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Post by Kapitan on Nov 4, 2021 13:55:15 GMT
Harrison didn't do press for the album, but here is a lengthy interview he did for "Good Morning Australia" while vacationing in Australia prior to beginning work. (Work on the album began about two months later.) It does give a sense of his state of mind at the time.
One funny thing is how he criticizes modern music for having nothing to say. In addition to him sounding like a grumpy old man (which I fear most of us become as we age and opine on the next generations), it's amusing to criticize shallow or vapid music considering the lightweight album he was about to do himself!
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 5, 2021 2:00:34 GMT
I didn't buy this one right away - probably because of the bad reviews, and a cover that used a 10 year old pic of GH. "This looks like it was tossed off with no effort!" A couple years later, I picked up a promo copy - Quiex II pressing - in a used record store. Took it home, played it - and found it very enjoyable. a couple years later, I bought a cassette of it in a bargain bin to play on my boom box. I fell in love with this album over time. One way to gage how much I love an album is how many of the songs give me the itch to sit down and figure them out on guitar. I did this with at least half of the songs - Mystical One, Unknown Delight, Baby Don't Run Away, Wake Up My Love, That's the Way it Goes. It's funny, after complaining about his earlier albums being too preachy, people now dismissed him for being too lightweight. Gone Troppo sounds to me like the work of a man who is at peace, happy, and not at all concerned about chart placements and sales. Wake Up My Love made it up to 50 something in Billboard.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 5, 2021 11:33:55 GMT
Wake Up My Love made it up to 50 something in Billboard. This is correct: #53. Apologies, somehow when I was looking at chart placements, I must have gotten my lines crossed. I'll amend the album summary.
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 7, 2021 2:54:53 GMT
Interest in this thread sure seems to be dropping off. Maybe it's time to knock it on its head. Most of the great albums are behind us now. Are we going to include the posthumously released Milk and Honey? The soundtrack to Give My Regards to Broad Street? Traveling Wilburys? Once we get past Cloud 9 and the Wilburys, things get very grim - unless you're a Ringo fan. Maybe we should have a thread where we rate things like Live at the BBC and the Anthology series.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 7, 2021 11:29:01 GMT
Some albums get more chatter than others, that's nothing new. Mine is yet to come on this. We're not moving on early. We are going through everyone's studio albums (incl. Milk and Honey and Wilburys [and similarly posthumously released Brainwashed]), the Past Masters, and the Anthology "new" songs. Fewer albums will have a full week going forward. This thread isn't going to have live or comp albums.
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Post by kds on Nov 7, 2021 12:02:50 GMT
GT is another one of those George albums that I feel is an overall pleasant listen which lacks in great and memorable songs. Mystical One maybe, and I do really enjoy the title track.
It's probably a high 6, but I'm going to round up to seven.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 7, 2021 14:08:42 GMT
For me, the lede here isn’t “Harrison retires after releasing his worst album,” as a number of critics seem to have said over the years. It’s more “bored Harrison releases perfectly decent minor album before deciding to do something else for a while.”
It’s not his worst album. But it might be his least substantial one, which is neither good nor bad, it just is. Lyrically, I do appreciate some respite from evangelizing of George’s conception of the nature of life and death and eternity. At a certain point, a person just gets tired of that (or almost any) monotony.
But this album isn’t lyrically lightweight, it’s musically lightweight to some degree as well. I don’t mean it’s poorly played, but just that some of it isn’t especially challenging or surprising to the ear. (Some is. Let’s not overstate the point.)
Wake Up My Love - In what is really a trend by now, it’s an opener that sounds like a sitcom theme. Don’t say “that was a popular style/sound at the time”: I know! That doesn’t make me like it. Damn those synths, that sound, of the era. Otherwise I like the song, really. But fuck that synth.
That’s The Way It Goes - Beautiful little song. George’s slide playing is so good. The tone is somehow perfect even as thin as it is. Cool introduction of a single bar in 3 to mess with anyone who happens to be dancing. I don’t like Willie Greene’s bass voice, which makes its first (but not most prominent) appearance here.
I Really Love You - I could do without it.
Greece - Enjoyable background music. Nice little guitar-and-bass lick in there for just enough muscle to keep it from being entirely spineless.
Gone Troppo - Some percussive additions like marimba and steel drums lend themselves to the spirit of it all. George really milks that main guitar melody lick, doesn’t he? It’s a nice song, almost a vocal version of “Greece” in its breezy vibe.
Mystical One - Almost stands out for what sounds like a bit more ambition than much of the album shows. This one isn’t just setting and sticking to a mood, but has distinct sections that feel composed not just played (if that makes sense).
