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The Light That Has Lighted the World

April 10, 2024

"The Light That Has Lighted the World" is a song by English musician George Harrison released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. It is viewed as a statement on Harrison's discomfort with the attention afforded him as an ex-Beatle and features a prominent contribution from English session pianist Nicky Hopkins, along with a highly regarded slide guitar solo from Harrison. Around the time it was recorded, in late 1972, "The Light That Has Lighted the World" was rumoured to be the title track of the forthcoming album. Harrison originally intended it as a song for English singer Cilla Black, whose version of his 1970 composition "When Every Song Is Sung" he produced before starting work on Living in the Material World.

"The Light That Has Lighted the World"
Song by George Harrison
from the album Living in the Material World
PublishedMaterial World Charitable Foundation (administered by Harrisongs)
Released30 May 1973
GenreFolk rock
Length3:31
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)George Harrison
Producer(s)George Harrison

An early acoustic demo of the song, a solo performance by Harrison, appeared as the closing track on the 2012 compilation Early Takes: Volume 1.

Background and composition edit

In early August 1972, in between overseeing the UK release of Saul Swimmer's Concert for Bangladesh documentary and heading up to Liverpool to catch Ravi Shankar's recital at the Philharmonic Hall,[1] George Harrison tried recording "When Every Song Is Sung", a ballad from the All Things Must Pass era, as a single for Cilla Black.[2][3] Although the project was not completed, just like Harrison's attempt to record the same song with Ronnie Spector the year before,[2][4] he later decided to write a B-side for her, which would become "The Light That Has Lighted the World".[5][6] In his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, Harrison explains that the lyrics dealt with the "Local boy/girl makes good" phenomenon, where the public initially supports someone who achieves success yet are then disapproving if fame or success changes that person.[5] Both he and Black were from Liverpool and had become famous quickly, after which many people considered their personalities had changed[7] – a common link that Harrison thought of basing the intended B-side around.[5] After he had come up with the opening two lines, however, the theme soon evolved into something more personal.[8]

At the 27 July 1971 press conference preceding the Bangladesh concerts,[9] Harrison had admitted he was "flattered" and "honour[ed]" to be receiving the same attention and acclaim once reserved for the Beatles.[10][11] A year later, though, his words to "The Light That Has Lighted the World" were a plea for freedom from public scrutiny regarding his Beatle past, musical biographer Simon Leng writes, to allow him to "pursue his spiritual quest" unencumbered by the weight of others' expectations.[12]

I've heard how some people have said that I've changed
That I'm not what I was, how it really is a shame
The thoughts in their heads manifest on their brow
Like bad scars from ill feeling they themselves arouse.

This negative scrutiny Harrison found "hateful to anyone that is happy or 'free' ", the lyrics continue, while he targets its purveyors as living "their lives without looking to see / The light that has lighted the world."

Harrison argues in I Me Mine that things can never stay the same – "the whole of life is a change: from the morning to the evening, from spring to winter ... from birth to death ..."[5] This viewpoint is reflected in the song's second verse, where he bemoans those who make a point of resisting change,[7] "As if nature itself, they'd prefer rearranged", because for them, "there's so little chance to experience soul". The song ends more optimistically, with his declaration:[7]

I'm grateful to anyone that is happy or "free"
For giving me hope while I'm looking to see
The light that has lighted the world.

Instead of giving the track to Cilla Black, Harrison used it for his own album, Living in the Material World,[5] recording for which began in October 1972.[8]

While analysing the song's lyrics, Leng opines that, like "Who Can See It", "The Light That Has Lighted the World" betrays Harrison's tendency towards "internalization of world events", and the fact that he wrote these words while still in his twenties is a "testament to the sheer psychological pressure" of the Beatles experience and superstardom generally.[13] At its core, Leng suggests, the song is asking: "What right do you have to inspect me, just because I made a few records?"[12]

"He didn't like celebrity," Elton John observed of Harrison in a 2002 Rolling Stone Press tribute book. "I think he'd had enough by 1970 to last three lifetimes ... He found something worth more than fame, more than fortune, more than anything."[14] In her introductory piece to the same publication, written two months after his death, Olivia Harrison quoted from the words to "The Light That Has Lighted the World" as an example of her late husband providing the "live background music to our lives": "If I played three chords on the uke (compulsory instrument in our home), he would be my band. George was so generous and 'grateful to anyone that is happy or free.' A good moment to him was always worth making better."[15]

Recording edit

 
Pianist Nicky Hopkins (pictured in 1973), whose playing features prominently on "The Light That Has Lighted the World" and other songs from Material World

In a December 1971 interview for Disc and Music Echo, Nicky Hopkins – "the world's best-known anonymous pianist", as that magazine termed him – had talked of his plans to start work on his own solo album early the following year.[16] "I'll probably be doing it with George Harrison," he said. "I'd really like to do that because, with George, I feel a very close thing ... We just seem to understand each other on a personal level so well."[16] Like Harrison's long-awaited follow-up to All Things Must Pass, the Hopkins solo project was delayed by other commitments until the autumn of 1972, but the mutual understanding that Hopkins referred to was much in evidence on Living in the Material World; Leng describes the English keyboard player's contributions as "the most prominent instrumental voice" on the album aside from Harrison's distinctive slide guitar.[17]

