Well, this is miraculous. Here we have a simple video of famed Beatle producer George Martin, his son Giles, and George Harrison’s son Dhani, all playing around with the master track for “Here Comes the Sun.” Off Abbey Road, “Here Comes the Sun” is probably George’s second greatest song behind “Something,” also from the same record. That is a matter of opinion, but the undisputed fact is that from 1968-1971, George was operating at an incredible peak of creative intensity, with his work on Abbey Road serving as a precursor for his immense solo masterpiece album All Things Must Pass. Anyway, in the video, Dhani is fiddling with the dials when he comes across a lost electric guitar solo George recorded years ago. It is a gorgeous piece of hard electric rock that gives edge to one of George’s sweetest songs. While the part sounds great, especially to Beatle fans who have memorized every note of their music, it’s not hard to see why it didn’t make the final cut, as the electric flourish takes away from the gentle majesty of the final mix. It’s a shame the Beatles couldn’t tour in their later era because they probably would have added extra solos and changes to their songs that would have spun off countless beautiful variations. Still, the undisturbed perfection of what remains what makes discovering anything lost so poignant and moving. Enjoy this clip and pass it to your friends, especially George fans, its magical.
For part 38 of my youtube countdown, I have another fantastic George Harrison duet. This time its with Paul. No not McCartney, but SIMON! This version of George and Paul tackle George’s incomprehensible 1969 stunner, “Here Comes the Sun.” The occasion was Saturday Night Live and the results were breathtaking. George hits all his acoustic marks with perfection, and Paul Simon’s voice just melts perfectly into George’s harmony. The freaky thing about the video is how Paul Simon keeps looking at George like he wants to take him to bed, or more likely, create a new group called “Simon and Harrison.” But George wasn’t about to be stuck with another Paul telling him what type of guitar solo to play on “Still Crazy After All These Years.” So, instead, like with most of rock and roll history, we just have singular moments, and here’s a good one, enjoy.