The Best of Dark Horse (1976-1989) (1989)


 

  1. Poor Little Girl
  2. Blow Away
  3. That's the Way it Goes
  4. Cockamamie Business
  5. Wake Up My Love
  6. Life Itself
  7. Got My Mind Set On You
  8. Crackerbox Palace
  9. Cloud Nine
  10.Here Comes the Moon
  11.Gone Troppo
  12.When We Was Fab
  13.Love Comes to Everyone
  14.All Those Years Ago
  15.Cheer Down

 

Released in 2004 as a retrospective of Harrison’s post-Apple material, The Best of the Dark Horse Years functions as a kind of de facto Volume Two to the earlier Best of George Harrison—a compilation that had awkwardly juxtaposed Beatles classics with tepid solo offerings. This time, there is no such confusion. The title tells you exactly what you’re getting, and it is, for once, an honest assessment.

The collection spans Harrison’s recordings on his own label, Dark Horse, covering the uneven years between Thirty Three & 1/3 and the triumphant Cloud Nine. That it manages to sound cohesive and, at times, genuinely compelling is a testament to the underrated quality of much of this material. While Harrison was rarely in vogue during this period, he was often in form.

The omission of his early-’70s masterpieces (All Things Must Pass, Living in the Material World) might seem glaring at first, but the scope is clearly stated. And in truth, the compilation benefits from the focus. This is a portrait of a quieter Harrison—less iconic, more introspective, and often more interesting because of it.

Tracks like Crackerbox Palace, Blow Away, and This Song represent the lighter, more self-aware side of Harrison’s writing. They are melodic, well-produced, and faintly odd in a way only he could deliver. Meanwhile, Life Itself and Your Love Is Forever showcase his spiritual sincerity without the overreach that occasionally marred earlier efforts.

The three newly included tracks offer an unexpected bonus. Poor Little Girl and Cheer Down (the latter originally released on the Lethal Weapon 2 soundtrack, of all places) are remarkably strong additions—sharply produced, lyrically crisp, and stylistically in step with Cloud Nine. Both could have easily found a home on that record. The only real stumble is Cockamamie Business. a track that wears out its welcome long before it ends. It isn’t terrible, merely overlong and under-edited—a minor misfire in an otherwise solid showing.

Taken as a whole, The Best of the Dark Horse Years is not just a contractual wrap-up or nostalgic filler. It is a quietly effective distillation of Harrison’s second act. These weren’t his hit-making years, nor were they particularly fashionable ones. But they were, in retrospect, more consistent than his early critics gave him credit for. There are no masterpieces here. But there is a great deal of good music—thoughtful, melodic, and unmistakably George. And for once, no one could say they weren’t told what to expect. It’s all in the title.

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