1976's THIRTY THREE & 1/3 was a reasonably good album from George Harrison that spawned 2 top 40 hits & sold well enough. However, most of that album was tinged in bitterness at having lost his battle with the writers of "He's So Fine" over plagiarizing it for his own "My Sweet Lord" ("This Song" was one way of venting his anger). After that album, George took the next 2 years off, spending most of his time traveling & attending his beloved auto races. Supposedly, George was having a case of writer's block shortly after THIRTY THREE & 1/3, and was not sure if he would ever regain his main line. However, trips to Hawaii & the Virgin Islands at last got his juices flowing, and in 1979, GEORGE HARRISON appeared, its self-titled nature hinting at a new beginning & George tapping into a fresh vein of creativity.

Having just married his second wife Olivia & witnessing the birth of his son Dhani, George was clearly in a much better mood this time around, and the sunny weather of his island jaunts also helped to bring up his spirits & inspire him creatively. For someone as upbeat about the eventual savior of the world, a song like the opening "Love Comes To Everyone" (with guitar by George's pal, Eric Clapton) comes naturally from George. He points out that acheiving peace is never easy or quick, but as he mentions "It only takes time". The closing "If You Believe" also encourages the listener to keep his chin up & that believing in oneself will save the day. At a brief 3 minutes, this is one song that could have easily followed "Blow Away" as a single, for it is everything a hit should be. Those two songs are the only times George is in the role of world peacemaker. The rest are much more personal & introspective.

The glow of his new marriage & family obviously had George smiling bright for Olivia & Dhani appears to have been the inspiration for songs like "Dark Sweet Lady" (which Olivia suggested as a Spanish-type number), "Your Love Is Forever" & "Soft Touch". George clearly took the old creative saying of "Write about what you know" to heart, and that helped him recharge his batteries. Some songs like "Your Love Is Forever" could be interpreted as being to God, but the fact they work on a secular level makes them the most successful.

The new attitude George gained is transferred all throughout GEORGE HARRISON as the nature theme of some songs indicate. "Here Comes The Moon" was George's (un)intentional sequel to "Here Comes The Sun", and as he describes in the album's liner notes (taken from his autobiography I ME MINE), he was utterly entranced by the sunsets and moonrises of Hawaii. Maybe all of us could use a trip like that to brighten our lives.

"Soft-Hearted Hana" also was directly inspired by the surroundings of Hawaii, with George using his own "Deep Blue" as inspiration for creating a yin to its yang (if you gotta steal, steal from the best). Even George himself agreed that the lyrics are a bit flowery, but maybe those "magic mushrooms" he had encouraged him to revisit his latter years in the Beatles when one could not help but feel the need to take a trip.

Something as simple as a leak in George's house inspired the album's top 20 hit "Blow Away", truly one of George's finest singles. While the sunny Adult Contemporary vibe of the song may have people thinking George had gone "too soft", once they start smiling at hearing the song, they will get it. Through all his occasional preaching about world affairs, George boils it all down pretty much into "Blow Away", and as he points out in the notes, "The only thing we really have to work at in this life is how to manifest love".

It was only a matter of time before George's love of racing inspired a song, and that became "Faster". Inspired by racecar driver & friend Jackie Stewart, it is likely this song in particular helped to get George back on the songwriting track again, especially since he mentioned 1977 was mostly an off year. The chorus is by far one of George's catchiest, making it a mystery why it did not do as well as a single like "Blow Away".

Finally, there is the song that George held on to for over a decade, "Not Guilty". Written during the time of THE WHITE ALBUM, when the Beatles were slowly but surely growing apart, George had even recorded it at the time, with that version making it onto the THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY 3. However, maybe it was considered to below the knuckle to issue at the time, but after enough time passed, George could revisit it & record it for GEORGE HARRISON. The song seems to reflect the Beatles' meditation jaunt in India, where George came home the biggest convert & all the others thought it to be of little impact. Maybe this was the element that soured George on continuing as a Beatle. "Not Guilty" is the only time on GEORGE HARRISON that detracts from the album's bouncy, upbeat feel, though the song's lighthearted attitude is still in keeping with it.

Again, the bonus tracks on the Dark Horse reissues come up short, with only a demo of "Here Comes The Moon" to present on GEORGE HARRISON, and it pales in comparison to the splendor of the final product. Clearly, there are some more lost gems in the vaults because it almost never happens that an artist records just the 10 songs that make up the album he releases.

