HARRISON ’71

FIFTY YEARS AGO, George Harrison was basking in the afterglow of his late-1970 debut album, , which is still (in some circles) considered the greatest studio album by a formerthree discs have claimed most of your best compositions, some of which you’d been squirreling away since 1966? Well, being George, you dive into the relatively stress-free business of playing guitar on other people’s records. (Of course, being George, you also dive into some seriously stressful business, namely organizing the Concert for Bangladesh that August). Harrison released only two songs in ’71 — “Bangla Desh” and “Deep Blue.” The rest of the year, he found himself in studios with two old Beatle buddies, plus Billy Preston, Badfinger and other artists. Sure, Harrison always gave it his all when playing for other people, but the fact that so many ace performances took place during is remarkable; it’s comforting to think that, while he might’ve been temporarily out of gas on the songwriting front, he never lost that fire as a guitarist. Below, Senior Music Editor Jimmy Brown helps us dig into some of Harrison’s finest intros, solos and licks from ’71.