Learning how to love you (George Harrison) (LP 900 - 905)

George Harrison  Thirty Three & 1/3 (Vinyl, Dark Horse Records, 1976) ****  

George Harrison  George Harrison (Vinyl, Dark Horse Records, 1979) *****  

George Harrison  Somewhere In England (Vinyl, Dark Horse Records, 1981) ***

George Harrison  Gone Troppo (Vinyl, Dark Horse Records, 1982) ***  

George Harrison  Cloud Nine (Vinyl, Dark Horse Records, 1987) ****  

George Harrison  Live In Japan (Vinyl and Cassette, Dark Horse Records, 1992 - 2017 pressing) ****  

Genre: Beatle related pop, Dark Horse Records  

Places I remember: Mostly Marbecks Records, Live In Japan vinyl is from HMV in Oxford St.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: All Those Years Ago

Gear costume: Crackerbox Palace, Blow Away, When We Was Fab, This Song

Active compensatory factors: George's rebirth on Dark Horse Records after the dire Extra Texture (his last on Apple Records) was remarkable. 

Thirty-Three & 1/3 is a terrific bunch of playful, tuneful, fun songs. This Song is a very typical Harrison song in the spirit of Only A Northern Song, Taxman, Old Brown Shoe and so on. He has a gift for a kind of self-deprecating response to challenging situations. Crackerbox Palace is a joyous homage to Friar Park (great video too).

Mostly though, Thirty-Three & 1/3 is a love letter to Olivia. I think we can point to her as the inspiration for the lightness of touch throughout the album.

Other songs on the album speak to his core beliefs, but there is no heavy handedness about See Yourself, or It's What You Value.

George Harrison is even better! A belter of a soft rock album. For me it's a five star effort - every song shines forth brilliantly and George seems very happy and content throughout, thanks to Olivia and Dhani's arrival. 

The next two - Somewhere In England and Gone Troppo have their moments as George settles in, but, post John Lennon's murder, they are understandably missing the joy of Thirty Three & 1/3 and George Harrison. Having said that, they have both grown on me over the years. I was initially luke warm about them as albums, but listening to them now is quite rewarding.

Cloud Nine is a return to some of the joy of playing he had in the old days (the usual crew are supplemented by Jeff Lynne's creative presence) and, of course, there are the big hits! Got My Mind Set On You and When We Was Fab are glorious examples of what makes George Harrison fab, gear and those other pimply hyperboles. 

He even smiles on the cover shock horror!

The Live In Japan double album is a curiosity. Eric Clapton had persuaded his old mate back to the stage in 1991 - a mere twenty years after The Concert For Bangladesh. The Traveling Wilbury's had just done their final album and it appears that that experience had emboldened George to hit the boards again.

He still sounds tentative in his stage announcements, describing the concert as a 'nice experience', but Eric, George and the band treat Japanese fans to some of George's Beatle classics along the way, as well as a greatest hits show of his solo records. As a final document, it certainly fits the bill (if you'll pardon the pun).

Where do they all belong? On to the GOAT next time around as I travel through the Beatles as solo artists.