How does an instant multi-million-selling album become underrated?
George Harrison
's follow-up to
All Things Must Pass
was necessarily a letdown for fans and critics, appearing after a two-and-a-half year interval without the earlier album's backlog of excellent songs to draw from.
Harrison
narrowed his sights and his vision for this record, which has neither the bold expansiveness nor the overwhelming confidence of its predecessor. "Sue Me Sue You Blues" seems like a throwback to "Taxman" in its subject matter -- the lawsuit over the similarities between "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine" -- rather than recalling the spiritual
. And some of the most serious songs here, such as "The Light That Has Lighted the World," seem dirge-like. What
Living in the Material World
shows off far better than the earlier record, however, is
's guitar work -- he had
Eric Clapton
and
Dave Mason
sharing the guitar chores on
, but he's the only guitarist on
Material World
, and it does represent his solo playing and songwriting at a peak. Most notable are his blues stylings and slide playing, glimpsed on some of the later
Beatles
sessions. "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" is driven by a delectable acoustic rhythm guitar and has a great beat, both sounds later picked up by
Jeff Lynne
for
ELO
's "Livin' Thing." The title track benefits from a tight, hard band sound with a great
Jim Horn
performance on sax; and "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" is the high point of the record, a fast, rollicking, funky, bluesy jewel, with a priceless guitar that may be the best of
's solo career. "Be Here Now" is nearly as fine a song in the completely opposite vein, a soft, eloquent, hauntingly beautiful piece that quietly (and eerily) recalls
Pink Floyd
's exquisite, languid "Now and Then" from the same year. Vocally, he isn't as self-consciously pretty or restrained here, but it is an honest performance, and his singing soars magnificently in his heartfelt performance on "The Day the World Gets Round." "Try Some Buy Some," the only song produced by
Phil Spector
. and the only number to recall
' sound, doesn't quite fit with the rest of this, although in 1973 it was many people's favorite song other than the chart-topping "Give Me Love." Perhaps a less serious title -- like "Just George" -- would have represented the album better, but nobody was looking for self-effacement from any ex-
Beatle
in those days. ~ Bruce Eder