BRAINWASHED

Date: 31 Jan 2003 12:44:50 -0600
Newsgroups: rec.music.beatles.moderated,rec.music.beatles
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BRAINWASHED
"You couldn't cram more of my dad's real, true self into one album." Dhani Harrison, www.georgeharrison.com
When the Threetles produced "Free As A Bird", Harrison quipped that he
hoped someone would make hits of his crappy demoes when he was gone.
That's just what Jeff, Dhani and friends have done here, although
George provided "posher" demos for the process: {How complete were the tapes when George died?} They were like posh demos, the right blueprints for the way they were to be recorded. We laid them out and tidied them up a bit. It was the same people working on he record as it would have been had my dad been there, but it was a lot harder to make decisions without him to bounce off, to get it the way he would have had it and not impose upon it at all. {The album seems to encapsulate your dad's personality.} The stuff that happened in his life between this and his [previous] album was very intense. He'd been nearly murdered, he's had cancer three times and got over it for years, travelled and worked a lot -- lived two lifetimes in the last 10 years, really. I think these songs really reflect that. {Was he aware of having to work quickly?} There was no urgency for him. Occasionally he'd get motivated, but not because he felt like he was going to die. He never sat and felt sorry for himself. He had no fears or worries left when he died. And he was over the music industry. He'd had no more desire to be famous or do publicity. He was a gardener. All my life, he's been in the garden. Dhani Harrison to Jim Irwin in MOJO December 2002.
Like the recent tribute in London, this is very much family. Dhani
worked with Jeff Lynne on most tracks, usually on guitar, sometimes on
keyboards. He adds backing vocals all over the place and is said to be
almost indistinquishable from his dad. Lynne plays guitars and sings
as well, often adding bass. It is impossible, then, to imagine two people more uniquely qualified than Dhani and Lynne to bring Harrison's vision for this album to fruition. Still, any collaboration, especially one that is partially posthumous, requires some judicious decision-making. "I'd been talking to George for the past couple or three years about finishing these songs," Lynne says. "He said, 'I'd like you to finish them for me.' We talked about it, and he said that he didn't want the album to be posh. What he wanted, really, was kind of like demos. "But these songs deserved more than that, because they were great, as far as I was concerned," Lynne continues. "I thought if I left them as rough as he would have liked, they wouldn't come over as well. I wanted to make them as good as they could be, and I think we struck a true balance." He then addresses his old friend directly. "So, sorry George," he says, with affection. "I made them a little bit posher than you may have wanted. But I felt I was only doing them justice." It was the sort of push-and-pull that Lynne and Harrison might have had in the studio had Harrison lived. And Dhani agrees with the direction Lynne decided to take. "The album was always going to be finished this way, with Jeff helping my dad and me with the final production," Dhani explains. "We just stuck to the plan, except that my dad died, which made our job more difficult." Brainwashed was completed over a six-month period at the studio in Lynne's California home. It would be fair to say that Harrison haunted the sessions, initially as an absence. "I remember coming in from England and recording guitars with Jeff the first night," Dhani recalls. "It was the most surreal thing ever. I kept turning around, looking for my dad - 'Er, is that all right?' And there's no one there to tell you." www.georgeharrison.com
Harrison worked on these "posh demos" over a period of years. Every so
often he'd arrange for Jim Keltner to come by and add drums: MD: How was this recording arrangement set up? Jim: We’d sit out on the ledge talking until we got around to recording. Then George would sit in the control room with John the engineer and they’d talk to me over the phones while I was out in the big room. They couldn’t see me and I couldn’t see them. Once we started it was just one song right after the other. MD: Would he direct you to play a certain way? Jim: Oh yeah, George had a lot of set ideas, so he would tell me pretty much what he would want. Basically he would tell me what he didn’t want. He didn’t want fancy fills and he didn’t want too much quirkiness. It was hard to do that sometimes, because he would always talk to me about Ry Cooder and how he loved Ry’s records, which I played on. And he loved the quirky side of my playing, which he always got a kick out of. But when it came down to playing on his songs, it wouldn’t work for him, so he would always have me kind of straighten out things and play more conventional and basic. Of course I never had any problem with that, because that’s the job. I always want to play something appropriate for the song. I don’t need to play something that tickles me. That’s not what music is about--unless you’re doing a clinic or a drum record.
George's penchant for the ukelele sticks out like his ears and crooked
teeth once did, filling the upper register of the guitar space in the
same way the hi hat does for the drummer. Another habit is to put the
snare offbeat on the third beat of the bar, or on the fourth while
skipping the second. Mostly four in the bar with very little swing.
Pounding guitars, invisible bass and drums provide a seating for
George's scratchy voice that's finally found a home. George's lead and
solo guitar is a mixture of Blues, Indian, Hawaiian and George.
There are the expected religous songs with the odd unexpected twist
and we're blessed with a couple of beautiful, simple love songs and
some others with George at his best, in the mystic mile.
BRAINWASHED sums up a difficult equation. He sees the beauty of his
lord and a pre-purchased address on Nirvana Boulevard, and he's been
weary of carrying the cross ever since we met him. On the other hand,
faced with his own mortality, he's sensing a bit of reluctance: Never been so crazy, but I've never felt so sure I wish I had the answer to give, don't even have the cure Talking to myself, crying as we part Knowing as you leave me, I'll also lose my heart
The other arm of the equation is his negativity expressed by his
cynicism, which, at it's best is tempered by his wit. The George of
"Don't Bother Me", "Think For Yourself", "Taxman" and "Piggies" is
present and accounted for, taking on the materialistic "brainwashing"
of society, and, of all things, some unresolved business with the
Catholic church in which he emerges a not completely untalented troll.
Listening to a Harrison album when you're a card-carrying atheist
presents it's own issues, but for the most part this album has lyrics
that stay with you after the music stops. It's one of those rare album
that I can hear to from start to end. While it's beautifully
constructed by a patient gardener, I think it's important to note the
difference between the gardener and the garden. While those around him
paint a picture of a serene man his music seems to me to tell a
different story. I'll point that out during the song discussions.
Listening to George, of course, has become a heart-warming,
fullfilling and poignant affair. I've never really felt such a gentle
presence and a friendly arm around my shoulder in this way before
while just listening to an album -- the sort of intimate feeling one
sometimes gets from a great author in a long book. The number of times
that I simply drifted off and found myself staring into some other
space while studying this collection of songs was quite remarkable. He
knew, of course, that this album would be made and these songs are for
us. He's achieved a rather remarkable feat and given us a warming and
chilling lesson about facing life. Within us and without us.
Here's an overview of the tracks:
1. ANY ROAD D: *** Irish roadies song Country 3:51 9x
2. VATICAN BLUES A: *** Rocking With The Pope Rocker 2:38 87?
3. PISCES FISH C: ***** Georgian fantasy Mystic 4:51
4. LOOKING FOR MY LIFE C: *** Line Dancing for God Country 3:48
5. RISING SUN DG:**** Heaven's symphony Mystic 5:26
6. MAWA BLUES Aa:**** Touchy-Feely-Slidey Mystic 3:40
7. STUCK INSIDE A CLOUDCd:***** George's Dream Piece Mystic 4:06
8. RUN SO FAR C: *** Following a feeling Country 4:05 9x
9. NEVER GET OVER YOU D: **** Undiminished love Doowop 3:25
10 BETWEEN THE DEVIL.. F: **** Old time ukelele song Old Time2:34
11 ROCKING CHAIR.. G: *** New old time song Blues 3:06
12 BRAINWASHED CG:***** Last Will And Test Mystic 6:06
"Vatican Blues" is possibly a CLOUD NINE outtake with additional
tracks (Stephen/RMB). An acoustic version of "Any Road" was heard on a
nineties VH1 special and Clapton recorded "Run So Far" on his
JOURNEYMAN album with Harrison singing backing (Kurt Straub/RMB). Kurt
also notes Jim Keltner saying he "laid tracks for about thirty
different [Harrison] songs", so there may be more albums to follow.
