Away "Blow Away" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released in February 1979 on his album '' George Harrison''. It was also the lead single from the album. The song is one of Harrison's most popular recordings from his solo care ...
" – 4:00 Side two #
  • " Faster" – 4:46 #"Dark Sweet Lady" – 3:22 #" Your Love Is Forever" – 3:45 #" Soft Touch" – 3:59 #" If You Believe" (Harrison,
    Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and po ...
    ) – 2:55 Bonus tracks The 2004 '' Dark Horse Years'' issue of ''George Harrison'' added the following
    bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
    : #
  • "Here Comes the Moon" (demo version) – 3:37 One more bonus track appeared when Harrison's catalogue became available on
    iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
    : #
  • "Blow Away" (demo version) – 3:04


    Personnel

    According to the album credits (except where noted): *
    George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
    – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars,
    dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...
    ,
    mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
    ,Leng, pp. 202–09.
    sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
    ,Clayson, p. 368. bass on "Faster" *
    Neil Larsen Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles. Early life Larsen was ...
    – Fender Rhodes, piano,
    Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
    *
    Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
    Polymoog The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphony (instrument), polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on Frequency divider, divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs an ...
    ,
    harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
    , backing vocals *
    Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...
    – bass *
    Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)
    – drums *
    Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...
    – percussion *
    Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartfor ...
    marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...
    * Gayle Levant –
    harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
    *
    Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
    – guitar intro on "Love Comes to Everyone" *
    Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and po ...
    Oberheim Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim. History and products Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro (most ...
    on "If You Believe" *
    Del Newman Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...
    – string and horn arrangements


    Charts


    Weekly charts


    Weekly charts (reissue)


    Year-end charts


    Certifications


    Notes


    References

    Sources * Dale C. Allison Jr, ''The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * Nathan Brackett & Christian Hoard (eds), ''The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'' (4th edn), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2004; ). *
    Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Blackpoo ...
    &
    Tony Tyler James Edward Anthony Tyler (31 October 1943 in Bristol – 28 October 2006 in Hastings, East Sussex) was a British writer who authored several books and wrote for the ''NME'','' Macworld'', '' MacUser'', '' PC Pro'' and '' Computer Shopper''. ...
    . ''The Beatles: An Illustrated Record'', Harmony Books (New York, NY, 1981; ). *
    Alan Clayson Alan Clayson (born 3 May 1951, Dover, Kent) is an English singer-songwriter, author and music journalist. He gained popularity in the late 1970s as leader of the band Clayson and the Argonauts. In addition to contributing to publications such as ...
    , ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ). *
    Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor ...
    , ''You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup'', It Books (New York, NY, 2011; ). * The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', ''Harrison'', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ). * Frontani, Michael (2009). "The Solo Years". In Womack, Kenneth (ed.). '' The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. . * *
    George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
    (with
    Derek Taylor Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one ...
    &
    Olivia Harrison Olivia Trinidad Harrison (née Arias; born May 18, 1948) is an American author and film producer, and the widow of English musician George Harrison of the Beatles. She first worked in the music industry in Los Angeles, for A&M Records, where s ...
    ), ''I, Me, Mine – The Extended Edition'', Genesis Publications (Guildford, UK, 2017; ). *
    Bill Harry William Harry (born 17 September 1938) is the creator of '' Mersey Beat'', a newspaper of the early 1960s which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had previously started various magazines and newspapers, such as ''Biped'' and ''Premier ...
    , ''The George Harrison Encyclopedia'', Virgin Books (London, 2003; ). * * Elliot J. Huntley, ''Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles'', Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ). * Ian Inglis, ''The Words and Music of George Harrison'', Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ). *
    Ashley Kahn Ashley Kahn is an American music historian, journalist, and producer. Kahn graduated from Columbia University in 1983. In 2014, Kahn co-authored the autobiography of Carlos Santana, titled ''The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story To Light''. To dat ...
    (ed.), ''George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters'', Chicago Review Press (Chicago, IL, 2020; ). * Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ). * Thomas MacFarlane, ''The Music of George Harrison'', Routledge (Abingdon, UK, 2019; ). * Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ). * Jörg Pieper, ''The Solo Beatles Film & TV Chronicle 1971–1980'', Premium Förlag (Stockholm, 2012; ). * Robert Rodriguez, ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980'', Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ). *
    Mat Snow Mat Snow (born 20 October 1958) is an English music journalist, magazine editor, and author. From 1995 to 1999, he was the editor of ''Mojo'' magazine; he subsequently served in the same role on the football magazine ''FourFourTwo''. During the ...
    , ''The Beatles Solo: The Illustrated Chronicles of John, Paul, George, and Ringo After the Beatles'' (Volume 3: ''George''), Race Point Publishing (New York, NY, 2013; ). *
    Gary Tillery Gary Tillery is an American writer and artist known for his biographies focusing on the spiritual lives of famous figures, and for his public sculptures. His 2009 book, ''The Cynical Idealist'', was named the official book of the 2010 John Lennon ...
    , ''Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison'', Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; ). *
    Bob Woffinden Robert Woffinden (31 January 1948 – 1 May 2018) was a British investigative journalist. Formerly a reporter with the ''New Musical Express'', he later specialised in investigating miscarriages of justice. He wrote about a number of high-profi ...
    , ''The Beatles Apart'', Proteus (London, 1981; ). *
    Kenneth Womack Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling ''Solid State: The Story of A ...
    , ''The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four'', ABC-CLIO (Santa Barbara, CA, 2014; ).


    Further reading

    *
    Kenneth Womack Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling ''Solid State: The Story of A ...

    "George Harrison's Spectacular Comeback: What 1979 meant for his post-Beatles career"
    ''
    Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
    '', 29 March 2019 (retrieved 17 May 2021).


    External links


    ''George Harrison'' page at georgeharrison.com
    * {{Authority control 1979 albums Dark Horse Records albums George Harrison albums Albums produced by George Harrison Albums produced by Russ Titelman Albums recorded at FPSHOT Albums recorded in a home studio