George Harrison 1: Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound

Not counting Paul’s soundtrack to The Family Way, which was largely facilitated by George Martin, George Harrison was the first Beatle to put out a solo album. (He was also the first Beatle to utilize the Apple label as an outlet for his extracurricular work.) Wonderwall Music was released in late 1968, and Electronic Sound followed in May 1969 on the short-lived Zapple label. They are perfect examples of albums no one would care about if George’s name wasn’t on the cover.

The soundtrack to a film that, again, got attention mostly from George’s involvement, Wonderwall Music consists of music played by lots of people besides George, and most likely not even specifically composed by him. But to his credit, he took the opportunity to present a collection of Indian music (much like Peter Gabriel would do twenty years later) along with some more standard rock fare with trippy psychedelic overtones that meshes neatly with the fake ragas. Among the standout rock tracks is “Red Lady Too”, which is based around some faux-baroque piano arpeggios. “Skiing” most likely features Eric Clapton, while “Party Seacombe” has a pleasant groove, with processed voices. “Drilling A Home” has echoes of Harrison fave George Formby, with a trad-jazz loop that had been part of an early mix of “Flying” from Magical Mystery Tour. “Wonderwall To Be Here” has a mournful melody that now bears a resemblance to King Crimson’s “Epitaph”, while “Dream Scene” is a montage that suggests George may have had more in common with “Revolution 9” than he’d like to admit. (One of the drummers used throughout the album is Ringo; see if you can pick him out.)

As a whole it’s not altogether unpleasant, if one can handle the occasional solo by that violin that sounds like a sick cat. We like the album a lot, but it’s not for everybody. (When reissued in the first Apple CD rollout, it included glowing liner notes by Derek Taylor, which, like most of his latter-day writings, are a pretty strong advertisement not to take acid. The 2014 edition added three tracks: “Almost Shankara”, an outtake from the India sessions; “In The First Place”, the George-produced single by the Remo Four lost and then included with the DVD of Wonderwall; and most tantalizingly, the original backing track for “The Inner Light”.)

While Wonderwall Music seems to have remained in George’s heart throughout the years, he barely mentioned Electronic Sound since its first appearance. One reason could be that one whole side was supposedly an extemporaneous performance by Bernie Krause, only to be credited to George (sound familiar?). Or perhaps it was always intended to be disposable. Musically, there’s not much here at all. There are some sinister sounds, jarring swooshes and the occasional flatulent outburst throughout both sides; in time the average Moog user would use these effects sparingly rather than try to sustain a full-length album with them.

Electronic Sound is often asterisked on lists as “for completists only”, and justifiably so. It was quietly reissued on CD in 1996, but only in Europe, and not for long. The Apple Years box set would bring it back worldwide, but 45 years after the fact. Luckily, back in the present day, George’s next solo release — his real solo debut — was a much better portrait of his potential.

George Harrison Wonderwall Music (1968)—2½
2014 Apple Years reissue: same as 1968, plus 3 extra tracks
George Harrison Electronic Sound (1969)—1