Looking at the tracks in terms of style, there are three uptempo light
evangelising country pieces:
1. ANY ROAD D: *** Irish roadies song Country 3:51
4. LOOKING FOR MY LIFE C: *** Line Dancing for God Country 3:48
8. RUN SO FAR C: *** Following a feeling Country 4:05
The second group is a mixed bag of styles, musically and lyrically.
Fast and slow rock 'n' roll are represented by a rocker and a doowop
number. Then there's a thirties thing and a strange mixture of styles.
2. VATICAN BLUES A: *** Rocking With The Pope Rocker 2:38
9. NEVER GET OVER YOU D: **** Undiminished love Doowop 3:25
10 BETWEEN THE DEVIL.. F: **** Old time ukelele song Old Time2:34
11 ROCKING CHAIR.. G: *** New old time song Blues 3:06
The mystic songs form the biggest group and they're the most complex
and the longer pieces in the set, most of them oscillating between two
keys.
3. PISCES FISH C: ***** Georgian fantasy Mystic 4:51
6. MAWA BLUES Aa:**** Touchy-Feely-Slidey Mystic 3:40
5. RISING SUN DG:**** Heaven's symphony Mystic 5:26
7. STUCK INSIDE A CLOUDCd:***** George's Dream Piece Mystic 4:06
12 BRAINWASHED CG:***** Last Will And Test Mystic 6:06
For each song I'll provide an overview, a presentation of the chords
and basic tune and finally, for those with the interest, an analysis
(see the analysis section of "Any Road" for a guide to notation etc).
1. ANY ROAD
Any Road {Harrison} (3:52)
George Harrison: lead vocals, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, banjulele
Jeff Lynne: bass, piano, background vocals
Dhani Harrison: electric guitar, background vocals
Jim Keltner: drums
"If you don't know where you're goin', any road will take you there"
"It's so far out the way out is in" "Any Road" is one of my favorites. Pure George. He use to quote that line all the time, "If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any Road Will Take You There." I love that song so much. Jim Keltner
A rollicking Irish thing gets the show on the road. Van Morrison and
the Chieftains could have done this. A recruiting song, gathering poor
lost souls up for God. One of those "opposition" lyrics, out vs in,
here vs there, etc and enumerations leading to the hook. Verbose, but
even towards the end he maintains quality: I've been travelling on a wing and a prayer by the skin of my teeth, by the breadth of a hair travelling where the four winds blow with the sun on my face in the ice and the snow
The chords stay happily around D major except for the hook line in the
chorus: "if you don't know where you're going...". The distinctive
chords in this section (F, C, G) are heard again with the same <F E D>
descending melodic motive as the opening and hook of "Pisces Fish" and
the lovely bridge of "Brainwashed".
In D: with the snare offbeat on three, the song stretchs a ten second
verse and equally short chorus to four minutes by permuting the
elements with slide inserts, a bridge and minute-long coda. VC VC B! VC C VC Vocal
form I VCL VCL B! VC SCL VCKSSE I L L S L SSE Instrumental rs s s s s
preface "Give me plenty of that guitar"
intro verse with some D pedals. <A |B A |E F# |E F# >
verse [D |G D |A D |A D ] <A |B A |E F# |E F# > [D |G D |A D |A D ] <B A |A A |E ED |D E >
chorus [G D |A D |C G |G A ] <G D |A D |C B |G A > <B A |A A |F |E |D >(ED) [G D |A D |F |C |G ](D) <G F# |E D |F |C |G >(D)
link [D |G D |A D |A D ] <D |D |ED |D >
bridge [b |b |b |b ] <C# |C#B G|A | > [A |G |D D4 |D ] <E |F# A|F#ED | > [e |F# |b |b ] <E |D |ABA | > [A |E |A |A! ]
solo verse
koda [D |G D ] [F |C |G |D |G D ] [F |C |G |D |G D ] [F |C |C |G ]
end [D |G D ]
The closing solos begin with a rhythm section driven by the snappy
16th ukelele tremolo chords. George's final solo features the swooping
and diving lines fills we associate with his solo period.
Analysis:
The analyses look at interesting harmonic, tonal and melodic aspects
of the songs. Repetition and simple neighbor chords are elided in the
summaries. Here's a short guide to the admittedly terse notation as
seen in the first example further below: <5 ... Line Structure (i.e. melodic reduction) <5 6 5... Melodic Structure -- vocal or lead. [D G D... Chord Structure {C F C... Chord Structure transposed to C major or A minor. {I IV I... Chord functions usually as latin numbers but as indian numbers when space is tight (e.g. b3). C:... Indicates the key. V-of---> Marks chords with V-of or IV-of relationships.
This is the first article in which I look at melody in any systematic
manner. The Melodic Structure lines isolate the main melodic events.
The Line Structure lines look at sort-of Schenkerian linear descents
and ascents, but only sort-of. The idea here is that sections, and
songs as a whole, can often be seen as the elaboration or filling-in
of underlying melodic structures such as <3 2 1> or <5 4 3 2 1>, at a
number of levels.
The verse chords in this song are Buddy Holly-like although the song
style bears no resemblance. The tonic is never in doubt leaving George
free to do what he wants in the chorus, and he does that with a
rock-style closing plagal chain that is equally at home in a modal
Irish tradition. verse chorus bridge coda <5 3| 5 ( )|3b 2 1 ><8 7 6 5 4%3 2 1 5><3b 2 1 > <5 6 5 2 3|6 5 (2112)|3b 2 1 1><8 7 6 5 2 3 1 2 175><3b 2 1 1> [D G D A D|G D (C GA)|F C G D][b A G D e f# b A E A][F C G D] <3 2 17b 1 2 4 5 431> {C F C G C|F C (BbFG)|Eb Bb F C}{a G F C d e a G D G}{Eb Bb F C} {I V I|4 I ( V)|b3 b7 4 I}{vi V V}{b3 b7 4 I} IV-of---------> IV-of---->
Verse and chorus phrases are each in two parts. The first part centers
on the strong upper <5> chanting note where the second part alternates
the weaker <23> or <212>. The final chorus tail is a lower double
plagal close <3b 2 1>. <7> and <4> are naturally missing in this
pentatonic tune.
Verse and chorus are clearly upper tunes with <5> as reciting note and
<b3 2 1> as cadence. Diatonic except for the mixolydian close. 6 5 321 b3 2 1 74 UN RN LW Close --
The Beatlemania bridge begins by changing region, not key. Harrison
establishs the new role of <D> as <3>-of-b: rather than <1>-of-D: by
hammering it for four bars. The bridge finishes with a full close,
melodically and harmonically, in A major.
2. P2 VATICAN BLUES (LAST SATURDAY NIGHT)
P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night) {Harrison} (2:38)
George Harrison: lead vocals, slide guitar, ukulele, background vocals
Jeff Lynne: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, Wurlitzer,
background vocals
Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar, background vocals
Jim Keltner: drums
"Claustrophobic and ex-Catholic"
"From our father three Hail Marys, each Saturday night" I hope that song doesn’t upset a lot of people. George was pretty outspoken about stuff. But he wasn’t mean-spirited. Jim Keltner
With all the depraved insoucience of a Kink this subversive ditty
comes from the Beatle who gave us "Taxman" and "Piggies". The "P2" in
the title refers to a 1982 scandal in which a Vatican controlled bank
collapsed with debts and the banker, Calvi, was found strangled in
London. Calvi had accrued debts of over a billion and was associated
with a "shadowy freemason" group known as P2. The mafia and corrupt
politicians were also implicated. Calvi had apparently been known as
"God's banker". Given this little history lesson, references such "the
things they do at night", "suspicious" and "concrete tuxedo" begin to
make sense. The "P2" in the full title, "P2 Vatican Blues (Last
Saturday Night)", is pretty full-on.
