Book review - "All Things Must Pass" by Marc Shapiro

Decent bio of George Harrison, in many ways the most human Beatle. While all of the Fab Four wore their hearts on their sleeve, John and Paul were geniuses, Ringo a comic freak - George was perhaps the most identifiable, if only because average Joe Blow in the street had a chance of being him. The others were ordained at birth, but George got there through hard work - he practised hard at his guitar playing to become one of the best in the group, ditto his singing and song writing (his two songs an album started as tokens but by the time of Abbey Road the two were Something and Good Day Sunshine); he acted as a counter point to the dynamic duo and also helped revitalise the Beatles in the second half of the 60s by pushing them into India spirituality. He also seemed to be able to form alliances with other famous singers the most easily out of any Beatles - Clapton, Dylan, etc

Harrison's 70s career continued his rise - he wasn't really as big as Lennon McCartney, but he had the biggest success in comparison with what he'd done with the Beatles. His out put tended to be erratic - a few good albums followed by a dud or two. But he always managed to turn things around eg in the late 80s with the Jeff Lynn collaboration. He also seemed to be the Beatle who broke the mould most often in his solo career - becoming a genuine Hare Krishna (i.e. sticking at it), becoming a movie mogul, forming super groups, raising money via concerts over a decade before Live Aid.

I had the impression Harrison was one of the more stable Beatles, he always seemed so dry and down to earth with his taste in Monty Python (I figured he got his weirdness out of his system by being into gurus) - but this book reveals he was prone to drugs and groupies with the best of them, especially in the early 70s and mid 80s. He even rooted Maureen Starr when she was married to Ringo. Harrison comes across here as a paradox: a generally hard worker who however had his head in the clouds when it came to business matters, and could be gripped with apathy on occasion (eg when his wife was falling for Eric Clapton); a good friend who slept with his friend's wives (eg Ringo); an honest man who ripped off "My Sweet Lord" - not just unintentionally as the famous case states, but intentionally, from a session musician which this book claims.

Harrison's life was so rich and varied this book seems a bit "skim deep" at best - it really flies through, and constantly feels underdone. It can be read in something like an hour and a half and feels a little under researched, with a lot of reliance on reporting of rumours. Harrison's live keeps it lively though and it will do til a better one comes along.