谁是最伟大的吉他大师?埃里克·克莱普顿?桑塔那?彼得·汤森?努诺?每一个热爱音乐的朋友都有各自不同的答案,但是,很少有人提及乔治·哈里森。

谁是最伟大的摇滚乐队?大多数摇滚乐迷都会异口同声地答道:Beatles。

哈里森就这样在最伟大的摇滚乐队中扮演着最不引人注目的角色,却在不为人注意间发散着他个人的光彩魅力,用优美的吉他音色让世人永生难忘地记住了保罗·麦卡特尼的《HeyJude》、《Yesterday》和约翰·列侬的《Help》、《ComeTogether》、《LetitBe》,而哈里森作为Beatles中一位极具才华的吉他创作高手,在1962年—1970年近10年的时间中粘合着列侬与麦卡特尼两位伟大的摇滚巨星,创作了大量脍炙人口的专辑、歌曲。事实证明:“创世纪”、“警察”等巨星云集的摇滚豪门都不可能像Beatles这般能在如此之长的时间中,让乐队中两位才华横溢的成员相安无事地合作出那么多动听的旋律,一切只因为有了乔治·哈里森。

青涩的少年岁月

同列侬与麦卡特尼一样,哈里森也出生在利物浦的一个普通家庭,父亲是一名公共汽车司机,小乔治1943年2月15日降临人间以来,生活便舒适无忧。他是Beatles中懂事的小弟弟,从小学开始,他便和列侬相处在同一所学校,只是相差3个年级,而那时他与列侬并不相识。小乔治是一个聪明、善良的男孩。他为人坦诚,而且很独立,自从上学第二天开始,他便不再需要家人接送,自己独来独往。虽是小小年纪,但哈里森的个性已初现端倪了。他很有艺术天赋,还在很小的时候,他就在自己课本的空白处画满了自己喜爱的赛车及各种东西。

哈里森对吉他的兴趣可以说完全到了走火入魔的境地。初次拿起吉他不知如何摆弄的他,后来竟整夜不停地弹奏练习,直至指尖流血为止。年幼时,他与弟弟皮特曾组织了一个小乐队来满足他创作演唱的欲望。1954年,哈里森去利物浦艺术学院读书,在那里,他遇到了麦卡特尼,共同的情趣与爱好使两人很快成为好朋友,麦卡特尼对哈里森的音乐天赋十分欣赏,并把他介绍给列侬。3人结识后,对音乐的爱好与追求使他们组建了“TheSilverBeatles”(银披头士)乐队,直至加入日后的鼓手斯图尔特,并最终定名为日后横扫世界音乐领域的“TheBeatles”。

内敛的“甲壳虫”时光

任何乐队中风头最劲的人物大体上都是主音吉他手和乐队主唱,但是哈里森太平凡了,舞台上,他总是站在列侬与麦卡特尼中间靠后的位置,以娴熟的吉他演奏技巧与和声为乐队中的两位“大腕儿”伴唱。生活中,哈里森内敛的个性,使他总是给人一种安静、内向的印象,往往被Fans称为QuietBeatle(安静的甲壳虫)。虽然乐队中列侬和麦卡特尼的锋芒掩盖住了极具才华的哈里森,但失落的他还是用他平和的心性去安抚列侬与麦卡特尼之间的分歧,用他高超的吉他、编曲技巧和成熟自信的创作态度使Beatles的每一首作品都那么精致可人,优雅动听。

Beatles的音乐大致可分为两个阶段,在1962年—1964年之间,乐队吸取了不少50年代美国摇滚乐及灵魂乐,歌曲节奏分明,音乐悦耳,无需冗长的前奏就直接劈里啪啦地唱出。每首歌往往都是四拍一个重音,短小精悍,在前5张专辑中我们几乎听不到一首超过3分钟的作品。此时的哈里森的扫弦技巧尚不成熟,但较之更不专业的列侬的“作秀”弹奏来讲,哈里森简单、明快的吉他和弦还是撑起了Beatles音乐的半壁江山。1965年—1970年中,甲壳虫的音乐已经闻名遐迩,尤其是受到鲍勃·迪伦的刺激之后,他们把全部的精力放在了如何写出更有创意的歌曲之上,更多风格的音乐形式融入了Beatles的音乐,到了60年代中期,列侬与麦卡特尼沉浸在迷幻药中不能自拔,这时候哈里森的才华得到了充分的施展,只有他才能将前二者如痴如醉的创作灵感完完全全地表达出来。《NorwegianWood》中东方西塔琴的应用以及《Something》、《HereComestheSun》的创作让人们无不惊叹:哈里森也如此了得。