On "The Light That Has Lighted the World", the recording is underpinned by Gary Wright's stately harmonium and Harrison's acoustic rhythm guitars, and is dominated by Hopkins' piano.[18] The instrumental section, in between the two verses, featuring first Hopkins and then Harrison, has received much positive comment.[12][19][20] The track's solemn tempo has been likened to that for "Tears of Rage" and "I Shall Be Released" by the Band.[12] An alternative studio version of the song, an outtake from the October–December 1972 album sessions, appears on the Living in the Alternate World bootleg.[21] Featuring a more prominent and melodic harmonium part from Wright, and devoid of Harrison's overdubbed second and third acoustic-guitar parts and his electric slide guitar, this version of "The Light That Has Lighted the World" ends with an attractive vocal falsetto in place of the official release's bottleneck flourish.[22]

Release and reception edit

"The Light That Has Lighted the World" was issued in mid 1973 as the third track on Living in the Material World[23] and is the first of a trio of slow-paced songs throughout the album that covers Harrison's preoccupation with breaking free from the past and others' perceptions (the second and third being "Who Can See It" and "Be Here Now").[24] Some months before this, the working title of the album was said to be The Light That Has Lighted the World.[25][26] According to author Keith Badman, it was only in January 1973 that the name was changed to Living in the Material World.[27] As with eight other tracks on the album[28] and the 1973 B-side "Miss O'Dell",[29] Harrison donated his publishing royalties and the copyright[30] for "The Light That Has Lighted the World" to his Material World Charitable Foundation.[31]

On release, the song was viewed as possessing both of the traits that a some reviewers disliked about its parent album: too slow in tempo,[8] and with lyrics "too smug for rock 'n' roll".[32] Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone described it as "an oblique defense against public criticism and expectations of a Beatle reunion" and, the "sustained" instrumental break aside, "pretty leaden stuff" due to the funereal pace.[20] NME critic Bob Woffinden found the music "exceptionally fine" and opined that the song "could rank with his best compositions".[33] The problem, in Woffinden's opinion, was that, with the advent of glam rock in the UK while Harrison delayed following up on his 1970–71 solo success, "half the record-buying public" were more likely to view the song title as a reference to Gary Glitter.[34]

Writing in Melody Maker, Michael Watts described the album as "Harrison's personal statement", documenting his journey towards "a spiritual goal which for the first time he has been able to define".[35] Amid the "large autobiographical insights" offered in Harrison's new compositions, Watts wrote of "The Light That Has Lighted the World"'s role in the song cycle: "Until finally he climbed over the rocky patches and found his own Shangri-La, becoming transformed in the process."[35]

Retrospective appraisal edit

Writing for Rolling Stone in 2002, Greg Kot referred to the song's "condescending autobiographical vein", which he found echoed in Harrison's 1974 riposte to his detractors, "Dark Horse".[36] To Bruce Eder of AllMusic, "The Light That Has Lighted the World" is one of the tracks on Material World that suffers from seeming "weighed down with their own sense of purpose, in ways that All Things Must Pass mostly (but not entirely) avoided".[37] Similarly unimpressed, Eight Arms to Hold You authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter write: "One would think that the 'light' might have given George a bit more happiness to reflect upon, but hey, the slide work's great!"[22] The outtake available on the Alternate World bootleg, they add, was "believe it or not, even more lugubrious that the commercial version".[22]

Beatles biographer Alan Clayson also compliments Harrison's slide-guitar work, writing of his "controlled grace" while "shining up the octaves" during the solo.[19] Another biographer, Elliot Huntley, approves of the "grandiloquent ballad tone" of this and other songs on the album, and admires the "tasteful" rhythm section on "The Light That Has Lighted the World" and Harrison's "jangling" acoustic guitars.[38] Having interviewed Harrison for Guitar World magazine in 1987, Rip Rense has likened the guitar solo to that on the Beatles' "Fixing a Hole", as examples of how Harrison's solos display "structure, syntax, and development" over "pyrotechnic flourishes". Rense adds: "These are thoughtful and original, deceptively simple sounding, invested with feeling."[39] Writing for Goldmine in January 2002, Dave Thompson rated "The Light That Has Lighted the World" an "unquestioned highlight" and "a song hallmarked by distinct echoes of Lennon's Imagine".[40]

In his review of the 2006 reissue of Living in the Material World, for Q magazine, Tom Doyle included the song among the album's best three tracks and wrote: "the introspective moods of The Light That Has Lighted The World and Who Can See It, with their ornate instrumentation and weepy vocals, are lovely things."[41] Reviewing the 2014 Apple Years Harrison reissues, in Mojo, Doyle writes of Material World having "spotlit the spirituality and the dreaminess", through "the gentle, non-preachy The Light That Has Lighted The World and Be Here Now, both great works of look-around-you wonder".[42] In his review for Record Collector, Oregano Rathbone highlights the song among Harrison's output over 1973–75, writing: "Living In The Material World, Dark Horse and Extra Texture may tend towards earnest, careworn, mid-tempo slow-burners, but each contains shivery moments of release: The Light That Has Lighted The World, Far East Man and This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying) spring to mind."[43]

