#ghbrainwashed20

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George and Olivia Harrison in 1974 and 2001 (photo 2 by AP Photo).

Song spotlight as part of the 20th anniversary look at Brainwashed: "Never Get Over You" —

Q: “Were you going down fast [prior to meeting Olivia in 1974]?” George Harrison: “Well, I wasn’t ready to join Alcoholics Anonymous or anything — I don’t think I was that far gone — but I could put back a bottle of brandy occasionally, plus all the other naughty things that fly around. I just went on a binge, went on the road… all that sort of thing, until it got to the point where I had no voice and almost no body at times. Then I met Olivia and it all worked out fine. There’s a song on the new album, ‘Dark Sweet Lady’: ‘You came and helped me through/When I’d let go/You came from out the blue/Never have known what I’d done without you.’ That sums it up.” - Rolling Stone, April 19, 1979

“‘I am still having a relationship with him, but it is just not a physical relationship any more. And the sooner one comes to terms with that, the easier it is, rather than feeling George has gone and he is never coming back.’ Does she communicate with him? ‘I don’t really want to get into all that. That’s a dodgy question to answer because people might think… I don’t know if you have ever had anybody go who you have loved? Well, you do feel in communication with them because you feel so deeply in your heart that if you say a prayer, it goes straight to them.’ Olivia says that, towards the end, when he knew he was dying, her husband would comfort her by saying: ‘Olivia, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine.’ And is she? ‘Fine is OK, but it is not really good enough, is it? But George was right, I am fine and I am OK, although I will miss him until my dying day. But he walked his road and now I have to walk mine.’” - The Telegraph, January 24, 2005 (x)

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George Harrison, 1992; photo by Mark Seliger.

Song spotlight: "Brainwashed" —

“I say that everybody knows they’re all being brainwashed, by everything. So, in my music I just sing […]: ‘God, God, God, won’t you lead us through this mess?!’” - George Harrison, Billboard, June 19, 1999

“He was very cynical [in the songs 'P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)' and 'Brainwashed'], and you can say the album’s cynical, but at the end of the day, when you look at what’s actually happening, it’s true.” - Dhani Harrison, Globe and Mail, March 1, 2003

“The song is very antiestablishment, just like punk music, or Rage Against the Machine. And all that stuff is great. But a lot of the time music that denounces what’s happening in society doesn’t offer an alternative; it just says, ‘Well, this is wrong,’ but it doesn’t say, ‘Go and realize God,’ or, ‘Go and meditate for a bit.’ And that’s why I think ‘Brainwashed’ is so strong — because of the contrast that he presents in the song. It leaves you with something positive rather than just denouncing the brainwashing and leaving you depressed.” - Dhani Harrison, Guitar World, January 2003

“We talked about putting a chant [‘Namah Parvati’] at the end [of ‘Brainwashed’]. A really nice vibration to leave you in a good place. He never liked sad stuff, and this is a light-hearted record, a joyous thing.” - Dhani Harrison, How’s Your Dad? Growing up in the shadow of a rock star parent by Zoe Howe (2010) (x)

Read more about Brainwashed in posts celebrating the album's 20th anniversary here.

[harrisonarchive]

George Harrison, 1992; photo by Mark Seliger.

“‘The first part of his life was hectic and intense,’ says Dhani, referring to the Beatles stage. ‘He spent the second in the garden, enjoying nature, planting trees and composing.’ The last decade had been hard for Harrison. Attempted murder within the family home, the constant attention of the media and three recurrences of cancer. […] [Dhani] says: ‘The more you suffer pain, the deeper the joy you can experience.’” - translated from El País, November 18, 2002

“The emphasis of his life had shifted, to be more peaceful, to take more time for himself. He was relaxing in his garden, and didn’t feel the need to promote a record or even finish one. […] [Dhani’s main memory of his dad is him] grubby, in the garden, planting trees at a phenomenal rate. When you’re that close to nature, you understand the way it works a bit better. Everything has its cycle. Why should we feel that we can live forever, or even for longer than we did?” - Dhani Harrison, Globe and Mail, March 1, 2003 (x)

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George Harrison, 1992; photo by Mark Seliger.

