Customer Reviews

Wonderwall Music

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Wonderwall Music" is a fascinating recording, and I speak from the point of view of someone who loves to play with tape recorders and audio at home. Beatlefans should note that this is not a collection of pop songs, nor are there any vocals except chanting at the end. Instead, it is an eclectic group of little ditties of varying lengths, which make full use of some fascinating sounds - both Indian (tabla, shenhai, sitar, etc.) and western (tapes played backwards, tapes cut up and edited together, jangle pianos, searing electric guitars, gentle mellotron, etc.) Harrison's studio prowess is quite evident throughout, and it is a lot of fun waiting to hear what is going to happen next. (In some ways this record makes an interesting companion to the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" in its experiments with sound. Indeed, Beatlemaniacs will remember that early versions of the song "Flying" ended with an obscure jazz record tacked onto the end. Harrison seems to have taken the same jazz record here and sliced it up, looped it, and superimposed some other music on top of it.) While a few moments sound a bit like "Revolution 9," more often there are appealing melodies and beats going on. Really, there is some sophisticated music here, especially considering that Harrison was only 25 when he recorded it. It's difficult to summarize this album because I can think of no other quite like it. For those who have an ear for a variety of sounds employed in a creative studio environment, I heartily recommend "Wonderwall Music."

This was a great starting point to George Harrison's solo career, and also a reflection of the times that spawned it (as well as the film); a colorful slice-of-time piece of classic psychedelia, very much of it's time, but also very much ahead of it. Harrison arguably is the sole purveyor of the use of Indian music and Middle-Eastern influences in his (and that of The Beatles) music. Other artists and bands of the time incorporated the same influences into their own repertoires, but while they and their music remain squarely locked in that time period, Harrison transcended it by leaps and bounds, and this soundtrack to "Wonderwall" is a firm testament to that fact; it still sounds fresh and innovative 30-plus years later, without sounding the least bit dated. As others have pointed out, this is not the complete soundtrack to the film, only about half of it, really; but the part that is included here is nothing short of incredible!

With the exception of the track "Singing Om", there are no vocals or lyrics to be found on this album, but that's the magic of it; it doesn't need vocals or lyrics to be effective in grabbing (and keeping) your attention. Not all of the selections are Indian music, with my favorite being the track "Ski-ing" (which features some great guitar work by Eric Clapton, who is uncredited as a musician on the album, but is mentioned in the liner notes); also "Party Seacombe", and the delightful "Cowboy Music", all three of which are a radical departure from the rest of the Indian tracks, but yet do not sound out of place; it all flows together nicely.

It's sad that this CD is now out of print, but hopefully it will become available again in the future--a director's cut of the film has been released by Rhino on DVD for the first time with the soundtrack intact (and also in Dolby 5.1 Surround!) If and when this CD does become available again, don't hesitate to buy it, because you'll be missing out on a true gem!

While it can be discussed whether "Wonderwall Music by George Harrison" was truly the first solo album by a Beatle (existing some old soundtrack to a movie called "The Family Way", whose music was composed by Paul McCartney), there's no doubts, that in the middle of that weird family conformed by their experimental albums (the "Unfinished Music" series by the Lennons; "Electronic Sounds", by George himself; and most recently, the "Fireman" CDs by Paul), this CD stands out as a high point.

Almost entirely an instrumental, this music was composed by the fantastic guitarist of The Beatles going along with the development of the movie itself... in fact, this LP, digitally remastered and converted into a CD by Emi in 1992, doesn't cover all of the score made for the soundtrack, and it's only a part of it. The argument of the movie, then, explains lots of the instrumental music that we hear on the CD... A sad, average man only finds happiness in the beauty and magic of a fantastic lady that comes to his bedroom through a "wonderwall".

This shows mainly how this soundtrack is. The other basis used by George to create this piece of music was his unique background of western (traditional pop, rock'n'roll) and eastern (mostly indian) music. Then, alternating the tracks, you get to hear little suites from both generes. "Microbes", "In The Park", "Guru Vandana", "Crying" and "Fantasy Sequins" follow the shape of instrumentals conformed by wind indian instruments. "Tabla & Pakavaj", "In The Park", "Gat Kurwani" (a particularly outstanding and breathtaking track) and "Glass Box" follow more the tendency of featuring chord indian instruments, always based on unusual harmonical structures... "Love Scene" is the longest track, and it's conformed by several parts of amazing indian music, and one even gets to hear some vocalists musitating words. And "Singing Om" is exactly that, and a good finale for the record.

However, the extremely amazing parts are the pop based tunes. "Red Lady Too" is a waltz piece made in a piano that sounds just like the one on "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da"...; "Drilling A Home" has the same sound (which shows how many times The Beatles used this George Harrison influences on the group's records) ; "Ski-Ing" is one of the most amazing instrumentals ever, featuring Eric Clapton playing a strong riff on his electric guitar; "Party Seacombe" follows the 12-bar pattern that some Beatle instrumentals had had; "Cowbow Music" is exactly that... and then "On The Bed" and "Wonderwall To Be Here" are great finales. Breahtaking to say the least.

