George Harrison
Dark Horse

THE REVIEW

When this album was released in December 1974, it was presented to the buyer with almost pietistic notes asking reviewers to treat it with care and delicacy because it was made exclusively for the pleasure of those who would listen to it.

In "Dark Horse," George Harrison's crisis of inspiration is profound. We are very far from the excellent quality of "All Things Must Pass," the triumphs of the concert for Bangladesh, and the fairly pleasant "Living In The Material World." At the time, Harrison was going through a turbulent period in his life. He was dealing with a severe laryngitis and his marriage to Pattie Boyd was in deep crisis. The couple's problems, due to Boyd's flirts first with Ron Wood and then with Eric Clapton, emerge in the lyrics of various songs. Certainly, "Simply Shady," "Far East Man" and the depressing "So Sad", evoke the moods of a betrayed lover. Even the cover of "Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers turns into a bitter reflection on the end of his relationship with his wife. "Maya Love" is flat and colorless while the title track of the album works well and removed from the general context, is effective. But it's too little. "It Is He" with its Anglo-Hindi lyrics, has no reason to exist and "Ding, Dong" is an empty and meaningless little song. Unfortunately, at the time it was released as a single, contributing to tarnish the image that Harrison had built in the years following the separation from the famous original group.

"Dark Horse" is a truly boring and idea-less album. The beauty and compositional mastery of songs like "Isn't It A Pity" and "Beware Of Darkness," here seem lost forever. The album is played impeccably by the usual session men who accompany George in the recording studio, but his voice is terribly hoarse and expressionless. It is one of his lowest creative moments, even though later "Extra Texture" and "Gone Troppo" would manage to do worse. It's a pity that a former Beatle has made an album like this.