Let George Do It

The Sunday Times in London says George Harrison was the greatest rock guitarist of all. I agree with the claim, if not the evidence.

Hendrix, Clapton and all those other names that appear on Top Ten lists are wonderful virtuosos, but none have given me as much pleasure as Harrison. And it's certainly due to his talent and taste. But there's something else.

The Beatles, led by Lennon and McCartney, were about the songs, and they were supremely talented songwriters. It was also about the recording, and they had the time and the taste to do them right. What the band wasn't about was expressing yourself in five-minute solos--the expression came through the song.

From the start George was the best guitarist in the group, but he was also the junior partner, and he did what he was told. (See him complain about it in the movie Let It Be.) He usually worked out his solos, but the others could comment, and certainly the great riffs were generally created by John or Paul. And they even would occasionally play the solo--for example, Paul in "Good Morning, Good Morning" and "Taxman," and John in "For You Blue."

Look at Harrison's guitar work on his own albums. Pretty good, but I can barely remember any of his solos, because the songs themselves are not as memorable. George deserves to be called the greatest guitarist, because he was an important part of the greatest band.