From EXTRA TEXTURE: READ ALL ABOUT IT
Written by George Harrison
Released in 1975, “Extra Texture: Read All About It” is one of George Harrison’s most well crafted albums of his solo career. The former Beatle prepared a collection of lovely pop songs that had broad listener appeal. The driving beats of the first song and hit single, “You,” welcome the listener who’s quickly entrapped, song after song, by the pretty melodies and superior arrangements. Recorded in Los Angeles, the album showcased Harrison’s confident voice and unmistakable guitar. The recording sessions included top musicians like Gary Wright, Tom Scott, Willie Weeks, Jim Keltner, and a young David Foster attending one of his most important sessions to date. Foster was called to play on “Extra Texture: Read All About It” by Harrison himself who was a fan of his keyboard playing. The young, up and coming musician really left his mark on the sessions, playing a variety of keyboards on eight songs as well as arranging the strings on the whole album.
Among the songs Foster played on, we picked “The Answer’s At The End” for our weekly review. It’s an intimate ballad tenderly sung by Harrison who also plays a few effective guitar licks. It is one of the best melodies written by Harrison during the course of his solo career. Foster’s outstanding performance on the acoustic piano gives the song depth and is a much-needed counterpart to the singer’s performance while the soothing strings add a touch of magic. “Extra Texture: Read All About It” reached the top ten and was quickly certified gold. Harrison returned one year later with a new album, “33 1/3,” which again included David Foster among its key players.
Listen
[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/the_answer_s_at_the_end.mp3|titles=The answer’s at the end|artists=George Harrison]
Vocals & Guitar: George Harrison
Acoustic Piano: David Foster
Drums: Jim Keltner
Bass: Paul Stallworth
Organ: Gary Wright
Percussion: Norm Kinney
String Arrangement by David Foster
Produced by George Harrison
Lyrics
Scan not a friend with a microscopic glass
You know his faults, now let the foibles pass
Life is one long enigma, my friend
So read on, read on, the answer’s at the end
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you love
It’s the ones that you love we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you need
It’s the ones that you need we think so little of
The speech of flowers excels the flowers of speech
But what’s often in your heart, is the hardest thing to reach
And life is one long mystery, my friend
So live on, live on, the answer’s at the end
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you love
It’s the ones that you love we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you need
It’s the ones that you need we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you love
It’s the ones that you love we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you need
It’s the ones that you need we think so little of
Oh, we think so little of the ones that we love, sometimes
Isn’t it a pity how we hurt
The ones that we love the most of all
The ones we shouldn’t hurt at all
You know my faults, now let the foibles pass
‘Cause life is one long enigma, my friend
Live on, live on, the answer’s at the end
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you love
It’s the ones that you love we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you need
It’s the ones that you need we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you love
It’s the ones that you love we think so little of
Don’t be so hard on the ones that you need
It’s the ones that you need we think so little of
The ones that we love
We hurt the most of all, sometimes
And isn’t it a pity how
We hurt the ones that we love (fade)