George sings the bridge imitating some bulging-eyed Klaus Kinski
Caliban or Gollum who could happily ask for desert after eating your
children. The distinctive ending, "the truth is hiding, lurking...",
reminds me of the bridge end in the Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed",
i.e. "With that jaded, faded, junky nurse, oh what pleasant company".
In the second solo a couple of "Oh father"s to add to the "Hail
Mary's" in the bridge. Did George have something on his liver?
A throw-away rocker like Lennon's "It's So Hard" (used to test his new
studio) -- the songs share the chord model and the key. "Vatican" has
the same default intro used on "She's A Woman" or "I Feel Fine". That
said, it's a rocker and that's what this was supposed to be all about.
The signature D#dim in the verse is very much "I Dig Love". Great lead
and another scrupulously sculpted solo. It reminds me of Johnny Winter
for some reason.
form I VVBV SBV < E D C > Vocal <G#BDC#B |F#ACBA | G F# F |E > Lead
intro [E |D |A |A E ] < D#EFF#> Lead <C# A A|G CDD#E|C A | CACA > Vocal
verse [A |A |D |d#- ] <C C AF# | A AF#G#|A | > [A F#7 |B7 E7 |A |E ] <D |A |A |C# >
bridge [D |D |A |A ] <BAB |BAB |BG#B | > [B7 |B7 |E |E ]
solo verse
Analysis:
Standard cliches drive the verse and bridge, as they should. The verse
begins with the first two phrases of a 12-bar blues passing via a
signature Harrison diminished chord (acting as II) to a standard
30s/40s cycle of fifths to come back home. The bridge is standard
doowop. verse bridge coda <3 |b3 > < 2 > < 1> <3 b3 |b3 1 > < 2 > <b3 1} <31 1 b3 |b3 1 67 1 > <4 1 2 2> <b3 1 671} [A D d#-|A F# B E A (E)] [D A B E] [A F# B E A} {C F f#-|C A D G C (G)} {F C D G} {C A D G C} {I IV II |I VI II V I } {IV I II V} {I VI II V I} V-of------> V-of------>
The diatonic <3 2 1> translates to <? 3b 1> in the blues and that's
roughly what we see in the verse. The overall descent, across verse
and bridge, looks more like <3 2 1>, but I wouldn't take it too
seriously.
3. PISCES FISH
Pisces Fish {Harrison} (4:52)
George Harrison: lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass,
ukulele, background vocals
Jeff Lynne: electric guitar, keyboards, percussion
Dhani Harrison: electric guitar
Jim Keltner: drums
Mike Moran, Marc Mann: additional keyboards
"Canadian geese crap along the bank"
"His mad cows are being put to sleep".
"I'm a pisces fish and the river run through my soul." On the sweet, dreamy "Pisces Fish," Harrison sings, "Some days my life, it seems like fiction/Some other days, it's really quite serene," lines that Dhani hears as central to the song, as well as to his father's journey in this world. "The first part of his life was as hectic as anyone's has ever been," Dhani explains. "He went everywhere and did everything in the most intense way. Then, for the second half of his life, he was in the garden, and he enjoyed nature, planted trees and wrote music. Those two contrasts made up a great balance." www.georgeharrison.com
Beethoven didn't have much to do with rock 'n' roll but he described
the guitar as a small orchestra. One of private joys of any rock
guitarist are the hours spent simply strumming chords and listening to
the interplay of cross-rhythms and the harmonies. Tactile, aural and
mental paradise. George's strumming has been a delight we first heard
him on his "HELP!" songs where his great upstroke technique was
revealed. There's beautiful 16th-note strumming throughout this song
giving the "Pisces Fish" a fluid quality. It's heard again two tracks
later on "Rising Sun".
I can listen to him strum for hours -- the tracks where he adds
ukelele are even better. Of course, most of these tracks were first
developed on guitar before Jim Keltner got to hear them. Knowing
George's aversion to drum machines (or probably any technology since
the invention of the fuckin' steam train) I'd guess that he didn't use
anything more than a tapping foot as a click track. I'd love to get
access to those "posh demo" tracks. In fact, I wonder what's going to
happen to his musical heritage.
The verse, in C major, begins with the D minor chord and is quite
ambiguous. It has the same fey qualities as "Stuck Inside A Cloud"
where he comes across as an observer of life. Indeed, to me, the great
songs on this album juxtapose human conditions and musical conditions.
Here it's the infinite calm of the druid chant: "I'm a pisces fish and
the river runs through my soul" contrasted with vignettes of daily
toil. The early verses have George observing the foibles of others of
his species but he closes with a look at his own situation. I doubt
we'll get much closer. Sometimes, my life it seems like fiction Some of the days, it's really quite surreal I'm a living proof, of life's contradictions One half's going where the other half's just been
Of course, it only makes sense when you hear it sung. That's why it's
a lyric and not a poem.
Like the "Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" (1970), this the
*mystic* rather than the *religous* George. We're back to smoke
selected popery contrasted with an island of dreams. That's three
tracks with Catholic references in a row. Is George revealing some
nervousness about his early and late karma? Van Morrison territory
again. Like John, and other tired souls, he's "gotta get off this big
wheel".
A direct transition from the first chorus to the second verse must
have seemed a little trite to George because he inserts a short two
bar link which simply echoes the last two bars of the chorus.
George creates a bridge by repeating the two bar link four times. The
bridge bears a coincidental similarity to the C&W bridge in "Cheek To
Cheek" (Berlin), "Oh! I love to climb a mountain, and to reach the
highest peak..." The deliberately gauche [G7 C] alternation in both
songs produces the sense of a brief interlude rather than a bridge
with some connection to the song -- when it closes it's as if it never
happened. A puff of smoke.
Back to strumming. If you listen to the bridge you'll notice a
slightly different attack. None of the notes ring on because he's not
pressing the chord voicings right down to the fretboard producing a
muffled affect. The voice and the drums follow these cues.
Snare offbeat on 3. /-\ /---\ /------\ VVC VVC C B VVC C C underlying
form C2C VVC L VVC2C B VVC2C2C2 detail C2C L B C2C2 wrapping <DE|F EC|DECA|G | >
chorus [F C |G a |G |C > C2 [... |G > <A GF|GE |A GF|G |A GF|G E |F EG|D >
verse [d7 |C |d7 |G |d7 |C a |F C |G ]
link [G |C ] <5725|3 |etc
bridge [G |C |G |C |G |C |G |C |C! ]
Analysis:
A standard four-square verse with two-bar rather than four-bar
elements as in "From Me To You". The opening of the verse is the
inverted doowop sequence which drives "Tea For Two", and many other
songs, but George hears them quite differently, opening his eyes in
wonder everytime he strikes the D minor. verse bridge chorus <6 53 6 5 6 53 4 3 2><5 3> <4 3 2 6 5 > [d C d G d C a F C G][G C] [F C G a G (C)] {ii I ii V ii I vi IV I V}{V I} {IV I V vi V (I)} {ii V} {IV I V V I }
The interpretation above is acceptable but not satisfying. Here's
another look which follows clues in the melodic descents with a dorian
verse and a mixolydian chorus: verse bridge chorus <5 4 3 2 1 > <b7 6 5 4% 3 > <5 42 5 4 5 42 3 2 1 > <b7 6 5 2 1 > [d C d G d C a F C G ] [G C] [F C G a G (C) ]
d:{i b7 i IV i b7 v III b7 IV} G:{b7 IV I ii I (IV)} {i IV} {b7 IV I }
Both views apply to some degree. One of the advantages of small, tight
sectional forms is the ability to remain ambiguous and the song does
have a bit of a Mona Lisa smile to it.
