George Harrison praised for ‘sublime’ playing on John Lennon’s diss track for Paul McCartney

A “sublime” bit of playing from George Harrison had listeners praise his part on a diss track aimed at Paul McCartney.

The not-so-subtle How Do You Sleep? featured on John Lennon‘s album, Imagine, in response to McCartney’s Too Many People. The song featured on McCartney’s second solo album, Ram. A surprise collaboration between Harrison and Lennon became a major part of How Do You Sleep, which would mark the final song of the so-called song wars between Lennon and McCartney. The former bandmates would trade blows with one another in the years following The Beatles‘ break-up. Ringo Starr, who did not appear on the song, allegedly told Lennon: “That’s enough,” and asked him to remove a handful of nastier lines.

But an earlier take of How Do You Sleep? has been hailed by listeners, with Harrison’s performance hailed as one of his very best moments on guitar. One fan of the song, which has been uploaded to YouTube, reads: “George Harrison’s slide playing is sublime. Just like everything else he’s ever played, it’s sensitive and tasteful, yet fits the music perfectly.”

Another praised the track, adding: “George’s touch on the slide guitar is impeccable.” A third shared: “George’s Guitar playing is mind-blowing!” Despite the harshness of the song, Harrison’s playing was praised by fans of the track.

Others have gone as far as to say it’s Harrison’s very best playing, with the unused version showcasing the so-called quiet one of The Beatles in a career-best moment. One fan posting to the r/Beatles subreddit added: “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.”

Another shared: “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 we’re doing’ or something like that. I’m like, that is some of the best playing I’ve heard in my entire life. Really insane.”

A third 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.”