Standard-Speaker from Hazleton, Pennsylvania • Page 33

Standard- Speaker SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1987 uit fBsiti Harrison reflects on his life and music 1 LA 111 I By DIVINA INFUSINO Copley News Service A beer with a Beatle "Say, why don't we just split one," suggested George Harrison. A Coors turned up on the desk along with two Styrofoam cups. "We might as well have a beer since we're not being spiritual," he mumbled wryly through one side of his mouth. Later, he pulled out a pack of Marlboros and snickered again. "Mind if I have a cigarette? Since we're not being spiritual." No, Harrison wasn't being spiritual this evening at the Warner Bros Records offices.

He was tired from a two-day round of interviews and meetings. By 9 p.m., he was a little punchy, a little sarcastic, very opinionated, animated and outspoken. And, yes, he was a little spiritual, too when asked. But for most of 90 minutes, it was hard to fathom that he was considered "the quiet" or "the serious" Beatle. "Part of me feels like I'm 5,000 years old.

The other feels like a teenager who wants to go out and bop," Harrison said, rising out of his seat as if he were ready to bolt for the nearest dance club. At 44, Harrison has seen and experienced much. His charm and humor reflect the days of Beatlemania. His measured, philosophical approach reflects the years of studying Eastern religions. His drawn face and gray-flecked beard betrayed the strain of lawsuits, the much-publicized divorce from Pattie Boyd (who later married Harrison's good friend, Eric Clapton), and the murder of fellow Beatle John Lennon, which sent Harrison into seclusion.

His caution evidenced someone who has not enjoyed a hit record in a few years. But his confidence came from his success with his film production company, HandMade Films, and his delight in his first album in five years, "Cloud Nine." Moreover, he had the security of being part of one of the 20th century's most successful and respected music groups. "I already went through one lifetime. And people ask me why I always talk about how old I am," he said, shaking his head. While his words were sometimes somber, his outfit was extremely bright: A red jacket sprinkled with foreign words in different typeface, a splashy shirt, black canvas shoes, and black socks decorated with stars.

Harrison always has been an odd mix of contemplative seriousness and boyish glee, the guy with the penetrating stare and the gleam in his eye. He has loved gardening as much as race-car driving. He has been as moved by Carl Perkins as Ravi Shankar, Monty Python as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Now Harrison has learned how to reconcile all his aspects in his public persona. Enough to grant full interviews for the first time in several years.

For the album, Harrison worked with new and familiar musicians, among them fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, Clapton, Elton John, Jim Keltner and Ray Cooper. But the key component for Harrison was producer Jeff Lynne, the former leader of the Electric Light Orchestra, a Beatles-influenced group. "That didn't go unnoticed," Harrison said, breaking into a smile. "I wanted someone who understood where I was coming from. Someone who wouldn't try to make me into something I wasn't.

"There are certain sounds that have happened over the last 10 years of music that I just don't like. You know, like these computer drum machines that just keep banging away. "Jeff and I both agreed that I didn't want to make a record with all that modern clatter on it. I wanted it to sound up to date. But I wanted it to sound like drummers and guitar players were on it." The songs on "Cloud Nine" range from the upbeat "When We Was Fab," a song about Beatlemania, to the biting commentary of "Devil's Radio," with Starr on drums and Eric Clapton on guitar.

Yet, the mix of songs, the arrangements or the production do not sound forced. That's because Harrison and Lynne worked so well together. "For me it was very reminiscent of when I was in the group," Harrison said, referring to the Beatles. "There was support from the others in those days. And if you were tired, there would always be someone else who would be able to carry it for awhile.

Ideas would bounce back and forth. "So this was the first time I had worked with someone where it felt like a group. Even though it was just me and him. Also I had never written songs with other people before. So it took about 18 months to get to know George Harrison a.

at each other enough to where we could trust that it would work out. Writing a tune is very self-revealing. "We never drove each other crazy. Sometimes you can make a successful recording but end up hating each other, and that's not really successful. Because in a way, the music ends up being secondary to the amount of time you spend with people." Harrison's solo career has been a rocky one in recent years.

His last LP, the 19S2, "Gone Troppo" was uninspired. "Cloud Nine" is musically successful partly because Harrison has come to terms with what he can and cannot do with music today. "Mellowing out for me means not screaming and shouting so much about all this stuff that maybe I was in the past. Everybody thinks all I need is money or more hit records. From the Beatles' perspective, we said.

'Hey, wait a minute, we need love and we need religious philosophy in rock 'n' roll is also in question. Meditation and inner calm seem at odds with the subject matter of rock "n' roll. New-age music began as a genre because people involved in Eastern practices, such as yoga, meditation, just couldn't relate to rock 'n' roll. Harrison looked puzzled at this notion. "I've never heard of new-age music," he said.

"I probably feel the way a lot of these new-age people feel. A lot of rock 'n' roll is total banality. My album rocks. It's got spirit and it's got a bit of honesty to it. I would like to have an album that sounds nice and that's not aggravating to the nervous system.

At the same time, I certainly enjoy doing the 'The Devil's Radio' sort of thing with a noisy drummer and guitar player." "My music," he said "is just something that I grew up with. It See ll.KHISO, next page And so we tended to shout a lot about that. "And into my solo albums, you know, I always shouted, 'Hey, God's down People don't want to know about that. The aging process for me was just to get more peace in myself, just deal with my own things and my own life and try to be more happy within myself, and not try to go shout and tell everybody what to do. Oh, it still comes out, like on 'Devil's (a song about cynicism and trivia spread by the media).

I prefer music that's not attached to people's egos, or what they call trips. You know, the kind of music where everybody's trying to prove themselves a big shot." With his first major solo album, "All Things Must Pass," Harrison, a student of Eastern religious philosophy, was among the first to bring spiritual concerns to the forefront of rock 'n' roll. But the place of Eastern XJ CD 0 vt 0 CL CD.