Another thing which is quite difficult to explain is the way he takes
the [G C] chords at the end of the chorus (well some choruses) and
reuses it as a link between the first chorus and the second verse and
then expands it to make a bridge. It's like a separate piece of logic
running in parallel with the rest of the song. The tonal phrasing of
the [G C] is also difficult. I think there's a full stop between those
chords. But, as I said, it's difficult to explain, so I just mention
it.
4. LOOKING FOR MY LIFE
Looking For My Life {Harrison} (3:49)
George Harrison: lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
background vocals
Jeff Lynne: acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, piano, bass, background
vocals
Dhani Harrison: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals
Jim Keltner: drums
"I had no idea where I was heading
I only found it out when I was down upon my knees
Looking for my life" "Looking for My Life," on the other hand, summons up a darker reality. "I never knew that life was loaded," Harrison sings. "I never knew that things exploded/I only found it out when I was down upon my knees/Looking for my life." In discussing the song, Dhani uses the same sort of imagery that came naturally to his father. "I've seen a lot of strange things happen to my family in the last few years," he says. "Someone broke into our house and tried to murder us, and then, of course, there was my father's illness and the melee that ensues when the media intrudes upon your life. But you can experience only as much joy as you have had sorrow. Sorrow is like the hollowing out of a wooden block, and joy is what fills it up. The more sorrow you've had, the deeper the joy you can experience." www.georgeharrison.com
Modern Christian Country with a "Proud Mary" angle. It's not my thing
but it has that great line dancing groove: lots of proud head room and
the slow oscillation of the hips.
form I VCL VCCL VCCLLK
intro chorus + link <G |F# | GGGG |F#AD >
verse [G |D |G |D ] <G |F# | GGGG |F#AD > [G |D |G |D ] /-----------------\ < EEEE |D A C B | EEEE |D A B >
chorus [C |G D C G |C |G D G ] < EEEE |D A C B | EEEE |D A C B > [C |G D C G |C |G D C G ] <A | BA > [D |D > < DC#C F#> Lick <GE | EGB |A | >
link [C |C |D |D ]
koda [G ]
Analysis:
A genuine three chord song with a simple descent. verse chorus coda <8 7 |6 5 4 3|2 1 > <2 > Descent <8 7 > <6 52(4)3|2 1 2 (1)> <2 1 2(78)> Vocal [G D ] [C GD(C)G|D C D (G)] [D C D G ] Chords {C G } {F C |G F G (C)} {G F G C } Transposed {I V } {IV I |V IV V (I)} {V IV V I } Function {I V } {IV I |V (I)} {V I } Reduction
5. RISING SUN 5:26
Rising Sun {Harrison} (5:27)
George Harrison: lead vocals, slide guitar, acoustic guitar,
background vocals
Jeff Lynne: bass, electric guitar, piano
Dhani Harrison: Wurlitzer
Jim Keltner: drums
"Crippled by the boundaries, programmed into guilt till your nervous system starts to tilt".
"Oh the rising sun, and the place it's coming from, is inside of you, and now I feel it constantly.
"And your payment's overdue".
A voluptious landscape like George's earlier Catholic-styled "Pieta",
"Isn't A Pity" (1970). In this song the overwhelming image is the
(Catholic?) radiant sun disk and his awe at the magnitude of creation:
"You're a million years old today" matchs Robin Gibbs' meglamania in
his ODESSA period.
George is in complete control of the architecture and momentum. You
can sense that in the elegance of the ending, bringing a five and a
half minute marathon to simple repose. All the vocals are George.
Pulsating acoustic guitars in the intro and George's slide map out the
serious space we're entering. The verse portrays the doom and gloom of
a Sodom and Gomorrah Mississippi preacher. There are enough clues to
show that George is deliberately painting this maudlin image: "on the
street of sinners", "avenue of sinners" and the Gospel-style "Until I
go" towards the end. While that might not make sense lyrically it
makes perfect sense musically because it provides a grand contrast
with the throbbing gold of the chorus.
Three Giant Steps take us from the D major verse to the G major
chorus.
In the chorus George has the intriguing task of painting the sun. A
similar case is Hadyn's task of "painting" Chaos in his hit oratorio
THE CREATION. His counter-intuitive solution was to represent chaos as
a single held note. George's solution is to represent the sun as it's
ceaseless, churning energy, which he captures with the constant
fluctuation between A major and A minor (or C), and by the double
length of this huge chorus. He tops it off with his slide and choral
thing. Underlying it all is his throbbing 16th note strumming.
He gives the chorus even more size with a perceptual trick. The
relative size of an object is sometimes indicated in a photograph by
including a reference object of known size, such as a matchbox. After
he sings "you're a million years old today" the song pauses and we
hear some people yell out. The yell is a reference object we can use
to measure the relative loudness of the music. In this case it makes
the band sound enormously loud and thus huge. It's an old Beatles'
trick.
Another verse and chorus lead to the slide solo over the verse,
picturing tormented souls in eternal damnation. We hear them toiling
in George's background harmony and in the hard working cellos.
George's vision of the rising sun and beloved lord is devastatingly
palpable -- so near and yet so far. I think the chorus is one of the
best things he has ever written. If this vast horizon doesn't suck you
out of your miserable daily woes, out of your avenue of sin, then
there probably is no hope for you. Find a space were you can make some
noise, turn up the volume and go swimming with this loving soul. Oh the rising sun And the place that it's coming from is inside of me and now I feel it constantly
More pragmatically, see the utterly correct use of the exclamation
"oh" to signify awe, and it works.
form I VVC VVC SCK < | B A E |D C#C |B > Slide
intro [G A C |G A |G A C |G G A] <A Bb |A D E |F#D E D |D > Tune
verse [D g |D g |D g |D Bb g] [D g |D g |D g |D Bb g] 2nd [ D D D ] Chords #1 [ D E f#] Chords #2 <D C#A |C |D C# |A BC>
chorus [G A |c |G A |c ] <D G |DCBCD |EDC G |A > [G |G7 |C |c6 ] <D C# |A |D C# |A > [G A |c |G A |c ] <D G |EDCGA > |G |C a- | <B GA G | |B GA G |G > [G A C |G A a |G A C |G |G ] 2nd [G A C |G A a ]
solo verse2
koda [G A C |G A a |G ]
Analysis:
This lanscape is built on some faultless musical perspective. You
can't paint big pictures with a clear horizon any other way. The
verse, a kind of recitative, is in D, but it's so restless that it's
clearly not the center of anything.
Harrison's link has a classic bass walk up to the chorus but he avoids
a total cliche by harmonising the bass with polychords (the guitars
continue to flail D major) and the second chord is E major rather than
E minor. verse link chorus <5 |3 2 1> <5 4# 4 3 2 1>
D:<5 b6 5|3 2 1> < > G:<5 4# 4 |6 4 2 |3 2 1> [D g D|D g D] {D E f#] [G A c |G C (c)(a-)|G A C G] {G c G|G c G} {G A b } {C D f |C F (f)(d-)|C D F C}
G:{V i V|V i V} C:{I II iv|I IV iv ii-|I II IV I}
Although the chorus lacks a dominant chord, of any color, we see a
clear diatonic descent <5 4 3 2 1>. The cadence here demonstrates
clearly how a favorite Beatle pattern {D F |C} can substitute for {V7
|I}.
6. MAWA BLUES
Marwa Blues {Harrison} (3:41)
George Harrison: slide guitar, keyboards, finger cymbals
Jeff Lynne: acoustic guitar, keyboards
Ray Cooper: percussion
Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar
Marc Mann: string arrangement, conductor
A slide meditation, merging his homes in India and Hawaii along with
the descending surmandel descent from "Strawberry Fields". The title
apparently derives from an Indian raga. There are no drums or offbeat,
just a gentle swaying oceanic pulse.
The great chords begin with the repeated change from A major to A
minor, reminding me of the equally ominous outro of "I'll Be Back"
(Lennon, 1964). The all-over chord pattern [A a A a F d A A] has a
poetic simplicity which acts as a springboard for the melodic work.
