Fans of George Harrison are calling his work on an unused How Do You Sleep take “the best playing he ever did”.
Post-The Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote retaliatory songs against one another. Lennon’s How Do You Sleep was a response to McCartney’s Ram track, Too Many People. Harrison joined Lennon on How Do You Sleep, a song which featured on Imagine and was dubbed a personal jab at McCartney after the fallout of the Fab Four. McCartney had joked he was planning a follow-up, titled Quite Well, Thank You, but it never came to pass.
Fans of How Do You Sleep and Harrison are now saying an earlier take of the song hides one of his best performances as a guitarist. A post to The Beatles’ subreddit saw people share their fondness for his guitar playing on How Do You Sleep. One user wrote: “George’s guitar on How Do You Sleep (Takes 5 and 6) is some of the best playing he ever did.”
Another user agreed, adding: “Even on the official album version I’d agree with that statement. He had a lot of career moments where he shined as a guitarist but this is my number one.” A third suggested “everyone” was in top form on this “insane take”. They wrote: “In those versions, everyone kinda pops off.
“Nicky Hopkins is especially excellent. I don’t get why something closer to those versions was included on the album. It always cracks me up when John says ‘can we stop and see what were doing’ or something like that. I’m like, that is some of the best playing I’ve heard in my entire life. Really insane.”
George’s guitar on How Do You Sleep (Takes 5 and 6) is some of the best playing he ever did
byu/Themostguyfulguy inbeatles
Other users highlighted a few other tracks from Harrison as a brilliant display of his songwriting abilities. One wrote: “George was a hot player for sure, especially in the seventies but definitely on Beatles songs like Something. That solo is about as near to perfection as it gets. I can’t picture other more flashy players even coming close. The bends and the overall control he displays bring to mind the words 10, diamond and unbeatable.”
How Do You Sleep was written as a response to McCartney’s Too Many People. McCartney said: “Too Many People was really a message to John across the airwaves. I did feel like he was preaching a little bit about what people should do and how they should live their lives. I felt the song was a bit hypocritical. There was a little spate of song wars that went on, you know, he’d done How Do You Sleep? and I nearly did a song, Quite Well, Thank You.
“It kind of settled down, The Beatles mess got sorted out and we were able to talk to each other like human beings and friends and that was something I was really always very glad on because we’d been through too much to let business arguments blow up our whole relationship.”
One of the best solos GH did on someone else’s work was on Alvin Lee’s “Bluest Blues”.
Harrison did the first solo and Lee did the last one (also outstanding)…
I only wish George had played more edgy stuff with a real bite, like he does on How Do You Sleep.
This unmixed take shows how good the production was in Imagine The tone of the guitar solo on the album track sounds superb.
I can’t see past Old Brown Shoe as the pinnacle of George’s lead playing. My only complaint is that he didn’t play like that often enough.