New Zealand Herald journalist Graham Reid writes of Harrison having been "emotionally isolated" during the Material World era, and adds: "[The] gloss of his position as a revered former Beatle/Bangladesh patron and spiritual guide was starting to tarnish him ... He was sounding ungracious and irritable, but wrapping the message up in melodically interesting songs." Reid cites "The Light That Has Lighted the World" as a track where Harrison "nailed it", and an example of how "this album can be very moving."[44] Writing for the music website No Ripcord, Matt Bevington describes the composition as "perhaps his most revealing lyrical work and exemplary of his ability to convey with both charming humour and coarse honesty". Bevington adds: "it reads like a precious sermon ..."[45]

Simon Leng considers the song "alarmingly direct" lyrically, and melodically strong, but, in the wider context of Harrison's career during the first half of the 1970s, he detects a "scalded-cat reaction" that would encourage critics to pounce on his next release, Dark Horse.[46] Leng draws parallels with Joni Mitchell's "Ludwig's Song" and "Shadows and Light" – two tracks dealing with criticism and harsh judgement that duly attracted more of the same.[12] Like Clayson and Holden, Leng views the mid-song soloing on "The Light That Has Lighted the World" as a highlight: "a rolling, lilting passage from Nicky Hopkins, topped by one of Harrison's finest performances," he writes. "In the closing bars of the statement, repeated as the song's coda, the guitar vocalizes a series of six-string sobs. George finally made his guitar gently weep."[12] While echoing Leng's sentiments, Guitar World editor Damian Fanelli includes the slide soloing on his list of Harrison's best post-Beatles "Guitar Moments".[47]

Unlike Leng, Ian Inglis views the lyrics as Harrison "[resisting] the temptation to criticize", since instead the unenlightened "have his sympathy".[7] To Inglis, the song's weakness is that the "light" Harrison is striving to see is never made clear; whether it's love, spiritual enlightenment, or even the Beatles, "who, after all, have illuminated the world for many millions of people".[7] The meaning is clear to theologian Dale Allison, who sums up "The Light That Has Lighted the World" as an "achingly beautiful" song that "expresses resentment toward those who dislike the ex-Beatle George but thanksgiving for those who reflect the light of God".[48]

Other versions edit

In Martin Scorsese's 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, the song is played over footage of the April 1970 announcement of the Beatles' break-up, following a clip of Harrison and Paul McCartney signing the "Beatles Agreement" legal papers in December 1974.[49][50] A solo demo of "The Light That Has Lighted the World" (featuring Harrison on 12-string acoustic guitar) was included with the movie's deluxe-edition release on DVD, in November 2011.[51][52] Six months later, this version was issued on the Early Takes: Volume 1 compilation.[53]

In an interview with MusicRadar, compilation producer Giles Martin said that the unpolished aspect of Harrison's performance made him uncertain at first about whether to include the song on Early Takes. Martin continued: "It sounds like he's playing it to just one person late one evening, which is very George ... It's a little bit special; it shows how George could make something simple sound very spiritual, almost dreamy in a way ... I think this works beautifully as a closer."[54] Graham Reid has described the Early Takes version as, variously, a "superb demo"[44] and "a revelation".[55] In his review for No Ripcord, Bevington writes: "in such a graceful recording there is a profound message which cuts even deeper to something [Harrison] quite obviously understood, yet most never will."[45]

"The Light That Has Lighted the World" was covered by Japanese band Grapevine, featuring guest vocalist Maika Shiratori (daughter of Emiko Shiratori),[56] on the Gentle Guitar Dreams Harrison tribute album, released in May 2002.[57]

