"Blood from a Clone" is a song by the English musician and former Beatles guitarist George Harrison from his 1981 album Somewhere in England. The song saw a re-release on The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992.[1]
| "Blood from a Clone" | |
|---|---|
| Song by George Harrison | |
| from the album Somewhere in England | |
| Released | 1 June 1981 |
| Recorded | November 1980 – February 1981 |
| Studio | FPSHOT (Oxfordshire) |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 4:03 |
| Label | Dark Horse |
| Songwriter(s) | George Harrison |
| Producer(s) |
|
Recording
editThis was the one of the many songs that Harrison was recording for his next album when the murder of John Lennon occurred. The expectations were that the day's work would be postponed, but after a couple of hours following the news, Harrison decided to continue on. Session musician Ray Cooper recalls Harrison thought "trying to make music would be more therapeutic than him sitting around and being besieged by press and God knows what else."[2]
Writing
editHarrison's original plan was to write songs that were aimed at "14-20-year-olds", but he had to write another song.[3][4] Far Out Magazine said that it was a "last-ditch attempt to jump on the funk bandwagon that was popular in England at that time."[5]
Background
editIn 1980, Harrison had finished recording the original track listing for Somewhere in England and was ready to present it to Warner Records. Mo Ostin rejected his original version of the album, because the label thought none of the songs were radio ready, which made Harrison upset, so he decided to write the song after the occasion.[6] Harrison's label was "looking for the mathematical equation for making the perfect single for the pop market."[7]
Reception
editElliot J. Huntley said that Blood from a Clone, That Which I Have Lost, Teardrops and All Those Years Ago were "certainly more commercial but were also more throwaway and unbalanced than Harrison's original vision of the album"[8] AllMusic's Lindsay Palmer called it a "biting satire that relates the difficulty the former Beatle was concurrently having with his record company" and goes on to state that it "became one of the submitted alternates. The lyrics that accompany the bopping and otherwise affable midtempo melody were nothing short of a stab at the age-old 'artist versus suits' dilemma"[1]
Personnel
editAccording to Simon Leng[6]
- George Harrison – vocal, guitar
- Herbie Flowers – bass
- Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
- Mike Moran – keyboards
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b ""Blood from a Clone" by George Harrison – Track Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "Why George Harrison Recorded on the Day of John Lennon's Death". Far Out. 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
- ^ Kordosh, J. "Fab! Gear! The George Harrison Interview | CREEM | December 1987". CREEM | The Complete Archive. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ Tanenbaum, Ross (2023-05-05). "The Song George Harrison Wrote After One of His Albums Was Rejected". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ "Ranking all George Harrison albums from worst to best". Far Out. 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ a b Leng, Simon (2006). While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-4234-0609-9.
- ^ "The song George Harrison wrote hating his label". Far Out. 2023-06-18. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ Huntley, Elliot J. (2004). Mystical One: George Harrison : After the Break-up of the Beatles. Guernica Editions. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-55071-197-4.
External links
edit- Blood from a Clone official audio on YouTube