George Harrison started his post-Beatle career with the critically lauded, triple disc blockbuster All Things Must Pass. Despite the album’s considerable charms, it’s impressive number and caliber of guest stars, booming production work from Phil Spector and meandering jamming often seem to contradict the humbled personality that Harrison carved out for himself while in The Beatles. Running well over two hours, it is also impossible to deny that a few of its tracks, particularly the tedious fifteen minute-jams, are less than spectacular. By contrast, Living In The Material World, Harrison’s follow up to All Things, is the album that fans might have expected George to release once he left the Beatles. The album is a concise, smooth a collection of spare, lovely ballads, warm, understated spiritual musings, and steady, groove-oriented rockers. What Living captures more successfully than All Things is “the quite Beatle” personality that Harrison cultivated so endearingly throughout his tenure in The Beatles. Listening to the special 30th anniversary re-issue of the record, re-mastered with sparkling sound and clarity, it is clear that the album stands as not only Harrison’s true early solo masterwork, but as one of the all time great Beatles solo records.
Considering that Harrison was in the company of the immense songwriting talents of Lennon and McCartney throughout his ten-year stint in the Beatles, it is no great wonder that the songs on Living show Harrison flourishing as a gifted songwriter. The best songs on the album have the sweetly melodic, impossibly simple quality that any great Beatles-penned songs have, particularly the effortlessly tuneful opening track “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)”. Though that song remains the only big hit on the album, there are several songs that are just as good, included in the hidden gem of the album, “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long” whose aching melody and jangly guitars, bear a strange similarity to the work that Big Star was releasing around the same time of the album’s release. Living wouldn’t be a George Harrison album without a few spiritual-themed ballads, and though “The Light that Has Lighted The World” and “Who Can See It” may be muddled lyrically, they are imbued with a warmth and wide-eyed optimism that convey Harrison’s unique gift for writing religious songs that emanate and aura of tranquility instead of piety. Though the ballads are the highlights of the record, the rock and pop numbers are solid throughout, often allowing Harrison’s textured playing to shine. The title track is a nice up-tempo groove that features some great just-sloppy-just-right drumming by Ringo, and some of George’s fiercest electric slide. The smooth, low flying rocker of “Sue Me, Sue You, Blues” is George at his coolest and bluesiest, the charming if slight “Deep Blue”, included here as bonus track is a lost treasure that showcases both his masterfully even picking style and tenacious acoustic slide playing. The bonus DVD includes a film-promo for the album that is amusing if not essential, and a few live videos of George performing tracks from the album at a concert in the early 1990’s, which are all fine even if they present George in his “goofy dad” phase, complete with chintzy suits and ill-advised mullet.
As time would tell, none of the Beatles solo efforts would be able to match the heights of the band’s collaborative works. The fact remains that addition to being one of the most dynamic groups in terms of diversity of songwriting talents, the Beatles were a group that were so great because they were a group of truly talented musicians who were constantly challenging each other to write and record better songs. Although a lot of post-Beatles work suffers from the lack of healthy competition, like Ram, Imagine, and Plastic Ono Band, Living In The Material World is one the rare Beatles solo record that continues the standards of songwriting and recording excellence of the Beatles and also retains the highly particular personality that made George such a star while he was in the Beatles. The sparkling re-mastering of the music makes the re-issue of Livng a must buy for any Beatles fanatic, but for those less obsessed, the album will fit nicely into any healthy Beatles collection. |