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Hear Me Lord

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"Hear Me Lord"
SongbyGeorge Harrison
from the albumAll Things Must Pass
Released27 November 1970
GenreRock,gospel
Length5:46
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)George Harrison
Producer(s)George Harrison,Phil Spector

"Hear Me Lord"is a song by English rock musicianGeorge Harrisonfrom his 1970 triple albumAll Things Must Pass.It was the last track on side four of the originalLPformat and is generally viewed as the closing song on the album, disc three being the largely instrumentalApple Jam.Harrison wrote "Hear Me Lord" in January 1969 while still a member ofthe Beatles,who rehearsed it briefly atTwickenham Film Studiosthat month, but passed it over for inclusion on what became their final album,Let It Be.

The song is in thegospel-rock musical style and the lyrics take the form of a personal prayer, in which Harrison seeks help and forgiveness from his deity. Along with "My Sweet Lord",it is among the most overtly religious selections onAll Things Must Pass.The recording was co-produced byPhil Spectorand includes musical contributions fromEric Clapton,Gary Wright,Billy Preston,Bobby Whitlockand other musicians fromDelaney & Bonnie's Friends band.

On release, Ben Gerson ofRolling Stonedescribed "Hear Me Lord" as the album's "big statement" and a "majestic plea".[1]Harrison included the song in his set list forthe Concert for Bangladeshon 1 August 1971. He performed it during the afternoon show only, although the recording has never been issued officially.

Background and composition

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George Harrisonwrote "Hear Me Lord" over the weekend of 4–5 January 1969, soon afterthe Beatleshad begun the rehearsals for a proposed television special atTwickenham Film Studios.[2]With the band members in disagreement about the nature of the project and whether to return to live performance, this period was one of discord within the group.[3]For Harrison, it contrasted sharply with the two months he had spent in the United States at the end of 1968,[4]when he had enjoyed collaborating with musicians such asJackie Lomax,members of the Los AngelesWrecking Crew,Tiny Tim,[5]Bob Dylanandthe Band.[6][7]In addition, his wife,Pattie Boyd,had temporarily left him that same weekend, after discovering that Harrison was having an affair with a French woman they had invited to stay at their home.[8][9]

Although the song is recognised as a deeply personal statement, "Hear Me Lord" is one of the compositions that Harrison does not mention at all in his 1980 autobiography,I, Me, Mine.[10][11]Harrison biographer Simon Leng describes the self-revelation evident in its lyrics as "unprecedented", adding: "How many millionaire rock stars use a song to beg forgiveness from God, or anyone else...?"[10]Leng identifies three "anchors" in the song's lyrics: the phrases "forgive me", "help me" and "hear me".[10]

In their pleas for forgiveness, acknowledgement of weakness and promise of self-improvement, Harrison's words have been described by author Ian Inglis as offering a similar statement to the ChristianLord's Prayer.[12]Inglis highlights the song's final verse – particularly the lines "Help me Lord, please / To burn out this desire" – as being an "almost flagellatory... self-chastisement" on Harrison's part.[12]Religious academic Joshua Greene recognises the samecoupletas an example of Harrison the "life-lover", prone to "sexual fantasies", and just one facet of its parent album's "intimately detailed account of a spiritual journey".[13]

The Beatles'Get Backsessions

[edit]

On 6 January 1969, the third day of the Beatles' filmed rehearsals at Twickenham,[14]Harrison presented the song to his bandmates, announcing that he had written it over the weekend.[2]Like "Let It Down","Isn't It a Pity"and other compositions of his around this time,[15]it was met with little enthusiasm from the group's principal songwriters,John LennonandPaul McCartney.[16][17]The band barely rehearsed "Hear Me Lord" that day,[11][18]during which Harrison and McCartney engaged in an on-camera argument culminating in Harrison's resigned comment "Whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it."[19][20]Even after the location had been moved to theApple basementlater that month and keyboard playerBilly Prestonbrought in – two developments Harrison instigated in an attempt to improve the atmosphere[21][22]– he would not play the song again at any Beatles session.[11]

Harrison found a more sympathetic collaborator in Preston, aborn-again Christian,[23]when he began producing the Texan'sdebut albumonApple Recordsin February 1969.[24]The two musicians co-wrote the track "Sing One for the Lord",[25]one of the first songs Preston recorded for Apple,[24]although it would not be released until September 1970, on hisEncouraging Wordsalbum.[26]