虽然较之时下金属乐队主音吉他手令人炫目的吉他Solo,哈里森的吉他技巧要稍显逊色,但是在上世纪的60—70年代,哈里森的音乐造诣无疑是不朽的。

成功的单飞发展

在Beatles的后期岁月中,哈里森对东方民族及其宗教发生了浓厚的兴趣,沉醉在“禅”的沉思和修炼及其神秘主义之中。在Beatles解散之后,一套3张的专辑唱片《AllThingsMustPass》以破纪录的13.98美元在1970年的圣诞节前夕发行了,专辑单曲在1970年12月的电台排行榜榜首停留达5周之久,专辑也成为英、美的头号畅销唱片,这大概是Beatles不朽的《Sgt·PeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand》之后最为受捧的专辑唱片了,哈里森彻底证明了他的音乐天赋,也为他日后的单飞生涯创造了一个良好的开端。一年之后,Apple公司又推出他的第二张著名的《TheConcertForBanglaDesh》,其中有埃里克·克莱普顿等明星加盟。哈里森在1973年的专辑《LiuimgInTheMateralWorld》中深邃的音乐风格使他实现了长久以来梦寐以求的愿望。但是1974年之后的哈里森显然无法在商业化的市场进程下从容应对,推出的几张专辑反响一般,在演出中还出现过失音的窘况,但其作品的高质量和艺术性还是很值得后人称颂的。

1987年专辑的主打《WhenWeWasFab》追忆了当年Beatles四兄弟亲密无间的美好时光,堪称其后期的经典。在流行音乐创作的同时,哈里森还热衷公益,他对人们的无度破坏感到悲伤,并希望用他的宗教观念去拯救正在遭受人为破坏的地球。

不幸的晚年生活

提及哈里森的故事便不能不提及另一位吉他大师埃里克·克莱普顿,这位伟大的吉他圣人一生中有两首感人落泪的作品,一首是世人皆知的《泪洒天堂》,献给其坠楼而亡的爱子,一首可称为上世纪最富激情的爱情歌曲《莱拉》,歌中令其朝思暮想的爱人便是哈里森的发妻。哈里森永远希望、羡慕的唐璜式的生活作风最终使自己的妻子投入了克莱普顿的怀抱。

1976年忙于法律纠纷的哈里森结识了A&M唱片公司27岁的墨西哥女秘书,并有生以来第一次坠入情网,与之结为连理。1978年8月1日,哈里森的第一个孩子来到了世间,这使他非常兴奋。夫妇两人在自己的豪宅中过着修道士式的清静生活。1999年一位瘾君子持刀闯入他们的家,险些使他成为继列侬之后另一位死在家中的Beatles成员。此后的哈里森显然无法走出恐怖事件的阴影,两年前检查出的喉癌病症又不断恶化。今年5月,他在美国做手术取出了肺部部分感染的癌细胞组织。7月,因吸烟过度而身染喉癌、肺癌的哈里森又患上了脑瘤。直至11月30日,上个世纪最伟大的吉他手之一的乔治·哈里森终于永远地合上了双眼。而在年初他与儿子录制的单曲《AHorseToWater》则成了哈里森的不朽绝唱。


提供者:hehe
by Bruce Eder
As lead guitarist for the Beatles, George Harrison provided the band with a lyrical style of playing in which every note mattered. Harrison was one of millions of young Britons inspired to take up the guitar by British skiffle king Lonnie Donegans recording of Rock Island Line. But he had more dedication than most, and with the encouragement of a slightly older school friend — Paul McCartney — he advanced quickly in his technique and command of the instrument. Harrison developed his style and technique slowly and painstakingly over the several years, learning everything he could from the records of Carl Perkins, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran. By age 15, he was allowed to sit in with the Quarry Men, the Liverpool group founded by John Lennon, of which McCartney was a member; by 16, he was a full-fledged member of the group.