Personnel edit

References edit

  1. ^ Badman, pp. 79, 80.
  2. ^ a b Clayson, p. 332.
  3. ^ "'I'll Still Love You (When Every Song Is Sung)' – a 'lost' song penned for Cilla by George Harrison receives May 2003 release" 21 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, CillaBlack.com, 1 April 2003 (retrieved 13 March 2012).
  4. ^ Madinger & Easter, pp. 434, 440.
  5. ^ a b c d e Harrison, p. 268.
  6. ^ Kevin Howlett, booklet accompanying Living in the Material World reissue (EMI Records, 2006; produced by Dhani & Olivia Harrison).
  7. ^ a b c d e Inglis, p. 39.
  8. ^ a b c Spizer, p. 254.
  9. ^ Badman, p. 43.
  10. ^ The Concert for Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison and Friends DVD, Apple Corps, 2005 (directed by Claire Ferguson; produced by Olivia Harrison, Jonathan Clyde & Jo Human).
  11. ^ Pieper, p. 26.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Leng, p. 128.
  13. ^ Leng, pp. 127–28, 129–30.
  14. ^ The Editors of Rolling Stone, pp. 232–33.
  15. ^ Olivia Harrison, "A Few Words About George", in The Editors of Rolling Stone, p. 11.
  16. ^ a b Andrew Tyler, "Nicky Hopkins", Disc and Music Echo, 4 December 1971; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required; retrieved 21 July 2012).
  17. ^ Leng, p. 125.
  18. ^ Huntley, p. 91.
  19. ^ a b Clayson, p. 323.
  20. ^ a b Stephen Holden, "George Harrison, Living in the Material World" 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Rolling Stone, 19 July 1973 (retrieved 13 March 2012).
  21. ^ "George Harrison – Living In The Alternate World (CD)", Discogs (retrieved 21 July 2012).
  22. ^ a b c Madinger & Easter, p. 440.
  23. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, p. 125.
  24. ^ Leng, pp. 130. 137.
  25. ^ Badman, p. 83.
  26. ^ Allison, p. 149.
  27. ^ Badman, p. 89.
  28. ^ Schaffner, p. 160.
  29. ^ Harrison, p. 385.
  30. ^ Book accompanying Collaborations box set by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison (Dark Horse Records, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; package design by Drew Lorimer & Olivia Harrison), p. 32.
  31. ^ Madinger & Easter, p. 438.
  32. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 195.
  33. ^ Woffinden, p. 71.
  34. ^ Woffinden, p. 72.
  35. ^ a b Michael Watts, "The New Harrison Album", Melody Maker, 9 June 1973, p. 3.
  36. ^ The Editors of Rolling Stone, p. 188.
  37. ^ Bruce Eder, "George Harrison Living in the Material World", AllMusic (retrieved 19 April 2012).
  38. ^ Huntley, pp. 91, 92–93.
  39. ^ Rip Rense, "There Went the Sun: Reflection on the Passing of George Harrison", Beatlefan, 29 January 2002 (retrieved 14 December 2014).
  40. ^ Dave Thompson, "The Music of George Harrison: An album-by-album guide", Goldmine, 25 January 2002, p. 17.
  41. ^ Tom Doyle, "George Harrison Living in the Material World", Q, November 2006, p. 156.
  42. ^ Tom Doyle, "Hari Styles: George Harrison The Apple Years 1968–1975", Mojo, November 2014, p. 109.
  43. ^ Oregano Rathbone, "George Harrison – The Apple Years 1968–75", Record Collector, December 2014 (retrieved 4 December 2014).
  44. ^ a b Graham Reid, "George Harrison Revisited, Part One (2014): The dark horse bolting out of the gate", Elsewhere, 24 October 2014 (retrieved 4 December 2014).
  45. ^ a b Matt Bevington, "Music Reviews: George Harrison Early Takes Volume 1", No Ripcord, 31 May 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2014).
  46. ^ Leng, pp. 90, 128.
  47. ^ Damian Fanelli, "George Harrison's 10 Greatest Guitar Moments After the Beatles", guitarworld.com, 24 February 2016 (retrieved 28 May 2016).
  48. ^ Allison, pp. 22, 149.
  49. ^ George Harrison: Living in the Material World DVD (Disc 2), Village Roadshow, 2011 (directed by Martin Scorsese; produced by Olivia Harrison, Nigel Sinclair & Martin Scorsese).
  50. ^ "Ring Out the Old", Contra Band Music, 23 October 2012 (retrieved 30 December 2012).
  51. ^ Steve Leggett, "George Harrison George Harrison: Living in the Material World (Video)", AllMusic (retrieved 31 October 2014).
  52. ^ Joe Marchese, "Behind That Locked Door: George Harrison Demos Surface on 'Early Takes Volume 1'", The Second Disc, 23 March 2012 (retrieved 31 October 2014).
  53. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "George Harrison Early Takes, Vol. 1", AllMusic (retrieved 30 August 2012).
  54. ^ Terry Staunton, "Giles Martin on George Harrison's Early Takes, track-by-track", MusicRadar, 18 May 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2014).
  55. ^ Graham Reid, "George Harrison: Early Takes Vol 1 (Universal)", Elsewhere, 30 April 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2014).
  56. ^ "Game Music: Emiko Shiratori", Square Enix Music Online, 4 June 2006 (retrieved 22 October 2012).
  57. ^ "Various Artists Gentle Guitar Dreams", CD Japan (retrieved 15 September 2012).

