The Best of George Harrison

Infobox Album | Name = The Best of George Harrison
Type = Compilation album
Artist = George Harrison


Released = 19 November 1976
Recorded = October 1965 - July 1975
Genre = Rock
Length = 45:04
Label = Parlophone/EMI
Producer = George Martin,
George Harrison
and Phil Spector
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:zye097r7krrt link]
Last album = "Extra Texture (Read All About It)"
(1975)
This album = "The Best of George Harrison"
(1976)
Next album = "Thirty Three & 1/ॐ"
(1976)

"The Best of George Harrison" is the first compilation album of George Harrison's music and was released in 1976, following the expiration of his EMI contract. It was also released the same day as his Dark Horse label debut "Thirty Three & 1/3".

"The Best of George Harrison" was compiled without Harrison's input, and as such drew criticism from Harrison (as well as critics and fans) over the inclusion of his Beatles-era songs which take up half of the album's length, diminishing the significance of his solo years. Harrison had actually offered EMI a tracklisting and album title for the release, but these were ignored.

His various Beatles songs from "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "The Beatles", "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be" - all produced by George Martin, except For You Blue by Phil Spector - are joined with highlights from "All Things Must Pass", "Living in the Material World", "Dark Horse" and "Extra Texture (Read All About It)", with the only rarity being Harrison's single-only "Bangla Desh" release in 1971.

American and British versions of the album featured dramatically different covers, with the American cover containing small black-and-white pictures of Harrison against an image of the cosmos while the British cover features a mid-1976 colour photo of Harrison in front of an antique car. The international CD release of the album featured the British cover. The MFP reissue had Harrison's 1968 "White Album" PR shot on the cover.

Upon release, "The Best of George Harrison" failed to chart in the UK, but - with a much darker and more dramatic cover - reached #31 in the US, going gold.To date, "The Best of George Harrison" remains his only available retrospective package, with 1989's "Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989" going out of print some years after its release.

Track listing

All songs by George Harrison.

#"Something" – 3:01
#"If I Needed Someone" – 2:22
#"Here Comes the Sun" – 3:05
#"Taxman" – 2:37
#"Think for Yourself" – 2:18
#"For You Blue" – 2:31
#"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" – 4:45
#* "Tracks 1 - 7 are performed by The Beatles"
#"My Sweet Lord" – 4:38
#"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" – 3:35
#"You" – 3:41
#"Bangla Desh" – 3:57
#* "The only album release of this 1971 single which relates Ravi Shankar's plea to Harrison to help the people of Bangladesh"
#"Dark Horse" – 3:53
#"What Is Life" – 4:17
#* "Tracks 8 - 13 are performed by George Harrison"