George Harrison (1) (1943–2001)

Big! Rock! Book! number three.

I still have my much-battered, much slimmer 1980 version of this book (regrettably, not the limited edition one that was put out). Thirty-eight years later, here I am again, with a beautifully-made extended edition, essentially encompassing every song of his career.

Harrison's modest, everyman personality shines through on every page of the book. He was never my favourite of the four—that honour goes to their troubled front man, Lennon—and I could never buy show more into Harrison's spiritual beliefs, but I gotta say, I do respect the man for not only living his values, but also taking the risky career move of letting those values shine through in his work.

Yes, he's a bit trippy—more than I remembered—but then again, so was Lennon, and a hell of a lot of others who came up through the Sixties.

But this? This is an interesting glimpse into the Quiet One. show less

This isn’t your traditional sort of biography. It’s a book of two parts: Part 1 is a transcription of George’s conversations with his friend Derek Taylor, who served as the Beatles’ press officer, and Part 2 discusses the inspiration for a selection of George’s songs, including reproductions of the handwritten lyrics.

I liked hearing George’s story in his own words and seeing the handwritten lyrics. I am sad that it stops at 1979, but wow did George ever accomplish a lot in the show more time period that *is* covered by the book.

I did find the conversation a bit hard to follow because of the formatting; Derek’s commentary was blended into George’s statements and set off with italics, but it was hard to read. I would have preferred a format where George and Derek got separate paragraphs.

This book has sent me down the rabbit hole of George’s solo catalogue (not me playing “Crackerbox Palace” ad infinitum), so if you’ve been looking to explore his work, the second half of this book especially might be of interest. show less

Harrison stops trying so hard and just has some fun.

It seriously suffers from dated production, but it's surprisingly good once you get past that.

Writing technique: B
Writing musicality: C
Performance technique: B
Performance musicality: C
Arrangements: D
Coherence/concept: B
Pacing/listenability: B
Recording/mastering: C
Cover art: F

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.2/4

I get that this wasn't a proper "autobiography", but it was just weird and disjointed, and he sounded quite like a curmudgeonly old man at the ripe old age of 36.