Customer Reviews

Best of

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This collection of songs features the musical talents of L'Angelo Mysterioso as a Beatle, and doing his early, solo years (pre-Dark Horse).

George was active in the early 70's, either recording his own material or producing the works of others (most notably Badfinger's "Straight Up").

The songs on this CD are all very good. Unfortunately, it falls short of the mark. For openers, half the CD is full of Beatles recorded music. This material has already been packaged in various formats. The songs covering George's early solo years are terribly incomplete. Where is "All Things Must Pass?" Did they forget about the B-side to Bangladesh, "Deep Blue?" Why didn't "Beware the Darkness" Make the Cut?

To really make this CD more competitive, Capitol/EMI should have repackaged it -- you know, add some bonus tracks like the one's mentioned above.

If Capitol/EMI feels that they should mix some of George's Beatle contributions into this CD, then it should include "The Inner Light." However, I believe that George Harrison recorded enough good material as a solo artist to full any CD. There is ample material available from his "Apple Days."

I rated this CD three stars because (1) The Beatle material has been offered in other packages; thereby making half this CD nothing more than a knock-off of previously recorded material; (2) Representatives from EMI/Capitol could have selected much better material to include in this Collection of greatest hits, and (3) The CD should have been repackaged to include more selections; thereby making it more complete.

As it stands right now, this CD represents nothing more than a record company holding an artist to the terms of his contract -- by way of cashing in on a name (The Beatles).

A good collection of songs from the "Beatle period" and early solo career of George Harrison. While the first side shows some of the peaks of George's achievement with the Beatles, such as "Here Comes The Sun", unquestionably one of the greatest songs ever written by a Beatle; "If I Needed Someone", perhaps George's first real "classic" track; and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", one of the first "panoramic rock" songs; there could have been more imagination in the selection of some songs (such as the rejection of the nice but insubstantial "For You Blue" to include songs like "Old Brown Shoe", George's last B-side for the Beatles and a track which should really be among Beatle classics). The second side only highlights hit singles from George's solo career; a few of the more memorable album tracks would have been welcome, such as "All Things Must Pass", "Living in the Material World", etc. Because this record was released in 1976, it obviously does not have any later releases on it, but some of these can be found on "Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989", where tracks from the following albums can be heard: 33 and 1/3 (1976), the excellent "George Harrison" album of 1979, Somewhere in England ('81), Gone Troppo ('82), and the masterpiece "Cloud Nine" ('88). Both of these albums together would be an excellent summary of George Harrison's career.

George Harrison was a couple of hits shy of a greatest hits package when (1976) THE BEST OF GEORGE HARRISON was released. Maybe that's why his greatest Beatles hits were added. Did George approve that? I would like to know. Years later another incomplete Harrison collection came out that has since gone out of print. That one covered the guitar man's career from the mid-70s through the late 80s. My dream is a George Harrison collection comprising: "My Sweet Lord," "What is Life," "Give Me Love," "Ding Dong, Ding Dong," "Dark Horse," "You," "This Song," "Crackerbox Palace," "Blow Away," "Love Comes To Everyone," "Faster," "All Those Years Ago," "Teardrops," "Wake Up My Love," "I Really Love You," "Dream Away," "Cheer Down," "Got My Mind Set On You," and "When We Was Fab." To stretch it to two discs, add these Traveling Wilburys songs: "Handle With Care," "End Of The Line," "She's My Baby," and "Wilbury Twist;" plus two great tracks from George Harrison's Japan concert album, "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." For now, seek out these George Harrison albums, which I consider his best: THIRTY-THREE AND ONE-THIRD; CLOUD NINE; ALL THINGS MUST PASS; GEORGE HARRISON; and EXTRA TEXTURE.

I couldn't agree more with reviewers who believe that this album (here on CD, obviously) is simply too heavy on George's work as a member of The Beatles. Where is more of his solo work? Where is some great B side tunes? They're simply not here and it would be a great time to release a more affordable version of George's best since "Dark Horse" is wonderfully extensive but too expensive for many people. This 1976 album is truly overdue for an update!

