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- Verified Buyer
Bought the CD for "While my guitar gently weeps" and received another free CD from the Seller as well. Both are good and appreciated!When looking at "The Best of George Harrison", people naturally seem to fixate on two things: the inclusion of Beatles tracks, and the lack of Harrison's later solo material. Consequently, while this collection is far from ideal, it really doesn't get the appreciation it merits.Remember, first of all, that the album was originally released in 1976, and closed out Harrison's contract with EMI. For that reason, it may help to think of "The Best of George Harrison" as George Harrison's Contractual Obligation Album.It also helps to remember that "The Best of George Harrison" was basically a singles collection (most of the Beatles tracks notwithstanding), and Harrison's success as a solo artist was rather spotty. His attempts to forge his own identity as a solo artist in the face of his audience's expectations that he also remain a Beatle are well documented (see Rolling Stone's coverage of his 1974 tour). His albums received mixed reviews - many of the reviews of "Dark Horse" were downright scathing, for example - and in the six years between the official breakup of the Beatles and the realese of this collection, he did not enjoy the same success on the singles charts as John, Paul, or even Ringo.As a result, there were fewer solo tracks to include on this collection. (Record companies did not go out of their way to exploit b-sides at the time, so, of course, it is no surprise that none of Harrison's non-LP b-sides were included.) But, EMI couldn't very well release a singles collection with only six songs on it so...As it turned out, there was something of a resurgence in Beatlemania taking place in 1976. "Rock 'n' Roll Music" [sic], the first in a series of new Beatles compilations ("Live at the Hollywood Bowl", "Love Songs", "Reel Music", and "20 Greatest Hits" would follow over the next four or five years) was released, and "Got to get you into my life" and "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da" were released as singles - and were hits. So...Problem solved. EMI adds a handful of Harrison-penned Beatles tracks, and "The Best of George Harrison", circa 1976, is complete.At first glance, this would seem like an obvious, contrived marketing ploy - which it is. BUT, it's also an opportunity to remind people (Hello, Frank Sinatra!) that Lennon & McCartney were not the only songwriters in the Beatles. Including some of Harrison's key Beatles songs on this compilation does that. As Paul McCartney wrote (albeit in reference to silly love songs), what's wrong with that?Finally, one must remember that everything Harrison released after 1976 was recorded for other labels. Without some sort of licensing agreement (such as the ones Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney apparently worked out with EMI), a comprehensive overview of Harrison's post-Beatles career is unlikely to appear. Sometimes, you just have to take what you can get.Shipped fast. Nice CD. Case was cracked probably in shipping. Product could use more packing protection.What more could be said about this George Harrison compilation here even if half of it contains his best known Beatles compositions. I got this for my girlfriend/bandmate because she never had a George Harrison collection before. Keep in mind that this is pre- Dark Horse Records era George not counting the title track of his 1974 album before he began recording for that label himself in 1976.To start off with is "Something", one of his two contributions from Abbey Road and his first #1 with the Beatles. The first half of this disc is Beatles-era George. His two songs from Rubber Soul "If I Needed Someone" and "Think For Yourself" are featured here as well as one of three Revolver tracks-"Taxman". My main favorite song of his from the White Album "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is included complete with Eric Clapton's guitar work. The other Abbey Road classic featured is "Here Comes The Sun". Let's not forget "For You Blue" from Let It Be.What better way to start the solo portion is with "My Sweet Lord" from All Things Must Pass which was his first #1 as a solo artist. His other chart-topper featured is "Give Me Love(Give Me Peace On Earth) from Living In The Material World. His single only track "Bangla Desh" from 1971 is featured here, which originally tied in with the all-star charity event of that year and was the show's encore number. "You" from Extra Texture is included not to mention a Phil Spector production besides like George's 1970/1971 recordings which brings to the disc's conclusion "What Is Life"[Another item from ATMP]. Unless they rerelease The Best Of Dark Horse !976-!989 soon, I suggest you pick up this George compile in the meantime because it's better than no George compile at all .Even if there are a few Beatles cuts here you won't go wrong this one. Really.Love the music but CD did looked used and scratched. Was not worth $20This couldn't have come at a better time this being the 50th year of this song my sweet lord .Thank you go's to the seller for having in stocks and at a good price.love his musicI'm going to rate this CD based on a $1 per song cost to total cost for the entire CD (Apple and Rhapsody charge $1 per song).This CD is hard to judge. Amazon is charging $12 for the CD. There are $7 worth of good songs on here, but 4 of them are songs George wrote while with the Beatles. So if you are a Beatles fan, you are buying music you already own (songs: Something, Here Comes the Sun, Taxman and While My Guitar Gently Weeps). The three great solo songs on this CD are My Sweet Lord, Give Me Love and What Is Life. To get his "Dark Horse" hits 'Got My Mind Set On You', 'When We Was Fab' and 'All Those Years Ago', you have to buy a different CD. Unfortunately, there are no Beatles songs or George Harrison songs available on iTunes to date. If you can, hold off and wait for iTunes to make the solo songs available or wait for a Greatest Hits CD that includes all six solo songs on it. George Harrison - RIP.Hope this helps.DariumJune 2007I've just retired. I have run a music business in the past and now for the first time for so many years, I have begun to catalogue and programme from my vinyl, cassette and CD collections. Have you ever looked back over your collection and realised there were / are gaps ? My research has been fabulous, listening to tracks, artists, arrangements and live gigs I'd almost forgotten ... then came the job of filling those gaps."The Best Of George Harrison" filled the gaps my Beatle collection didn't cover sufficiently ... there are some truly excellent tracks that I believe people have largely forgotten ( radio stations certainly have )and because he is no longer with us, we don't get the chance to go to his solo gigs anymore. It's a great shame, because in my view he was up there with John and Paul in terms of respect for his talent. George's work with The Traveling Wilburys is classic - I'll review that part of his life / "The Traveling Wiburys" Album elsewhere.More Lovely Memories ...The best of George, all on one CD."My Sweet Lord" is my favourite :)"For You Blue" is my wife's.~~Because you're sweet and lovely, girl - I love you.I love you at the moment I feel blue.I love you every morning girl, I do~~Great stuff, from the master musician, the Beatles' lead guitarist.~~Mmm, my sweet Lord, oh my Lord -I really wanna see You,Really wanna be with You,Really wanna know You, Lord -But it takes so long, my Lord.(Hallelujah; Hare Rama) ~~Beautiful. Hare Krishna!I like to listen to the music. That is why I bought itI've wanted a 'Best of George Harrison' CD for ages and when i didn't get one for Mother's Day, ordered this and the best of Cat Stevens. Unfortunately, the sound quality is quite poor and doesn't enhance the lovely music of this much loved Beatle. I would shop around for something that has been digitally enhanced. Mrs D.B., Kent.Some simply stunning tracks on here and is basically worth every penny.