The form is theme and variations. Harrison introduces a simple theme
as a cantus firmus in the first verse, which also acts as an intro. He
embellishes the melody in the second verse which ends with something
like his guitar descent in "Don't Let Me Down" (Lennon, 1969).
In the third verse he adds a second, answering guitar part. Cellos
become more prominent. The verse ends with the surmandel descent from
"Strawberry Fields Forever" (Lennon, 1966). The fifth verse moves to a
slide duet to the high register closing with a cello descent from
"Within You Without You" (Harrison, 1967).
The outro repeats the major-minor pattern in the same way "I'll Be
Back" did. It's hard to tell whether these references to earlier songs
in this Indian/Hawaiian Blues are significant. Perhaps it's George
remembering John. Perhaps it's not. <C# | |CBA | |C# | |CBA | >
verse [A |A |a |a |A |A |a |a ] <A | |A | |C# | | | > [F |F |d |d |A |A |A |A ]
outro [A |A |a |a |A |A |a |a...]
Analysis:
The melody is prominently pentatonic on the bookend A major chords.
The middle of the pattern, [a F d] is clearly in the parallel minor.
There's not a dominant in sight. Instead, George finds a resolution
with the Picardy affect of [F d A].
Harrison had a early habit of making a sonority progressively more
minor, and that's what he does here with [F] changing to [d] --
compare it with the bridge of the demo of "You'll Know What To Do"
(165?) or the bridge of "I Want To Tell You" (1966). verse outro <3 3b21 3 > <3 3b21 1 1 3 > [A a F d A ] [A a A a...] {C c Ab f C } {C c C c...} {I i bVI iv I } {I i I i } {I i iv I } {I i }
Note the literal <C# C>/[A a] shared with the chorus of "Rising Sun".
7. STUCK INSIDE A CLOUD
Stuck Inside A Cloud {Harrison} (4:04)
George Harrison: lead vocals, slide guitar, acoustic guitar,
background vocals
Jeff Lynne: bass, electric guitar, piano
Dhani Harrison: Wurlitzer
Jim Keltner: drums
"Never smoked so much"
"I lost my will to eat"
"I don't even have the cure"
"Talkin' to myself, crying aloud"
"Knowing as you leave me, I'll also lose my heart" And as for "Stuck Inside a Cloud," Dhani says, "The title could mean a veil of ignorance, something everyone on earth experiences and is ultimately trying to get rid of. It confuses you and shortens your vision. That's actually my favorite song -- I love it. My dad's favorite number was seven; he did a lot of things according to that number. That's why that song is the seventh track on the album." www.georgeharrison.com The other one that makes me cry every time I hear it, and probably always will, is "Stuck Inside A Cloud." That’s one of his older one’s that he used to play for me all the time. It had a magical, misty, very English sort of quality to it. We would be sitting in the studio late at night before shutting everything down, and I’d say, "Hey, George, play ‘Cloud’ for me," and he would put it on and sing along with it. It didn’t have drums on it for many years, just these cheesy little keyboard samples from his E2 sampler, but for some reason it just takes me right to Friar Park every time I hear it. Jim Keltner
Do you notice how 60's Harrison the intro is, like "I Me Mine" or some
of the things he helped Clappo out with. I love the little Indian
microtone ornaments at the end of the intro.
It's not hard to see the "magical misty, very English" quality Jim
Keltner attributes to this C major song with a chorus that drifts off
to the distant drum of D minor. Everytime it vectors into this space
we sense George sinking into his own private euphoria. Along with that
comes, I think, a deep sense of loss which runs contrary to the
portrait of George as a calm figure in the years this album was made.
I hear someone who is deeply conflicted and completely lost.
Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way. As Robbie Burns said,
"Be happy while you're alive, you're a long time dead".
George's agitation is heightened by the great keyboard counter melody
behind the verse. It's played by Dhani and reminds me completely of
the similar part in Morrisette's "Thank You India", a similar thing.
The chorus slips into a "Long Long Long" model reminding us that this
is a prayer.
Each chorus is followed by a slide solo on the verse
At 2:27 there's a fabulously simple but effective gesture on slide
guitar, but this is the sort of thing which falls into place when the
material is writing itself. If you tried to create a part like this
mechnically it would just sound stupid and trite. Another great
gesture at the very end.
There's great stereo separation on the guitars here. I guess I never
talk about the slide guitar. What is there to say? It always enters as
a bright uplifting counterstatement. In a way, it's as if George's
Indian trip and sitar lessons all landed in his lyric slide playing.
Snare offbeat on 3 in the first verse then on 2 and 4. Self harmony I
think. The song is perfect for his late vocal wispyness which also
features in the half-whispered D minor endings. /-body-\ /tail\
form I VCL VCC |SC| VCC LL <E|D CD|EA GA|C AC|D DCA> lead
intro [d |a |C/G |d ] <G |G A |G A |C |GAC |EDC |D EC|D > vocal < DE | GA | DE | DE | GA | | |AB > keyboard
verse [C |F |C |F |C |F |d |G ] chords <E C |G |E CA |C |D |E A G| A C|ED(C)>
chorus [F |e |d |C |d |a |a |d ]
link [C |F |C |F ]
solo verse
koda [C ]
solo verse
Analysis:
The chorus makes good sense in a dorian D minor. It's about the only
real hint of this mode that featured so strongly in things like "Don't
Bother Me" or "My Sweet Lord", but here the close on D minor is more
or less George drifting off to a cloud. verse chorus koda <5 1 2> <3b 3b 2 32 1 > <5 68 2312> <3b1 5 3b15 2 36132(1)> [C F d G] [F e d C d a d ] [C F C] {I IV ii V} {IV iii ii I ii vi ii } {I IV I} {I V} {IV I IV I ii ii } d:{III ii i b7 i v i } d:{III ii i V* i V* i }
The song itself closes on the chorus and a repeated plagal cadence.
It's a prayer.
If the chorus sounds vaguely familiar then take a look at "Long Long
Long" (Harrison, 1968) with the same in the opening four chords and
the focus on the D minor. chorus [F e d C |d a d ] Stuck Inside A Cloud [F e d C |d C G d ] Long Long Long
There's a Lydian feel to the first four chords, as in "Oh My Love"
(Lennon, 1971) and the ending has a definite Dorian flavor. The {F d}
album flavor is seen here between the first and last chords.
8. (CAN ONLY) RUN SO FAR
(Can Only) Run So Far {Harrison} (4:05)
George Harrison: lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
background vocals
Jeff Lynne: acoustic bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards, background
vocals
Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar, background vocals
Jim Keltner: drums
"Lonely tears, after dark"
"There's no escape, you can only run so far."
The wistful "Photograph" vocal lilt along with the country thing. The
appeal is largely melodic. Good stuff for staring deep into someone's
eyes on the dance floor. And if you get carried away by the romance
the song will work for you.
Some songs concentrate mostly on the feel and the movement. This song
is a great example of that. The text is really just a set of
soundbites to indicate the space, leaving the music to do the talking.
Maybe he's talking about God, but it sounds more to me like he's out
on the dance floor, dressed up in a flash white suit, courting some
Mexican senorita with flashing eyes which promise a proper response to
the passion in the lilt in his voice and in the leer of his crooked
smile. My own little epiphany over the last year has been recognise
how much rock owes to Latino music from the border area with Mexico
and I hear it again in this song.
Another song built on refrying small sections in different
combinations. It's a little game in avoiding monotony by simply
alterning the context in which sections abut one another. George uses
a neat trick that I've heard others use recently and that's to put in
a fake close early in the song which he does by repeating the chorus
at 1:51.
form I VRC VRC2C K | VRC2C2C KK \-----/ \--------/
lick <C G | GF#G GF#F G|C... [C |G |...
intro chorus <E |D |CDEDC |A |
verse [C! |G! |C! |F! ] <E |D |CDEDC |A | [C! |G! |C! |F! ] <G D |E |G D |E >
ramp [G |C |G |C | ???? < CD |B | CD |B > (lick |lick )
chorus |C |G |C |G | < CD |B GFD|C | > (lick |lick ) |C |G |C |C ] 2nd |G ]
koda [C! |G! |C! |F! ]
Analysis:
Another genuine three chord song this time with a lovely end on {F}
instead of {C}.