On the other hand, there are some real plusses to this CD. First, it is a great introduction to George Harrison's work. He did not get enough attention as a member of The Beatles. The CD starts out strong with a perpetual favorite, "Something." There are several songs which demonstrate his work with The Beatles: "Taxman" and the hauntingly beautiful "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" are included. There is the beautiful "Give Me Love," an incredible song that resonates the desire for love and total harmony--something we can all relate to. The album then ends with "Dark Horse" and "What is Life." And, after all, it is affordable, which is never bad!

Although there are no lyrics provided, the song credits are there along with some nice black and white photos of Harrison. The cover photo of George with the yellow car is great! The sound quality is excellent, too.

I would recommend this for people getting to know George. It also has "Bangla Desh." I also hope that there can be an affordable and complete anthology of this great man's work in the very near future.

Released in 1976, after Harrison's EMI contract had lapsed, this title is a study in missed opportunities. In its original LP format, side one consisted of Harrison songs recorded by the Fab Four, with side two containing solo material.The original (North American) cover art has been replaced here by that used in overseas editions of the album, but it's no improvement...the current graphics have a thrown-together quality.As for the tunes---the whole is less than the sum of the parts. It seems somewhat cynical of Capitol/EMI to include Beatles recordings here, as if to say Harrison didn't have enough quality solo work for a "best of" set.Keep in mind that this was before the time of boxed set collections, with rarities like obscure b-sides and outtakes.Having cleared those hurdles, though, the music itself is a decent introduction to the Quiet Beatle's song- and record-crafting career. I'd recommend it to those new to Harrison's work, and to the Beatles freaks who have to have EVERYTHING. Perhaps EMI will someday rethink the concept of a solo Harrison "best-of" set.Here's hoping!

Casual George fans really don't have it good. 'The Best of Dark Horse' is out of print, and this is the only compilation to cover his years on Apple. But of the 13 tracks on this album, over half are performed by the Beatles, not by George as a solo artist. You've got two from 'Abbey Road,' "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun"; two from 'Rubber Soul,' "If I Needed Someone" and "Think for Yourself"; and one each from the White Album, 'Revolver,' and 'Let it Be'. It would be a travesty if "Here Comes the Sun," "Something," and "Taxman" were missing from such a collection--as fortunately they are not--but it's almost as bad that "I Need You" and "Within You and Without You" are missing. That is to say, this isn't even an adequate best-of-Beatle-George collection. Not that there should really be *any* Beatles tracks on an album by this title.

To the proper solo George tracks, we're given two from ATMP, "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life?"; "Bangla Desh" from the concert album; "Give Me Love" from 'Living in the Material World'; and one each from 'Dark Horse' and 'Extra Texture': the title track and "You," respectively. Again, setting aside the fact that 'The Best of George Harrison' only contains six solo George songs, this is somewhat disappointing. The title track from 'All Things Must Pass' is missing, which is a real shame; so is "If Not For You"--both are solo George classics.

To sum up, what is needed is a REAL best-of collection, one that spans George's entire solo career, and one which OMITS his work with the Beatles. They didn't even do that for *Ringo's* best-of album released about the same time (and it would have been very easy to replace some of his solo work with "A Little Help from My Friends" and "Octopus's Garden").

George's music is stellar; this album is quite sad--so five stars for the music and one star for the album itself average to three.

The low rating does not reflect the quality of what's on this album. It reflects wasted potential. As of 1976, the year this compilation was first released, George was probably the second most successful former Beatle behind Paul. And yet, when it came time to put together a "best of" collection, they filled half of it with Beatles songs!

Don't get me wrong. Every song on here is either very good or great. But chances are that most people who originally bought this already had every Beatles album, making this 50% redundant. Instead of yet another rehashing of "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", each of which were already available on TWO Beatles collections, we could have had some more obscure, yet worthy, tracks such as "Wah-Wah", "Sue Me Sue You Blues", "Living in the Material World", or even "Ding Dong Ding Dong" (as silly as this song is, it's quite catchy).

