When they’re in the studio, musicians are usually a little bit of perfectionists. Even though it can seem pointless to spend endless hours trying to compose the ideal song, it occasionally takes those long hours to produce work that is even somewhat satisfactory. George Harrison didn’t think he gave his best performance on the John Lennon song “Gimme Some Truth,” despite the fact that he typically had plenty of time to craft his solos on Beatles records.
It’s incredible that any of the Fab Four were willing to collaborate again after their public falling out. However, the majority of the group split up over business disagreements. Everyone supported Paul McCartney. Harrison was more than happy to play on one of Lennon’s songs if the time called for it.
“Gimme Some Truth” actually sounds a lot like a Beatles song that was never really released. Fans saw footage of the group practicing an early version of the song while watching the Get Back series production. McCartney even assisted Lennon in a few parts of the song.
The final product is Lennon through and through, even though the “Cute Beatle” could have given the song more of his charm. Many of the song’s best moments occur as he rallies against dishonest politicians. His search for purpose in life seems to echo themes from “Revolution” a few years earlier.
In the boxed version of the album, Lennon recalled that Harrison gave a fantastic guitar solo, but that the guitarist was insecure about it. He said, “I like the track because it sounds good, but it didn’t get much attention, so it’s a personal track that I like the sound of.” The voice sounds good, the guitars sound good, and it says what it wants to say. George plays a cool steel finger solo (I like it, he’s not too proud of it).
To be fair, Harrison had not yet gotten accustomed to playing slide guitar when he began recording the song. Working with Delaney and Bonnie in between Beatles sessions introduced him to the new style of playing. The demos for All Things Must Pass include early takes from this period when he was still refining his skills on the instrument.
You can’t blame George Harrison for trying, even though the outcome might be a little more haphazard than what he would eventually tell us. The sitar solo echoes Harrison’s performance of “Norwegian Wood” from Rubber Soul. It focuses less on attempting highly complex playing and more on simply finding the notes on the instrument.
Harrison was unlike any other guitarist as soon as he found his voice on the guitar. The “Quiet Beatle” often spoke through his instrument rather than relying on lyrics. It seemed as though he was continuing the tradition of musicians like Ravi Shankar. They turned their music into a spiritual experience. Although “Gimme Some Truth” was an excellent beginning, it was only a means to an even more exquisite guitar voice.