The ramp and chorus do little more than prolong a V-I cadence which is
why I think we can extend the descent from the first bars of the verse
to the last of the chorus. verse ramp chorus coda <3 3 21 > <3 2 1 6 > <3 2 1 6 > <523> <8975421 > <3 2 1 6 > [C G C F ] [G C] [C G C ] [C G C F ] {I V I IV} {V I} {I V I } {I V I IV} {I V I } {I V I }
9. NEVER GET OVER YOU
Never Get Over You {Harrison} (3:25)
George Harrison: lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mouse
boy, background vocals
Jeff Lynne: bass, mouse boy tamer, piano
Jim Keltner: drums
One thing a Beatle would always talk to you about was his guitar and
his heroes and one of those that all three writing Beatles were
totally knocked about was Smokey Robinson. George has already written
homages to this Motown Meistersinger and he's likewise bowed his head
to pure doowop by recording his own full-blown recreation of The
Stereos' "I Really Love You". Like John Lennon, George was a child of
rock 'n' roll in all it's facets. On this track he provides a lesson
in composition and dedication.
Remarkably, it's a genuine love song to a bona fide, real life female
thing. Girls are terrific (if terrifying) so it's really nice to see
George revisit the territory after so many years.
It's likewise a love affair with his signature diminished chord in
almost every second bar of the verse, screaming George, George,
George. Everytime he hits a diminished chord the guitars go up and
down the chords. The bridge begins in chunky Beatles' style but ends
up melting back into the verse a la Bee Gees.
All the half dozen guitars in this lush tapestry are George's. I guess
he'd go out in the garden, rearrange a few things, move stuff around
and all the while be thinking of the next guitar part to go down.
After lunch his engineer would turn up and he'd go down into the
studio and put down the next part. No rush. There's a lovely high
guitar part comes in at about 2:30, which is quite similar to some of
the things he did in the latter verses of "Free As A Bird". It's the
sort f
George sings all the vocal parts as well -- George And The Singing
Oms. While the guitars and bass climb up and down the walls, the
vocals are almost whispered and revolve around a single note F# which
starts and ends the verse and the bridge. In fact, he projects it all
the way through the song until those final "ooh ooh"s at the very end.
Comparisons between ex-Beatles are pretty useless, and tend to cause
shitfights, but there are a few obvious points of contact with DRIVING
RAIN. "I Do" and "Never Get Over Here" are both ballads in D with
distinctive diminished chords. Paul has a couple of songs which drift
left field to close on D minor, an old habit of George's which we see
here on "Stuck Inside A Cloud". Then there's the shared [C f] verse
chords in the verse of Paul's "From A Lover To A Friend" and George's
"Brainwashed" and "Rising Sun". Finally, it's now George who's doing
the oldies with things like "Devil And The Deep Blue Sea". Perhaps
more relevant, the song ends on the same three part chord of "This
Boy".
Snare offbeat on 3 in first half of each verse and the links.
Otherwise on 2 and 4. A uke seems to peek through now and then.
form I VVBV K <D |F#-C# | | >
intro [D |bb- |D |bb- ] < F# ED |AA GA |F# | >
verse [D |g2 |D |bb- ] < F# ED |AA G D |A | > [D |g2 |D |D ] <E D E |C#DE |F#GA |C#Bb > [e7 |A |D |g- ] ?? < D A F#|Bb E D|AA GA > [D |g |g2 ] <F# | | | > 1st [D |bb- |D |bb- ] <F# > 2nd [D ] /----------------\ /------\ /------- <F# | | D A F#|Bb E |AAGA |AAGA > koda [D |bb- |D |g2 |g2 |g2 ] --------\ /---------------\ <F# | |F# |E > [D |bb- |D |bb- ] /-------------------------\ <F# |E |D > [D |bb- |D ] <F# |F#EDC#D |F#E |DAB >
bridge [F# |b |E |D ] <F# |B B B |B |GF#E | > [F# |B |B |e |e ] 2/4 <GAAG | GAG|DBbA F# |E D > [g |g |D |A D | <G |G |D |C#D > <A D |A | > [g |D |bb- ]
Analysis:
A demonstration that purple prose can be just as tonally conservative
as a three chord song. In fact, the verse and bridge prolong a very
clear structural <3> (F#) throughout the song until the emphatic <3 2
1> in the coda. verse bridge coda <3 3> <3 |3 5 > <3 2 1> <3 3 2 2 3> <3 3 32 86 |3 6 32 54 5 > <3 2 1> [D bb- D e A D g D] [F# b E D |F# B e g D g-] [D bb- D] {C ab- C d G C f C} {E a d C |E A d f C f-} {C ab- C} {I ??? I ii V I iv I} a:{V i iv 3} C:{III VI ii iv I iv} {I I} {I ii V I} => { ii V I V } {I (V) I} V-of------> V-of--------->
I've marked the {ab-} in the verse with question marks because it's
function is unclear at that point -- it's just a neighbour chord.
However, in the coda the function of the chord is made clear by the
melody and the role: it's acting as a dominant. You can think of it as
a 3rd inversion dominant minor ninth if you want to, but I don't. It
is what is.
10. BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea {Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler}
(2:34)
George Harrison: lead vocals, ukulele
Jools Holland: piano
Mark Flanagan: acoustic lead guitar
Joe Brown: acoustic rhythm guitar
Herbie Flowers: bass, tuba
Ray Cooper: drums
A false start and a count in from George leads to stereo ukes on
"Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea", the most authentic of the
various Beatle attempts to do old time stuff. The old chestnut, "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea," recorded with Jools Holland's band, finds Harrison performing on ukulele. "Anyone who knew my dad smiles when they hear that," says Dhani. "That's really what he was like around the house." www.georgeharrison.com
George is backed by Jools Holland's combo with Joe Brown on acoustic
guitar. The solos come from Mark Flannigan and Holland. Harrison
contributed "Horse To Water" to a recent Jools Holland album.
It's remarkable how George's voice suddenly comes out of the Twilight
Zone for this radio tenor song, clearly enunciating each vowel and
consonant. George's tremoring attack is perfectly suited for the radio
tenor style gestures. Listen in particular to "knocking at my door" in
the bridge which disappears in lightest puff of smoke.
They may have appeared so clever and classless and free, but between
the devil and the deep blue sea, the profession of the Beatles was
that of "entertainer". There's less than one degree of separation
between George Harrison and George Formby, Al Jolson. In a way, Al
Jolson's luck was that he could wash off his black-face after every
performance. The Beatles were naked.
We underestimate the expressive range of the blues-tinged lyrics of
the depression years. There's a deep sense of loss in "Between The
Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" (Arlen/Koelher, 1931) which sums up
George's version of the dilemma of the human condition completely.
This is George's passion, not a parody, wrapped in stoic pride and of
that bygone era. I should hate you, but I hate to lose you You got me in between, the devil and the deep blue sea I forgive you, 'cause I can't forget you You got me in between, the devil and the deep blue sea I wanna to cross you off my list, but when you come knocking at my door Fate seems to give my heart a twist and I come running back for more I should hate you, but I guess I love you You've got me in between, the devil and the deep blue sea
The Albert Hall George Harrison memorial show ends with George's mate
Joe Brown singing Ukelele Ike's signature tune. If you want to hear
what can be done on a ukelele then try to find the "original" or
"1930" version of George "Ukelele Ike" Edwards singing "I'll See You
In My Dreams" -- the song which led me to my ukelele passion thirty
years ago. I could never have expected to think of the song in a
Beatles' context, but some appointments in life were just meant to be.