Sources edit

  • Dale C. Allison Jr., The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison, Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ISBN 978-0-8264-1917-0).
  • Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001, Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ISBN 0-7119-8307-0).
  • Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975, Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976; ISBN 0-345-25680-8).
  • Alan Clayson, George Harrison, Sanctuary (London, 2003; ISBN 1-86074-489-3).
  • The Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison, Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ISBN 0-7432-3581-9).
  • George Harrison, I Me Mine, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002; ISBN 0-8118-3793-9).
  • Elliot J. Huntley, Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles, Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ISBN 1-55071-197-0).
  • Ian Inglis, The Words and Music of George Harrison, Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ISBN 978-0-313-37532-3).
  • Peter Lavezzoli, The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ISBN 0-8264-2819-3).
  • Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ISBN 1-4234-0609-5).
  • Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium, 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ISBN 0-615-11724-4).
  • Jörg Pieper, The Solo Beatles Film & TV Chronicle 1971–1980, lulu.com (2012; ISBN 978-1-4092-8301-0).
  • Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ISBN 0-07-055087-5).
  • Bruce Spizer, The Beatles Solo on Apple Records, 498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2005; ISBN 0-9662649-5-9).
  • Bob Woffinden, The Beatles Apart, Proteus (London, 1981; ISBN 0-906071-89-5).