Unknown Delight - Layers of guitars, dreamy. This feels like the sort of thing we might have heard on some of those ‘70s albums. It also continues a peaceful start to Side Two. You could cut a minute off it and I wouldn’t miss it.
Baby Don’t Run Away - This doesn’t exactly kickstart things, does it? Is that a vocoder or some other vocal processing effect? (Not a fan, personally.) I do like the synth bass that kicks in just before the minute mark. For my taste, there ought to be a rule against plodders lasting 4 minutes, though.
Dream Away - George picks up the pace just this once on this side, with a nice, catchy pop number that played over the end credits of the movie Time Bandits, but somehow didn’t end up on the soundtrack, as initially intended. So here it lies. Alan Jones has his moments on the bass. Got to say again, he milks the idea for a long time. (That refrain is repeated a lot, even for a pop song!) This one was a single … in Japan.
Circles - The White Album-era composition finally sees release. (According to Wiki, he had actually revisited it in 1978 while recording George Harrison, but it was not completed. He obviously returned to it again in 1982.) A song about the cyclical nature of existence/life via reincarnation, it’s more than a bit heavier than most of the album. Its arrangement is interesting in that it features three musicians on synthesizer—Mike Moran, Jon Lord, and Harrison—as well as Billy Preston on both piano and organ. Harrison biographer Simon Leng refers to the song as a “Hindustani blues.”
I give it a 6.
The relatively low rating isn’t so much an insult or criticism as just a reaction to what feels like about half an album (even though its 39-minute running time is that of a full one). Several of these songs would probably end up on my Harrison Top 50.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 7, 2021 14:38:10 GMT
I've been thoroughly enjoying this album all week! I actually ended up listening to it 3 times in a row while doing some work at home one night. I'd agree that it's another sort of "lightweight" album from George, but it's so, so pleasant. I think of "Wake Up My Love" as a better version of "Blood From A Clone". It's got more oomph, more energy (actually, the whole album seems to have been a little better produced). "Wake Up My Love" is also more appealing in that it manages to be a bit more positive (certainly, musically, it does). And while I wasn't around, it sounds commercial for the times. I could imagine this as a pretty big hit. Perhaps if it were sung by a young up-and-comer? "That's The Way It Goes" is on par with his best songs from Living in the Material World onward, IMO. The backing track/arrangement is phenomenal. There's so many little fun, interesting things going on, and despite all the different instruments that are introduced, none of it clashes, it all works together so well. Just now, I was getting lost in the backing track alone. And, I've always been a fan of the song itself and George's vocal. Then there's the fun "I Really Love You". This is the sort of thing that I tend to enjoy more than the average fan (which is fine by me!). To name but two things, I really enjoy the bass vocals and that tinkly-sounding instrument that serves the song so perfectly (I'm guessing it's a xylophone?). So, yeah, for me this album starts out very strongly, and continues to be an enjoyable listen. Perhaps more in a put-it-on-in-the-background sort of way, but I don't see a problem with that. The next song, "Greece", is actually a perfect example. That's something that I'm bound to give a mediocre rating to (on its own), but instrumentally it's a perfectly soothing and enjoyable track and it doesn't take you out of the album. (Although, come to think of it, it might be one of the only songs that I'd actually prefer it left as an instrumental. Vocals coming in at the nearly 2 minute mark was on odd choice and it doesn't seem to add much, in my estimation.) "Gone Troppo" is another strong track. But, I acknowledge, I dig the vibe he was going for: The kinda summer-y, tropical, get-away-from-it-all vibe. And I mean that for the album as a whole. That said, I love tracks like "Unknown Delight" which is a more serious, heavier, devotional song that George has such a knack for. By the way, I absolutely ADORE that lick which leads into the verses (e-f#-a-b-a). It's SO simple. I've heard it in other songs. I've even used it in one of mine . It's just so damn effective! Also, the song's got a nice chord progression with some nice flavor and playing. Unfortunately, the quality dips a bit at the end, but that's not particularly noticeable if you've just got it on it the background. But, if I'm listening closely and being critical, some of the background vocals start to grate a little (particularly on "Baby Don't Run Away" but also "Dream Away"). I also just don't like those songs as much as the rest of the album. As for "Circles", I was never crazy about it nor thought it Beatles-worthy, but I find I enjoy it quite a bit here, and it works well as a closer. And it provides a bit of diversity (as did "Unknown Delight" and to a lesser extent "Wake Up My Love" and "I Really Love You", too). I think I'm sticking with a 7, but I might be bumping it above 33 1/3 in my ranking. And if I continue to enjoy it like I have this week, it may leapfrog two others. (I had previously had it last among his proper studio albums (begrudgingly!).