Apparently, the time George Harrison spent just living life & not caring about music for a while helped him regain his enthusiasm for the thing that he had spent his life doing. Of course, that new career of smiles would not last long as the behind-the-scenes events involving this album's follow-up would indicate. Until then, GEORGE HARRISON showed that the only thing he needed to recharge his creative fuse was to look around & see all the good things happening to him.

Love it, Love it, LOVE it! OK, now that I got that out of my system, I'll tell you this: listening to this cd is like being at a lovely beach on vacation and being deeply in love. There is something endorphin-raising about the songs on this album, and it makes you feel as though life is looking rosy. It's not a sappy, superficial happy feeling, it is a deep contentment: well, drat, it's difficult to explain. The only time you start feeling sad is when you remember that George Harrison is no longer on this earth. Otherwise, this is a happy cd. If you want angry, if you want dreary, get another cd. (The one and only song that really doesn't belong is "Faster." I wish that could have been on "Cloud Nine" with Jeff Lynne producing it. I loved Russ Titleman and George Harrison's production of every other song, though. Very "Guitar-centric." )

George Harrison wrote some of the most beautiful love songs EVER. People mistakenly have this impression of him as the weird Hare Krishna Beatle who wrote all that w00-w00 sitar music (which I enjoy, frankly) but I'm tellin' ya, this man wrote some gorgeous love-music! Maybe his spirituality contributed to his ability to appreciate romantic love and life's simple joys as "Good Gifts;" and how fortunate we are to be able to listen to his interpretation of those gifts.

"Dark Sweet Lady" is sublime. "Your Love is Forever" made me stop what I was doing and just listen in astonishment. "Blow Away" reminds us how easy it is to let go of a bad mood, and forget about it, as easy as warm winds blowing away a cold, dreary day.

"Here Comes the Moon" has a totally different feeling than "Here Comes the Sun." I'll explain in my pathetic way: You know how you sit outside at late summer dusk, and the sky gets progressively darker and this big full moon climbs up slowly 'til the day's heat is gone and the balmy breezes start wafting around all these summery fragrances, and it's suddenly turned into a beautiful summer night?

Yeah. THAT'S what the song is like.

This fine collection is a reflection of George's life. By 1979, when he released this work, he appeared to be in high stride, not only with a successful film production company but also following his musical muse. His son was born August 1, 1978 and the song "Blow Away" is a nod to Dhani's birth. George was saying that the dark clouds of a rocky past had blown away and he was moving forward with hope and renewed vigor. During the seventies, music to a large extent was commerical and in some cases cliche, but Harrison's work remained unique and distinct. On this collection, he shows his myriad of styles.

"Love Comes to Everyone" is one of the most beautiful and optimistic songs I have ever heard. He could not have picked a better song to kick this gem off. "Not Guilty" has an interesting history. A decade earlier, George tried unsuccessfully to have it included on the White Album. His original rendition of the song can be found on the Beatles' Anthology 3. It's a shame it wasn't included on the White Album as this song is of extraordinary caliber.

This collection is definitely worth owning. "Here Comes the Moon," a sequel to his 1969 blockbuster "Here Comes the Sun" is a cute, up-tempo song that will undoubtedly bring smiles to many faces. "Soft-Hearted Hana" is a very gentle piece and is ideal for soothing away stress. It is a unique song with the brand of guitar playing Harrison made his own.

"Faster" is a fun, danceable song that is a nod to George's love for race cars - Forumla One. George even admitted in his book, "I Me Mine" that he never got over his love for fast vehicles and this fun song reflects that.

His beautiful song to his wife Olivia, "Dark Sweet Lady" is intensely beautiful. So are the intensely soothing "Your Love is Forever," "Soft Touch," "If You Believe" and the closing track, "Here Comes the Moon." Closing with that one "aligns" this collection neatly and nicely. While I would much rather Harrison had released a never-released song instead, I was not disappointed with this choice.

This is ideal for the inveterate George Harrison fans and people who just like his music. For those who are just becoming familiar with his work, you might want to start with "All Things Must Pass." That is an INTENSE Harrison experience!

The re-releasing of the 70's-80's albums of George Harrison's solo carrer does come as a tremendous gifts, not only to his hardcore loyal fans, but also to casual music listeners. This album is a great example of that.

Without receiving the tremendous airplay that All Things Must Pass had gotten in 1970-71 (and deservedly so!), nor getting the bad reviews that albums like Dark Horse or Extra Texture had gotten in the previous years, and having quite good sales, even climbing onto the Billboard Top 20 in the United States, George Harrison was an album that didn't have that many resonance in those days. Its soft-rock, laid-back approach was perhaps not as attractive to late 70's music fans as some other new movements in music.

