George Harrison reaches out from The Great Beyond to bless us all with a gift that infuses his memory and his legacy with new vigor and energy. That gift is literally and figuratively For the Love of George, an album of acoustic instrumental covers of classic Harrisongs by acclaimed and accomplished gypsy jazz guitarist Robin Nolan.
Nolan brings his ambidextrous six-string skills to bear on clever reinterpretations of nine Harrison tracks, the Paul McCartney and John Lennon Beatles song “And I Love Her’ – whose inventive guitar riff McCartney credits to Harrison – and a completely new composition based on chords that Harrison wrote on an envelope that was found shortly after his passing in 2001.
The spirit of Harrison permeates the album, not only because most of the songs are his, but also because the album was recorded at his Friar Park estate in England, with Nolan exclusively playing several of Harrison’s guitars. Harrison was also a friend of Nolan’s and became sort of a musical father figure to Nolan in the years before Harrison’s passing.
I am remiss that I had been previously unaware of Nolan’s career all
these years. He has been performing and recording professionally since the
early 1990s, most predominantly in the gypsy jazz guitar style made famous by the
late, great icon, Django Reinhardt.
But Nolan is far more than just a gypsy jazz guitarist. He is a
fantastic and all-around versatile musician, easily and effortlessly adaptable
to any style and genre. Just based on this album alone, I now consider him one
of my favorite guitarists, up there with greats such as Andy Summers, Allan
Holdsworth, Pat Metheny, Eric Johnson, Hiram Bullock, Paul Speer, and Shambhu.
Nolan’s adaptations of Harrison’s music are generally faithful and
recognizable while brimming with Nolan’s unique and flavorful flourishes. The
only jarring tune is Nolan’s take on “My Sweet Lord,” but only because the new
version is so different in tempo and style compared to the original. While
Harrison’s song is a reverent, heartfelt, and loving pop hymn to The Supreme
Being, Nolan’s take is jaunty and upbeat and jazzy and snazzy. In and of
itself, Nolan’s version is perfectly fine. It’s just that this apple falls the
farthest from its tree.
The title track, while mostly original, completely exudes the feel and sound of Harrison. This is obviously partly due to the fact that it’s based on Harrison’s chords, but Nolan completes it totally in the style of Harrison while imbuing it with his own sonic footprint. In the end, both the song and the album become both of theirs, labors of love in which Nolan and Harrison become synonymous. For the Love of George is literally Nolan’s love of George.
George Harrison would be proud.
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