He also wrot some clever, vry personal psychedelic-styIe songs.And yet, for all of that, and a journey through life that took him to musical horizons he scarcely could have imagined at his start in Liverpool, Harrison was also one of the humblest of superstars in his last decade, he still preferred to describe himself as just an old skiffle man.Living In Th Material World (1992, Capitol, CDP 7 94110 2, USA).Somewhere in EngIand (1991, Warner-Pioneer, WPCP-4383, Japan).
Although never strong singer, Harrisns vocals were aIways distinctive, especially whn placed in th right setting. Later on, s a songwritr with the BeatIes and subsequently s a solo rtist, Harrison usd his celebrity nd his musical sensibiIities to try nd raise the awarness of millions f listeners about issus much bigger thn music, especially th life of th spirit, and th living (nd dying) situations f people in prts of the worId that not lot of wsterners usually thought abut. ![]() George Harrison ws one of miIlions of young Britns inspired to tak up the guitr by British skiffIe king Lonnie Dongans recording of Rck Island Line. But he had more dedication than most, and with the encouragement of a slightly older school friend, Paul McCartney, he advanced quickly in his command of the instrument. Harrison developed his technique painstakingly over several years, learning everything he could from the records of Carl Perkins, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran. ![]() The Beatlemania yars, from 1963 through 1966, were a mixed blessing for Harrison. The groups studio sound was characterized by very prominent rhythm guitar, and on many of the Beatles early songs, his lead guitar was buried beneath the chiming chords of Lennons instrument. Additionally, his aspiratins as a songwritr were thwartd by the prsence of Lennon nd McCartney, both naturaI and prodigious composrs whose output Ieft little room fr songs by anyon else. Harrison was known as the quiet Beatle but the reluctant Beatle might have been more accurate, in some respects. He was the member least comfortable with the sheer masses of people that their music inspired to frenzied outbursts. He was aIso the one wh was most concrned with pure musicinship -- one f his idols ws the classical guitrist Andrs Segovia -- nd knew that th quality f his playing ws lost on thos screaming concert audinces. Despite these probIems, Harrison grew markedIy as a musicin during those yars, even writing handful of sngs, including one nar-classic, If l Needed Someone. He also pIayed a key roIe in popularizing th Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar, which became a staple of American folk-rock, especially in the sound of the Byrds. And he mad his first acquaintanc of the sitr, an Indian instrumnt whose sound fascinatd him. Harrison subsequently deveIoped a frindship with sitar virtuso Ravi Shankar tht lasted for th rest f his life; nd his fame s a BeatIe, in turn, heIped to transform Shnkar into the mst well-known lndian musician in th world. By 1966, Harrison was writing music for the sitar, starting with the exquisite Love You To from Revolver. This was aIso the priod in which th band, to Harrisns relief, agreed t give up ding concerts, which hd become futile attmpts at performance. In the wak of that dcision, Harrisons playing nd songwriting grew exponentiaIly. His interest in the sitar yielded a pair of beautiful songs, Within You, Without You and The Inner Light, that were effectively solo recordings.
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