[1] In its 13 February 1975 issue, Rolling Stone magazine derided George Harrison's North American tour with Ravi Shankar over November–December 1974, and the accompanying Dark Horse album, as "disastrous".

[2][3] Previously viewed as "the surprise winner of the ex-Beatle sweepstakes", in the words of author Nicholas Schaffner[4] – the dark horse[5] – Harrison had disappointed many fans of his former group by failing to acknowledge the Beatles' legacy,[6][7] both in the content of his 1974 shows and in his dealings with the media.

[21] In a radio interview with Dave Herman of WNEW-FM in April 1975, recorded in Los Angeles,[22] Harrison said that he accepted the validity of professional criticism, but objected when it came continually from "one basic source"; then, he added, it became "a personal thing".

[23][24] Author Simon Leng writes that the "bitterness and dismay" Harrison felt manifested itself on his follow-up to Dark Horse, titled Extra Texture (Read All About It),[25] which would be the final studio album issued on the Beatles' Apple record label.

[28] Authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter suggest that this decision was influenced by his business relationship with A&M Records,[29] who were Dark Horse's worldwide distributor and the company with which Harrison was widely expected to sign as a solo artist, following the expiration of his EMI/Capitol-affiliated Apple contract in January 1976.

[41][42] Lyrically, "The Answer's at the End", "This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying)", "World of Stone" and "Grey Cloudy Lies" all steer clear of his usual subject matter – Hindu spirituality – and instead appear to ask the listener for compassion.

[90][91] Throughout the spring and summer of 1975, Harrison regularly attended Dark Horse's office, located in a bungalow shared with A&M-distributed Ode Records,[91] and otherwise became fully involved in the Los Angeles music scene.

[92] Shortly before starting work on the album, he was among the guests at Wings' party on the Queen Mary ocean liner, at Long Beach, where a "drawn"-looking Harrison[93] was seen socialising with Paul McCartney for the first time since the Beatles' break-up five years before.

[94] Often accompanied by Arias,[95] Harrison caught shows by Bob Marley & the Wailers,[96] Smokey Robinson[97] and Santana, socialised with Ringo Starr,[98] and met up with Preston and Ronnie Wood backstage after one of the Rolling Stones' concerts at the LA Forum.

[99] New friends such as Eric Idle entered Harrison's social circle that summer,[100] although the Python's influence only extended to Extra Texture's quirky artwork and packaging rather than its musical content.

[108] Voormann, a close friend of Harrison's since 1960, found the atmosphere at the sessions unpleasant; he later cited the heavy drug use typical of the LA music scene,[109] and the ex-Beatle's "frame of mind when he was doing this album".

[29] Between June and October 1975, Preston's It's My Pleasure album, Peter Skellern's Hard Times and Splinter's Harder to Live were released,[114] and sessions took place in August for Scott's New York Connection.

[126] In author Alan Clayson's estimation, with Harrison adopting a new, "close-miked" soft vocal style, much of Extra Texture reflected "the more feathery emanations from Philadelphia by the likes of The Stylistics and Jerry Butler".

[35][101] The album's full title referenced the media outcry during and immediately after his US tour;[138] it was a pun on the slogan that street-corner paperboys would yell out to sell late-breaking news editions of their newspapers: "Extra!

"[129] Although he later admitted to being "in a real down place" while making the album,[145] the Melody Maker interview found Harrison in good humour, pointing the way to a return in form the following year; "I'd rather be an ex-Beatle than an ex-Nazi!"

[129][146] Harrison's other activities in late 1975 likewise centred on comedy, beginning with his production of Monty Python's single "The Lumberjack Song", released in November,[147][148] and including a humorous star turn, again with Eric Idle, on Rutland Weekend Television's Christmas special.

[149] Extra Texture peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart on 25 October, holding the position for three weeks,[150] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 11 November.

[158] Apple's final single in its original incarnation, "This Guitar" failed to chart in either America or Britain,[159] a fate that Rodriguez partly attributes to a lack of promotion from a label that was "[r]unning on fumes".

[162] The 2014 reissue includes a liner note essay by radio producer and author Kevin Howlett, and adds a new version of "This Guitar", based on a demo that Harrison recorded in 1992 for Dave Stewart.

[163] Previously issued only as a digital download for the latter's Platinum Weird project, in 2006,[164] the track features overdubs from Stewart, Harrison's son Dhani, Ringo Starr and singer Kara DioGuardi.

"[165] Discussing the album's reception in his 1977 book The Beatles Forever, Nicholas Schaffner wrote: "Harrison's worldly critics, who had long found his sermons insufferable, responded like bulls to a red flag to Extra Texture, which contains a number of treatises on how reviewers always 'miss the point.'"

[136] Rolling Stone's reviewer, Dave Marsh, highlighted "You" as a return to All Things Must Pass-style grandeur, and "Can't Stop Thinking About You" and "Tired of Midnight Blue" as "the most effective nine minutes of music" the artist had made since 1970.

Spencer described the album's content as "the customary mournful and doom-laden Harrison we've come to know and fear, only this time the rigours of love take precedence over matters spiritual", and he advised his readers: "I've played it, I don't mind it ... Hari fans can anticipate purchase with glee.

[168] In the 1977 edition of their book The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described Extra Texture as "another lugubrious offering" and concluded: "the needle of the listener's personal Ecstatograph points sullenly towards zero throughout.

[178][nb 10] Rodriguez writes: "To be sure, Extra Texture boasted several fine cuts ... but the remainder of the collection was almost entirely weary in tone, amounting to a prolonged buzz kill.

[187] AllMusic's Richard Ginell views "You", "The Answer's at the End" and "This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying)" as some of Harrison's best post-Beatles compositions and identifies other "musical blossoms" on a collection that stands up relatively well to the passing of time.

[103] Reviewing the Apple Years box set for Blogcritics, Seattle-based critic[189] Chaz Lipp opines of Extra Texture: "Though not without a few notable tracks, it's the least satisfying album of Harrison's entire career ...

[191] Writing for the website Vintage Rock, Shawn Perry similarly considers "You" to be "out of sync", and he highlights "This Guitar" and "Grey Cloudy Lies" on "a creative and introspective album that's aged well".

[192] In another 2014 review, for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Walter Tunis writes: "[Extra Texture (Read All About It)] is a delight from the start of the brightly orchestrated pop of 'You' to a series of light soul-savvy reveries that culminate in the playful 'His Name is Legs'.

"[193] Writing in Mojo, Tom Doyle concedes that, being the final album in the box set, "It's possibly a downbeat note to end on", but welcomes the reissue for "allow[ing] us time to dig for the diamonds in the dirt".