Music

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Harrison's widow hopes her book offers new perspective on ex-Beatle

By: John Carucci

Posted: 05/2/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

NEW YORK -- George Harrison's widow Olivia hopes to add more perspective on the reticent Beatle with her new digital book, and fill in the blanks left by Martin Scorsese's recent documentary.

Based on Scorsese's George Harrison: Living in the Material World, the multi-touch book of the same name is available at the iTunes bookstore. It includes audio, video material from the film along with personal photographs, letters, and memorabilia never seen by the public (a traditional print edition of the book has been in stores).

Along with the multi-touch book, the DVD of the documentary also came out on Tuesday.

Scorsese's three-and-a-half hour film on Harrison shows his spiritual side, from his early days with the Beatles to his exploration of Eastern music and religion, and also includes his death in 2001. In a telephone interview from London, Olivia Harrison, who served as one of the film's producers, said she loved the message of the film, but felt it didn't cover her husband's other "sides."

"Marty chose the music for the narrative and it drives the story. I think he fit the music perfectly in there, but there's was a point when I realized, 'Oh wow, we're not going to get past 1975,"' Harrison said. She noted the absence of the song Taxman and his 1987 comeback album, Cloud Nine.

"It was clear, pretty quickly, that we could not fit everything," she acknowledged.

And she notes that the Harrison documentary, which aired last year on HBO, includes more of the ex-Beatle's career in comparison to Scorsese's No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, which covered Dylan from when he arrived in New York in 1961 to his eventual switch to "electric."

"You know, that documentary ends in 1966. That's it. And you know the volume of music that Bob (Dylan) has produced since then," Harrison said. "Both are three-plus hour movies, yet this one covers a bigger span of George's life."

The documentary covers his early years with the Beatles and post-Beatles solo career. Much of the emphasis is on the former Beatle's travels to India as he explored both the spirituality and music of the country, as well as his collaboration with Ravi Shankar.

Giles Martin, son of the Beatles legendary producer George Martin, did some of the music production on the film. He said Harrison enlightened his father when it came to Eastern music and instrumentation.

"He pushed the boundaries with his journey through Indian music," Martin said.

"My dad said when George brought (his song) Within You Without You to (the Beatles album) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he didn't know what to make of it. In that context in that time, 1966, world music wasn't readily available," he added. "So he introduced my dad to the sitar."

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 2, 2012 $sourceSection0

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Music

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.