George Harrison: ten quintessential songs

This playlist with annotations that I have put together is not intended to be a “best-of” George Harrison (although all the songs here would easily be on such a playlist). Nor is it meant to be exclusive—one could easily devise a playlist with ten different “quintessential” George Harrison songs: one that would include “My Sweet Lord,” “It’s All Too Much,” “I Me Mine,” “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth),” “Blue Jay Way,” and, of course, “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun.”

Rather, these are ten songs that represent various aspects of George Harrison’s brilliance as a songwriter and recording artist. They tie together themes, concepts, and musical and lyrical approaches in a manner that represents some essential aspects of George’s genius and creativity.

1. Don’t Bother Me

Written while he was lying ill in a hotel bed in August 1963, “Don’t Bother Me” could well stand as a credo for George Harrison, an early manifesto capturing his personality and entire mindset about fame. Especially in the context of the Beatles’ 1963 album, With the Beatles—replete with typically sunny original numbers by Lennon and McCartney including “All My Loving,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” and “Hold Me Tight,”—“Don’t Bother Me” introduced the world to a new invention: the ambivalent pop star. For George, the very first message he chose to impart as a Beatles songwriter was that of a back turned to the crowd, foreshadowing his conflicted feelings about Beatlemania and particularly about the highly excitable crowds that flocked to their concerts.
2. If I Needed Someone

George explored the ambiguities of love and the difficulties of relationships in songs including “You Like Me Too Much,” “If I Needed Someone,” “I Want to Tell You,” “Long, Long, Long,” and even “Something.” Harrison wrote about love with a more sophisticated, mature understanding of its complexities than what was typically found in pop music of the time. Written in the conditional tense (note the first word of the title), “If I Needed Someone” (included on Rubber Soul) finds George singing behind the beat; the disparity between the melody line and the song’s rhythm echoes and implies the ambivalence of the lyrics. Plus, the song was propelled by Harrison’s patented jangle-rock style created by using the then-new Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar.

Source: Amrit Shergill/blog.oup.com

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