Our final solo Beatles retrospective focuses on George Harrison, with this week marking 24 years since he died from cancer. This follows on from the solo retrospectives I did for Ringo Starr and John Lennon in July and October, respectively, and they all go together with Moondog385's Paul McCartney retrospective. Of the solo Beatles, George has never had a truly definitive compilation of his solo career. 1976's The Best of George Harrison was halfway dedicated to his work with the Beatles, and 1989's Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989 solely focused on part of his career. And don't even get me started on 2009's Let It Roll; the fact that most of 1974-1986 was glossed over made it sound as if Olivia and Dhani had little confidence in George's solo work.
Like Moondog385's Pure Harrison compilation, I'm providing a much fuller picture of George Harrison as a solo artist, including all of the songs featured as well as many other additions of my own. Let's dive right in!
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Side A (22:47)
1. My Sweet Lord - 4:38
2. Isn't It a Pity? (Version 1) - 7:10
3. What is Life - 4:22
4. Run of the Mill - 2:49
5. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) - 3:48
Side B (21:12)
6. All Things Must Pass - 3:44
7. I Live for You - 3:35
8. Bangla Desh - 3:57
9. Deep Blue - 3:47
10. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) - 3:36
11. Miss O'Dell - 2:33
Side C (23:01)
12. The Light That Has Lighted the World - 3:31
13. Don't Let Me Wait Too Long - 2:57
14. Living in the Material World - 5:31
15. Simply Shady - 4:38
16. Ding Dong, Ding Dong - 3:40
17. I Don't Care Anymore - 2:44
Side D (22:48)
18. Dark Horse - 3:54
19. Far East Man - 5:52
20. You - 3:41
21. Can't Stop Thinking About You - 4:30
22. Tired of Midnight Blue - 4:51
Unsurprisingly, this first part of the retrospective focuses on George's Apple years, and therefore his first four solo albums, if you exclude Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound. The first disc focuses mainly on All Things Must Pass, with the addition of one bonus track ("I Live for You") from that era, as well as "Bangla Desh" and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" and their respective B-sides. The second disc features three other songs from Living in the Material World, as well as material from Dark Horse and Extra Texture (Read All About It), plus an additional B-side, "I Don't Care Anymore". Because three songs are over five minutes in length, this compilation is just barely under 90 minutes.
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Side A (24:16)
1. Woman Don't You Cry for Me - 3:18
2. Beautiful Girl - 3:39
3. This Song - 4:13
4. Crackerbox Palace - 3:57
5. Learning How to Love You - 4:13
6. Mo's Song - 4:56
Side B (21:10)
7. Flying Hour - 4:35
8. Love Comes to Everyone - 3:40
9. Here Comes the Moon - 4:09
10. Blow Away - 4:00
11. Faster - 4:46
Side C (20:10)
12. Dark Sweet Lady - 3:22
13. Life Itself - 4:25
14. All Those Years Ago - 3:45
15. Teardrops - 4:09
16. Dream Away - 4:29
Side D (21:35)
17. Wake Up My Love - 3:34
18. That's the Way It Goes - 3:34
19. Mystical One - 3:42
20. Let It Be Me - 2:56
21. I Don't Want to Do It - 2:51
22. Save the World (Greenpeace) - 4:58
Like 1970-1975, this compilation focuses mainly on four albums. Disc one brings attention to Thirty-Three & 1/3 and George Harrison, with the addition of two deep cuts. "Mo's Song" was recorded in 1977 as a tribute to Mo Ostin, but was left unreleased until 1994 on a six CD box set. "Flying Hour", an outtake from Somewhere in England, was first started in 1978. Speaking of said album, it and Gone Troppo are represented on disc two, with "Dark Sweet Lady" being a holdover. "Let It Be Me" was an Everly Brothers cover recorded in 1983, and "I Don't Want to Do It" was re-recorded for Porky's Revenge in 1985. "Save the World" was also re-recorded that year for Greenpeace - The Album.
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Side A (23:52)
1. Shanghai Surprise - 5:09
2. Cloud Nine - 3:15
3. This is Love - 3:48
4. When We Was Fab - 3:57
5. Devil's Radio - 3:52
6. Someplace Else - 3:51
Side B (21:09)
7. Got My Mind Set on You - 3:52
8. Zig Zag - 2:45
9. Ride Rajbun [edit] - 4:06
10. Handle with Care - 3:19
11. Heading for the Light - 3:37
12. End of the Line - 3:30
Side C (22:51)
13. Poor Little Girl - 4:33
14. Cockamamie Business - 5:15
15. Cheer Down - 4:08
16. This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying) [1992 Re-Recording] - 3:55
17. Horse to the Water - 5:00
Side D (23:10)
18. Any Road - 3:52
19. Rising Sun - 5:27
20. Marwa Blues - 3:40
21. Stuck Inside a Cloud - 4:04
22. Brainwashed - 6:07
As George only released two studio albums under his name from this era, we're going to have to get a bit creative with what else we can find. Disc one features about half of Cloud Nine, as well as the adjacent B-side "Zig Zag", and the three songs from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 in which George sang lead vocals. Also filling up that disc is the title track for the critically panned Shanghai Surprise featuring Vicki Brown, and "Ride Rajbun", recorded in 1988 but left unreleased until 1992 for The Bunbury Tails. The three new songs from Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989 begin disc two, with the rest of the third side being filled in by the 1992 re-recording of "This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying)" from Extra Texture and "Horse to the Water", the final song recorded by George prior to his death. The last side, of course, is an abridged Brainwashed. The final running time is about 91 minutes in length, which is stretching the limits as it is, but what can you do?
In total, that's 66 songs covering George Harrison's solo career, almost double that of Moondog's compilation! This isn't meant to replace what he's done; I'm just adding my own spin on things. For bonus tracks, I would throw in "The Answer's at the End" from Extra Texture, "Tears of the World" (another Somewhere in England outtake), "She's My Baby" from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and the live cover of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" from a 1993 Bob Dylan tribute show. The latter two especially give a bit more spotlight to the 1990s, of which there was very little known recording activity from George. The bonus tracks would bring the total up to 70.
