Wonderwall Music is George Harrison's first solo album and the soundtrack to the filmWonderwall. The songs are virtually all instrumental, except for some non-English vocals and a slowed-down spoken word track. The songs were recorded in December 1967 in England, and January 1968 in Bombay, India. Wonderwall Music is notable for being the first official solo album by one of the Beatles[1] as well as Apple Records' first LP release. The album is currently out of print.[2]
Recording
The recordings for the album were started in December 1967 in England. The rest was recorded in January 1968 in Bombay, India. Also recorded during the Indian sessions was the backing track to "The Inner Light", which became the B-side to "Lady Madonna", the final Beatles single on Parlophone Records.
Some of the musician's credits are pseudonyms for Harrison, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr.[3][4] Harrison is listed merely as producer, arranger and writer for the album. Peter Tork of The Monkees also played banjo (specifically, one borrowed from Paul McCartney), but was not credited.[citation needed] Tork has stated that his brief recording features in the movie, but not on the soundtrack album.[5]
All of the tracks were composed by Harrison, and it was the first official solo album by a Beatle. It was the first album release on the newly formed Apple Records, appearing in November 1968, a few weeks before The Beatles. It would also be the first Apple record to be deleted, though it was remastered and reissued on CD in 1992.
In the CD liner notes, Harrison's description of the recording done in England is revealing: "I had a regular wind-up stopwatch and I watched the film to 'spot-in' the music with the watch. I wrote the timings down in my book, then I'd go to Abbey Road, make up a piece, record it." While the tracks recorded in England were made on multitrack recording machines and remixed, the Indian portions were recorded live to two-track stereo.
[edit]Chart history
Wonderwall Music did not chart at all in the
Cultural impact
Britpop band Oasis, well known for their love of the Beatles and their music, had a hit with a song called "Wonderwall" in the 1990s. The title may refer to the movie or to George Harrison's soundtrack album.[6]
[edit]Track listing
Side One
All songs by George Harrison.
[edit]
- "Microbes" – 3:42
- "Red Lady Too" – 1:56
- "Tabla and Pakavaj" – 1:05
- "In the Park" – 4:08
- "Drilling a Home" – 3:08
- "Guru Vandana" – 1:05
- "Greasy Legs" – 1:28
- "Ski-ing" – 1:50
- "Gat Kirwani" – 1:15
- "Dream Scene" – 5:26
[edit]Side Two
- "Party Seacombe" – 4:34
- "Love Scene" – 4:17
- "Crying" – 1:15
- "Cowboy Music" – 1:29
- "Fantasy Sequins" – 1:50
- "On the Bed" – 1:05
- "Glass Box" – 2:22
- "Wonderwall to Be Here" – 1:25
- "Singing Om" – 1:54
Tracks 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 17, and 18 were recorded in England, while tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 19 were recorded in India.
[edit]Personnel
[edit]England (December 1967)
- John Barham – piano, flügelhorn
- Colin Manley – guitar, steel guitar
- Tony Ashton – jangle piano, organ
- Philip Rogers – bass guitar
- Roy Dyke – drums
- Tommy Reilly – harmonica
- Eddie Clayton (Eric Clapton) – guitar
- Richie Snare (Ringo Starr) – drums
- Peter Tork – banjo (uncredited)
[edit]India (January 1968)
- Aashish Khan – sarod
- Mahapurush Misra – tabla, pakavaj
- Sharad Jadev – shehnai
- Hanuman Jadev – shehnai
- Shambu-Das – sitar
- Indril Bhattacharya – sitar
- Shankar Ghosh – sitar
- Chandra Shekhar – surbahar
- Shivkumar Sharma – santoor
- S. R. Kenkare – flute
- Vinaik Vora – thar-shehnai
- Rij Ram Desad – harmonium, tabla-tarang
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