Wonderwall Music

Wonderwall Music
Soundtrack album by George Harrison
Released	1 November 1968 (1968-11-01)
Recorded	December 1967 in England, 9–17 January 1968 in Bombay, India
Genre	Rock, indian, folk rock
Length	45:43
Label	Apple/EMI
Producer	George Harrison
George Harrison chronology
Wonderwall Music (1968) Electronic Sound (1969)

Wonderwall Music is George Harrison's first solo album and the soundtrack to the film Wonderwall. The songs are virtually all instrumental, except for some non-English vocals and a slowed-down spoken word track. The songs were recorded in December 1967 in England, and January 1968 in Bombay, India. Wonderwall Music is notable for being the first official solo album by one of the Beatles^[1] and Apple Records' first LP release. The album is currently out of print.^[2]

Recording

The recordings for the album were started in December 1967 in England. The rest was recorded in January 1968 in Bombay, India. Also recorded during the Indian sessions was the backing track to "The Inner Light", which became the B-side to "Lady Madonna", the final Beatles single on Parlophone Records.

Some of the musician's credits are pseudonyms for Harrison, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr^{[citation needed]}. Harrison is listed merely as producer, arranger and writer for the album. Peter Tork of The Monkees also played banjo (specifically, one borrowed from Paul McCartney), but was not credited.^{[citation needed]} Tork has stated that his brief recording features in the movie, but not on the soundtrack album.^[3]

All of the tracks were composed by Harrison, and it was the first official solo album by a Beatle. It was the first album release on the newly formed Apple Records, appearing in November 1968, a few weeks before The Beatles. It would also be the first Apple record to be deleted, though it was remastered and reissued on CD in 1992.

In the CD liner notes, Harrison's description of the recording done in England is revealing: "I had a regular wind-up stopwatch and I watched the film to 'spot-in' the music with the watch. I wrote the timings down in my book, then I'd go to Abbey Road, make up a piece, record it." While the tracks recorded in England were made on multitrack recording machines and remixed, the Indian portions were recorded live to two-track stereo.

Chart history

Wonderwall Music did not chart at all in the United Kingdom, but reached #49 in the United States in early 1969.

Cultural impact

Britpop band Oasis, well known for their love of the Beatles and their music, had a hit with a song called "Wonderwall" in the 1990s. The title may refer to the movie or to George Harrison's soundtrack album.^[4]

Track listing

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

All songs by George Harrison.

Side One

1. "Microbes" – 3:42
2. "Red Lady Too" – 1:56
3. "Tabla and Pakavaj" – 1:05
4. "In the Park" – 4:08
5. "Drilling a Home" – 3:08
6. "Guru Vandana" – 1:05
7. "Greasy Legs" – 1:28
8. "Ski-ing" – 1:50
9. "Gat Kirwani" – 1:15
10. "Dream Scene" – 5:26

Side Two

1. "Party Seacombe" – 4:34
2. "Love Scene" – 4:17
3. "Crying" – 1:15
4. "Cowboy Music" – 1:29
5. "Fantasy Sequins" – 1:50
6. "On the Bed" – 1:05
7. "Glass Box" – 2:22
8. "Wonderwall to Be Here" – 1:25
9. "Singing Om" – 1:54

Tracks 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 17, and 18 were recorded in England, while tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 19 were recorded in India.

Personnel

England (December 1967)

• John Barham – piano, flügelhorn
• Colin Manley – guitar, steel guitar
• Tony Ashton – jangle piano, organ
• Philip Rogers – bass guitar
• Roy Dyke – drums
• Tommy Reilly – harmonica
• Eddie Clayton (Eric Clapton) – guitar
• Richie Snare (Ringo Starr) – drums
• Peter Tork – banjo (uncredited)

India (January 1968)

• Aashish Khan – sarod
• Mahapurush Misra – tabla, pakavaj
• Sharad Jadev – shehnai
• Hanuman Jadev – shehnai
• Shambu-Das – sitar
• Indril Bhattacharya – sitar
• Shankar Ghosh – sitar
• Chandra Shekhar – surbahar
• Shivkumar Sharma – santoor
• S. R. Kenkare – flute
• Vinaik Vora – thar-shehnai
• Rij Ram Desad – harmonium, tabla-tarang

Notes

1. ^ The soundtrack of the film The Family Way, composed primarily by Paul McCartney, was issued in January 1967, but the album contains only incidental music, not performed by McCartney.
2. ^ "George Harrison Wonderwall Music". George Harrison. http://www.georgeharrison.com/#/music/release/wonderwall-music. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
3. ^ Peter Tork radio interview - Strange Dave Show (January 2010). Retrieved 18 November 2011
4. ^ Ingham, Chris (2003). The Rough Guide to the Beatles. Rough Guides. p. 162. ISBN 1843531402. 

External links

• Wonderwall at the Internet Movie Database