Post by eddy on Jul 13, 2014 14:38:39 GMT -5
George Harrison was convicted of plagiarism for My Sweet Lord. The judge in the case said he
thought Billy Preston was a co- composer of that song, although Billy (whose name was not on the record) was not a defendant. In court George said the riff was Billy’s. In other words ‘I ripped off Billy, not the Chiffons’ Yet he felt no need to credit Billy, who he allowed to record it first. On the same album is Beware of Darkness, which I believe Leon Russell wrote (at least the music). Leon does not play on All Things Must Pass, but covered Beware of Darkness soon after and at Bangladesh he sings a verse. The connection is that a lot of musicians from the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour played on ATMP, and Spector produced (Leon was a menber of the Wrecking Crew). In my opinion George lacked the compositional skills to write the melody of Beware of Darkness. The melody stands out as being more musically advanced than anything else written by George Harrison.
From Wikipedia:
Author Simon Leng describes the melody of "Beware of Darkness" as "complex and highly original."[4] The melody of the verses incorporates a pedal point on the key of G major and moves to G sharp minor, a progression Leng claims "should not work in harmonic terms", using as an analogy a count of "one, two, six", but notes that somehow the melody manages to work.[4][6] Music professor Wilfrid Mellers explains the effectiveness of this key shift as dramatising the "beware" in the lyrics.[6] Similarly, Mellers claims that harmonic movement from the key of C sharp minor to D major to C major "creates the 'aimless' wandering of 'each unconscious sufferer'" described in the lyrics.[6] The nearly chromatic melody of the verses contrasts with a more standard rock melody in the middle eight.[4] Musicians on the song include Harrison, Eric Clapton and Dave Mason on guitar, Carl Radle on bass guitar, Bobby Whitlock on piano, Gary Wright on organ and Ringo Starr on drums.[3][4]
Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger calls "Beware of Darkness" one of the highlights of All Things Must Pass.[7] Ben Gerson of Rolling Stone claims that it may be the best song on All Things Must Pass, commenting on its "enigmatic" music and the combination of "warning" and "affirmation" in its lyrics.[8] Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis calls the song "haunting", noting that it reflects fears that Harrison hoped to calm with his religious beliefs.[9] Chip Madiger and Mark Easter call the song "a stunning composition", reflecting the incredible growth in Harrison's songwriting abilities since his early Beatle days.[10]
thought Billy Preston was a co- composer of that song, although Billy (whose name was not on the record) was not a defendant. In court George said the riff was Billy’s. In other words ‘I ripped off Billy, not the Chiffons’ Yet he felt no need to credit Billy, who he allowed to record it first. On the same album is Beware of Darkness, which I believe Leon Russell wrote (at least the music). Leon does not play on All Things Must Pass, but covered Beware of Darkness soon after and at Bangladesh he sings a verse. The connection is that a lot of musicians from the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour played on ATMP, and Spector produced (Leon was a menber of the Wrecking Crew). In my opinion George lacked the compositional skills to write the melody of Beware of Darkness. The melody stands out as being more musically advanced than anything else written by George Harrison.
From Wikipedia:
Author Simon Leng describes the melody of "Beware of Darkness" as "complex and highly original."[4] The melody of the verses incorporates a pedal point on the key of G major and moves to G sharp minor, a progression Leng claims "should not work in harmonic terms", using as an analogy a count of "one, two, six", but notes that somehow the melody manages to work.[4][6] Music professor Wilfrid Mellers explains the effectiveness of this key shift as dramatising the "beware" in the lyrics.[6] Similarly, Mellers claims that harmonic movement from the key of C sharp minor to D major to C major "creates the 'aimless' wandering of 'each unconscious sufferer'" described in the lyrics.[6] The nearly chromatic melody of the verses contrasts with a more standard rock melody in the middle eight.[4] Musicians on the song include Harrison, Eric Clapton and Dave Mason on guitar, Carl Radle on bass guitar, Bobby Whitlock on piano, Gary Wright on organ and Ringo Starr on drums.[3][4]
Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger calls "Beware of Darkness" one of the highlights of All Things Must Pass.[7] Ben Gerson of Rolling Stone claims that it may be the best song on All Things Must Pass, commenting on its "enigmatic" music and the combination of "warning" and "affirmation" in its lyrics.[8] Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis calls the song "haunting", noting that it reflects fears that Harrison hoped to calm with his religious beliefs.[9] Chip Madiger and Mark Easter call the song "a stunning composition", reflecting the incredible growth in Harrison's songwriting abilities since his early Beatle days.[10]