Within You Without You

July 15, 2024
Rogovoy (Bob Dylan), a contributing editor for the Forward, presents a boisterous celebration of George Harrison, “the quiet, serious, and spiritual” Beatle whose contributions were sometimes overlooked (Frank Sinatra covered Harrison’s “Something” for years, referring to it as his “favorite Lennon and McCartney song”). As Rogovoy shows, Harrison brought Indian classical music influences into the band’s sound and masterminded unique chords that transformed conventional tunes into masterpieces (for “A Hard Day’s Night,” he devised an “atonal but not dissonant” opening chord, which Rogovoy categorizes as “the single most emblematic sound of the Beatles’ entire recording catalog”). Rogovoy also delves into Harrison’s solo career and makes the case that his reticent personality belied his ability to lead when necessary, including at 1971’s Concert for Bangladesh, a charity event where Harrison served as the “organizer and frontman, neither of which he had been before.” Rogovoy’s framing of Harrison as a pure artist immune to fame can sometimes slip into hagiography, but it’s redeemed by his astute analysis of Harrison’s musical evolution and delightful turns of phrase (the song “I’m Talking to You” has a “hang-on-for-dear-life-feel, with its fast tempo and relentless pulse”). While it doesn’t break new ground, this loving ode will captivate Harrison’s fans.