is a dazzling gem—George might have been done with his Phil Spector era, but this is the most Phil Spector thing he ever did, a classic piece of Sixties girl-group pop worthy of the Crystals or the Ronettes. He lovingly nails every detail: those dramatic drums in the chorus, the harpsichord, even the “Be My Baby” castanets.
Ronnie Spector’s spirit is also in “Try Some Buy Some,” a beautifully bizarre waltz he originally wrote for her 1971 comeback single. As Ronnie wrote in her memoir, she told him, “I don’t understand a word of it.” He replied, “That’s okay. I don’t either.
As a wonderfully comic postscript, “Be Here Now” turned into the title of one of the druggiest rock albums ever made, the 1997 Oasis mega-flop that did for cocaine what this album did for Krishna. Even funnier, Noel Gallagher had the gall to credit the title to, a claim designed to keep George far away from joining Paul in any Noel photo opps.
Yet “Material World” is George confessing he feels like a prisoner in his own life. “Can’t say what I’m doing here / But I hope to see much clearer,” he sings, with no hope in his voice and not even an attempt to fake it. He vows he’s “trying to get a message through,” even though his only message is that he’s desperately looking for a message. But his only human connection is—surprisingly—his old Beatle buddies.
The delightful B-side “Miss O’Dell” should have made the album. George gossips about his old friend and Apple comrade Chris O’Dell, laughing too hard to sing the second verse, over Jim Keltner’s cowbell hook. In one take, he casually drops the phone number “Garston 6922,” which happened to be Paul’s old number from back home in Liverpool. It’s the closest this album could have come to the breezy rock & roll fun of “Apple Scruffs” or “Wah Way.