Song spotlight: "Stuck Inside A Cloud" —

“Well, some songs were written prior to his illness and some during. And his illness did have an impact on his songwriting. But you have to realize that he never sat around moping, 'Oh, I'm ill.' Even when he first found out that he was ill, years ago [in 1997], and the doctor gave him — what? — 6 months to live! He was just like, 'Bollocks!' He was never afraid. He was willing to try and get better, but he didn't care. He wasn't attached to this world in the way most people would be. He was on to bigger and better things. And he had a real total and utter disinterest in worrying and being stressed. My dad had no fear of dying whatsoever. I can't stress that enough, really.” - Dhani Harrison, Guitar World, January 2003 (x)

[harrisonarchive]

George Harrison, 1992; photo by Mark Seliger.

The 20th anniversary of Brainwashed, part 2.

Q: “What drove him to make this record [Brainwashed], then?” Dhani Harrison: “Things were happening around us. Whether you go out in the world or just sit there and watch telly you’re constantly barraged with information. No one knows if it’s real or correct, but it’s getting to everyone and they’re becoming afraid or maybe not questioning enough.” - MOJO, December 2002 (x)

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George Harrison, 1992; photo by Derek Ridgers.

Song spotlight: “Any Road” —

“[When visiting Haight-Ashbury in Aug. 1967] it was a lot of dropouts who were lost. And they’d had so many different drugs that they didn’t know which way they were going. As they say: if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. It turned me round totally. I thought, well, that’s it for me. I don’t really want to be a person that they look up to. I just thought I had to get out of this. I was very disappointed, really.” - George Harrison, I Me Mine — The Extended Edition (2017)

“‘Any Road' was written during the video shoot for 'This Is Love' [from Cloud Nine]. He was in Hawaii, sitting in a banyan tree, and waiting for the camera crew to film the video.” - Dhani Harrison, Guitar World, January 2003 (x)

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George Harrison, 1992; photo by Stephen Shepherd.

Song spotlight: “P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night) —

“I felt then that there was some hypocrisy going on, even though I was only about eleven years old. It seemed to be the same on every housing estate in English cities: on one corner they’d have a church and on the other corner a pub. Everybody’s out there getting pissed and then just goes in the church, says three Hail Marys and one Our Father and sticks a fiver in the plate. It felt so alien to me. Not the stained glass window or the pictures of Christ; I liked that a lot, and the smell of incense and the candles. I just didn’t like the bullshit. After Communion, I was supposed to have Confirmation, but I thought, ‘I’m not going to bother with that, I’ll just confirm it myself.’” - George Harrison, The Beatles Anthology (2000)

“[George] embraced the essence of all religions although he had little patience for organized religions or dogma that espoused guilt, sin or mystery. For George, there was no mystery, and he would gladly spend hours discussing God with an interested person — and some not so interested!” - Olivia Harrison, Harrison (2002) (x)

[harrisonarchive]

George Harrison onstage at the Prince's Trust Concert on June 5, 1987; photo by Solomon N'Jie/Getty Images.

Song spotlight: "Marwa Blues" —

“For me, [Brainwashed is] not a sad album. I mean, the saddest it gets for me is listening to 'Marwa Blues.' And that's a real beautiful song, but it's also like a real lament. It's a man who wants to be somewhere else, or searching for something else. And it's got no lyrics!” - Dhani Harrison, Guitar World, January 2003

“I think ['Marwa Blues'] the nicest piece of music George ever wrote. It seems to reflect, or express a longing that goes beyond this world. To me, it's a lament, it’s a plea without words.... From the first time I heard it I've felt like that; I've carried a cassette around of that for years. 'Marwa Blues' is my favorite of all time.” - Olivia Harrison, BBC Radio, 2009 (x)