Brainwashed (album)

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Brainwashed
Brainwashed cover
Studio album by George Harrison
Released 18 November 2002
Recorded 1997 – 2002
Genre Rock
Length 47:47
Label Dark Horse/EMI
Producer George Harrison,
Jeff Lynne and
Dhani Harrison
Professional reviews
George Harrison chronology
Live in Japan
(1992)
Brainwashed
(2002)
The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992
(2004)

Brainwashed is the final studio album by George Harrison. The album was released in 2002, almost a year after his death at the age of 58. As a posthumous release, Brainwashed garnered much attention upon its unveiling and is generally considered among the finest releases of his career.

Contents

[edit] History

Harrison had begun recording the tracks that would eventually see issue on Brainwashed as early as 1988 (with "Any Road" being written by Harrison during the making of a video for This Is Love off the Cloud Nine album) and would continue to do so in a sporadic manner over the next decade and a half. After recuperating from his December 30, 1999 knife attack in his home by Michael Abram, Harrison focused more on getting his album finished, simultaneously sharing his ideas for all its details (from the sound of the finished songs to the album's artwork) with his son Dhani — information that would ultimately prove very valuable.

Harrison's brief plight with lung cancer in 1997 returned with full force in 2001. Once he realized it was an irreversible situation, he worked further on the album's songs—in conjunction with Dhani and his old collaborator Jeff Lynne—until he was unable to do more. Harrison's final work on the album was done at a recording studio in Switzerland shortly before his trip to the United States for cancer treatment. On November 29, Harrison died, leaving Brainwashed not quite finished, but with a guide to completing it in the hands of his son and Lynne.

After a few months away from the project, both the younger Harrison and Lynne returned to working on George's final songs and adding the appropriate instruments—as per their composer's specifications—to the recordings. So close to completion was the project that the two used the exact timetable and session bookings which George had booked himself. After some difficult but rewarding sessions, the work was done and George Harrison's final album was completed.

Brainwashed received outstanding reviews upon its November 2002 release,[1] just as a live tribute of Harrison by an assembly of his musical contemporaries, entitled Concert for George, took place at the Royal Albert Hall. It sold respectably—though perhaps slightly below expectations—reaching #18 in the US and going gold, and #29 in the UK, where "Any Road" became a Top 40 hit single in spring 2003. In 2004, Brainwashed's "Marwa Blues" won the Best Pop Instrumental Performance Grammy.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by George Harrison, except where noted.

  1. "Any Road" – 3:52
  2. "P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)" – 2:38
  3. "Pisces Fish" – 4:50
  4. "Looking For My Life" – 3:49
  5. "Rising Sun" – 5:27
  6. "Marwa Blues" – 3:40
  7. "Stuck Inside a Cloud" – 4:04
  8. "Run So Far" – 4:05
  9. "Never Get Over You" – 3:26
  10. "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler) – 2:34
  11. "Rocking Chair in Hawaii" – 3:07
  12. "Brainwashed" – 6:07
    • Includes a concluding prayer, the "Namah Parvati", chanted by Harrison and his son Dhani Harrison in unison

[edit] Bonus DVD

The special edition contains a Bonus DVD with a 7 minute featurette about the making of the album.

[edit] Charts

Country Charts
Peak position Weeks Certification
United States 18 9[2] Gold
Sweden 18 5 [3]
Japan 21 6[4]
United Kingdom 29 11[5]
Italy 36 1
France 45 3
Switzerland 58 2
Austria 62 1

[edit] Personnel

  • George Harrison - Vocals, Slide & Acoustic Guitar, Ukuleles, Keyboards, Bass, Percussion & Backing Vocals
  • Jeff Lynne - Electric & 12-String Guitar, Additional Keyboards & Backing Vocals
  • Dhani Harrison - Acoustic Guitar & Backing Vocals
  • Jim Keltner - Drums
  • Bikram Ghosh - Tabla
  • Jon Lord - Piano
  • Jools Holland - Piano
  • Sam Brown - Backing vocals
  • Jane Lister - Harp
  • Isabela Borzymowska - reading from "How To Know God" (The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali)

[edit] References

  1. ^ George Harrison: Brainwashed (2002): Reviews
  2. ^ (Japanese) http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_george_albumchartaction_usa.htm
  3. ^ swedishcharts.com - George Harrison - Brainwashed
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ (Japanese) http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_george_albumchartaction_uk.htm

[edit] External links