Gimme Five: Forgotten George Harrison gems from The Apple Years

Saturday, September 13, 2014

News of a forthcoming multi-disc box set titled George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-75 led to renewed praise for charttopping early-period solo moments like “My Sweet Lord” and “Give Me Love.” It’s perhaps understandable, since those are two of Harrison’s best-known songs apart from the Beatles. It doesn’t mean they’re his best songs, though. In fact, there’s far more complexity to be found, even inside well-trod No. 1 albums like 1970’s All Things Must Pass and 1973’s Living in the Material World — to say nothing oflesser-celebrated moments like 1974’s Dark Horse. Harrison’s catalog, even more than a decade after his early passing, is widely underappeciated outside of the radio hits, a grievous thing. Witness these five often-forgotten gems, each of them featured on George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-75, due September 23, 2014 … “I’D HAVE YOU ANYTIME,” (ALL THINGS MUST PASS, 1970): Every bit as moving as Abbey Road triumphs like “Something,” with a Beatle-ish guitar signature and a lyrical assist by Bob Dylan.

I always thought “I’d Have You Anytime” was a gutsy opening song for such an enormous undertaking. “DON’T LET ME WAIT TOO LONG,” (LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, 1973): The original working title of this rather down-beat album was The Magic Is Here Again, a bit of an overpromise after his triple-album debut. Still, this is one of the times when Harrison’s long-awaited studio follow up approaches that kind of hyperbole. A masterpiece of coiled anticipation.