Post by JoJo on Mar 21, 2004 14:05:45 GMT -5
It's all right: Harrison's son completes dad's last album
Section: Life, Pg. 08e
When George Harrison died last year, he left an enormous legacy and a modest cache of unfinished songs. The unreleased tunes could have withered in obscurity or undergone radical revisions at the hands of calculating studio doctors. Instead, they were rescued and revived by the one person who could anticipate and articulate Harrison's musical wishes.
Here comes the son.
Dhani Harrison, the former Beatle's only child and best friend, stepped in to wrap up the music his dad had labored over for the past decade. Brainwashed , released this week on Dark Horse/EMI, is George Harrison's first album since 1987's Cloud Nine , produced by his Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne.
Per his father's instructions, Dhani enlisted Lynne to help complete the album after his dad's death from cancer Nov. 29, 2001. The pair spent six months tweaking in Lynne's L.A. studio and emerged with a sunny and wry swan song.
"I've been a real control freak about this project and rightly so," says Dhani, 24. "Some people would have wanted to make this album all sad and depressing. It's not supposed to feel that way. It's not meant to mop up loose ends. My dad never felt sorry for himself. He was a very strong man with a great sense of humor."
Dhani was surprised when early reaction painted the album as dark and morbid. Some listeners, he theorizes, tend to interpret George's last work through a filter of gloom and mortality.
"People associate it too much with the last year of my dad's life," he says. "That's a bit too literal."
The 12-track Brainwashed , brimming with George's warm voice and elastic slide guitar, echoes earlier solo efforts. He expresses long-held spiritual convictions and disdain for the material world in uplifting tunes with exotic flourishes. Tunes range from the folkish Any Road and ethereal Stuck Inside a Cloud to the scolding title track and instrumental Marwa Blues , inspired by an Indian raga. The darkest chapter, Looking for My Life , is offset by a lively ukulele and playful vocals on the Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler chestnut Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea .
Aware that George intended an organic production of near-demo simplicity, some observers worried that Lynne's potential heavy hand could smother the results. Dhani leaps to Lynne's defense.
"Jeff may have been intimidated by the idea of this project, but he was always going to do this record," he says. "They worked well together and were good friends. Nobody else could have done this job with such sensitivity, caring and knowledge. Jeff and I were true to what my father wanted musically. We didn't want to leave any footprints."
Dhani, a Brown University graduate who plans to work for a design firm he co-founded, downplays his vocal, guitar and production contributions to Brainwashed and insists his musical skills and vision haven't jelled enough for a solo career. He's also eager to let go of music for a while.
"It was a brilliant and cathartic experience to work on this record, but it was also one of the saddest," he says. "We had to take it slowly. Every time we finished something, I realized my dad wouldn't get to hear it."
And fans won't get to hear George's remaining unreleased tapes anytime soon. Music locked in the vault "won't be looked at for a long time," Dhani says. "This was taxing for our family. I can't see us rushing back into the studio. I do plan to help re-release Dad's catalog. Most of his stuff is not in stores, and he was keen to get stuff back out there."
His next nod to his father will be an appearance in London at Wednesday's benefit concert staged by Eric Clapton and Olivia Arias, Dhani's mother and George's second wife. Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and others are expected to pay tribute to the Quiet Beatle, who spent much of his last years planting Japanese maples on his mansion grounds.
George's Zen mind-set and immersion in Eastern religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, helped him cope with his impending death and likewise helped Dhani cope with grief and the challenges of finishing Brainwashed . On soothing Indian chant Namah Parvarti , the album's closing track, Dhani's vocals overlay his father's, and the two are nearly indistinguishable.
Dhani, who bears a striking resemblance to the Beatle-era George, is imprinted with his father's artistic genes, but there's an inheritance he treasures more.
"He taught me to believe in self-realization and to have a spiritual root," Dhani says. "The root of all suffering in this world is attachment, whether it's to your own ego, a person, a car or a project. I'm not saying don't be attached to anything, but we have to see a bigger picture. When I got stressed or bummed out in school, he'd threaten to take me out. He'd say, 'I'd rather have a son who's happy.' I remembered that when I got uptight during this project. It was love for my dad's work that got me through. It's my little tribute, the least I could do as a son."
