It’s depressing to think we live in a world where only two Beatles still are alive. But if 30 years from now, a bug-eyed, pill-popping teen floating down an avenue on the Moon asks what George Harrison’s music was all about, you might play him the title track from “Brainwashed.”
“God God God, you are the wisdom that we seek / God God God, the lover that we miss,” Harrison belts out to close this collection.
Though not the album’s most melodic track, “Brainwashed” tells listeners everything they need to know about its songwriter. Born with scissors on his fingers to cut through the crap, Harrison’s music always moved beyond the temporal, beyond what is seen to what is unseen.
Love him or hate him, Harrison gave all of himself to his art. Tragically, his last album is no exception.
Bookending his career with an album as beautiful and meaningful as this, “Brainwashed” is Harrison’s most accomplished work since his 1970 solo debut “All Things Must Pass.”
All posthumous albums should sound this good.
The album’s 12 songs — 11 originals and a strum-along rendition of “Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” — were recorded, needing only mixing and finishing touches, when Harrison died in Nov. 2001. Longtime collaborator Jeff Lynne assisted the ex-Beatle and his 24-year-old son Dhani in their home studio.
Diagnosed with cancer in 1998, Harrison was aware he might not see the album to fruition. The guitarist left copious notes, including track lists and a Nov. 2002 release date, for Lynne and Dhani to follow. The result is a down-home, spiritual folk record with touches of “Rubber Soul”-era Beatles and the Indian influences which colored much of Harrison’s ’67-’72 songbook.
“What we tried to do was not impose on the album at all,” the younger Harrison told CNN. “I don’t want any personal gain from it, or credit for this record. It’s totally my dad.”
Though first single “Stuck Inside A Cloud” has heartfelt lyrics and undeniable melody, the laid-back blues of “Rocking Chair in Hawaii” stands out.
“If you want me woman, please don’t act so shy / If you want me woman, please don’t pass me by,” Harrison sings, showing his still-smooth British timbre undulating on this wistful love tune.
“We’re not this bag of flesh and bones,” Harrison said in an “Anthology” interview.
“Brainwashed” shows a man searching for truth in lightness and darkness, win or lose, in love and in the blues. And he tells others they can do the same.
“The record may not change your life, but it certainly changed mine,” Dhani told the Los Angeles Times. “If I felt the way I do now, I wouldn’t have attempted to finish the record. I’m sort of worn out and sad.”
Hearing “Brainwashed,” it’s hard not to wonder what might have been. What if Harrison hadn’t been a recluse the last 10 years of his life? What if cancer hadn’t struck him down at 58? Nevermind. Sit back, close your eyes, listen and smile, grateful Harrison played for us one last time.