Let It Roll: The Best of George Harrison

AMG Review of Let It Roll: The Best of George Harrison

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

George Harrison had two periods of great commercial success, separated by 15 years and two record labels. This extended gap is the chief reason there hasn't been a career-spanning Harrison collection until 2009's Let It Roll: Songs By George Harrison, the first-ever disc to gather songs from George's stints at both Apple and Dark Horse, and only his third-ever hits collection, following 1976's Beatles-heavy The Best of George Harrison and The Best of Dark Horse, released in 1989 in the afterglow of Cloud Nine's comeback success. Let It Roll balances these two periods, swapping any Beatles-era song ("Something," "Here Comes the Sun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps") for a live version from The Concert for Bangladesh, then mixing it all up chronologically, so the set starts with the pristine bounce of "Got My Mind Set on You" before giving way to "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" If anything jars, it's the sounds of times, as Jeff Lynne's clean, manicured arrangements don't necessarily fit with Phil Spector's lush, magisterial productions, but that's a minor quibble about a useful compilation that consolidates all of Harrison's signature tunes on one very enjoyable disc.