April 10, 2024
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The Light That Has Lighted the World is a song by English musician George Harrison released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World It is viewed as a statement on Harrison s discomfort with the attention afforded him as an ex Beatle and features a prominent contribution from English session pianist Nicky Hopkins along with a highly regarded slide guitar solo from Harrison Around the time it was recorded in late 1972 The Light That Has Lighted the World was rumoured to be the title track of the forthcoming album Harrison originally intended it as a song for English singer Cilla Black whose version of his 1970 composition When Every Song Is Sung he produced before starting work on Living in the Material World The Light That Has Lighted the World Song by George Harrisonfrom the album Living in the Material WorldPublishedMaterial World Charitable Foundation administered by Harrisongs Released30 May 1973GenreFolk rockLength3 31LabelAppleSongwriter s George HarrisonProducer s George HarrisonAn early acoustic demo of the song a solo performance by Harrison appeared as the closing track on the 2012 compilation Early Takes Volume 1 Contents 1 Background and composition 2 Recording 3 Release and reception 4 Retrospective appraisal 5 Other versions 6 Personnel 7 References 8 SourcesBackground and composition editIn early August 1972 in between overseeing the UK release of Saul Swimmer s Concert for Bangladesh documentary and heading up to Liverpool to catch Ravi Shankar s recital at the Philharmonic Hall 1 George Harrison tried recording When Every Song Is Sung a ballad from the All Things Must Pass era as a single for Cilla Black 2 3 Although the project was not completed just like Harrison s attempt to record the same song with Ronnie Spector the year before 2 4 he later decided to write a B side for her which would become The Light That Has Lighted the World 5 6 In his autobiography I Me Mine Harrison explains that the lyrics dealt with the Local boy girl makes good phenomenon where the public initially supports someone who achieves success yet are then disapproving if fame or success changes that person 5 Both he and Black were from Liverpool and had become famous quickly after which many people considered their personalities had changed 7 a common link that Harrison thought of basing the intended B side around 5 After he had come up with the opening two lines however the theme soon evolved into something more personal 8 At the 27 July 1971 press conference preceding the Bangladesh concerts 9 Harrison had admitted he was flattered and honour ed to be receiving the same attention and acclaim once reserved for the Beatles 10 11 A year later though his words to The Light That Has Lighted the World were a plea for freedom from public scrutiny regarding his Beatle past musical biographer Simon Leng writes to allow him to pursue his spiritual quest unencumbered by the weight of others expectations 12 I ve heard how some people have said that I ve changed That I m not what I was how it really is a shame The thoughts in their heads manifest on their brow Like bad scars from ill feeling they themselves arouse This negative scrutiny Harrison found hateful to anyone that is happy or free the lyrics continue while he targets its purveyors as living their lives without looking to see The light that has lighted the world Harrison argues in I Me Mine that things can never stay the same the whole of life is a change from the morning to the evening from spring to winter from birth to death 5 This viewpoint is reflected in the song s second verse where he bemoans those who make a point of resisting change 7 As if nature itself they d prefer rearranged because for them there s so little chance to experience soul The song ends more optimistically with his declaration 7 I m grateful to anyone that is happy or free For giving me hope while I m looking to see The light that has lighted the world Instead of giving the track to Cilla Black Harrison used it for his own album Living in the Material World 5 recording for which began in October 1972 8 While analysing the song s lyrics Leng opines that like Who Can See It The Light That Has Lighted the World betrays Harrison s tendency towards internalization of world events and the fact that he wrote these words while still in his twenties is a testament to the sheer psychological pressure of the Beatles experience and superstardom generally 13 At its core Leng suggests the song is asking What right do you have to inspect me just because I made a few records 12 He didn t like celebrity Elton John observed of Harrison in a 2002 Rolling Stone Press tribute book I think he d had enough by 1970 to last three lifetimes He found something worth more than fame more than fortune more than anything 14 In her introductory piece to the same publication written two months after his death Olivia Harrison quoted from the words to The Light That Has Lighted the World as an example of her late husband providing the live background music to our lives If I played three chords on the uke compulsory instrument in our home he would be my band George was so generous and grateful to anyone that is happy or free A good moment to him was always worth making better 15 Recording edit nbsp Pianist Nicky Hopkins pictured in 1973 whose playing features prominently on The Light That Has Lighted the World and other songs from Material WorldIn a December 1971 interview for Disc and Music Echo Nicky Hopkins the world s best known anonymous pianist as that magazine termed him had talked of his plans to start work on his own solo album early the following year 16 I ll probably be doing it with George Harrison he said I d really like to do that because with George I feel a very close thing We just seem to understand each other on a personal level so well 16 Like Harrison s long awaited follow up to All Things Must Pass the Hopkins solo project was delayed by other commitments until the autumn of 1972 but the mutual understanding that Hopkins referred to was much in evidence on Living in the Material World Leng describes the English keyboard player s contributions as the most prominent instrumental voice on the album aside from Harrison s distinctive slide guitar 17 On The Light That Has Lighted the World the recording is underpinned by Gary Wright s stately harmonium and Harrison s acoustic rhythm guitars and is dominated by Hopkins piano 18 The instrumental section in between the two verses featuring first Hopkins and then Harrison has received much positive comment 12 19 20 The track s solemn tempo has been likened to that for Tears of Rage and I Shall Be Released by the Band 12 An alternative studio version of the song an outtake from the October December 1972 album sessions appears on the Living in the Alternate World bootleg 21 Featuring a more prominent and melodic harmonium part from Wright and devoid of Harrison s overdubbed second and third acoustic guitar parts and his electric slide guitar this version of The Light That Has Lighted the World ends with an attractive vocal falsetto in place of the official release s bottleneck flourish 22 Release and reception edit The Light That Has Lighted the World