Brainwashed (George Harrison album)
Brainwashed | ||||
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FPSHOT, Oxfordshire; Swiss Army Studios, Switzerland; Bungalow Palace, Los Angeles | ||||
Genre | soft rock, rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 47:41 | |||
Label | Dark Horse/EMI/Parlophone | |||
Producer | ||||
George Harrison chronology | ||||
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Singles from Brainwashed | ||||
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Brainwashed is the twelfth and final studio album by the English rock musician George Harrison. It was released posthumously on 18 November 2002, almost a year after his death at age 58, and 15 years after his previous studio album, Cloud Nine. Recordings began over a decade before Harrison's death but were repeatedly delayed. The album's overdubs were completed by his son Dhani, session drummer Jim Keltner, and longtime friend and collaborator Jeff Lynne.
Brainwashed reached the top 30 in the UK and the top 20 in the US, and received mostly favourable reviews. The album includes the singles "
History
Harrison began recording the tracks that eventually were issued on Brainwashed as early as 1988 (with "
Harrison successfully battled
After a few months away from the project, both Lynne and Dhani returned to working on Harrison's final songs and added the appropriate instruments, as per his specifications, to the recordings. The project was so close to completion that the two used the exact timetable and session bookings that Harrison himself had originally planned.
Lynne reflected on Brainwashed in 2020: "His life was in those final songs, the things he got up to each day, like riding down the River Thames. Lots of very personal stuff. Some of them are really good. We gradually just filled them in. It was just about mixing them and making them sound like George would like them. You just had to go with your gut feeling."[8]
"Run So Far" had previously appeared on Eric Clapton's album Journeyman (backed by Harrison), 13 years before finally being available in a version sung by its original writer. The original Clapton recording featured a third verse not included here.
Release
The album was issued on
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100[9] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
Billboard | "Spotlight"[11] |
entertainment.ie | [12] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[13] |
The Guardian | [14] |
Los Angeles Times | [15] |
Music Story | [16] |
Now | 4/5[17] |
Rolling Stone | [18] |
San Francisco Chronicle | 4/5[19] |
Uncut | [20] |
Brainwashed was released on 19 November 2002 to mostly favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album scores 77, based on 16 reviews, which means "generally favorable".[9]
Writing in Uncut, Nick Hasted described it as "the best solo record by a Beatle since McCartney's Flowers in the Dirt (1989)". Although he found that "a certain monotony creeps in towards the end", Hasted wrote that "Harrison's songs and singing represent a burst of form".[20]
Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club concluded his review by writing: "Harrison never seemed to recognize the difference between philosophical profundities and the sound of a catchy song, and that may have been his greatest gift to the world. Brainwashed offers a fine, final reminder of that gift."[21]
PopMatters' Gary Glauber found the album "phenomenal" and "easily ... Harrison's best solo effort since All Things Must Pass". He said it was "spiritual and uplifting in a way that serves to remind how much this undervalued Beatle will be missed" and "in turns funny, serious, philosophical, precious and ultimately enjoyable".[22]
Accolades
In 2004, Brainwashed's "Marwa Blues" won the
Track listing
All songs written by George Harrison, except "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Any Road" | 3:52 |
2. | "P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)" | 2:38 |
3. | "Pisces Fish" | 4:50 |
4. | "Looking for My Life" | 3:49 |
5. | "Rising Sun" | 5:27 |
6. | "Marwa Blues" | 3:40 |
7. | "Stuck Inside a Cloud" | 4:04 |
8. | "Run So Far" | 4:05 |
9. | "Never Get Over You" | 3:26 |
10. | "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" | 2:34 |
11. | "Rocking Chair in Hawaii" | 3:08 |
12. | "Brainwashed" | 6:07 |
Total length: | 47:41 |
Personnel
- backing vocals(2–5, 7–9, 11, 12)
- percussion(3), backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 12)
- Wurlitzer electric piano(5, 7), backing vocals (1, 2, 8, 12)
- drums(all tracks except 6 and 10)
Additional personnel
- Mike Moran– keyboards (3)
- Marc Mann – keyboards (3), string arrangement (5–6)
- Jools Holland – piano (10)
- Mark Flanagan – acoustic lead guitar (10)
- Joe Brown– acoustic guitar (10)
- Herbie Flowers – bass guitar (10), tuba (10)
- Ray Cooper – percussion (6), drums (10)
- Bickram Ghosh – tabla (12)
- Jon Lord – piano (12)
- Sam Brown – backing vocals (12)
- Jane Lister – harp (12)
- Isabela Borzymowska – reading from "How to Know God" (The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali) (12)
Charts
Weekly charts
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Certifications and sales‹See Tfd›‹See Tfd›
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References
- ^ "Grammy Award Winners". The New York Times. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
- ISBN 978-0312309930.
- ^ Sharpio, p. 190
- ^ Huntley, pp. 309–10.
- ^ a b Lyall, Sarah (31 December 1999). "George Harrison Stabbed in Chest by an Intruder". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ^ Jury, Louise (4 May 2001). "George Harrison undergoes surgery for cancer". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ^ Carpenter, Jeff (9 November 2001). "George Harrison Receives Radiation Treatment". ABC News. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ^ "'It Was Typical of George to Bring People Together'". Uncut. 19 March 2020 – via Scribd.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Brainwashed by George Harrison". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Brainwashed – George Harrison". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ Zupp, Adrian (30 November 2002). "George Harrison Brainwashed" in "Reviews and Previews – Albums". Billboard. p. 19. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ Lynch, Andrew (2 December 2002). "George Harrison – Brainwashed. Review by Andrew Lynch". entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Sinclair, Tom (22 November 2002). "Brainwashed Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (15 November 2002). "George Harrison: Brainwashed". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (18 November 2002). "Harrison sings his final odes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ Decoene, Pricilia. "Critique de Brainwashed, George Harrison (in French)". Music Story. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ Perlich, Tim (21 November 2002). "Record Guide Reviews". Now. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Fricke, David (12 December 2002). "Brainwashed | Albums Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ Selvin, Joel (17 November 2002). "Harrison's final farewell befits the quiet Beatle: George Harrison Brainwashed". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ a b Hasted, Nick (December 2002). "From Here to Eternity: George Harrison Brainwashed". Uncut. p. 134.
- ^ Phipps, Keith (22 November 2002). "George Harrison: Brainwashed". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ Glauber, Gary (13 December 2002). "George Harrison: Brainwashed". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 31 December 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ "Grammy Award Winners". The New York Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ Paul McCartney's Glastonbury Groove
- ^ "George Harrison – Brainwashed (album)" (in German). austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "George Harrison – Brainwashed (album)". danishcharts.dk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "George Harrison – Brainwashed (album)" (in French). lescharts.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "Album Search: George Harrison – Brainwashed" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ "Highest position and charting weeks of Brainwashed by George Harrison". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "George Harrison – Brainwashed (album)". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "George Harrison – Brainwashed (album)". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "George Harrison – Brainwashed (album)" (in German). hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company – George Harrison – Brainwashed". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ "George Harrison – Billboard Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – George Harrison – Brainwashed". Music Canada.
- ^ "Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) – Albums Chart Daijiten – The Beatles" (in Japanese). 30 December 2007. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
- ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "British album certifications – George Harrison – Brainwashed". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – George Harrison – Brainwashed". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Recorded Music Top 20 Albums 2002–03" (PDF). EMI Group Annual Report 2003. pp. 18/96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
External links
- Brainwashed at Discogs (list of releases)
- JPGR's Beatles site: George Harrison's Brainwashed