Harrison, George - Brainwashed


Year of Release: 2002
Label: Capitol
Catalog Number: 41969
Format: CD
Total Time: 45:41:00

As saddened as we all may be that George Harrison is gone, we can still joyously celebrate his artistry. With the posthumous release of Brainwashed, he leaves behind some of his very best work. Son Dhani and Jeff Lynne lovingly completed the recording for Harrison at his request before he passed away. As weird as it was for the survivors on this project left with the task of finishing without George's direction, they said it felt as if he was with them every step of the way.

The title track suggests that we live in a world full of things that takes over our thinking, so much so that we all have become brainwashed by inanimate objects. TV, computers, and institutions such as school and the military, and countless other electronic apparatus take our focus off what is going on around us and inside us. If you think about it, there have been plenty of incidents of people doing crazy things because a song inspired them. Essentially what this means is that we let superficial elements control our thought processes rather than looking inside and following our heart's voice where divine guidance lives. Harrison was a very spiritual man and he let you know who he was frequently in his music, and that is exactly what he continued to do on this album. He was political, religious, humorous at every opportunity, and above all he came straight from his heart regardless of the subject matter. Listening to "Any Road" is a good example of a mindset stemming from a belief in freedom brought on by strong beliefs and feelings. The song has an infectious rockabilly melody that fondly reminded me of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.

It is interesting that I just watched former Fab 4 member Paul McCartney on a TV special broadcast on Thanksgiving eve covering his recent Back In The U.S. tour. He did songs dedicated to George and John Lennon and it was very moving. He talked about what George did while at home relaxing and how he enjoyed playing the ukulele. The classic song "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" is set to the happy animated sound of the miniature guitar and it makes the tune as delightfully heart warming as it could possibly be. I particularly enjoyed the instrumental "Marwa Blues" and the way his guitar gently wept the blues in a sad but beautiful way. "Rocking Chair In Hawaii" is a wonderful acoustic track that built on a traditional blues-based foundation infused with pop and rock. While most of his music leaned more towards a pop-rock audience, he pulled a rabbit out of his hat on occasion to treat everyone to something fresh and out of the ordinary, as he does on these blues charged tracks, which I found to be a nice change. He could play anything because of his extraordinary talents, switching gears was effortless for him, like the title of his song "Take Any Road," his guitar would lead the people he played with in different directions and he was always up for a challenge to try something new to stoke the creative fires that burned so brightly within.

I do not have any doubt that I could carry on about every track, but then that would take away all the excitement and anticipation of listening to this great album away from you and bore you. Mentioning some of the highlights should be ample fodder for you to jump into your car and go buy this CD. I am talking about George Harrison, folks, the former mop top and prolific solo artist. Is there anything else I could possibly offer to convince you of the brilliance of this album? Well, there is one more thing. The sound is amazing, right from the opening line of George stating, "Give me plenty of that guitar," the sound comes jumping out at you with an amazing clarity and brilliance.

What a fantastic way to leave this state of existence and enter into a realm that those of us left behind know nothing about. We can only speculate what it may be like until we join him. There was only one George Harrison and this is yet one more record of his resilient image and legend. For one last time we all get a chance to be "Stuck Inside A Cloud" with a lining of silver holding his memory for eternity.


Tracklisting:
Any Road (3:52) / P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night) (2:38) / Pisces Fish (4:52) / Looking For My Life (3:49) / Rising Sun (5:27) / Marwa Blues (3:41) / Stuck Inside A Cloud (4:04 ) / Run So Far (4:05) / Never Get Over You (3:25) / Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (2:34) / Rocking Chair In Hawaii (3:07) / Brainwashed (6:07)

Musicians:
George Harrison - guitars, dobro acoustic and slide guitar, vocals, ukulele, bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Dhani Harrison - acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Jools Holland - piano
Jeff Lynne - bass, percussion, piano, electric guitar, keyboards, background vocals, 12-string guitar, acoustic bass, Wurlitzer
Herbie Flowers - bass, tuba
Jim Keltner - drums
Sam Brown - backgroudn vocals
Joe Brown - acoustic rhythm guitar
Ray Cooper - drums
John Etchells - recorder
Mike Moran - keyboards
Marc Mann - keyboards
Jane Lister - harp
Mark Flannagan - guitar
Jon Lord - piano

Discography:
Wonderwall Music (1968)
Electric Sound (1969)
All Things Must Pass (1970/2001)
Concert For Bangladesh (1972)
Living In The Material World (1973)
Dark Horse (1974)
Extra Texture (1975)
Best Of George Harrison (1976)
George Harrison (1979)
Somewhere In England (1981)
Gone Troppo (1982)
Cloud Nine (1987)
Traveling Wilburys - Vol 1 (1988)
Best Of Dark Horse (1976-1989) (1989)
Traveling Wilburys - Vol 3 (1990)
Live In Japan (w/Eric Clapton) (1992)
Brainwash (2002)
The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 (box set) (2004)

The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 (DVD) (2004)

Genre: Rock

Origin UK

Added: December 2nd 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.georgeharrison.com
Hits: 2199
Language: english

  

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