(c) USA TODAY, 2002
Section: Life, Pg. 08e
When George Harrison died last year, he left an enormous legacy and a modest cache of unfinished songs. The unreleased tunes could have withered in obscurity or undergone radical revisions at the hands of calculating studio doctors. Instead, they were rescued and revived by the one person who could anticipate and articulate Harrison's musical wishes.
Here comes the son.
Dhani Harrison, the former Beatle's only child and best friend, stepped in to wrap up the music his dad had labored over for the past decade. Brainwashed , released this week on Dark Horse/EMI, is George Harrison's first album since 1987's Cloud Nine , produced by his Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne.
Per his father's instructions, Dhani enlisted Lynne to help complete the album after his dad's death from cancer Nov. 29, 2001. The pair spent six months tweaking in Lynne's L.A. studio and emerged with a sunny and wry swan song.
"I've been a real control freak about this project and rightly so," says Dhani, 24. "Some people would have wanted to make this album all sad and depressing. It's not supposed to feel that way. It's not meant to mop up loose ends. My dad never felt sorry for himself. He was a very strong man with a great sense of humor."
Dhani was surprised when early reaction painted the album as dark and morbid. Some listeners, he theorizes, tend to interpret George's last work through a filter of gloom and mortality.
"People associate it too much with the last year of my dad's life," he says. "That's a bit too literal."
The 12-track Brainwashed , brimming with George's warm voice and elastic slide guitar, echoes earlier solo efforts. He expresses long-held spiritual convictions and disdain for the material world in uplifting tunes with exotic flourishes. Tunes range from the folkish Any Road and ethereal Stuck Inside a Cloud to the scolding title track and instrumental Marwa Blues , inspired by an Indian raga. The darkest chapter, Looking for My Life , is offset by a lively ukulele and playful vocals on the Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler chestnut Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea .
Aware that George intended an organic production of near-demo simplicity, some observers worried that Lynne's potential heavy hand could smother the results. Dhani leaps to Lynne's defense.
"Jeff may have been intimidated by the idea of this project, but he was always going to do this record," he says. "They worked well together and were good friends. Nobody else could have done this job with such sensitivity, caring and knowledge. Jeff and I were true to what my father wanted musically. We didn't want to leave any footprints."
Dhani, a Brown University graduate who plans to work for a design firm he co-founded, downplays his vocal, guitar and production contributions to Brainwashed and insists his musical skills and vision haven't jelled enough for a solo career. He's also eager to let go of music for a while.
"It was a brilliant and cathartic experience to work on this record, but it was also one of the saddest," he says. "We had to take it slowly. Every time we finished something, I realized my dad wouldn't get to hear it."
And fans won't get to hear George's remaining unreleased tapes anytime soon. Music locked in the vault "won't be looked at for a long time," Dhani says. "This was taxing for our family. I can't see us rushing back into the studio. I do plan to help re-release Dad's catalog. Most of his stuff is not in stores, and he was keen to get stuff back out there."
His next nod to his father will be an appearance in London at Wednesday's benefit concert staged by Eric Clapton and Olivia Arias, Dhani's mother and George's second wife. Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and others are expected to pay tribute to the Quiet Beatle, who spent much of his last years planting Japanese maples on his mansion grounds.
George's Zen mind-set and immersion in Eastern religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, helped him cope with his impending death and likewise helped Dhani cope with grief and the challenges of finishing Brainwashed . On soothing Indian chant Namah Parvarti , the album's closing track, Dhani's vocals overlay his father's, and the two are nearly indistinguishable.
Dhani, who bears a striking resemblance to the Beatle-era George, is imprinted with his father's artistic genes, but there's an inheritance he treasures more.
"He taught me to believe in self-realization and to have a spiritual root," Dhani says. "The root of all suffering in this world is attachment, whether it's to your own ego, a person, a car or a project. I'm not saying don't be attached to anything, but we have to see a bigger picture. When I got stressed or bummed out in school, he'd threaten to take me out. He'd say, 'I'd rather have a son who's happy.' I remembered that when I got uptight during this project. It was love for my dad's work that got me through. It's my little tribute, the least I could do as a son."
(c) USA TODAY, 2002