The track begins with the four immortal "Blue Moon" chords, played on
stereo ukes. The intro breaks down and he restarts. Hear how he clips
his the last digits of the count in to better indicate the underlying
groove and to give a more precise metric.
Even non-musicians know that "From Me To You" has some remarkable
chords in the bridge. It's interesting to see that this song, one of
the earliest doowop songs, has even more of those out-of-key chords in
the bridge. It was a way of dealing with the fairly monotonous and
predictable characteristics of the underlying verse model.
form II VVBV SSBVK "1 2 a|1 2 3 "
intro [F d |g C! | | ]
intro verse <A C |A C |A C |A C > Tune
verse [F d |g C |F d |g C ] Chords <D DC |CBb F |CFCBBbA |F > [F F7 |Bb bb |F C |F C+ ] 2nd |F (E7) ]
koda |F C |F d ] 2/4 4/4 < D|CBb CBb |F | > [F |Bb bb |Db |Db ] <C |F Bb |Db |Db > Bass <FFF |FFF |CFCBBbA |F > [g-7 |g-7 |F C |F! F6 ]
solo verse <E C#A F#|A E |A A |A C#E >
bridge [A f# |b7 E |A f# |b E ] <E DCDC |D G |Eb DCBbG|G > [C a |d G |Eb |G C ]
solo verse
Analysis:
Instruments often influence singers. Satchmo sings like a trumpet,
Billy Holliday like a clarinet. Alanis Morissette sounds like an
electric guitar early on and later like a flute. The tune here
imitates the military brass instruments and the restricted set of
notes available to them.
The verse tune acts as if the four doowop chords were just a tonic,
and that's really all are.
The bridge takes the doo wop chords to two other keys. The Beatles use
the same device for the distinctive bridge of "From Me To You". Where
the Beatles move to IV, in this song the key centers arpegiate the
tonic chord <F:| A: C: F:>. verse bridge <3 3 5|6 5 1 |5 3 1 > <3 ... |5... | 2 5 [F d g C|F Bb bb|F C F ] [A f# b E |C a d G |Eb G C] {C a d G|C F f |C G C } {E c# f# B |G e a D |Bb D G} <5 3 6 5> <3 2 5> <b7 2 5> {I V|I IV |I V I } E:{I V} G:{I V} C:{b7 II V} I: III: V: I: Doowop----> Doowop--> Doowop--> V-of
On the one hand {C G C} implies a diatonic close, and thus an inner <3
2 1>, however the tune is bluesy and comes close to <b3 3 1>.
11. ROCKING CHAIR IN HAWAII
Rocking Chair In Hawaii {Harrison} (3:07)
George Harrison: lead vocals, dobro slide, acoustic guitar, ukulele,
keyboards, background vocals
Jeff Lynne: bass
Jim Keltner: drums
A pretty standard country, urban, rural, oceanic 14-bar blues with
George doing everything except bass and drums.
In fact, this is one very, very wierd song. I guess I could go into
the rather strange history of Hawaiian music (based around Latino
cowboys who came over the 1800's to help take care of the cattle
industry) but I have the feeling that this little piece of world music
comes from George's world.
An odd kind of rocking song indeed -- a slinky stretched 12-bar blues
with Hawaiian inserts and chorus. This is the kind of thing musicians
enjoy when they're playing for other musicians. Not so much a joke or
a parody as a doodle and a way of making light conversation and
mucking around with a few ideas. Great fun to play as you try to avoid
getting confused.
Lyrically he's in his "For You Blue" space and if you listen carefully
you'll hear him sing his "I love you". Any old rocker feels the urge
sooner or later to match the erotic imagery of songs like "Matchbox".
Where "Matchbox" has "If you don't want my peaches honey, please don't
shake my tree", "Rocking Chair" has "If you want me woman, please
don't pass me by". The classic image of "I can't believe that mess
belongs to you" ("Shake, Rattle And Roll") is answered here with "I
love those sideways glances, your shoulder and your thigh".
Here's how he distends the standard 12-bar form: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [D |D |D |D |---||G |G |D |D ||A |A |---|D |D ] Standard [D |D |D |D |D ||G |G |D |D ||A |A |A |D |D ] George \-----/ \---------/ \-/ \---------/ \-----/ \---------/ \------/ \---/
The first and third phrases are 2+3. The odd man out is the 1+3 phrase
in the middle. In the third verse George stretchs the first part of
the 1+3 to two bars leaving only a single bar to finish, i.e. to 3+1.
So, in fact, this is a 15-bar blues, truncated to 14-bars with a short
middle clause. Got that?
Snare offbeat on 3.
form I VL VLC VLC VL
intro link <A G#A |EF# |A AbGF#|D | >
verse [D |D |D |D |D7 ] <F DF | AAbGF#|D(AAbGF#|D) AG> [G |G |D |D ] <A GE |A |A AbGF#|D | > <A |A |A |D |D ] <F#GG#|AF#AG# |GEA G|F#D | >
link [D |A |D |D ] <GAA#|BGB Bb |AF#A Ab|GEA G|F#D | >
chorus [G |D |A |D |D ]
Analysis:
The end of each verse phrase is the same, so its the first few notes
of each phrase which has the action. verse link chorus < 3 b3 2 1> < 3 2 1> < 4 3 2 1> <53 51 b31 51 42 51> <53 42 31> <64 53 42 31> [D G D A D ] [D A D } [G D A D ] {C F C G C } {C G C } {F C G C } {I V I } {I V I } {IV I V I }
The chorus, if that's what it is, is so similar to the link that it
fails to make any real addition to the song. I think we hear that and
I think that's why the ending of the song is a little perfunctory.
12. BRAINWASHED
Brainwashed {Harrison} (6:07)
George Harrison: lead vocals, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, bass,
background vocals
Jeff Lynne: electric guitar, 12-string guitar, additional keyboards,
background vocals
Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar, background vocals
Bikram Ghosh: tabla
Jon Lord: piano
Sam Brown: background vocals
Jane Lister: harp
Jim Keltner: drums
Isabela Borzymowska: reading from "How To Know God" (The Yoga
Aphorisms of Patanjali)
Namah Parvarti performed by George & Dhani Harrison
"Must be something I forgot, down on bullshit avenue" MD: On the song "Brainwashed," you could tell he was mad at the music business. Though, even when he’s angry and disgusted, he still sounds peaceful. Jim: He was annoyed at a lot of things during the period when he wrote that song. He went through some pretty heavy stuff man. But you’re right, he had a calm and soothing way about him that makes it difficult to actually remember ever seeing him truly angry with anybody or anything. {What drove him to make this record, then?} Dhani: Things that were happening around us. Whether you go out in the world or just sit there and watch telly you're constantly barraged with information. No one knows if it's real or correct, but it's getting to everyone and they're becoming afraid or maybe not questioning it enough. The [western] world is a bit brainwashed -- it's only a small percentage of the planet, if you think about it. Seventy per cent of the world's population has probably never made a phone call." Finally, Dhani describes Brainwashed's title track as "the truest song on the record." It's a catalogue of all the aspects of society that cloud our minds and blind us to larger truths. "You're brainwashed by the military," Dhani says. "You're brainwashed by corporate industry. You're brainwashed by the news media. And the song is saying that there is an alternative, which is thinking for yourself and self-realization -- and God." That last point is movingly dramatized as the song fades into the sound of Harrison chanting, accompanied by Bikram Ghosh on tabla. It is a powerfully uplifting note on which to end the album. "That chant is very famous in India," Lynne says. "It's sometimes sung by great crowds of people. It was Dhani's idea to put it at the end, and Dhani double-tracks his dad's vocal on it, which is brilliant. His voice sounds exactly like George's." The chant, says Dhani, was his father's "alternative kind of brainwashing. He'd had it on a tape since before I was born. It's just something positive to leave people with at the end of the album." www.georgeharrison.com
George's last word on many of the issues that touched him in this
closing masterpiece -- the best thing he's done since sliced bread
with all the punch, directness and clarity that some of his late
material misses. Apart from the bite, it's very funny and deeply
moving in a chilling way.
