George Harrison: The Dark Horse Years 1976 - 1992

Reviewed by: Erik Swift December 2004

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Finding oneself in Maui warrants a voyage to Hana. Mount Haleakala forms the island’s eastern half, and unneeded radio stations fade often in its nooks and crannies. Roads twist across dozens of single-lane bridges against a backdrop of waterfalls and rain forest, a most beautiful trip. Differing from legendary American paths of Route 66 or Highway 1 to the Florida Keys, it literally is a drive through paradise. Rent a convertible or you’ll miss the trees that cloak several portions of the sky over the asphalt. On a clear day with good weather, its views will take your breath away. A stop at one of the numerous roadside vendors is a given. They need support, and I’m not just talking about bling-bling. Most of the flimsy shacks selling tourist trinkets along the Hana Highway will likely collapse with a strong breeze unless insects get there first. Three miles away from the black sand beaches at Wai’anopanapa State Park, a sign advertising Kalua BBQ pork sandwiches made me pull over at a virtual strip mall of sheds known as the Nahiku Ti Gallery and Coffee Shop. After browsing the fresh coconut chips, fresh fruits and locally made Hawaiian crafts, my new bride walked into the gallery while I mowed down a pigwich. Needing some fluids, the coffee shop offered a Maui Mocha milkshake (leave me alone, I was hitting the gym on my honeymoon). Walking by a well-worn soda fridge I noticed a collage of several pictures taped to its side that were scattered around a portrait of George Harrison. I asked who the resident Beatle fan was of my shake-maker, who replied “All of us. George used to live up the road.” Torn from a magazine, the photo had been taken sometime in the last decade or so, and I fleetingly thought she was feeding me tourist trash. Her knowledge defied me: not only did she ask if I was reviewing the DVD included in the posthumous release “Brainwashed,” but she said he was a well-loved member of the community…almost as if he was still around.

George Harrison is very similar to the road to Hana. Remote and beautiful, it’s no bombshell that he would live in one of the planet’s toughest areas to access. The other Beatles would sporadically surface after their 1970 breakup, yet Harrison preferred to keep it on the DL. As the third anniversary of his passing is upon us, Capitol/EMI Records has plucked “The Dark Horse Years: 1976-1992” DVD from last year’s pricey CD box set of the same name and made it available on its own. A smart move, interviews with George introduce each song. The 75-minute disc’s selling point is the unreleased footage from the guitarist’s final tour, a December 1991 Japanese outing with Eric Clapton. One of four sections on the disc, (a Dark Horse documentary, seven music videos and his “Shanghai Surprise” contributions are the others) further material would have been even better, especially with a $24.95 price tag. George’s video output was sparse, but only seven of them? Despite the appearance of 1982’s “Gone Troppo” at the start of the MTV revolution, he’d already made a bunch and by 1987’s “Cloud 9” they were tired formalities. If legal reasons prevented the inclusion of “All Those Years Ago” or some Traveling Wilbury stuff…as the song goes, isn’t it a pity.

Picturing Harrison telling label execs that videos mean f*ck all isn’t hard. The second version of “Got My Mind Set On You” shows his contempt for the process. George sits on a chair while random household objects move in time to the music and stuffed animals play instruments or sing along. To increase the lame factor, an obvious stuntman does cartwheels and dances around the set too. He looks bored, and he should since the first version was excellent. The other “Cloud 9” clips fare better. “When We Was Fab” is a great Beatle tribute that corrals Ringo Starr on the sticks and Elton John’s simplest piano-playing ever. The underrated “This Is Love” shows off his Hawaiian digs too. The early offerings aren’t bad either. Harrison had become good friends with the Monty Python guys (offering to fund “Time Bandits” and other efforts) and Eric Idle helms the “Crackerbox Palace” video with the same sly wit that George exudes in the legal system satire, “This Song.”

Coaxed into the Japanese jaunt by Clapton, Harrison was backed by Slowhand and his “Journeyman”-era band for only his second solo tour since the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, the other happening in 1974. Four selections coupled with interview clips barely clock twenty minutes, but it looks good enough that it’s surprising this material has remained unseen for this long. This has to be the least pretentious concert footage ever – there’s no bullshit, just two buds rocking out in fantastic fashion. Everyone is laughing or wearing smiles, and backup singer Tessa Niles is caught sticking her tongue out at the camera. The smoke drifting from a cigarette Clapton placed in between his guitar stings lends the proceedings a chill atmosphere on “Cloud 9.” It’s George’s show, and he rips it up on his Fender during “Devil’s Radio,” managing to let his friend in for a stray squeal or two. The bouncy bass of Nathan East dances around Ray Cooper & Steve Ferrone’s poundings, while Greg Phillinganes, Chuck Leavell and Andy Fairweather-Low join in on guitar and keys. “Taxman” features howling Clapton solos atop the sinewy beat that beg for the release of a complete show in the future. Every second is mesmerizing. To Capitol/EMI: put the whole thing out. Please.

The Dark Horse documentary is enjoyable, and as much as I was scared to see anything related to “Shanghai Surprise,” it wasn’t the stink fest that the film was. While Sean Penn and Madonna’s marriage tanked as hard as this 1986 clunker, Harrison’s title track is bearable but the standout is the lovely “Someplace Else.” The snippet of the Cab Calloway-inspired “Hottest Gong In Town” is just George doing what he wants, which is how the guy lived. The bits and pieces of “The Dark Horse Years: 1976-1992” are good, but it finishes too quickly. A cohesive videography would rule and the full “Live In Japan” film would be the bomb, but this will do for now. The Japan cuts are mandatory.

Reviewer’s Opinion: RENT IT!!