George Harrison

4.5 stars - His finest work in many years

Review Score:

(8/10)
George Harrison (1979.) George Harrison's sixth solo album

In the late seventies, everything was going very well for George Harrison. He now had careers in TWO fields (in addition to making music, he had also started to do some film production), plus his wife Olivia had just given birth to the couple's son, Dhani. It seemed that George was doing pretty well. And in 1979, just as the seventies were screeching to a halt, Harrison recorded and released his self-titled sixth solo album. How does the self-titled effort measure up? Read on for my review.

To put it simply, this was George's best work in years. It wasn't quite another All Things Must Pass (he'd never top that album), but it was better than his previous few albums as well as the ones that would follow (those are NOT bad albums, though.) The opening track, Love Comes To Everyone, is a slow and melodic track that is nothing short of excellent. Many fans of Harrison call this track one of their favorites, and I can't really blame them. He couldn't have started the album off with a better track. Next up is a new version of Not Guilty. This song was originally written in the late sixties by Harrison, and was a potential candidate for the Beatles' 1968 self-titled "White" album. Unfortunately, the song never made the album. But finally, he rerecorded it for this album! This new version obviously differs from what Harrison had originally imagined for the track, but the end result is solid nonetheless. If you want to hear the original version of the song, get The Beatles Anthology Volume Three. The next track featured here is Here Comes The Moon. If the title didn't give it away, it's a follow-up to Here Comes The Sun, the excellent track he recorded for the final Beatles album, Abbey Road. This track is very melodic, and it manages to be a very fine song. It doesn't top Here Comes The Sun though, at least not in my views. Blow Away, a huge hit for Harrison, can be found on this album. This is pop-friendly melodic rock at its very best, as only Harrison could do. It's not surprising that this song would become one of his biggest solo hits! As the album progresses, a number of masterpieces will surface. This is one of Harrison's strongest solo efforts, and it's well worth purchasing if you're a fan.

The "Dark Horse Years" albums released by George Harrison (those studio/live albums released from 1976-1992) have been rereleased, remastered, and in some cases, given bonus tracks. However, I feel that the choices of bonus tracks was very poor in some cases. For example, the bonus track featured on this album is nothing more than a demo version of Here Comes The Moon. Harrison has so many studio rarities that have never been officially released. Why'd we get this demo instead of some of them? Don't get me wrong, I like this demo, but they could have chosen better bonus tracks.

What more can I say? If you like George Harrison, his 1979 self-titled album is well worth buying. It's not necessarily the place to start if you're new to Harrison - All Things Must Pass is the best starting point. Still, this stands as one of Harrison's finest solo efforts, and it's worth adding to your Harrison collection.

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