Recorded: November 1973, April 1974, August-October 1974
Producer: George Harrison
Released: 9 December 1974 (US), 20 December 1974 (UK)
Dark Horse was George Harrison ’s third solo album since the break-up of The Beatles. See more…
I’m a musician, not a talker. If you get my album it’s like Peyton Place. I mean it’ll tell you exactly what I’ve been doing.
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25 February 2020
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1 May 2011
7.29pm
25 February 2020
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14 June 2016
This might be George’s weakest solo album. Side 1 is mostly forgettable, and Harri’s On Tour goes on too long. Side 2 is okay. However, I do enjoy the title track, and I love the closer, “It Is He (Jai Sri Krishna)”
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"Sometimes I wish I was just George Harrison" - John Lennon
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25 February 2020
7.10pm
9 December 2020
I actually had a hard time finding the thread for this album, since it’s not linked on the album’s main page…. anyhow, The Dark Horse album and tour seemed to have a lot of potential that was never realized. Maybe George was doing too much, too fast. The albums George produced with Ravi Shankar during this period are beautiful and a world tour featuring both of them really should be looked at as a landmark event in music history. Unfortunately, it was evidently a difficult era in George’s life for other reasons, and the bad experiences may have put him off future attempts to tour, with or without Ravi.
The album itself is uneven. There’s some great musicianship (Hari’s on Tour, Simply Shady, Far East Man), but imho, the recording quality doesn’t capture it. I’ve never had the original vinyl. The 2014 remaster is an improvement on the original CD, but it still doesn’t sound as clear and full as I’d like. The vocal issues go without saying. For me, Extra Texture is more consistent in terms of production and overall sound, and I listen to it more often these days.
I’ve been thinking about an alternate song sequence for Dark Horse . I’ve never liked the cover of Bye Bye Love and side one is generally depressing, whereas side 2 has most of the upbeat, happy cuts. I think the album may have been more listenable if they split the difference, making side one a bit less heavy. I’d suggest something like this:
Side 1:
-Hari’s on Tour (Express)
-Far East Man
-It is He (Jai Sri Krishna)
-Maya Love
-Simply Shady
Side 2:
-So Sad
-I Don’t Care Anymore
-Ding-Dong Ding Dong.
Any thoughts? I know it’s a bit radical in places but to me, it feels more balanced. I’d also consider Deep Blue in place of, or in addition to, I Don’t Care Anymore (Dark Horse ‘s b-side) to make an even ten tracks.
~Om Shanti.
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