was issued in mid 1973 as the third track on Living in the Material World 23 and is the first of a trio of slow paced songs throughout the album that covers Harrison s preoccupation with breaking free from the past and others perceptions the second and third being Who Can See It and Be Here Now 24 Some months before this the working title of the album was said to be The Light That Has Lighted the World 25 26 According to author Keith Badman it was only in January 1973 that the name was changed to Living in the Material World 27 As with eight other tracks on the album 28 and the 1973 B side Miss O Dell 29 Harrison donated his publishing royalties and the copyright 30 for The Light That Has Lighted the World to his Material World Charitable Foundation 31 On release the song was viewed as possessing both of the traits that a some reviewers disliked about its parent album too slow in tempo 8 and with lyrics too smug for rock n roll 32 Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone described it as an oblique defense against public criticism and expectations of a Beatle reunion and the sustained instrumental break aside pretty leaden stuff due to the funereal pace 20 NME critic Bob Woffinden found the music exceptionally fine and opined that the song could rank with his best compositions 33 The problem in Woffinden s opinion was that with the advent of glam rock in the UK while Harrison delayed following up on his 1970 71 solo success half the record buying public were more likely to view the song title as a reference to Gary Glitter 34 Writing in Melody Maker Michael Watts described the album as Harrison s personal statement documenting his journey towards a spiritual goal which for the first time he has been able to define 35 Amid the large autobiographical insights offered in Harrison s new compositions Watts wrote of The Light That Has Lighted the World s role in the song cycle Until finally he climbed over the rocky patches and found his own Shangri La becoming transformed in the process 35 Retrospective appraisal editWriting for Rolling Stone in 2002 Greg Kot referred to the song s condescending autobiographical vein which he found echoed in Harrison s 1974 riposte to his detractors Dark Horse 36 To Bruce Eder of AllMusic The Light That Has Lighted the World is one of the tracks on Material World that suffers from seeming weighed down with their own sense of purpose in ways that All Things Must Pass mostly but not entirely avoided 37 Similarly unimpressed Eight Arms to Hold You authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter write One would think that the light might have given George a bit more happiness to reflect upon but hey the slide work s great 22 The outtake available on the Alternate World bootleg they add was believe it or not even more lugubrious that the commercial version 22 Beatles biographer Alan Clayson also compliments Harrison s slide guitar work writing of his controlled grace while shining up the octaves during the solo 19 Another biographer Elliot Huntley approves of the grandiloquent ballad tone of this and other songs on the album and admires the tasteful rhythm section on The Light That Has Lighted the World and Harrison s jangling acoustic guitars 38 Having interviewed Harrison for Guitar World magazine in 1987 Rip Rense has likened the guitar solo to that on the Beatles Fixing a Hole as examples of how Harrison s solos display structure syntax and development over pyrotechnic flourishes Rense adds These are thoughtful and original deceptively simple sounding invested with feeling 39 Writing for Goldmine in January 2002 Dave Thompson rated The Light That Has Lighted the World an unquestioned highlight and a song hallmarked by distinct echoes of Lennon s Imagine 40 In his review of the 2006 reissue of Living in the Material World for Q magazine Tom Doyle included the song among the album s best three tracks and wrote the introspective moods of The Light That Has Lighted The World and Who Can See It with their ornate instrumentation and weepy vocals are lovely things 41 Reviewing the 2014 Apple Years Harrison reissues in Mojo Doyle writes of Material World having spotlit the spirituality and the dreaminess through the gentle non preachy The Light That Has Lighted The World and Be Here Now both great works of look around you wonder 42 In his review for Record Collector Oregano Rathbone highlights the song among Harrison s output over 1973 75 writing Living In The Material World Dark Horse and Extra Texture may tend towards earnest careworn mid tempo slow burners but each contains shivery moments of release The Light That Has Lighted The World Far East Man and This Guitar Can t Keep From Crying spring to mind 43 New Zealand Herald journalist Graham Reid writes of Harrison having been emotionally isolated during the Material World era and adds The gloss of his position as a revered former Beatle Bangladesh patron and spiritual guide was starting to tarnish him He was sounding ungracious and irritable but wrapping the message up in melodically interesting songs Reid cites The Light That Has Lighted the World as a track where Harrison nailed it and an example of how this album can be very moving 44 Writing for the music website No Ripcord Matt Bevington describes the composition as perhaps his most revealing lyrical work and exemplary of his ability to convey with both charming humour and coarse honesty Bevington adds it reads like a precious sermon 45 Simon Leng considers the song alarmingly direct lyrically and melodically strong but in the wider context of Harrison s career during the first half of the 1970s he detects a scalded cat reaction that would encourage critics to pounce on his next release Dark Horse 46 Leng draws parallels with Joni Mitchell s Ludwig s Song and Shadows and Light two tracks dealing with criticism and harsh judgement that duly attracted more of the same 12 Like Clayson and Holden Leng views the mid song soloing on The Light That Has Lighted the World as a highlight a rolling lilting passage from Nicky Hopkins topped by one of Harrison s finest performances he writes In the closing bars of the statement repeated as the song s coda the guitar vocalizes a series of six string sobs George finally made his guitar gently weep 12 While echoing Leng s sentiments Guitar World editor Damian Fanelli includes the slide soloing on his list of Harrison s best post Beatles Guitar Moments 47 Unlike Leng Ian Inglis views the lyrics as Harrison resisting the temptation to criticize since instead the unenlightened have his sympathy 7 To Inglis the song s weakness is that the light Harrison is striving to see is never made clear whether it s love spiritual enlightenment or even the Beatles who after all have illuminated the world for many millions of people 7 The meaning is clear to theologian Dale Allison who sums up The Light That Has Lighted the World as an achingly beautiful song that expresses resentment toward those who dislike the ex Beatle George but thanksgiving for those who reflect the light of God 48 Other versions editIn Martin Scorsese s 2011 documentary George Harrison Living in the Material World the song is played over footage of the April 1970 announcement of the Beatles break up following a clip of