---INTERLUDE – Living In The Material World (1973)---
After the blockbuster success of
All Things Must Pass, George began to devote his time to charitable projects, including the immensely successful Concert for Bangladesh, and as a result, his next studio album,
Living In The Material World, was not released until 1973. Given the pent-up anticipation for George’s follow-up, the album quickly reached #1 in the US (knocking off Wings’s
Red Rose Speedway – eek) and went Gold within two days of its release and Platinum in short order thereafter, in part behind the success of #1 single “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” (which knocked Wings’s “My Love” off the top spot – double eek).
Critical response was mixed, with Rolling Stone calling it a “pop classic” that was the best conceived work by a former Beatle since John’s
Plastic Ono Band, while many objected to its overtly religious content, with one calling it “turgid, repetitive and so damn holy I could scream” and another referring to its “didactically imposing said Holy Memoirs upon innocent record-collectors" and calling the album as offensive in its piety as John’s
Some Time In New York City had been in its political statements. Response to George’s vocals on the album was also mixed, with some citing his singing and phrasing as a highlight, while one said that “Harrison sings as if he's doing sitar impressions.” (Personally I think his plaintive vocals are perfect.) Critics seemed to be unanimous in their praise of the musicians on the record, including not just George’s excellent guitar work but the contributions by, say them with me: Voormann, Hopkins, Wright, Keltner…and Ringo! Retrospective reviews of the album have been more favorable.
Unquestionably this was George’s most clearly religious work, bringing the broader context of some of his messages in
All Things Must Pass into a more personal depiction of a struggle between the spiritual and the “material world.” George’s already-strong devotion to Krishna consciousness had grown significantly during the period after
All Things Must Pass, but his temptation by the rock-star accouterments also continued mostly unabated. While actively and genuinely involved in spiritual pursuits, George was simultaneously spending lavish amounts of money, continuing with his drug use, including a growing interest in cocaine – his close friend Chris O’Dell joked that you couldn’t tell if he was reaching into his coke bag or his prayer bag – and cheating on his wife continually, including the affair with Maureen Starkey that I previously discussed as well as numerous one-night stands. He wasn’t touring and was recording at home, meaning that he had few musical outlets for his increasingly difficult relationship with his wife; the song “So Sad,” which would show up on a later record, was recorded during this period as a reflection on the end of his marriage. On the other hand, he would spend days or weeks on long drives by himself just chanting the hare krishna. He was, as Voormann described him at the time, “an extreme character,” which Pattie Boyd echoed: “always extreme.” The music director for the album described George as being “seriously stressed” and in crisis at this time, ping-ponging back and forth between the extremes of both the spiritual and the mortal realms.
It might be this struggle that critics objected to, either seeing his religious exhortations as hypocritical, or longing for the more purely positive and upbeat spiritual notions of
All Things Must Pass. Maybe because I have the benefit of George’s later works to consider, but I think the personal quality of the conflict that George was facing is what makes this album even better. I don’t see these songs as “preachy” so much as longing, hoping that he can make it to the spiritual plane that he is seeking, while still acknowledging his imperfections and his struggles to let go of the pleasures of his past (and current) activities. I’d like to think that – however poorly his lyrics might have expressed it (better use of pronouns could have helped!) – he isn’t telling us what we must do, but assuring himself publicly that the path is there for him, if he can get himself to commit to it. And he does it with messages that are musically and lyrically gorgeous. Not being much a fan of Spector’s Wall of Sound (with the exception of its use in
All Things Must Pass), I appreciate the toned-down, low-key, and contemplative nature of this record, and being also a fan of heartfelt, pained works, the sadness of this record appeals to me. I prefer its untidiness to an album that purports to have resolution of these issues.
The album might also have come when times were almost imperceptibly but definitively changing. The charitable notions that had spurred the Concert for Bangladesh were giving way to a desire for escapism. Glam rock and prog rock were on the rise, which were two musical ideas that George had no understanding of. This was a bit of a last gasp for an era that desired spiritual enlightenment, with music instead moving into a period based on throwing off the “tyranny” of established rock and roll. As I’ve described in prior write-ups, it was at this point that George began to lose his connection to and appreciation for what was culturally relevant, and combined with his lack of connection to the outside world, was the beginning of his “old-fogeyism.”
Even the less charitable of reviews generally praised the production quality and musicianship of this record. George initially intended to have Phil Spector produce this, as he had
All Things Must Pass, but Spector’s increasingly erratic behavior, frequent absences, and alcohol abuse led George to minimize his participation in the end, with George instead taking on the production and post-production. The team consisted of the intimate group of musicians I listed along with a few others – no Eric Clapton to overshadow George, no Billy Preston to compete with Hopkins, no cast of thousands. As a result, the album has a much less grand, quieter feel than
All Things Must Pass, and in particular the production allows George’s guitar work to shine, including his slide-playing style that was like no one else’s.
Having faced tax hurdles to getting the Concert for Bangladesh charitable funds to their intended recipients, George set up the Material World Charitable Foundation and assigned the copyright for the vast majority of the songs on this record, including the hit “Give Me Love,” to that fund. The organization continues to operate today, and in 2002 the proceeds from the Concert For George were donated to the fund, as are the continuing royalties from a wide variety of George’s works.
Cover art! Cool stuff here. The front is a Kirlian photo (don’t worry, I had to look it up, too) of George’s hand holding a Hindu medallion. There’s also a lot of back and inner packaging that you can read about on Wikipedia as well as I can. Most notable, though, is that the back cover refers to the ability to join a (fictitious) Jim Keltner Fan Club, if you send a "stamped undressed elephant" to a certain address. Sign me up!!!
Track listing:
- Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
- Sue Me, Sue You Blues
- The Light That Has Lighted The World
- Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long
- Who Can See It
- Living In The Material World
- The Lord Love The One (That Loves The Lord)
- Be Here Now
- Try Some, Buy Some
- The Day The World Gets ‘Round
- That Is All