Far East Man
Harrison sang and played slide guitar on this version, while other contributors included Wood's Faces bandmate Ian MacLagan, Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, and drummer Andy Newmark.
The Harrison recording took place at his Friar Park studio and features backing from Billy Preston, Tom Scott, Willie Weeks and Newmark, all of whom then played on his 1974 North American tour with Shankar.
Opening with a spoken dedication to Frank Sinatra, the Dark Horse recording was marred by Harrison's damaged voice – a result of his rushing to complete the album's vocal parts in Los Angeles, while simultaneously rehearsing for the tour.
[15] Beatles biographer Peter Doggett describes Friar Park as having become "a haven of adventurous intrigue" in 1973,[16] with Harrison conducting an affair with Maureen Starkey, the wife of his former bandmate Ringo Starr,[17][18] and Clapton urging Boyd to leave her husband for him.
[14] Harrison biographer Simon Leng describes the chord sequence in "Far East Man" as "a grin-making exploration of major and minor sevenths that oozes smoochy soul".
[1] In the view of musicologist Thomas MacFarlane, the sequence "unfolds with such ease" as if in slow motion, and the song evokes an original style beyond its initial debt to soul artists such as Marvin Gaye and Al Green.
[1] Leng sums up the conclusion that Harrison provides in the middle eight's final line ("Can only do what it tells me"): "He surveys the problems of love, social strife, and disconnection from spiritual values, but decides that taking his own advice is a good enough start.
"[1] While echoing this interpretation, theologian Dale Allison also highlights Harrison's "humanitarian impulse, his regrets about the world's current state, [and] his faint utopian hope for something better" as being evident in the lyrics to "Far East Man".
[73][74] Retaining Newmark and Weeks from the sessions with Wood, he brought in keyboard player Billy Preston and saxophonist and arranger Tom Scott,[75] both of whom would also be part of his all-American tour band.
[88] Author Elliot Huntley describes the musical arrangement as "very West Coast" with Scott's "bachelor-pad saxophones" complementing the slide guitar lines, and Preston's electric piano recalling his solo on the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down".
[95][96][nb 7] His throat condition worsened during the subsequent tour,[97] earning Harrison highly unfavourable concert reviews from a number of critics, who objected also to the substantial stage-time afforded Shankar's ensemble.
[102] Given Harrison's marital problems, and the generally unfavourable reception given to his tour and album, author Gary Tillery describes his new relationship with Olivia Arias as "the one bright spot in the problematic year".
[105] Writing in 1981, NME critic Bob Woffinden viewed the inclusion of this image, combined with the more upbeat message of side-two songs such as "Ding Dong" and "Far East Man", as Harrison ushering in Arias, his future wife, and farewelling Boyd.
He also wrote: "['Far East Man'] seems to have most chance of independent survival, especially as the song turned up in quite pleasant shape on Wood's I've Got My Own Album to Do, but here again the production effectively smothers it, and Harrison's drab vocals complete the assassination.
"[112] By contrast, Michael Gross of Circus Raves magazine viewed Dark Horse as the equal of Harrison's acclaimed 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass and praised the song and its arrangement, writing: "Scott again excels on 'Far East Man', with a horn solo that would vindicate any context in which it was put.
"[113] In a similarly positive assessment for Melody Maker, Brian Harrigan opined that the album "should certainly do a tremendous amount to salvage George's battered reputation" but found the extended playout to "Far East Man" overlong – an example, he said, where "you can have just too much of a good thing".
[115] Among more recent commentators, Simon Leng considers "Far East Man" to be among Harrison's best compositions and "one of its writer's most beguiling pieces",[116] while AllMusic's Richard Ginell describes it as "exquisite".
[37] In an April 2004 article in Blender magazine, Paul Du Noyer deemed "Far East Man" to be the "standout track" on an album that displayed an "uncharacteristic spell of rock star excess" on Harrison's part.
[118] Joe Marchese of The Second Disc writes of the "impeccable" musicianship found throughout Dark Horse and adds: "There are many stellar moments, such as 'Far East Man', with Scott contributing his trademark jazz-rock saxophone on a deliciously fab slice of 'yacht rock'.
"[119] Blogcritics' Chaz Lipp similarly finds "a lot of rewarding listening" on Dark Horse, and highlights the track as "a smooth soul collaboration with Ron Wood that, once heard, lodges itself in the brain".
[120] In his review of the 2014 reissues, for Record Collector, Oregano Rathbone cites "Far East Man" as an example of how each of Harrison's Apple albums after All Things Must Pass "contains shivery moments of release".
[129] Beginning on 8 December 2001, less than two weeks after Harrison succumbed to cancer at the age of 58,[130] Wood played the song during his shows in Dublin and London,[131] in support of his sixth solo album, Not for Beginners.
