After the end of The Beatles, George Harrison constantly sought to assert his individuality, especially as he ventured into his solo projects. Harrison was determined to prove his own songwriting talents, something he often felt stifled by when sharing the spotlight with John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
However, even with his new found freedom, Harrison was far from eager to release everything he wrote. One such song that Harrison was particularly displeased with having released was ‘Beware of Darkness’, a track from his landmark solo album All Things Must Pass.
All Things Must Pass stands out as one of the most accomplished albums ever made by a former Beatle. The album was a triple LP that showcased Harrison’s profound musicality and lyrical maturity, offering listeners a chance to witness him in full creative bloom.
One of the most fascinating aspects of All Things Must Pass is the contrast between the finished versions of some of its tracks and the earlier demos that were later made public, particularly the demo for ‘Beware of Darkness’.
Harrison admitted that he didn’t have the same affection for the early version of this song, which was released much later in bootleg form.
“I didn’t even know it was recorded at the time,” Harrison confessed in a 2000 interview with Billboard. “It came out later on a bootleg, and it’s strange when something you didn’t ever consider to be a record is suddenly something somebody digs out and plays as what’s supposed to be the record. I have a problem with all that.”
Harrison’s desire for creative autonomy was long evident during his time with The Beatles. While Lennon and McCartney dominated the songwriting landscape of the band, Harrison found himself increasingly sidelined. Early on, he contributed a few tracks, but his songwriting was often overlooked or minimized in favor of Lennon and McCartney’s more known output.
Despite this, Harrison’s time in The Beatles was far from unproductive. He wrote some of the band’s most beloved tracks, including ‘Something’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’.
On the topic of songs Harrison doesn’t love: His frustrations with some of The Beatles’ songs were well-documented, and there were several tracks that he openly disliked. He wasn’t afraid to express his distaste for ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ in his own song, ‘Savoy Truffle’, referring to it as a “sour” track.
He also hated ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, a track that was universally disliked by all Beatles members except Paul McCartney. Harrison found the recording process for the song tedious and frustrating, remarking that McCartney’s insistence on making the song a cheerful tune in the face of its dark subject matter created an odd tension in the band.
Additionally, Harrison had a negative view of ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ and ‘Don’t Bother Me’ – two of his early contributions to The Beatles’ catalogue. In his autobiography I, Me, Mine, he expressed having felt that the latter was a weak attempt at songwriting and considered ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ to be a simple, uninspired tune that he was forced to sing.