The classic rock album George Harrison thought was a level above: “Without any of the bullshit”
Despite his genius musical talent, George Harrison didn’t always have his ears to the ground scoping out the latest sounds.
As his life developed, other interests, such as the film industry, took over as his passion project, and it took something very special for him to take a firm interest. During the late 1970s, he began working in the studio less frequently, a decision that was reflected in his minimal output.
In 1977, Harrison first began to grow discontent with life in the music industry and took a well-needed hiatus for his own sanity. In an interview, he explained that he’d “turned off from the music business altogether” and instead began to enjoy life as a family man.
Although this break was only short, with Harrison soon returning with his eponymous album in 1979, his unhappiness with the industry continued to grow stronger. Notably, the bitter plagiarism legal dispute centred around his song ‘My Sweet Lord’ also played a significant part.
The childlike enthusiasm that he once had upon hearing a song on the radio no longer existed. It wasn’t until his own son, Dhani, became bitten by the music bug that Harrison was infected, once again, with a love of music, albeit to a lesser degree than during his youth.
It wasn’t a lightswitch moment that happened overnight, and instead, it was a gradual reignition. In 1992, Harrison opened up to Guitar World and revealed that no new music had “the same spark” as those he admired in his moptopped younger days.
“I can’t say I’ve really heard anything that gives me a buzz like some of that stuff we did in the fifties and sixties,” Harrison admitted. However, he then gave props to Dire Straits for producing his favourite album of recent memory, “The last band I really enjoyed was Dire Straits on the Brothers in Arms album. To me, that was good music played well, without any of the bullshit.”
Brothers In Arms cemented Dire Straits as one of the biggest bands in the world, with the record, which included the hit single ‘Money for Nothing’, topping the charts around the globe. It was an album too big to ignore, and even Harrison had to give his respect where it was due.
Significantly, Brothers In Arms was released in 1985, when Dhani was only seven. Therefore, Harrison likely found this one on his own accord. After all, Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler had worked closely with his friend and bandmate Bob Dylan, which likely meant they moved in similar circles.
As much as there had been no record that had moved him in the same way over those seven years, he did add, “Now I’m starting to get influenced by my teenage son, who’s into everything and has the attitude. He loves some of the old stuff, like Hendrix, and he’s got a leather jacket with Cream’s Disraeli Gears album painted on the back. As for recent groups, he played me the Black Crowes, and they really sounded OK.”
The thrill of discovering music thanks to his son was clearly a joy of life that Harrison enjoyed greatly, even if it was largely exposing Dhani to bands like Cream.
Nevertheless, the inescapable fact that Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms album came out close to a decade before Harrison’s comments speaks volumes.
Thanks to his partnership with Jeff Lynne, which evolved into the Traveling Wilburys, Harrison got his mojo back as an artist. However, sitting around marvelling at the talents of others was no longer in his nature, and it had to be a serious album to knock him off his feet.
