George Harrison - Wonderwall Music (1968)



Okay, we all know as a empirical fact that George was a very important component of the Fab Four, right? No one here needs any convincing? I mean, he wrote 'Something' and who cannot fail to love that song? He also wrote and performed so much more great music than that as well. This little slab of his has been out of print for quite a while, last time I checked and can be found on Amazon for a tidy sum and we should not have to pay through our collective noses for out-of-print greatness, should we? I say nay, my friends. George's estate will not see more than a few pennies of it, anway. I am sure he would much prefer us to be good to each other and our favorite charities than enrich some faceless executives golden parachute package. Arrrgh, there he goes babbling again. You kids should really stop me befoe I get going. And besides, there is a much better description at our favorite online retailer....

"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."

And I could not agree more.


1. Microbes
2. Red Lady Too
3. Tabla And Pakavaj
4. In The Park
5. Drilling A Home
6. Guru Vandana
7. Greasy Legs
8. Ski-ing
9. Gat Kirwani
10. Dream Scene
11. Party Seacombe
12. Love Scene
13. Crying
14. Cowboy Music
15. Fantasy Sequins
16. On The Bed
17. Glass Box
18. Wonderball To Be Here
19. Singing Om


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