Something in the way she moves

Now this may sound like sacrilege to many a reader of A Story To Tell, a blog which wears its musical influences clearly on its sleeve and purports to love music in various shapes and forms, but I have always thought that The Beatles are slightly over-rated. Throw him out of the music appreciation society, comes the cry from the uproarious hordes, what blasphemy is this??! Well it is blasphemy of sorts, such is the recognised importance of the "fab four" in the history of popular music, and it is not this position that I am trying to knock. Clearly their significance is unquestioned, and their influence almost impossible to measure. All I'm saying is that I have never been much of a fan. This is not to say that I don't like a lot of the band's music, and such are their classic tunes and albums forged into the very fabric of our world that it is hard not to bow to their greatness.

However I just don't buy the unquestioning view that The Beatles mark the highest point of musical creation, and certainly not the demi-god status of John Lennon, or indeed Paul McCartney. A supremely talented song-writing duo, absolutely, but there are many others in that category. Anyway, all of this is a diversion and I certainly don't want to leave the impression that I am trying to deny the massive talents and impact of the group. No, what I wanted to say was how amazing George Harrison was. As a guitarist he was absolutely brilliant, technically gifted and inventively curious of how his instrument of choice worked. As a performer, he was understated and yet vital to the group's dynamic. And a s a songwriter I believe that he has been criminally overlooked by many for what was, by anyone else's standards, an impressive collection.

The shining gem in his repertoire has to be the stunningly beautiful "Something", one of the greatest love songs of all time, and my favourite Beatles song by a mile. Written during a break in the recording of The White Album in 1968, the song was intended for soul man Ray Charles, and then offered to white soul pretender Joe Cocker. That it found it's home on 1969's Abbey Road is a blessing however, and showcases Harrison's own impressive vocal prowess. Incredibly he also knocked off "Here Comes The Sun" for the same album. And then there is Harrison's post-Beatles solo work. While admittedly intermittent in its quality, there is no question that post- break-up LP "All Things Must Pass" is a simply stunning piece of work. It is unlikely that fans of The Beatles will not be massively familiar with this album, the first triple album by a solo artist in rock history, but if you do not know it then it is a great route into this fascinating performer's work, or indeed back into The Beatles themselves.

So you see, I am a fan really, I just sometimes like to go about things awkwardly sometimes.