Recording

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AtAbbey Road Studioson 20 May 1970,[27]a month afterthe Beatles' break-up,Harrison ran through "Hear Me Lord" alone on electric guitar for producerPhil Spector.[28][29]Leng suggests that, following Lennon and McCartney's routine dismissal of many of his compositions, Harrison "presented his new songs with reticence, almost with aPavlovianexpectation of their being rejected ".[30]In his interview for the 2011George Harrison: Living in the Material Worlddocumentary, Spector explains his positive reaction to Harrison's spiritually themed songs: "He just lived by his deeds. He was spiritual and you knew it, and there was no salesmanship involved. It made you spiritual being around him."[31][nb 1]This solo performance of "Hear Me Lord" was subsequently made available on thebootlegalbumBeware of ABKCO![27][33]

Selected for inclusion onAll Things Must Pass,[28][34]the band performance of "Hear Me Lord" has been described by Leng as "slow-cooking,gospelrock ".[10]The musicians on the recording were all those with whom Harrison had briefly toured Europe in December 1969, as a member ofDelaney & Bonnie's Friends band,[35][36]including Preston andEric Clapton,supplemented by pianistGary Wright,a mainstay of the extended sessions forAll Things Must Pass.[37]The track begins withJim Gordon's heavily treated drums and features a "rolling" piano commentary from Wright and "sweetslide guitarlicks "from Harrison, Leng writes.[10]AuthorBruce Spizerremarks on the "soulful" backing-vocal arrangement performed by Harrison,multi-trackedand credited to the George O'Hara-Smith Singers.[11]

The guitar interplay between Harrison and Clapton, notably what Leng terms the track's "'Little Wing' riffs ", would be reprised on" Back in My Life Again "and" A Day Without Jesus "for organ playerBobby Whitlock'seponymous solo album,which was recorded in January 1971.[38]In theirSolo Beatles Compendium,Chip Madinger and Mark Easter comment that the official take of "Hear Me Lord" ran considerably longer than the released 5:46 running time.[39]On the2001 reissueofAll Things Must Pass,the song's length was extended to 6:01.[40][nb 2]

Release and reception

[edit]

"Hear Me Lord" was released on 27 November 1970[42]as the last track on disc two ofAll Things Must Pass.[43]It was effectively the final song on the album,[39][44]since the thirdLP,titledApple Jam,was a bonus disc consisting almost entirely of instrumentaljamsrecorded during the sessions.[45][46]Discussing the impact success of Harrison's triple album, authorNicholas Schaffnerwrote in 1977: "George painted his masterpiece at a time when both he and his audience still believed music could change the world. If Lennon's studio was his soap-box, then Harrison's was his pulpit."[47]

The release coincided with a period when thecounterculture's interest in spirituality, at the expense of formal religion, received heavy coverage both in the mainstream press and from religious commentators.[48]Reflecting the intentions behind songs such as "Hear Me Lord" and the album's worldwide number 1 hit single, "My Sweet Lord",[49]Harrison said in an interview at the time: "Music should be used for the perception of God, notjitterbugging."[50]He added: "I want to be God-conscious. That's really my only ambition, and everything else in life is incidental."[51]FormerMojoeditorMat Snowincludes "Hear Me Lord" among the songs that provided "added vindication" for Harrison, afterAll Things Must Passsaw him become "by far the most successful" former Beatle by the Christmas of 1970.[52]

In his contemporaneous album review for theNME,Alan Smith described "Hear Me Lord" as an "impassioned hymn"[53]and a "stand-out number within the whole set".[54]ToRolling Stone's Ben Gerson, having bemoaned that "[Harrison's] words sometimes try too hard; [as if] he's taking himself or the subject too seriously", "Hear Me Lord" was "the big statement".[1]"Here George stops preaching," Gerson continued, "and, speaking only to a God, delivers a simple, but majestic plea: 'Help me Lord please / To rise a little higher...'"[1]Less impressed, Peter Reilly ofStereo Reviewwrote that, as with "Awaiting on You All",the song demonstrated a" fundamentalist religious strain "that, unlike inJimmy Webb's work, was not entirely successful, although he deemed it "nonetheless effective".[55]

InThe New York Times,Don Heckman called "Hear Me Lord" and "My Sweet Lord" "parallel songs" that conveyed the intensifying of Harrison's spiritual resolve from the Beatles era. In this, as with Harrison's championing of Indian music and authorship of "Something",he recognised Harrison as having been responsible for" major changes in the style and substance of the Beatles "yet still comparatively anonymous within the band's public image, leading Heckman to conclude:" And now, with the break‐up of the Beatles a seeming fact of life, how ironic that it is Harrison who, possibly because of his detachment from the Lennon–McCartney emotional axis, has maintained and even increased his creative momentum. "[56]

