George Harrison and that typical Beatles sound.

[blazer]

Today I bought George Harrison's "All things must pass" double album and I went in search of old posts I made on this gem. In which I stated that George embraced the sound of the Beatles and everything the Beatles stood for while Paul McCartney and John Lennon deliberatly distanced themselves from that

People didn't understand me when I stated that George nailed that typical Beatles sound and vibe. I got a lot of responses going "And what exactly IS that 'typical Beatles' sound you're talking about? The fab four changed their style so often that there simply cannot be a 'typical Beatles sound.' "

What I meant with that was that George incorporated the harmony singing which was a Beatles trademark, he had Ringo on drums, George Martin producing, the orchestral aspect that made many Beatles albums classics. He embraced all that knowing fully well that if you learn to make records that way there's no need to stop doing so after the band breaks up.

[sloop_john_b]

Didn't Spector produce it?

[brammy]

"Produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector for Apple Records"

[blazer]

Whoops made a mistake there but you guys can't deny that I was right about the rest of it. "All things must pass" sounds like the logical follow up record to "Abby Road"

[wj350]

"All things must pass" sounds like the logical follow up record to "Abby Road"

Which makes perfect sense, since George was working on a number of the songs for ATMP while The Beatles were still together (there's footage of him in Let It Be and, I think, Anthology showing him playing an early version of All Things Must Pass in the studio. This is really true, I think, for several of their solo efforts immediately following the split. It's probably the main reason I've always liked Paul's first solo album the most--to my ear it's the most Beatlesque of his work.

[tamborineman]

George's solo work rules. can you 'imagine' how depressing and short a 'Concert For John' would be.

[blazer]

George's solo work rules. can you 'imagine' how depressing and short a 'Concert For John' would be.

Short?

"Nobody told me"
"Starting over"
"Strawberry fields forever"
"Glass onion"
"I am the Walrus"
"Julia"
"Give peace a chance"
"I'm losing you"
"Imagine"
"Jealous guy"
"Norwegian wood"
"Cold turkey"
"Woman is the nigger of the world"
"Instant carma"
"Yer Blues"

To name but a few. Lennon's song list is much longer than Harrison's but that wasn't my point in making this thread.

[Scastles]

While I see what you're saying about George's ATMP, many might say McCartney's first album was just as Beatlesque in sound. It's all subjective.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

If you read George's comments on the re-released CD notes you'll find he regrets the dated sound of heavy reverb. He wanted to remix and remaster, but he knew it would pretty much rewrite history, so he left it alone. I think he made the right decision...but I sure would have enjoyed an updated remix from George. I'm not convinced he was shooting for a Beatles sound (other than the Hey Jude-y refrain on "Isn't It a Pity")... Using Spector and all those dozens of other musicians tells me he was spreading his own wings. I think he just sounded like George doing his best to showcase all of his own stuff...and sounding like a Beatle is the way he simply played and recorded. They all evolved more as time passed.

I agree that Lennon distanced himself dramatically from the Beatles sound right off the bat, but I don't feel as strongly about Paul pulling it off. Maybe in that first album, although "Maybe I'm Amazed" would fit neatly into a late period Beatles album. But by Ram, I thought he was right back in there. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" or "Heart of the Country" would have suited the Beatles just fine.

[beefandbones]

That's funny that you guys say that - I've always thought John's 'Plastic Ono Band' sounded much more Beatley than Paul's or George's first solo outings. It's got a very dry sound typical of late period Beatles ('Let it Be' excepted) even though Phil Spector produced it (and 'Let it Be' for that matter), in a simple guitar/bass/drums format with Ringo behind the kit. It features all 'real' songs - no sonic experiments, no DIY fortitude, no supersession ten-minute jams, just pop songs. Painful, raw, confessional pop songs, but still... you can sing along with all of them.

[tamborineman]

Wouter, I was refering to post-beatle work only.
I know it's not a who's your favorite beatle thread [but george did have better taste in wifes]

[shamustwin]

I, too, recently bought ATMP. It blows me away. Powerful CD, great songs. OK, Spector production.
The most successful Solo Beatle album, IIRC.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

That's funny that you guys say that - I've always thought John's 'Plastic Ono Band' sounded much more Beatley than Paul's or George's first solo outings. It's got a very dry sound typical of late period Beatles ('Let it Be' excepted) even though Phil Spector produced it (and 'Let it Be' for that matter), in a simple guitar/bass/drums format with Ringo behind the kit. It features all 'real' songs - no sonic experiments, no DIY fortitude, no supersession ten-minute jams, just pop songs. Painful, raw, confessional pop songs, but still... you can sing along with all of them.

Ethan has a point here. But when this album came out, it sure freaked us out---it was so painfully blunt and raw, and then he went and told us it was over! It sure seemed like a completely unforeseen album to me. But looking at the production, yeah, maybe it wasn't so different after all.

[randyz]

Wow- I've never heard anyone describe 'Plastic Ono Band' as a pop album before! It was one of my favorite albums in high school circa 1975-1977. It's a painful and harrowing trip through John's tortured life. I loved the sloppy energy found in songs like 'I Found Out' and 'Well Well Well', the bleakness of 'Mother' and 'Isolation', and the finality of 'God'. Then punk came along...

[randyz]

I should add that when Lennon shouts "I don't believe in Zimmerman!" in 'God', my friends would always be surprised, since most of them didn't understand it was a Dylan reference. They'd ask, "Did he just say he doesn't believe in you?" Ha ha...