The \u201cquiet Beatle\u201d was underestimated more or less throughout his career — by his bandmates, by the critics, and almost certainly by this listener.<\/p>\n
John Lennon and Paul McCartney\u2019s musical genius was simply beyond question, and Ringo Starr remains to this day a shambling sweetheart of a man, not to mention a superb drummer.\u00a0 George Harrison, for all the memorable songs he penned and sang, still feels somewhat overlooked — a state of affairs that Capitol\u2019s new collection Let It Roll: The Songs Of George Harrison<\/i> seeks to remedy.<\/p>\n
The track list is rich with gems, and the feeling (for me) of discovery and rediscovery is enhanced by the non-chronological sequencing.\u00a0 Thus we hopscotch from Harrison\u2019s light-hearted 1987 \u201ccomeback\u201d hit \u201cGot My Mind Set On You\u201d — a jaunty collaboration with pal\/fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne — to 1973\u2019s of-the-moment paean \u201cGive Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)\u201d to the darkly beautiful 1970 album cut \u201cBallad Of Sir Francis Crisp (Let It Roll)\u201d to a stirring live rendition of \u201cWhile My Guitar Gently Weeps\u201d from 1971\u2019s Concert For Bangladesh<\/i> album. The effect is kaleidoscopic and a keen reminder of the range and potency of Harrison\u2019s talents.<\/p>\n
From there, classic 70s tracks like \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d trade off with latter-day notables like \u201cCheer Down.\u201d\u00a0 With the familiarity of most of these tunes, it\u2019s still a small thrill to be reminded of the spark and drive of the exuberant \u201cWhat Is Life,\u201d the weary wisdom of \u201cAll Things Must Pass\u201d and the fond remembrance of \u201cWhen We Was Fab\u201d and “All Those Years Ago.” Even the three tracks from 2002\u2019s posthumously-release Brainwashed<\/i> album — especially the dreamy instrumental \u201cMarwa Blues\u201d — feel like solid choices. \u00a0And \u201cIsn\u2019t It A Pity\u201d makes a fitting closer with its themes of searching for inner and outer peace and transcendence, accompanied by Harrison\u2019s trademark \u201cweeping\u201d guitar licks.<\/p>\n
As underrated a guitarist as he was, Harrison\u2019s gifts as a composer are almost as underappreciated, especially in the way his songwriting brought out the best in his vocals.\u00a0 He consistently wrote songs whose essential warmth, curiosity and wit reflected both the core of his personality and his best attributes as a singer. This collection brings into focus Harrison\u2019s post-Beatles identity as a superb musical craftsman with an ear for pop hooks and a gentle and generous heart.<\/p>\n
Collecting most of the strongest tracks from Harrison\u2019s three-decade solo career, and adding a trio of key Beatles tracks through the inclusion of live renditions from the Bangladesh<\/i> album, Let It Roll<\/i> is the best collection out there for folks like me who have always appreciated Harrison, but could and should appreciate him even more. The less consequential songs here might be merely charming, but the best are stunningly rendered arguments for the significance of Harrison\u2019s musical legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5913],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-41629","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-george-harrison","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41629"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}