Retrospective assessments and legacy

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Among Beatles and Harrison biographers, Elliot Huntley, Ian Inglis and Robert Rodriguez consider the song to be a perfect album closer,[12][57][58]a point to which Chip Madinger and Mark Easter add: "If the Lord hadn't heard him by now, then there wasn't much else [Harrison] could do to get his ear."[39]Huntley praises "Hear Me Lord" as "another soulful hymn... another number given the full gospel treatment by Spector" and recognises Harrison as "the first white man to combine gospel and rock without sounding ludicrous".[57]Writing in Rolling Stone Press'sHarrisontribute in 2002,Greg Kotdescribed the music as "orchestrated into a dense, echo-laden cathedral of rock in excelsis by Phil Spector" before commenting: "But the real stars of this monumental effort are Harrison's songs, which give awe-inspiring dimension to his spirituality and sobering depth to his yearning for a love that doesn't lie."[59][nb 3]

Music criticRichie Unterbergerdescribes "Hear Me Lord" as "a lovely, somber number" when first performed by Harrison at Twickenham in January 1969. He adds that the Beatles' disinterest in the song was most likely due to its unsuitability to the band's style, whereas "it truly found its appropriate setting" onAll Things Must Pass.[63]In his 2001 album review forThe New York Times,Jody Rosengrouped "Hear Me Lord" with "Art of Dying"and"Wah-Wah"as examples of how Spector successfully transformed Harrison's compositions on an" operatic scale ". Rosen added:" The symphonic squall of these songs seems less about rock star hubris than Mr. Harrison's straining to express outsized emotions – sorrow, regret, longing, writ very large. "[64]

Simon Leng says that the lyrics alone might make "Hear Me Lord" seem "falsely pious" yet he recognises Harrison's sincerity reflected in his performance on the recording,[10]as does Bruce Spizer.[11]Leng adds:

Even more than "My Sweet Lord", the closer to the album proper is the most emotionally compelling piece on an emotionally naked compilation. This is a true outpouring of feeling... A movingly impassioned vocal completes a picture that is as cathartic as anything on Lennon'sPlastic Ono Bandalbum.[10]

Less convinced, Inglis writes that "the impression is of a man cowed, rather than liberated, by his faith."[12]He finds an "uneasy self-righteousness" in Harrison's verse-one lines "Forgive them Lord / Those that feel they can't afford you", and concludes: "The song's gospel-tinged backing matches the evangelical nature of its sentiments, but ['Hear Me Lord'] is a slightly unsettling end to a collection of songs of great power and passion."[65]GQ's George Chesterton says that elsewhere on the album, Harrison addresses his audience in a manner that "betrays a tendency... to lecture his listeners: you should do this, you shouldn't do that", but as with "All Things Must Pass",the" hymnal lyrics "of" Hear Me Lord "are" heartfelt and vulnerable ", adding that" Harrison's enduring strength is his sincerity. "[44]

Davy Knowles & Back Door Slamcovered the song on their 2009 albumComing Up for Air,[66]produced byPeter Frampton,[67]who was one of several uncredited contributors toAll Things Must Pass.[68]In his review ofComing Up for Air,forBlogcritics,Josh Hathaway described the song as a "Harrison classic" and the album's "masterpiece", thanks to Frampton's lead guitar duel with Knowles andBenmont Tench's sympathetic organ playing.[69]

Live performance

[edit]

"Hear Me Lord" was included in Harrison's proposedsetlistforthe Concert for Bangladesh[70]when rehearsals got under way at Nola Studios, New York City, in the last week of July 1971.[71]Harrison then performed it during the afternoon show atMadison Square Gardenon Sunday, 1 August, immediately following Bob Dylan's surprise set.[72]After what authorAlan Claysondescribes as a "creaky" performance of the song,[73]a slight reorganisation of the concert program saw it dropped for the second show.[74]

Along with Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit","Hear Me Lord "was the only song performed at the Concert for Bangladesh that did not appear on theofficial live albumof the event and inSaul Swimmer's 1972concert film.[74]Following Harrison's death in November 2001,Chris Carter,an American DJ and a consultant to Capitol Records, spoke of including "Hear Me Lord" on a planned reissue ofThe Concert for Bangladesh,[75]which was scheduled for release during 2002.[76]Carter added: "there are some technical problems with the recording [of the song]… so that's still up in the air."[75]The reissue took place in October 2005, with "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" included as a bonus track,[77]but without the addition of "Hear Me Lord".[78]

Personnel

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According to Simon Leng[10]and Bruce Spizer:[11]