The Beatles finally coalesced around Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and drummer Ringo Starr in 1962, with Harrison established on lead guitar. The Beatlemania years, from 1963 through 1966, were a mixed blessing for Harrison. The Beatles studio sound was generally characterized by very prominent rhythm guitar parts, and on many of the Beatles early songs, Harrisons lead guitar was buried beneath the chiming chords of Lennons instrument. Additionally, he was thwarted as a songwriter by the presence of Lennon and McCartney; the quality and proliferation of their output left very little room on the groups albums for songs by anyone else. Despite these problems, Harrison grew markedly as a musician between 1963 and 1966, writing a handful of good songs and one classic (If I Needed Someone), and also making his first acquaintance of the sitar, an Indian instrument whose sound fascinated him.

In 1966, Harrison finally seemed to find his voice with two of his songs on the Revolver album, Taxman and Love You Too. In the wake of the groups decision to stop touring, Harrisons playing and songwriting grew exponentially. The period from 1968 onward was Harrisons richest with the Beatles. He displayed a smooth, elegant slide guitar technique that showed up on their last three albums; and he contributed two classic songs, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Here Comes the Sun, along with Something, which became the first Harrison song on the A-side of a Beatles single.

Although never known as a strong singer, Harrisons vocals were always distinctive, especially when placed in the right setting; for his first solo record following the groups 1970 breakup, All Things Must Pass, Harrison collaborated with producer Phil Spector, whose so-called Wall of Sound technique adapted well to Harrisons voice. All Things Must Pass and the accompanying single My Sweet Lord had the distinction of being the first solo recordings by any of the Beatles to top the charts following their breakup. Unfortunately, Harrison was later successfully sued by the publisher of the 1962 Chiffons hit Hes So Fine, which bore a striking resemblance to My Sweet Lord.

Harrison followed All Things Must Pass with rocks first major charity event, The Concert for Bangladesh, which was staged as two shows at New Yorks Madison Square Garden in 1971 to help raise money for aid to that famine-ravaged nation. The second of the two all-star shows was released as a movie and a live triple album. Harrisons next studio album, Living in the Material World, initially sold well, but its leaner, less opulent production lacked the majestic force of All Things Must Pass, and it lacked the earlier albums mass appeal. Subsequent Harrison albums from the 1970s into the 80s always had an audience, but — except for Somewhere in England (1981), released in the wake of the murder of John Lennon with the memorial song All Those Years Ago — none seemed terribly well-crafted or -executed. During this same period, Harrison embarked on a successful career as a movie producer with the founding of Handmade Films.

In 1987, Harrison made a return to the top of the charts with his album Cloud Nine, which featured his most inspired work in years, most notably a cover of an old Rudy Clark gospel number called Got My Mind Set on You, which reached number one on the charts. In 1988, Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison formed the Traveling Wilburys, who released two very successful albums. It was also around this time that Harrison appeared with his former bandmate Ringo Starr, Dave Edmunds, Rosanne Cash, and the Stray Cats Lee Rocker (who was born the year the Beatles made their first recordings) in a superb live-in-front-of-the-cameras rockabilly performance accompanying Harrisons one-time idol Carl Perkins; which was subsequently released on video cassette and laser disc. All of this success heralded a short-lived re-emergence for the musician out of private life, resulting in a 1991 tour of Japan that yielded a live album (Live in Japan). Harrison had hated concertizing since the harrowing days of the Beatles international career, and had done one poorly received concert tour in the mid-70s; he seemed more comfortable in 1991, and the album performed moderately well, driven by the presence of his then-recent hits.

He withdrew into private life after that, devoting himself to his life with his second wife and their son, and only re-emerged before the public when necessary, such as defending the Beatles copyrights in court cases.

In 1999, Harrison was assaulted in his home and seriously injured by a deranged fan, but he recovered and in 2000 he began work on remastering and expanding his classic All Things Must Pass album. The reissue of that album at the outset of 2001 heralded an unusually public publicity campaign by Harrison, who accompanied its re-release with an interview record that anticipated the eventual reissue of the rest of his catalog. Harrison had been treated for throat cancer in the late 90s, but in 2001 it was revealed that he was suffering from an inoperable form of brain cancer. At the time of his death on November 29, 2001, The Concert for Bangladesh album had been announced for upgraded reissue in January of 2002, and a DVD of the film was in release internationally.