I agree with the reviewer below that this collection should be revamped "Yellow Submarine"-style especially now that the individual albums (except for _All Things Must Pass_) are now out of print in the U.S.

As a Beatle, George Harrison always seemed to be the silent, but stable mediator between the iconoclastic Lennon and the pop-accessible McCartney. Harrison's music, both within the context of the Beatles and as a solo artist, works in very much the same fashion. Whereas Lennon followed his musical vision regardless of audience and McCartney at times seemed to pander to the masses at the expense of his art, Harrison crafted personal, intelligent music that neither alienated listeners, nor begged for approval. "The Best of George Harrison" proves that his songwriting has often been on par with his bandmates and that his immediate post-Beatles work was as vital as anything by Lennon and certainly more so than that of McCartney. While it is true that more than half of this CD is comprised of his Beatles songs, this in no way betrays the collection; rather, it helps to show Harrison's maturation as a songwriter, from the simple resonant melancholy of "Something" to the deeply mystical philosophies of "What Is Life" and "My Sweet Lord". Given the music capacity of most CDs, the complaint of an incomplete track selection is a valid one; there are 13 songs included, but a more comprehensive overview could probably be double that amount. Even so, this compilation does a good job of showcasing Harrison at the peak of his creativity and talent and as such, stands as a fine introduction to an often overlooked songwriter and musician. Personal Favorites: the low and mellow, slide guitar-driven "For You Blue" from the Beatles album, "Let It Be"; the dramatic declaration of spiritual yearning found in "My Sweet Lord.

As a Beatle, George Harrison always seemed to be the silent, but stable mediator between the iconoclastic Lennon and the pop-accessible McCartney. Harrison's music, both within the context of the Beatles and as a solo artist, works in very much the same fashion. Whereas Lennon followed his musical vision regardless of audience and McCartney at times seemed to pander to the masses at the expense of his art, Harrison crafted personal, intelligent music that neither alienated listeners, nor begged for approval. "The Best of George Harrison" proves that his songwriting has often been on par with his bandmates and that his immediate post-Beatles work was as vital as anything by Lennon and certainly more so than that of McCartney. While it is true that more than half of this CD is comprised of his Beatles songs, this in no way betrays the collection; rather, it helps to show Harrison's maturation as a songwriter, from the simple resonant melancholy of "Something" to the deeply mystical philosophies of "What Is Life" and "My Sweet Lord" (for which Harrison was found guilty of subconsciously plagiarizing the Shirelle's song, "He's So Fine", an unjust pronouncement then and even more so now, given the proliferation of song-sampling via Puff Daddy and others). Given the music capacity of most CDs, the complaint of an incomplete track selection is a valid one; there are 13 songs included, but a more comprehensive overview could probably be double that amount. Even so, this compilation does a good job of showcasing Harrison at the peak of his creativity and talent and as such, stands as a fine introduction to an often overlooked songwriter and musician. Personal Favorites: the low and mellow, slide guitar driven "For You Blue" from the Beatles album, Let It Be; the dramatic declaration of spiritual yearning found in "My Sweet Lord".

I'm an unabashed George Harrison music fan, from both Beatle days and solo George Harrison. The first seven titles of this disc are Beatles songs; the remaining six are solo efforts. I couldn't call this disc a "Best Of" because of the strange assortment of songs, and the omission of so many George Harrison "Bests". But I will say that the songs on this disc are excellent tunes, and the disc is well worth adding to your collection, especially if you are new to Mr. Harrison.

As far as Beatles songs, no one will argue about the beauty of a song like "Someone". "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Taxman" also feel like anthems, whereas lovely tunes like "Here Comes The Sun" and "If I Needed Someone" gently transport the listener to a beautiful place. George's solo work is equally impressive. "Give Me Love" and "My Sweet Lord" deservedly ascended to the top of the charts. "What Is Life" is infectious pop that sticks in your head, and "Dark Horse" is a hard-to-find treasure. This collection of songs is not George's best, but it is wonderful nonetheless. Highly recommended!