But the songs have aged so well, mostly because most of them are really good. "Love Comes To Everyone", the opener, is quite modest musically, featuring guitar work by Eric Clapton and some simplistic lyrics about the availability and universality of love, a theme which Harrison would explore further in upcoming releases, but it sets the tone to the album very properly. Its soft nature and relaxing mood fits perfectly the upcoming tracks: the Beatles' leftover "Not Guilty", which had been recorded by the band in a rocker approach, with no less than 100 takes before being dumped and not released in 1968's White Album, receives here an 'unplugged' treatment, with acoustic guitars and synthesisers replacing the distorted electric guitars and harpischord in the original. The change also affects the tone of the lyrics, which in this time do not sound that offended, but rather, more clever. In the same way, "Soft-Hearted Hana", with its psychedelic references about hallucinogen mushrooms and oniric trips comes in handy when taking the spot for the typical Harrison humour, with a very ironic arrangement which ends up in a Beatles-reminiscent manner, too. The top-20 single "Blow Away" might be one of Harrison's best contributions to the charts since "Give Me Love", with its uplifting and optimsitic lyrics, combining with adequate dosis of acoustic guitars, slide guitars (already a trademark of his albums) and synthesisers, with great results in a precious nature imagery. The other single, "Faster", does not reach the same results, perhaps suffering from a little bit of overproduction, being a great song nonetheless, talking about the racing sport and exploring candid metaphores about competitions in life.

Nothing could really be considered "rock" here, it's more a pop album with some rock elements, like the Oberheim synthesiser placed in the uplifting "If You Believe", a great optimistic closer to the album ("everything you thought is possible / if you believe"). But overall, the mood is dominated by the softness of the more delicate compositions. Harrison's newly found spiritual life is joined by two precious acoustic ballads tributes to his wife ("Dark Sweet Lady") and son ("Soft Touch"), which sort of remind of the climate of Hawaii, the place where they were actually composed; and the omnipresent search is found on the beautiful sequel to The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun", "Here Comes The Moon", which is a little more obscure than the predecessor, but still a nice song.

Another paragraph must be taken to speak about the one that is probably George's greatest ballad (and one has to remember that it's Harrison the one who wrote things like "Something" or "Beautiful Girl"), and probably his most underrated tune ever, "Your Love Is Forever", which comprises moving arpegios of electric/acoustic guitars, with an overdubbing that makes them more emotional, and delicate touches of synth, bass, snare drums and piano, with a carefully arrangement of the lead and backing vocals and dreamy, glorious lyrics ("I feel it and my heart knows you're the One / The guiding light in all your love shines on / The only lover worth it all / Your love is forever"); which, as always, present the duality between spiritual and human love, which shouldn't be excluding necessarily.

This edition includes a new cover (small change: the title of the album being replaced by a hand-written George signature), a remastered form which rescues the softest tracks (particularly "Dark Sweet Lady") from oblivion and low volumes of mix, and a demo version of "Here Comes The Moon" which is a nice bonus treat since George was a fantastic acoustic guitar player and here we get the pleasure to hear him strumming the chords to provide the basis of a gentle melody.

Overall, I think George Harrison reached peace of mind while composing and recording this album, and this pleasure of living comes through the listeners' ears while hearing it, giving him comfort and a relaxing experience, adorned with beautiful lyrics and arrangements. A delicate and underrated gem.

Of the albums George Harrison released in between All Things Must Pass and Cloud Nine, this is my favorite. Despite the uncharacteristically boring packaging, his self-titled album finds George more in his element than he had been in the past six years (though the subject of God is conspicuously absent, or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough).

The optimistic "Love Comes To Everyone" sets the mood for the album. Although it's a great song, the best is yet to come. "Not Guilty" is a great song that George had since the Beatles' White Album sessions (why the Beatles never used it is unknown--they recorded over 100 takes!). "Here Comes The Moon" (a "little brother" to "Here Comes The Sun") was written in Hawaii after George witnessed the sun setting as the moon came up...beautiful song, very visual. I don't particularly care for "Soft-Hearted Hana," as it seems somewhat out of place on this album. It's quirky, though it doesn't spoil the album's mood. "Blow Away" & "Faster" (my two favorites) prove that, although his music wasn't the most commercial, George could still write an A1 pop song. "Dark Sweet Lady" & "Your Love Is Forever" (two of my other personal favorites) are both soft & warm. "Dark Sweet Lady" has a spanish feel to it. "Soft Touch" was written about George's newly-born son and is another warm, sweet song. "If You Believe" kicks up the tempo slightly and finishes the album on a happy, hopeful note--full circle.