Beware of Darkness (song)
The lyrics warn against allowing illusion to get in the way of one's true purpose in life, an admonition that, like the content of "My Sweet Lord", reflects the influence of Harrison's association with the Radha Krishna Temple.
The song has also been recorded by Leon Russell, Marianne Faithfull, Spock's Beard, Concrete Blonde, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, and Sheryl Crow.
[7][8] In spring 1970, Harrison invited some of the movement's members to stay at Friar Park, his recently purchased estate in Oxfordshire, to help him restore the large house and overgrown gardens, and to give his new home an intensely spiritual atmosphere.
[11] According to American keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, the song was partly informed by Harrison's difficulties with his former Beatles bandmates and their business manager, Allen Klein, in the period immediately after the band's break-up.
Whitlock, who also stayed at Friar Park, cites this as one of several preoccupations that made up "a day in the life of George Harrison", along with the stresses of restoring the property with Boyd, dealing with Spector's idiosyncrasies, and indulging the Hare Krishna devotees.
[12][nb 1] In music journalist John Harris's view, "Beware of Darkness" offers "a glimpse of the toll the [Beatles'] break-up had taken on George's emotions".
[4] Among the potential corrupting influences are con men ("soft shoe shufflers"), politicians ("greedy leaders") and pop idols of little substance ("falling swingers").
[16] In the final verse,[19] Harrison states that an individual's purpose is not to follow political manipulation, but to grow unfettered in daylight, in the manner of "weeping Atlas cedars".
[26] The sessions for All Things Must Pass typically featured a large cast of musicians, in keeping with Spector's Wall of Sound approach,[27] although the participants' varied recollections have made precise identification of each song's contributors open to conjecture.
[38] Spector suggested Harrison redo the reduction mix (or "bump") to give more prominence to these rhythm parts,[38] which were played on acoustic guitar by members of the group Badfinger throughout the sessions.
[44][nb 5] In his description of the released recording, author Elliot Huntley says that the track's musical tension escalates to "breaking point" with Harrison's mid-song slide guitar solo.
[53] Part of this original poster was a painting of a bathing scene featuring naked women (one of whom was blonde, representing Boyd) and a "mischievous" Krishna, who had hidden the bathers' clothing in the branches of a nearby tree.
[55] In his contemporary review of All Things Must Pass, Ben Gerson of Rolling Stone wrote that "Beware of Darkness" was possibly the album's best song, commenting on its "enigmatic" music and the combination of "warning" and "affirmation" in its lyrics.
Schaffner paired "Beware of Darkness" with "All Things Must Pass" as "the two most eloquent songs on the album, musically as well as lyrically" with "mysterious, seductive melodies, over which faded strings ... hover like Blue Jay Way fog".
Further to Harrison's standing as the most spiritually focused Beatle, Frontani continues, the message of the line "Beware of maya" "anchored his artistic and personal life for the next three decades".
[61][nb 8] AllMusic critic Richie Unterberger similarly views "Beware of Darkness" as one of the highlights of All Things Must Pass,[63] while authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter call it a "stunning composition" that demonstrates the considerable growth in Harrison's songwriting since 1965.
describes it as "Harrison's best album's very best song – one where he perfectly matches a lyrical meditation on overcoming life's harder moments … with the sound, mysticism and fury of one of the early 1970s' greatest amalgamations of sidemen".
[66] GQ's George Chesterton also rates the song "among Harrison's best", writing: Again, sung in the second person and full of pointed advice, it swishes around with new-found confidence and has some of his most elegant, yearning chord progressions as well as some of his best slide guitar playing.
"[70][72] In July 2016, the Harrison family referenced the song in response to the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" being appropriated by Donald Trump's presidential campaign at the Republican National Convention.
[76] Leng describes the vocal combination as "Scouse tremolo" followed by "mad-dog Southern growl", and an indication of Harrison's willingness to share the spotlight with other artists.
He highlighted Harrison's warning "Watch out now, take care, beware of greedy leaders" as a follow-up to statements in the preceding tracks – namely "Open up your heart and come together" in Starr's "It Don't Come Easy" and, before that, "I hope you get this message" in Billy Preston's "That's the Way God Planned It".
[96] In AllMusic critic Thom Jurek's description, the band employ "a full-blown choir, thundering guitars, and Neal Morse's growling vocal to create another valid and moving version of the tune".
