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George Harrison – first tour since 1966 and a rotten cold.

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George Harrison this weekend – recorded November 12, 1974 at The Fabulous Forum by KMET-FM in Los Angeles.

A welcome and much anticipated tour, sadly made difficult with George battling a rotten cold. Even at the beginning of this concert he indicates he just got “out of bed”, complete with hoarse voice and strained notes.

But it didn’t diminish the fact that, here was a former Beatle – on his first bonafide tour of the U.S. since 1966 – complete with pre-tour Press conference, where he indicated enthusiasm over touring, over Dark Horse, his label and poo-pooing any notion “The Beatles were reuniting any lifetime soon”. It’s been the one prevalent question from just about every interview conducted since 1970 and it drew an audible groan from the Press who gathered to talk about the tour and about his opening act, Ravi Shankar.

Health and head colds aside, it was a tour that let everyone know George Harrison was a legend in his own right and it sold out every venue he played.

Even at that, there were a few nods to his former life. A rendition of In My Life created a flood of nostalgia and a few wistful thoughts. But the rest was recent, going as far back as The White Album for his early endeavors with Something. It pretty much covered the All Things Must Pass period up to his upcoming fifth album, Dark Horse.

The audience was enthusiastic. The Press- less so. Criticism of the paucity of Beatles material and lip-service to his former life – annoyance at his lavish praise of Ravi Shankar and a festival of petulance that only the Rock Press could give (them that can, do – them that can’t become critics or Masters of the Air Guitar). It managed to put a damper on future touring until The Traveling Wilburys in the late 1980s.

So this concert has become significant – it’s been issued in various clandestine forms over the years – this one, by way of a KMET Aircheck and one that adds another dimension on what became the Insane 70s.

Enjoy.

The post George Harrison – Los Angeles – 1974 – Past Daily Weekend Brunch appeared first on Past Daily: A Sound Archive of News, History And Music.