I couldn't believe the chorus the first time I heard it. Was the choir
*really* singing "God God God" like you'd sing "Yeah Yeah Yeah" or
"Love Love Love". And there was that catholic thing again in the
trinity. I was starting to think it must be a piss-take.
After two verse-chorus pairs he descends to a pregnant pause on a big
fat western dominant. Someone lights the incense and George's gentle
friends waft in with tamboura, sitar and tabla.
>From nowhere some new Eleanor Bron recites "God is not..." Fuck, I
think, he's *totally* lost it now -- I can't listen to this. I'm
hyper-sensitive to Religous Forced Feeding. Then Eleanor finishes
with, "How To Love God, Page One Hundred And Thirty" and a high
keyboard flourish tells us that George *is* sending himself up. The soul doesn't love, it is love itself It does not exist, it is existence itself It does not know, it is knowledge itself "How To Know God", page one hundred and thirty!
There follows a *double* verse. The single verse is already a litany,
doubling it up leads to serious stuff just so long as you can come
with a lyric to match the occasion. He follows the double verse with a
*double* chorus: (God God God) Must be something I forgot (God God God) Down on bullshit avenue (God God God) If we can only stop the rot (God God God) Wish that you'd brainwash us too
George holds that final "too" quite dramatically. The link brings us
once again to a copybook halt on the western dominant [G] where we
heard the bridge the first time around. This time there's an
expectation that we'll resolve the conflict with some triumphant
return to the home chord [C]. We've had the beginning, the middle and
now we're waiting for the end, just like in every mindless
(brainwashing) television sitcom.
Instead, the song simply leaves the western conflict where it is and
disconnects, letting the [G] chord ring on as a drone. After a pause,
George intones an Indian chant on [G]. It's a beautiful juxtaposition.
The chant ending was devised by his son Dhani. It's a wise man who
knows his father. At some point the piece stops, but it's not what
westerners would call a finish.
The chant has two parts. The first is a minor mode assertion. The
second part, pitched lower, is major, pentatonic response. A1 A2 R1 A3 R1 R1 A2 A2 R1 R1 <F (G) |G (G) (ABbA) > Assertion A1: Namah Parvarti Pataye Hara Hara Mahadev A2: Namah Parvarti Pataye Hara Hara (Salutations to the husband of Parvati (Lord Shiva), the God of all the gods, who removes all afflictions) A3: Hara Hara Hara Hara Mahadeva (The God of gods, who removes all afflictions) <DEDBA G |GA GD B > Response R1: Shiva Shiva Shankara Mahadeva (Shiva, the auspiscious, the one who brings prosperity and joy, the Great Lord) By way of information, the Sanskrit word Hare simply means "O, God" or "Praise God". The word "Shankara" is another word for Shiva. In general, Hindu chants emphasize singing the name of the Divine, rather than exploring teachings or dogma. Robert, http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000610.html
Standard offbeat in the first half, tabla in the bridge and outro.
The backing introduction and chorus is worked out in great detail, as
are many Harrison's solo pieces. The "God God God" section is
predominantly a riff. The chords are heard, but mostly imagined. In
particular, the [D] in the chorus is neither D major nor D minor --
neither third works.
Each verse comes as two pairs where he sings a higher register tune on
each second member.
form I VC VC LB VV CC O
intro chorus <C DC |D |D |A C >
verse [C |f6 |Bb |F G ] <E FE |D |D |C D > |C |f6 |Bb |F d ]
chorus 2/4 |4/4 < | EDC <A C |D F E |D A C |D F E |D A C > Lead [a C |G F | a C |G F | a C ] Chords <A C |G F |D CA C |G F |D CA C > Bass 2/4 4/4 <D F E |D A C |D |F G A |G F |E D! > Lead [G F | a C |G |F |G F |C G! ] Chords <G F |D CA C |G |F |G G |G G! > Bass 2/4 4/4
link [C G |F |G! | ] <C B |A |G | > <F GA|G DCC |A |B >
bridge [F |C |a |G ] [F |C |a |G ] (Tabla enters) [F |C |a |G ] (Vocal enters) [F |C |a |G ] [C |C! ]
Analysis:
The verse uses the idiomatic [f] to pivot to subtonic [Bb]. It's a
clever idea which has the verse segments end on [F] which George
decorates with a "religous" [d], the same [F D1] we hear in the
chorus. A strong subdominant flavor.
The chorus is likewise ambiguous. We can read it as being in C with a
lot dominant real-estate or as being in a mixolydian G, a little like
"Getting Better" or "Baby You're A Rich Man".
The bridge also has two readings. In C major its again a section which
finishs on the dominant. If that were the case then it wouldn't be
providing much contrast to the chorus. The other reading is to see it
as a decorated double plagal in G.
The Indian chant has no harmonic basis beyond a drone, however the two
sections contrast. The first is minor/modal with Indian microtone
inflections. The second is plain major pentatonic. Don't ask me how
the tabla are tuned :-) Verse Chorus Link Bridge Chant <3 2 2 1 >< <1 2 2 1 ><6 1|2 [C f Bb F d ][a C|G F D (G)|C G] [F C a G|C] [g5 G5] {I iv b7 IV ii}{vi I|V IV II(V)|I V} {IV I vi V|I} {v V } {I IV }{vi |V |I V} {IV V|I}G:{i I}
Analysis Summary:
An interesting picture emerges where there are basically two kinds of
song -- those with a diatonic <3 2 1> style descent and those that
have <3 b3 (2) 1> either because they're blues-based or chromatic.
The least stable song in the collection is a 3-chord song that closes
on {F}. On the other hand, Harrison has one completely solid ending on
{I b6- I} and another on {I II IV I}.
There's a case to be made here that the underlying line reflects the
genre cadence of the piece.
The only special rule I've introduced is that of a parallel third
transfer. This is a little bit like a consonant skip, but not really.
I haven't taken much notice of register.
Melodic Structure:
Does it make sense? From one point of view it depends on how one
listens to a song and there's more than one way to do that (which is
why British audiences still clap on the on-beat rather the off-beat).
Is it significant? Most paintings are surrounded by a rectangular
picture frame, but is that of more interest than the picture content?
No-one's saying that structural
Looking For <8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1>
Any Road < 5 (4) 3 b3 2 1>
Run So Far < 3 2 1>
Never Get Over < 3 2 1>
Mawa Blues < 3 b3 2 1 3>
Vatican Blues < 3 b3 2 1>
Rocking Chair < 3 ? 2 1> ??
Between The < 5 3 1>
Pisces Fish < 5 4 |3 2 1> < b7 6 5 v2 2 1>
Rising Sun < 5 3 2 1> < 5->4 3 2 1>
Brainwashed <
Stuck Inside <5? 2> <b3 3 2 (1)><3>
SUMMARY:
So much George. The album keeps growing on me. Casteneda's Don Juan
says that during his life a person acquires knowledge which is
expressed by a dance that he accumulates and adds to. His last act on
this earth is to perform his dance in full, to show who he was and
what he'd learned. That's a bit how George's last set comes across to
me, as the final dance of a man of great personal dignity.
Sources: Jim Keltner interview, Modern Drummer, December 2002. http://www.moderndrummer.com/web_exclusive.asp?alt=100007183 Dhani interview. Excerpt from MOJO, December 2002. www.georgeharrison.com/ Hindu translations http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000610.html
Copyright (c) Ian Hammond 2003. All Rights Reserved. This article will
be maintained at my website www.beathoven.com. Well, that's the
theory.
--
Ian
Impressive But Haughty - Q Magazine
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