GEORGE HARRISON IN 20 SOLOS
George Harrison’s song writing just got better and better over the years as he went from contributing occasional songs to Beatles albums to crafting what for many people is one of the great albums of the rock era, All Things Must Pass. George’s guitar playing is all too often overlooked by even long time fans, but the subtlety of his slide guitar work, and the sheer inventiveness of his playing deserves to be put in the spotlight so here we are, George Harrison in 20 Solos.
We start with a solo that the more knowledgeable among you will immediately go, “Hey, that’s not just George playing, it’s also Paul.” The guitar solo that is appears on ‘The Night Before’ was recorded in February 1965 and it is such a clever idea that it could not go unacknowledged. George and Paul play the double tracked solo, an octave apart. Genius! In October 1965 The Beatles were in the studio working on tracks for Rubber Soul, including George’s ‘If I Needed Someone’. Playing a 12 string electric guitar George conjures a solo that underpins the harmony vocals that according to Roger McGuinn inspired the guitar sound for The Byrds.
George began writing ‘Within You, Without You’ on a pedal harmonium and the song was simply labelled, ‘Untitled’ when it was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in March 1967; all the musicians sat on a carpet with the lights low and incense burning. George had an Indian friend playing tabla and the Beatles’ engineer, Geoff Emerick does a wonderful job of recording the instrument in a way that enhances the track so much. George was the only Beatle in the studio that day and it’s him and Neil Aspinall playing tamburas with the dilruba and svarmandal played by Indian musicians from the Asian Music Centre in Finchley Road, North London. Two more dilrubas, it’s similar to a sitar but played with a bow, were overdubbed a little later as well as George’s sitar.
Source: Udiscover