Harrison and Paul McCartney signing the Beatles Agreement legal papers in December 1974 49 50 A solo demo of The Light That Has Lighted the World featuring Harrison on 12 string acoustic guitar was included with the movie s deluxe edition release on DVD in November 2011 51 52 Six months later this version was issued on the Early Takes Volume 1 compilation 53 In an interview with MusicRadar compilation producer Giles Martin said that the unpolished aspect of Harrison s performance made him uncertain at first about whether to include the song on Early Takes Martin continued It sounds like he s playing it to just one person late one evening which is very George It s a little bit special it shows how George could make something simple sound very spiritual almost dreamy in a way I think this works beautifully as a closer 54 Graham Reid has described the Early Takes version as variously a superb demo 44 and a revelation 55 In his review for No Ripcord Bevington writes in such a graceful recording there is a profound message which cuts even deeper to something Harrison quite obviously understood yet most never will 45 The Light That Has Lighted the World was covered by Japanese band Grapevine featuring guest vocalist Maika Shiratori daughter of Emiko Shiratori 56 on the Gentle Guitar Dreams Harrison tribute album released in May 2002 57 Personnel editGeorge Harrison lead vocals acoustic guitars slide guitar backing vocals Nicky Hopkins piano Gary Wright harmonium Klaus Voormann bass guitar Jim Keltner drumsReferences edit Badman pp 79 80 a b Clayson p 332 I ll Still Love You When Every Song Is Sung a lost song penned for Cilla by George Harrison receives May 2003 release Archived 21 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine CillaBlack com 1 April 2003 retrieved 13 March 2012 Madinger amp Easter pp 434 440 a b c d e Harrison p 268 Kevin Howlett booklet accompanying Living in the Material World reissue EMI Records 2006 produced by Dhani amp Olivia Harrison a b c d e Inglis p 39 a b c Spizer p 254 Badman p 43 The Concert for Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison and Friends DVD Apple Corps 2005 directed by Claire Ferguson produced by Olivia Harrison Jonathan Clyde amp Jo Human Pieper p 26 a b c d e f Leng p 128 Leng pp 127 28 129 30 The Editors of Rolling Stone pp 232 33 Olivia Harrison A Few Words About George in The Editors of Rolling Stone p 11 a b Andrew Tyler Nicky Hopkins Disc and Music Echo 4 December 1971 available at Rock s Backpages subscription required retrieved 21 July 2012 Leng p 125 Huntley p 91 a b Clayson p 323 a b Stephen Holden George Harrison Living in the Material World Archived 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Rolling Stone 19 July 1973 retrieved 13 March 2012 George Harrison Living In The Alternate World CD Discogs retrieved 21 July 2012 a b c Madinger amp Easter p 440 Castleman amp Podrazik p 125 Leng pp 130 137 Badman p 83 Allison p 149 Badman p 89 Schaffner p 160 Harrison p 385 Book accompanying Collaborations box set by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison Dark Horse Records 2010 produced by Olivia Harrison package design by Drew Lorimer amp Olivia Harrison p 32 Madinger amp Easter p 438 Lavezzoli p 195 Woffinden p 71 Woffinden p 72 a b Michael Watts The New Harrison Album Melody Maker 9 June 1973 p 3 The Editors of Rolling Stone p 188 Bruce Eder George Harrison Living in the Material World AllMusic retrieved 19 April 2012 Huntley pp 91 92 93 Rip Rense There Went the Sun Reflection on the Passing of George Harrison Beatlefan 29 January 2002 retrieved 14 December 2014 Dave Thompson The Music of George Harrison An album by album guide Goldmine 25 January 2002 p 17 Tom Doyle George Harrison Living in the Material World Q November 2006 p 156 Tom Doyle Hari Styles George Harrison The Apple Years 1968 1975 Mojo November 2014 p 109 Oregano Rathbone George Harrison The Apple Years 1968 75 Record Collector December 2014 retrieved 4 December 2014 a b Graham Reid George Harrison Revisited Part One 2014 The dark horse bolting out of the gate Elsewhere 24 October 2014 retrieved 4 December 2014 a b Matt Bevington Music Reviews George Harrison Early Takes Volume 1 No Ripcord 31 May 2012 retrieved 4 December 2014 Leng pp 90 128 Damian Fanelli George Harrison s 10 Greatest Guitar Moments After the Beatles guitarworld com 24 February 2016 retrieved 28 May 2016 Allison pp 22 149 George Harrison Living in the Material World DVD Disc 2 Village Roadshow 2011 directed by Martin Scorsese produced by Olivia Harrison Nigel Sinclair amp Martin Scorsese Ring Out the Old Contra Band Music 23 October 2012 retrieved 30 December 2012 Steve Leggett George Harrison George Harrison Living in the Material World Video AllMusic retrieved 31 October 2014 Joe Marchese Behind That Locked Door George Harrison Demos Surface on Early Takes Volume 1 The Second Disc 23 March 2012 retrieved 31 October 2014 Stephen Thomas Erlewine George Harrison Early Takes Vol 1 AllMusic retrieved 30 August 2012 Terry Staunton Giles Martin on George Harrison s Early Takes track by track MusicRadar 18 May 2012 retrieved 4 December 2014 Graham Reid George Harrison Early Takes Vol 1 Universal Elsewhere 30 April 2012 retrieved 4 December 2014 Game Music Emiko Shiratori Square Enix Music Online 4 June 2006 retrieved 22 October 2012 Various Artists Gentle Guitar Dreams CD Japan retrieved 15 September 2012 Sources editDale C Allison Jr The Love There That s Sleeping The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison Continuum New York NY 2006 ISBN 978 0 8264 1917 0 Keith Badman The Beatles Diary Volume 2 After the Break Up 1970 2001 Omnibus Press London 2001 ISBN 0 7119 8307 0 Harry Castleman amp Walter J Podrazik All Together Now The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961 1975 Ballantine Books New York NY 1976 ISBN 0 345 25680 8 Alan Clayson George Harrison Sanctuary London 2003 ISBN 1 86074 489 3 The Editors of Rolling Stone Harrison Rolling Stone Press Simon amp Schuster New York NY 2002 ISBN 0 7432 3581 9 George Harrison I Me Mine Chronicle Books San Francisco CA 2002 ISBN 0 8118 3793 9 Elliot J Huntley Mystical One George Harrison After the Break up of the Beatles Guernica Editions Toronto ON 2006 ISBN 1 55071 197 0 Ian Inglis The Words and Music of George Harrison Praeger Santa Barbara CA 2010 ISBN 978 0 313 37532 3 Peter Lavezzoli The Dawn of Indian Music in the West Continuum New York NY 2006 ISBN 0 8264 2819 3 Simon Leng While My Guitar Gently Weeps The Music of George Harrison Hal Leonard Milwaukee WI 2006 ISBN 1 4234 0609 5 Chip Madinger amp Mark Easter Eight Arms to Hold You The Solo Beatles Compendium 44 1 Productions Chesterfield MO 2000 ISBN 0 615 11724 4 Jorg Pieper The Solo Beatles Film amp TV Chronicle 1971 1980 lulu com 2012 ISBN 978 1 4092 8301 0 Nicholas Schaffner The Beatles Forever McGraw Hill New York NY 1978 ISBN 0 07 055087 5 Bruce Spizer The Beatles Solo on Apple Records 498 Productions New Orleans LA 2005 ISBN 0 9662649 5 9 Bob Woffinden The Beatles Apart Proteus London 1981 ISBN 0 906071 89 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Light That Has Lighted the World amp oldid 1215325192, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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