THIRTY THREE AND 1/3

THIRTY THREE AND 1/3 : By the time, this comes out, my interest in George Harrison has wane considerably. I find his songs weary and lacking and I just can't find myself listening to his albums in its entirety, the only time being the time I first got the album. As a Beatle, he still fascinates me but as a pop star, I find I am not as tolerable to him as I do  Paul McCartney. But that's just me. This album was regarded by many as a return to form after his last two not too well received albums. Thirty three and 1/3 is an indication of his age and the speed at which the record is played.

Woman Don't You Cry For Me ( Harrison ) : A nice opener for this album. George's famous slide guitar is much in evidence here but it didn't do much for me though. Not memorable.

Dear One ( Harrison ) : Now this is a cool one. One of those religious songs from George that works. George's constant focusing on his Indian and religious influence can be quite unsettling to some but this track has an engaging instrumentation and the churchy organ along with along with George's dabbling in synthesisers made this one of the highlights here.

Beautiful Girl ( Harrison ) : Another of my favourite. Here George shows he is more than capable of writing 'Silly Love Songs' as good as Paul McCartney but with not nearly as much sentimentality as him. A great track.

This Song ( Harrison ) : George shows his displeasure at his losing the case of his song 'My Sweet Lord' on this satire take of this hilarious song. George has always struck me as the serious one and the video of him goofing around in the court room is quite a revelation to me. Regarded by critics as a fine song, somehow the melody is lose on me. I use to skip this.

See Yourself ( Harrison ) : A philosophical, while the unsympathetic might say preachy song about Paul McCartney's admission on his use on heroin in the 60's. Cos of the rather decent tune, this is quite tolerable. 

It's What You Value ( Harrison ) : A funky number that is not the usual stuff that George is known for and it is also the longest track here. The intro is fine but all in all it leads to nothing special for me.

True Love ( Porter ) : George don't usually do covers but when he does it, he do it in style as this old Cole Porter standard shows. In my younger days and due to my own narrow mindedness, I use to skip this track. I only rediscovered the beauty of this track in latter years. Maybe this is where Rod Stewart got his idea from.

Pure Smokey ( Harrison ) : A rather heartfelt tribute to Smokey Robinson. Thoughtful of George to pay him a tribute now than when he is dead.

Crackerbox Palace ( Harrison ) : The second Top 40 hit came with this track which shows that George can be a master pop craftsman if he chooses to be. It also showcase the sense of humour that George displace in early interviews with the press when he was a Beatle. A nice piece but by this time I was too out of touch with George to be able to fully enjoy this.

Learning How To Love You ( Harrison ) : This is a throw away for me thought some critics have regarded it as one of his better song. Well that's just me.

DOP : 7th October 1997.