I began listening to George Harrison in mid January 2022. Because the instrumentals that make up Apple Jam have been promoted (to varying degrees) as being extra, All Things Must Pass functions more like a double LP and thus, I mostly graded and listened to it as such.
All Things Must Pass (1970): A-
Living in the Material World (1973): B-
Dark Horse (1974): C
Extra Texture (Read All About It) (1975): C+
Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976): B-
George Harrison (1979): B+
Somewhere in England (1981): C
Gone Troppo (1982): B-
Cloud Nine (1987): B
Brainwashed (2002): B
All Things Must Pass (1970):
With Harrison's songwriting previously competing against Lennon and McCartney's, his pleasure have, until now, mostly been instrumental. Here, he isn't limited to that although Harrison's main talent is as a guitarist. Musically alone, this record matches the quality of many Beatles records. Lyrically and personally, Lennon is more compelling--sometimes Harrison's insistent themes about spirituality and love get to me--but the quiet Beatle's songwriting and vision come close to his old bandmate's and are highlighted by "I'd Have You Anytime," "Behind that Locked Door," and "Awaiting on You All." And after laying out one exceptional track after another, there's a whole twenty nine minutes of Harrison and the band jamming around if you're up for it. A-
Living in the Material World (1973):
Although the production differs because Spector saw his shadow and had to rush back to the US, this recalls All Things Must Pass, mostly because Harrison hasn't figured out exactly how to follow it up. Unfortunately, it's a tremendous disappointment: Harrison's vocals are regularly dreadful and many of the melodies--particularly the title track--are grating. And whenever the album slightly picks up pace, it's so that Harrison can really drop it the next song. B-
Dark Horse (1974):
Musically, the album is fine. Nothing would have made it on the worst side of All Things Must Pass but the instrumental that opens the album and the slide wails of "So Sad" are pretty good. Despite this and production I'm not enthusiastic about, a B-. Unfortunately, Harrison contracted laryngitis during the recording of the album and his vocals suffer immensely as a result, so a C+. Because Harrison consistently layers his ravaged vocals, we finally land here. C
Extra Texture (Read All About It) (1975):
Dark Horse only dropped below a B- because the vocals were hard to swallow, so I think it's fair to call this his most colorless solo album to date. Most of the songwriting wasn't worth putting on record but it's not all mediocre. The guitar riff on "You" is fabulous and I love that it comes back once more to open side two. C+
Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976):
Harrison seems more or less figured out after releasing three unessential albums but a lack of conviction in the vocals keep creeping in to take me out of the record. Even ignoring his battle with laryngitis (which I'm assuming he's fully recovered from by now), Harrison's vocals have been quite disappointing and lackluster since his debut when everything seemed to click. And I don't know if all the synthesizers are helping anything. B-
George Harrison (1979):
I was worried Harrison would never release an album remotely close to his startling beginning and by Thirty Three & 1/3, I seriously wondered if his debut was at least partially a fluke. Fortunately, however, this comes satisfyingly close. After turning out four albums each a year apart, Harrison spent three long years on this one and the quality of this project seems noncoincidental as the writing on All Things Must Pass was similarly acquired over a three year period. Harrison also fixes his production problems--both the vocals and synthesizers sound as nice as his slide. B+
Somewhere in England (1981):
After finding his footing on his self-titled, Harrison sounds as lost as he's ever been. The songwriting, which barely keeps my attention and has made no lasting imprint in my brain, is okay. Instead, the bad mix, which moves excessive textural flourishes to the front, and abominable lyrics like "The armament consortium/They're selling us plutonium/Now you can make your own H-bomb/Right in the kitchen with your mom" are all that go down. C
Gone Troppo (1982):
As my past complaints of synthesizers on Harrison's records show, I'm not usually a big fan of them and Harrison stacks them about a mile high on these tracks. Although I fully expected this album to become as unbearable as Elton John's Victim of Love, the synthesizers sound okay now--pretty corny, sure, but not bad. More irritating is whoever sings backup on "That's the Way It Goes" and lead on Harrison's worst track ever "I Really Love You." But everything else is mildly pleasant and the occasional hiccup is quite tolerable. B-
Cloud Nine (1987):
I don't love the 80s/Lynne production--including but not limited to the reverb drums--but there's little doubt this has Harrison's best songwriting behind his debut and self-titled. The first three tracks have very memorable melodies, great guitar work, and an acceptable amount of texture. After that, the melodies drop off a bit and "When We Was Fab" is simply annoying but "This is Love" and "Got My Mind Set on You" stand out as highlights. B
Brainwashed (2002):
As with most of these Harrison records, my favorite part is the guitar playing--even at his worst, he's always got a fiery touch--but everything else about this record is also quite acceptable. Harrison seems to write his best melodies when he gives himself time in between albums and this record once again proves that. As I often complain, it would sound a lot better with a smaller band and a simpler approach but it evades have the tacky 80s production of Cloud Nine with a slightly worse track-list. B