Well... it may not be the kind of George Harrison album you could be looking for, but it's much better than lots of "experimantal" music that The Beatles released towards the end of the 60's decade. This one is in a relaxing mood, with moments of light and moments of darkness. Almost like a classic piece. This is a classic piece, but it's one coming from another time. A well made portrait of a psychedelic time.

The recordings of Wonderwall Music are a demonstration of George Harrison outstanding talent, both as composer and musician. This rather unusual record contains from Indian music to (amazing!) Charleston. Another remarkable aspect is the sound engineering work: the separation of the instruments and sound is unique and magic. A great, great buy that you will never regret.

In an interview, Harrison said that when the offer to write the music for the film Wonderwall came along in 1967-68, he decided to make the resulting soundtrack album something of an introduction to Indian music. Wonderwall Music performs well in that role because, instead of long raga structures, the album is made up of several short pieces featuring many different solo instruments and styles of Indian music. However, this CD's focus is very broad and the music tends to bounce back and forth between a diverse cross section of both eastern and western musics. The fact that the western pop/rock tracks feature Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton can't hurt! This album is mostly instrumental but unlike many soundtracks, the music never sounds incidental and stands very well on it's own terms. This CD will probably appeal more to those listeners interested in Indian music but it can be enjoyed by all open-eared Beatle fans. Over the years I've gone from liking it, to REALLY liking it, to just falling in love with it. In it's own quirky way, it's my favorite George Harrison solo album!!! (and yes I love All Things Must Pass too!) I hope I never end up on that god-awful desert island where you can only have ten CDs, but if I did, this album would be one of 'em. It may take a while to see it, but there is simply no other record quite like this one. Essential!

I think that this album is growing on me. It has no pop hooks, and tracks like "Crying" seem to go on and on until . . . wow! Maybe that did sound good!

Another reviewer mentioned its similarity to Magical Mystery Tour. Indeed, one only needs to listen to Wonderwall to understand the very monumental influence that George Harrison had on creating the "Beatles Sound." It wasn't all John and Paul. Wonderwall makes you realize that it was durn close to a three-way tie. (And some may argue that Ringo's influence was right up there too, based on his constantly improving solo work).

I think that Beatles fans considering buying this for the first time, should go ahead and do it. I do not think you will be disappointed. Others should be careful. If you are looking for pop, you will not find it here. If you like avant garde, (or better yet, "Avant garde clue") - then you are very likely to love having this in your collection.

I got a little taste of what music from India might sound like with the inclusion of "Within You Without You" on "Sgt. Pepper's". I got an even better impression of it from this incredibly diverse and unique soundtrack from Mr. Harrison. There's some pop-py material, some old-fashioned dancehall stuff, some western-styled tunes and a lot of Indian music to be discovered on this disc. It's all instrumental and it's very interesting, moving and melodic. I listen to it at least a few times every year since I first bought it on vinyl when I was an impressionable eleven-year old. It has had a huge influence on me as a musician and songwriter all these years. George was light years ahead of his time- "Wonderwall Music" is that amazing. I'm in awe of how fresh this material still sounds. Don't deny yourself this bliss. Check It Out!

One of the on-line reviewers called this the best of the "out there" solo Beatles projects. I never knew there was a category but maybe there always has been. Yes, this is the best of those. It always was and always will be. (Although I will always love Sentimental Journey, buy maybe that isn't "out there" by your standards.) It was out in print, I remember passing up on its purchase and then regretting it. [$$$] is steep for something I have on LP.

It would be great to see the movie more available someday just to see how this music I've known since 1968 would fit into images. Yes, it's long been said that some of the best music of the film isn't on the soundtrack.

It should be rereleased with additional film music as "bonus tracks". And maybe please add that Harrison & McCartney (uncredited) track from the out of print Raga Soundtrack recorded in 1969?

They will repackage Harrison's "Indian" music someday on a CD all its own (at least 1966-1975). But is that a good thing? Better than it fading into the trippy past.

This is the kind of record that never becomes boring. So many new things to discover and yet not too complex. The different feelings you get from the tunes are various, sometimes joyful, sometimes sad. "Red lady too" is one of my favourite songs ever, and "Crying" is so beautiful it's a pity George only took a few secons from it when he re-used the tune on his Somewhere in England.

The first official solo album by a member of the Beatles, the first album released by Apple Records - and the first deleted from its catalog - George Harrison composed and produced nearly 46 minutes of mostly instrumental tracks for this movie soundtrack.

Released on November 1, 1968, the eight tracks recorded in England feature Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Tony Ashton and Peter Tork, while the 11 songs recorded on India highlight musicians from that nation. It provides a glimpse into the artistic talents of Harrison, when provided with the latitude to create, without the pull of commercial appeal, while giving a brief flicker of light to the initial thrust of Apple.

The soundtrack remains one of the most intriguing solo works by a Beatle, during a period when each member began to expand their individual artistic visions, while not within the framework of the band.