Review: 'George Harrison On George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters'

It's very tempting to begin a review of a 550-page book of George Harrison interviews with mocking cliches about how he was "The Quiet Beatle," yet that tired old label is actually somewhat relevant to what may be the main lesson of George Harrison On George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters. Perhaps it was George's refusal to play the game on his interviewers' terms that got him slapped with that label. Averse to cliches himself, Harrison had little patience for questions about how long The Beatles would last, why they were so great, his feelings about occasional antagonist Paul McCartney, and other well-worn inquiries. He'd answer those questions but not without making his exasperation with them clear. So, for journalists, "quiet" may be a coded synonym for "difficult."

However, when it came to topics he was genuinely invested in, Harrison was anything but quiet. A good deal of these 550 pages, and all of the ones set during the last four years of The Beatles' career, are devoted to Harrison's devotion to Hinduism. This can be wearying to any reader who isn't specifically interested in this topic, but it is key to conveying editor Ashley Kahn's main goal in assembling the interviews and speeches he selects: getting to know the least-knowable member of the best-known band that ever was. I have zero interest in religion, but learning how deeply into spirituality Harrison was, and how informed he was about his chosen one's history and practices, is interesting. It is also interesting to read about how cool he was with his wife getting together with his best friend, his disdain for the music business and stardom, his ventures in movies with his production company HandMade Films, how much he liked to get silly and quote The Rutles, how unfiltered he was when discussing his conflicts with everyone from Paul to Sean Penn and Madonna, how much love he had for Paul even when the media was reporting otherwise, and how much contempt he had for the media in general. Perhaps George would be better labeled as "The Most No-Bullshit Beatle."

Review: 'The Beatles Acting Naturally: Obscure, Rare, Unfinished and Abandoned Film and TV Projects of the Fab Four'

Is there any item in the pop culture canon that has been more over-examined than The Beatles' music? Doubtful, but the Fabs' work on film has not received quite as much attention. Yet The Beatles not only starred in four movies, but they also made a number of promotional videos for their singles, made a multitude of TV appearances, been the topic of many documentaries, and even inspired a slew of fictional works from The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash to Danny Boyle's recent movie Yesterday. 

DJ, writer, film, producer, and filmmaker Rory Hoy amasses all of these appearances in his exhaustive new filmography The Beatles Acting Naturally, which means its subtitle, Obscure, Rare, Unfinished and Abandoned Film and TV Projects of the Fab Four, is a bit inadequate since he discusses both the obscure and the overly familiar. There are full chapters on A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Yellow Submarine, and the other readily available Beatles film projects as there are entries on oddities such as the guys' proposed production of The Lord of the Rings, a strange 1982 short featuring Ringo and Paul called The Cooler, their appearances on The Simpsons and cameos in the video for Billy Joel's "A Matter of Trust" video and just about every other Beatle-related visual project you could imagine. 

One does not necessarily expect a filmography to brim with personality, but Acting Naturally does. Hoy's voice is fully developed, effortlessly charming, and enthusiastic. His winning style makes this book both informative and a pleasure to read. 

Farewell, Neil Innes

Comedy and music are both great, but they rarely make great bedfellows (no offense, Weird Al..."Dare to Be Stupid" is a terrific song!). Neil Innes's ability to fuse the two into something genuinely funny and genuinely musically enjoyable was a rare exception. Innes made his first major mark as a member of the uncontested best comedy band, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, singing and writing (though not producing...that honor went to Paul McCartney) the group's one hit "I'm the Urban Spaceman". Innes was responsible for many of the Bonzo's other most tuneful numbers, including "The Equestrian Statue", "Deathcab for Cutie" (co-written with Viv Stanshall and performed in Magical Mystery Tour), "Rockaliser Baby", and "Mr. Apollo" (both ditto the Stanshall part but not the Magical Mystery Tour part). 

Like Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes also became an unofficial member of Monty Python, contributing music to the Flying Circus and several Python LPs, as well as making a very memorable impression as Sir Robin's personal minstrel in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 

Perhaps the biggest showcase for Neil Innes's multi-talents is The Rutles, his and Eric Idle's spot-on Beatles parody-homage (or parmage, which is also a French cheese). Innes and Idle co-wrote the 1978 mockumentary All You Need is Cash, while Innes took over completely for its soundtrack which parodied more than a dozen Beatles classics while also being a very good listen on a purely musical level. Innes's Lennon impersonation as Ron Nasty is uncanny both on screen and on vinyl.

While The Rutles project was arguably the peak of Innes's career, he remained a very active entertainer through the years, reviving his most celebrated project for 1996's Anthology-parody The Rutles: Archaeology and forming The Idiot Bastard Band with fellow British-comedy luminary Adrian Edmondson and some other guys. Sadly, Neil Innes died at the age of 75 this past December 29. His death was reportedly "unexpected." I'll miss the idiot bastard.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 269

The Date: June 25

The Movie: The Complete Beatles (1982)

What Is It?: The first Beatles documentary of any significance managed to boil the band’s hefty history down to two hours. Narration by Malcolm McDowell is an extra cool touch. I always suspected that Patrick Montgomery based his film on The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. My favorite moment is the copy of Revolver that starts spinning as “Tomorrow Never Knows” plays… trippy special effects, man! Sadly, McCartney bought The Complete Beatles and pulled it off the market so it wouldn’t compete with the Anthology, though you can still find it on YouTube.

Why Today?: Today is Global Beatles Day.

366 Days at the Drive-In: Day 174

The Date: March 22

The Movie: The Rutles in All You Need Is Cash (1978)

What Is It?: Eric Idle unites members of Monty Python, SNL, and Rock’s elite to send up The Beatles with a true fan’s attention to details and a Python’s attention to hilarity. Stig is dead, man. Miss him. Miss him.

Why Today?: On this day in 1978, The Rutles airs on NBC for the first time.