New George Harrison DVD a joyous experience
WHAT GOES ON EXCLUSIVE
by Dave Haber, What Goes On Editor
George Harrison passed away on November 29, 2001. I avoided thinking about him or his music for a few years, it just made me too sad. But a lot has happened since then. On the first anniversary of his death, Paul and Ringo joined many of his other friends in the Royal Albert Hall for the Concert for George. George's son Dhani and his long-time friend Jeff Lynne got together to release George's last work, Brainwashed, in November, 2002. And then The Concert for George was released on CD and DVD in November, 2003.
In February of this year, a box set of George's albums recorded on his Dark Horse label, called the Dark Horse Years, was released. This box set also contained a DVD, which is now available seperately. I've just seen this DVD and if you're a fan of George, please read on.
The DVD starts off with a special 15 minute feature made for the DVD, including a montage of interview clips of George, some vintage and some recorded not too many years ago, featuring George talking about his solo career and the formation of Dark Horse records.
The This Song music video
The DVD also contains seven promotional music videos of George's songs from the Dark Horse years, and these videos are really fun to watch. Some you might be familiar with, like This Song, Got My Mind Set On You and When We Was Fab, and some you might not have seen in a long time, like Faster and This Is Love.
Both versions of the Got My Set On You video are included, the one that takes place in the video arcade, and the one where George is singing in the room where everything is moving. On the DVD, George tells a funny story about how it always cracked him up that people thought it was actually him doing the acrobatic back-flip in the video. And Rutles fans will enjoy seeing Neil Innes in the Crackerbox Palace video.
George and Ringo in When We Was Fab
In addition, there are four songs on the DVD from the Live In Japan 1991 tour. All this Live In Japan footage is previously unreleased and showcases George in top form. I especially like this version of Taxman, which includes some new words and a hot Eric Clapton guitar solo. And they also sound great, the sound track of these concert performances on the DVD is in 5.1 surround both in Dolby Digital and DTS formats.
George Live In Japan
Also included are three songs George wrote for the 1986 movie Shanghai Surprise, which starred Madonna and Sean Penn. In the associated interview clips, George talks about his experience writing the songs and then actually appearing in the movie.
The DVD also includes a beautiful, 28 page booklet with rare photographs. Olivia Harrison contributed a short history of Dark Horse records and further notes about the Dark Horse Logo itself.
Now that a few years have passed, I find it's possible for me to watch this DVD with joy. In the interview clips that preceed each of the videos, George is happy and kidding around, just the way we remember him. This DVD is an insight into one of George's most productive artistic periods after the Beatles, and it's uplifting and fun to watch.
• More information on the Dark Horse Years DVD
Published November 10, 2004
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