Notes

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  1. ^Harrison biographerGary Tillerynotes an additional need for faith on the singer's part in mid 1970 as "pillars of Harrison's old life were passing away", with the demise of his former band and the fatal illness of his mother, Louise.[32]
  2. ^Alternate mixes of the track, available on bootleg compilations, reveal that the performance extended to a further 90 seconds than the released version. In one of these mixes, Harrison can be heard directing the musicians when to change to the bridge sections and calling out the ending, which, in music criticRichie Unterberger's description, takes the form of "a cold close with a long, gothic organ chord – one nice touch not heard on the final album".[41]
  3. ^Having first met Harrison early in the sessions forAll Things Must Pass,[60]Gary Wright soon followed him on a path dedicated to Hindu-aligned spirituality.[61]In his autobiographyDream Weaver,Wright says that songs such as "Hear Me Lord" "had spiritual messages, something I had not heard before in pop music – especially to the degree that he used them. He was breaking new ground as an artist to an even greater degree than he had done in the past [with the Beatles]."[60][62]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcBen Gerson,"George HarrisonAll Things Must Pass"Archived28 April 2013 at theWayback Machine,Rolling Stone,21 January 1971, p. 46 (retrieved 19 May 2013).
  2. ^abSulpy & Schweighardt, p. 55.
  3. ^Miles, pp. 327–28.
  4. ^Huntley, pp. 17–19.
  5. ^Clayson, pp. 259–60.
  6. ^Leng, pp. 39–40, 51–52.
  7. ^Madinger & Easter, pp. 423–24.
  8. ^Doggett, p. 58.
  9. ^Tillery, p. 68.
  10. ^abcdefghLeng, p. 99.
  11. ^abcdefSpizer, p. 225.
  12. ^abcdInglis, p. 31.
  13. ^Greene, p. 181.
  14. ^Winn, p. 237.
  15. ^The Editors ofRolling Stone,pp. 38, 187.
  16. ^Huntley, pp. 18–19, 21.
  17. ^Martin O'Gorman, "Film on Four",Mojo Special Limited Edition:1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970),Emap (London, 2003), p. 73.
  18. ^Sulpy & Schweighardt, p. 75.
  19. ^Miles, p. 328.
  20. ^Winn, p. 244.
  21. ^Clayson, p. 262.
  22. ^Miles, p. 331.
  23. ^Clayson, p. 280.
  24. ^abAndy Davis, Billy PrestonEncouraging WordsCD, liner notes (Apple Records,2010; produced by George Harrison & Billy Preston).
  25. ^Leng, p. 71.
  26. ^Castleman & Podrazik, p. 91.
  27. ^abMadinger & Easter, p. 426.
  28. ^abUnterberger, p. 286.
  29. ^Spizer, pp. 220, 225.
  30. ^Leng, p. 76.
  31. ^Phil Spector interview, inGeorge Harrison: Living in the Material WorldDVD (Village Roadshow,2011; directed by Martin Scorsese; produced by Olivia Harrison, Nigel Sinclair & Martin Scorsese).
  32. ^Tillery, p. 87.
  33. ^Richie Unterberger,"George HarrisonBeware of ABKCO!",AllMusic(retrieved 27 July 2018).
  34. ^Badman, p. 10.
  35. ^Clayson, pp. 277–78, 288.
  36. ^John Harris, "A Quiet Storm",Mojo,July 2001, pp. 70, 72.
  37. ^Leng, pp. 82, 99.
  38. ^Leng, p. 123.
  39. ^abcMadinger & Easter, p. 432.
  40. ^Booklet accompanyingAll Things Must Passreissue (Gnome Records, 2001; produced by George Harrison & Phil Spector).
  41. ^Unterberger, p. 290.
  42. ^Badman, p. 16.
  43. ^Castleman & Podrazik, p. 94.
  44. ^abGeorge Chesterton,"George Harrison's All Things Must Pass: 50 Years of Music in God's Name",GQ,27 November 2020 (retrieved 5 December 2020).
  45. ^Clayson, p. 292.
  46. ^Spizer, pp. 225–26.
  47. ^Schaffner, p. 142.
  48. ^Frontani, p. 158.
  49. ^Rodriguez, pp. 148, 254.
  50. ^The Editors ofRolling Stone,p. 40.
  51. ^Greene, p. 184.
  52. ^Snow, p. 25.
  53. ^Chris Hunt (ed.),NME Originals:Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980,IPC Ignite! (London, 2005), p. 32.
  54. ^Alan Smith, "George Harrison:All Things Must Pass(Apple) ",NME,5 December 1970, p. 2; available atRock's Backpages(subscription required; retrieved 19 May 2013).
  55. ^Peter Reilly, "Entertainment: George HarrisonAll Things Must Pass",Stereo Review,April 1971, p. 91.
  56. ^Don Heckman,"Pop: Two and a Half Beatles on Their Own",The New York Times,20 December 1970, p. 104 (retrieved 4 December 2020).
  57. ^abHuntley, p. 60.
  58. ^Rodriguez, p. 156.
  59. ^The Editors ofRolling Stone,p. 187.
  60. ^abGary Wright,"When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More (Book Excerpt)",The Daily Beast,29 September 2014 (archived version retrieved 9 December 2020).
  61. ^David Cavanagh, "George Harrison: The Dark Horse",Uncut,August 2008, pp. 39, 43.
  62. ^Harvey Kubernik,"George Harrison 'All Things Must Pass' 50th Anniversary",Music Connection,10 November 2020 (retrieved 12 November 2020).
  63. ^Unterberger, p. 238.
  64. ^Jody Rosen,"Luxuriating in the Sprawl of That Early 70's Sound",The New York Times,29 July 2001 (archived version retrieved 26 July 2018).
  65. ^Inglis, pp. 31–32.
  66. ^Ryan Dembinsky,"Davy Knowles & BDS: Breathing Deep",JamBase,11 August 2009 (archived version retrieved 26 July 2018).
  67. ^Alex Young,"Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam Coming Up For Air",Consequence of Sound,5 May 2009 (retrieved 26 July 2018).
  68. ^Leng, p. 78.
  69. ^Josh Hathaway,"Music Review: Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam –Coming Up for Air",Blogcritics,21 June 2009 (retrieved 26 July 2018).
  70. ^Harrison, p. 288.
  71. ^Badman, p. 43.
  72. ^Schaffner, p. 146.
  73. ^Clayson, pp. 312–13.
  74. ^abMadinger & Easter, p. 437.
  75. ^abMark Wallgren, "Awaiting on you all – George Harrison reissue update",Goldmine,25 January 2002, p. 58.
  76. ^Charles Shaar Murray, "George Harrison et al:Concert for Bangla Desh",Mojo,March 2002; available atRock's Backpages(subscription required).
  77. ^Leng, p. 120.
  78. ^Richard S. Ginell,"George HarrisonThe Concert for Bangladesh (Bonus Track)",AllMusic(retrieved 9 April 2015)

