Description:
If one truly embraces Harrison's own philosophical foundations, Brainwashed isn't really a posthumous release at all. Completed by longtime collaborator/producer Jeff Lynne (Traveling Wilburys, Cloud Nine) and son Dhani Harrison after the ex-Beatle succumbed to a long illness in November of 2001, it's a bittersweet reminder of the myriad contradictions that made Harrison such a compelling figure. Arguably one of the most warm, melodically rich albums of a career pockmarked by personal frankness and professional indifference in its latter years, Harrison finds rewarding ways here to reconcile bitter assessments of the material wo
If one truly embraces Harrison's own philosophical foundations, Brainwashed isn't really a posthumous release at all. Completed by longtime collaborator/producer Jeff Lynne (Traveling Wilburys, Cloud Nine) and son Dhani Harrison after the ex-Beatle succumbed to a long illness in November of 2001, it's a bittersweet reminder of the myriad contradictions that made Harrison such a compelling figure. Arguably one of the most warm, melodically rich albums of a career pockmarked by personal frankness and professional indifference in its latter years, Harrison finds rewarding ways here to reconcile bitter assessments of the material world (the title track) with more fleshly concerns, the expectations of pop legend with a muse that's familiar (the Wilburyesque "Any Road"), if sometimes as trendy as high-button shoes, as his jaunty take on the Arlen/Koehler chestnut, "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", with George on ukulele and Jools Holland on roadhouse piano ably demonstrates. With the singer's distinctive voice dry and pushed to the forefront and his trademark slide guitar riffs as sinewy as ever, Lynne's showcase production is mostly spot-on and refreshingly restrained, while Dhani Harrison brings his own fresh, touchingly personal insights to the record. He's double-tracked his own voice onto an old recording of his father chanting the traditional "Namah Parvati" and appended it as the album's spiritual benediction, a touching reminder that while musicians come and go, music can truly embody their spirit forever. --Jerry McCulley
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Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Release date: 18 November 2002
Number of discs: 2
EAN: 0724354374708 UPC: 724354374708
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