More importantly, it shows off HarrisonРІР‚в„ўs prodigious talent as a guitar player more than any of his other solo efforts.

While the set does not contain the consistency of the great writing present in All Things Must Pass, it contains three stunning works-РІР‚СљGive Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth,РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљSue Me, Sue You Blues,РІР‚Сњ and РІР‚СљDonРІР‚в„ўt Let Me Wait Too LongРІР‚Сњ along with other fine material and a little filler. Living in the Material WorldР’В remains a record of its time, when the self-improvement movement and fascination with spirituality hit at a peak. HarrisonРІР‚в„ўs struggle between the two extremes involved fast cars and cocaine-and meditation and striving for self-awareness. On the front, the hand holds a Hindu medallion and on the back, a couple quarters and a silver dollar. Such duality reveals itself on the albumРІР‚в„ўs front and back cover photographs of a hand. At the same time, Harrison lived in a spiritual world and devoted much of his energy to Hinduism. A chauffeured limousine awaits his pleasure out front, behind which resides an exotic Italian sports car. In the distance, you can spot HarrisonРІР‚в„ўs 120-room mansion set on 62 acres. (Only a couple of acres of his estate are visible in the photograph.) The table setting functions as a parody of Leonardo de VinciРІР‚в„ўs The Last Supper. On the one hand, Harrison enjoyed great wealth-reflected on the inside of the recordРІР‚в„ўs foldout cover that depicts the singer and several select friends enjoying a lavish meal on a table set on his manicured front lawn. Harrison, like at least one other former Beatle, proved an extremely complicated and conflicted person-a trait that shows up nowhere as clearly as on his 1973 album. Jacques RivetteРІР‚в„ўs incomparable La Belle Noiseuse-about a reclusive artist living with his wife (played by Jane Birkin) in the French countryside, and whose life gets upended when a young model arrives and awakens his waning gifts-complements the theme of artistic inspiration running through both the film and Living in the Material World.Р”Р„fter rushing out of the post-Beatles gate with his masterpiece All Things Must Pass, George Harrison took a few years to build up to what many believe ranks as his other (albeit underappreciated) masterwork, Living in the Material World.

But the relationship was cratering in part because of HarrisonРІР‚в„ўs unshared devotion to Hindu spirituality, his infidelities, and Eric ClaptonРІР‚в„ўs infatuation with Boyd that would ultimately lead to their marriage. At the time of the albumРІР‚в„ўs recording, she still lived with him at Friar Park. Pattie Boyd always lurks in the background of any discussion about George Harrison. Music from this album would be a great soundtrack to this movie: While HarrisonРІР‚в„ўs spirituality might place him closer to John McLaughlin, Clapton remains his real soul mate. The two were so close that ClaptonРІР‚в„ўs absence on Living in the Material WorldР’В seems difficult to ignore, as if Clapton was stepping (or pushed) aside to allow HarrisonРІР‚в„ўs guitar brilliance to shine.

ItРІР‚в„ўs hard to think about the РІР‚Сљquiet BeatleРІР‚Сњ without at the same time considering Eric Clapton. Review By Dennis Davis When listening to this album I think of this band or music:

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