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Post by B.E. on Nov 7, 2021 14:51:09 GMT
Wake Up My Love - In what is really a trend by now, it’s an opener that sounds like a sitcom theme. Don’t say “that was a popular style/sound at the time”: I know! That doesn’t make me like it. Damn those synths, that sound, of the era. Otherwise I like the song, really. But fuck that synth. Funny. I was actually thinking while listening today that "I'd rather have this synth than Tom Scott's sax!" Seriously, though, despite my bias against much of the 80s styles, I actually do enjoy the synth on this particular track. I'm definitely not 100% against synths. (Not that you are either, I imagine.)
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Post by B.E. on Nov 7, 2021 14:54:05 GMT
Mystical One - Almost stands out for what sounds like a bit more ambition than much of the album shows. This one isn’t just setting and sticking to a mood, but has distinct sections that feel composed not just played (if that makes sense). Oops, I forgot to mention this one! I guess because I don't have much to say other than I think it's a standout track. And it certainly does seem a bit more ambitious. I think there's a lot to like. Strong lyrics.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 7, 2021 14:56:46 GMT
Several of these songs would probably end up on my Harrison Top 50. When it's all said and done it might be fun to a Top- something for each Beatle.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 7, 2021 15:01:42 GMT
Wake Up My Love - In what is really a trend by now, it’s an opener that sounds like a sitcom theme. Don’t say “that was a popular style/sound at the time”: I know! That doesn’t make me like it. Damn those synths, that sound, of the era. Otherwise I like the song, really. But fuck that synth. Funny. I was actually thinking while listening today that "I'd rather have this synth than Tom Scott's sax!" Seriously, though, despite my bias against much of the 80s styles, I actually do enjoy the synth on this particular track. I'm definitely not 100% against synths. (Not that you are either, I imagine.) That's funny, and a tough decision between this synth and Tom Scott's sax!
No, I'm not opposed to synths overall--not at all. Just certain sounds, certain styles don't it well with me.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 7, 2021 15:05:43 GMT
Then there's the fun "I Really Love You". This is the sort of thing that I tend to enjoy more than the average fan (which is fine by me!). To name but two things, I really enjoy the bass vocals and that tinkly-sounding instrument that serves the song so perfectly (I'm guessing it's a xylophone?). ... But, if I'm listening closely and being critical, some of the background vocals start to grate a little (particularly on "Baby Don't Run Away" but also "Dream Away"). The tinkly instrument sounds like a glockenspiel, and the wiki page does list that among the instruments Ray Cooper played. So I'm assuming it's that. (Very similar sound to xylophone, obviously.) I like that sound at times in rock and roll, similar to the celesta in Buddy Holly's "Everyday."
I didn't mention the background vocals (other than the bass), but I agree with that assessment. As the album proceeds, I like them less and less.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 7, 2021 15:10:25 GMT
Then there's the fun "I Really Love You". This is the sort of thing that I tend to enjoy more than the average fan (which is fine by me!). To name but two things, I really enjoy the bass vocals and that tinkly-sounding instrument that serves the song so perfectly (I'm guessing it's a xylophone?). ... But, if I'm listening closely and being critical, some of the background vocals start to grate a little (particularly on "Baby Don't Run Away" but also "Dream Away"). The tinkly instrument sounds like a glockenspiel, and the wiki page does list that among the instruments Ray Cooper played. So I'm assuming it's that. (Very similar sound to xylophone, obviously.) I like that sound at times in rock and roll, similar to the celesta in Buddy Holly's "Everyday."
I didn't mention the background vocals (other than the bass), but I agree with that assessment. As the album proceeds, I like them less and less.
Yeah, thanks! I very nearly said it sounds like it came right off a Buddy Holly record! That's clearly what they were going for. Makes sense considering it was a cover, a throwback to that era.
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 7, 2021 20:39:54 GMT
Mystical One - Almost stands out for what sounds like a bit more ambition than much of the album shows. This one isn’t just setting and sticking to a mood, but has distinct sections that feel composed not just played (if that makes sense). Oops, I forgot to mention this one! I guess because I don't have much to say other than I think it's a standout track. And it certainly does seem a bit more ambitious. I think there's a lot to like. Strong lyrics. Initially, that was my favorite song on the album. Then it was Unknown Delight. Now it might be Wake Up My Love. One reviewer described Gone Troppo as GH's version of a Jimmy Buffett album.
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