Beware of Darkness (song)
The lyrics warn against allowing illusion to get in the way of one's true purpose in life, an admonition that, like the content of "My Sweet Lord", reflects the influence of Harrison's association with the Radha Krishna Temple.[7][8] In spring 1970, Harrison invited some of the movement's members to stay at Friar Park, his recently purchased estate in Oxfordshire, to help him restore the large house and overgrown gardens, and to give his new home an intensely spiritual atmosphere.[11] According to American keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, the song was partly informed by Harrison's difficulties with his former Beatles bandmates and their business manager, Allen Klein, in the period immediately after the band's break-up.Whitlock, who also stayed at Friar Park, cites this as one of several preoccupations that made up "a day in the life of George Harrison", along with the stresses of restoring the property with Boyd, dealing with Spector's idiosyncrasies, and indulging the Hare Krishna devotees.[26] The sessions for All Things Must Pass typically featured a large cast of musicians, in keeping with Spector's Wall of Sound approach,[27] although the participants' varied recollections have made precise identification of each song's contributors open to conjecture.[38] Spector suggested Harrison redo the reduction mix (or "bump") to give more prominence to these rhythm parts,[38] which were played on acoustic guitar by members of the group Badfinger throughout the sessions.[44][nb 5] In his description of the released recording, author Elliot Huntley says that the track's musical tension escalates to "breaking point" with Harrison's mid-song slide guitar solo.[53] Part of this original poster was a painting of a bathing scene featuring naked women (one of whom was blonde, representing Boyd) and a "mischievous" Krishna, who had hidden the bathers' clothing in the branches of a nearby tree.[55] In his contemporary review of All Things Must Pass, Ben Gerson of Rolling Stone wrote that "Beware of Darkness" was possibly the album's best song, commenting on its "enigmatic" music and the combination of "warning" and "affirmation" in its lyrics.Schaffner paired "Beware of Darkness" with "All Things Must Pass" as "the two most eloquent songs on the album, musically as well as lyrically" with "mysterious, seductive melodies, over which faded strings ... hover like Blue Jay Way fog".Further to Harrison's standing as the most spiritually focused Beatle, Frontani continues, the message of the line "Beware of maya" "anchored his artistic and personal life for the next three decades".[61][nb 8] AllMusic critic Richie Unterberger similarly views "Beware of Darkness" as one of the highlights of All Things Must Pass,[63] while authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter call it a "stunning composition" that demonstrates the considerable growth in Harrison's songwriting since 1965.describes it as "Harrison's best album's very best song – one where he perfectly matches a lyrical meditation on overcoming life's harder moments … with the sound, mysticism and fury of one of the early 1970s' greatest amalgamations of sidemen".[66] GQ's George Chesterton also rates the song "among Harrison's best", writing: Again, sung in the second person and full of pointed advice, it swishes around with new-found confidence and has some of his most elegant, yearning chord progressions as well as some of his best slide guitar playing.He highlighted Harrison's warning "Watch out now, take care, beware of greedy leaders" as a follow-up to statements in the preceding tracks – namely "Open up your heart and come together" in Starr's "It Don't Come Easy" and, before that, "I hope you get this message" in Billy Preston's "That's the Way God Planned It".[96] In AllMusic critic Thom Jurek's description, the band employ "a full-blown choir, thundering guitars, and Neal Morse's growling vocal to create another valid and moving version of the tune".
George HarrisonAll Things Must PassSongwriter(s)Producer(s)Phil SpectorMy Sweet LordRadha Krishna TempleLeon Russellthe Concert for BangladeshEric ClaptonConcert for GeorgeMarianne FaithfullSpock's BeardConcrete BlondeMatthew SweetSusanna HoffsSheryl CrowBeatlesApple RecordsHare Krishna MantraSomethingKrishnaPattie BoydFriar ParkOxfordshireI, Me, MineBobby WhitlockAllen Kleinband's break-upJohn HarrisAtlas cedarWithin You Without Youmiddle eightAtlas cedarsmelodypedal pointG majorG sharp minorWilfrid MellersC sharp minorD majorC majorchromaticWall of SoundBruce SpizerDave MasonGary WrightCarl RadleRingo StarrvibraphoneAlan WhiteJohn Barhamreduction mixBadfingergospelAmerican Southslide guitarIsn't It a Pitymusical tensionApple ScruffsTom WilkesThe New York TimesRolling StoneNicholas Schaffner[John] LennonJohn Lennon/Plastic Ono BandBlue Jay WayMike HennesseyGoldmineDave ThompsonArt of Dying1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You DieTom MoonThe Cambridge Companion to the BeatlesAllMusicRichie UnterbergerPopMattersFort Wayne Philharmonic OrchestraNeil InnesPaul McCartneyBrian WilsonDebussyBeware of DarknessHere Comes the SunDonald Trump's presidential campaignRepublican National ConventionTed LassoConcert for BangladeshMadison Square GardenThe GuardianGeoffrey CannonIt Don't Come EasyBilly PrestonThat's the Way God Planned ItBeware of ABKCO!ABKCO IndustriesLeon Russell and the Shelter PeopleToby CreswellchiaroscuroRich Kid BluesNeal MorseJoe CockerHymn for My SoulUnder the Covers, Vol. 2ThreadsBrandi CarlileLate Show with Stephen Colbertslide guitarsgold recordsGovindaBarry FeinsteinWhat Is LifeImagineClassic RockFar Out MagazineRecord MirrorAmerican SongwriterThe Daily BeastMusic ConnectionStereogumRecord CollectorConsequence of SoundAllison, Dale C. JrCreswell, TobyHarrison, GeorgeMellers, Wilfrid