Sources

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  • Dale C. Allison Jr.,The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison,Continuum (New York, NY, 2006;ISBN978-0-8264-1917-0).
  • Keith Badman,The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001,Omnibus Press (London, 2001;ISBN0-7119-8307-0).
  • Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik,All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975,Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976;ISBN0-345-25680-8).
  • Alan Clayson,George Harrison,Sanctuary (London, 2003;ISBN1-86074-489-3).
  • The Editors ofRolling Stone,Harrison,Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002;ISBN0-7432-3581-9).
  • Michael Frontani, "The Solo Years", inKenneth Womack(ed.),The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles,Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK, 2009;ISBN978-1-139-82806-2), pp. 153–82.
  • Joshua M. Greene,Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison,John Wiley & Sons (Hoboken, NJ, 2006;ISBN978-0-470-12780-3).
  • Olivia Harrison,George Harrison: Living in the Material World,Abrams (New York, NY, 2011;ISBN978-1-4197-0220-4).
  • Elliot J. Huntley,Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles,Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006;ISBN1-55071-197-0).
  • Ian Inglis,The Words and Music of George Harrison,Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010;ISBN978-0-313-37532-3).
  • Simon Leng,While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison,Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006;ISBN1-4234-0609-5).
  • Chip Madinger & Mark Easter,Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium,44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000;ISBN0-615-11724-4).
  • Barry Miles,The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years,Omnibus Press (London, 2001;ISBN0-7119-8308-9).
  • Robert Rodriguez,Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years 1970–1980,Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2010;ISBN978-0-87930-968-8).
  • Nicholas Schaffner,The Beatles Forever,McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978;ISBN0-07-055087-5).
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  • Bruce Spizer,The Beatles Solo on Apple Records,498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2005;ISBN0-9662649-5-9).
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  • Gary Tillery,Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison,Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011;ISBN978-0-8356-0900-5).
  • Richie Unterberger,The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film,Backbeat Books (San Francisco, CA, 2006;ISBN978-0-87930-892-6).
  • John C. Winn,That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970,Three Rivers Press (New York, NY, 2009;ISBN978-0-307-45239-9).
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