Here Comes the Moon
Although the lyrics focus on this natural occurrence rather than on the symbolism it suggests, in the manner of Harrison's Beatles track "Here Comes the Sun", the song is seen as a sequel to that similarly titled piece.
Reflecting the circumstances of the song's creation, the recording features a lush musical arrangement that includes acoustic and slide guitars, layered harmony vocals, orchestral strings, and sitar drone.
[5] The song's focus on nature furthered a common theme in his work, including the recently written "Blow Away",[12] and dating back to his 1969 Beatles composition "Here Comes the Sun" and "All Things Must Pass", the title track of his 1970 solo album.
[15] He describes it as both "a little brother to the sun" and "mother to the stars at night", and comments on the heightened impulse it stimulates throughout the natural world during the full moon phase.
[15] While also viewing the songs as having little in common aside from their titles, Harrison biographer Simon Leng considers that "Here Comes the Moon" shares the earlier composition's theme of escape.
[34] Aside from Harrison, the musicians on the track were keyboard players Neil Larsen and Steve Winwood, percussionist Ray Cooper and the rhythm section of Willie Weeks (bass) and Andy Newmark (drums).
[35] In the opinion of authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, the ethereal quality of "Here Comes the Moon" reflects its composer's "altered sensibilities" and the circumstances that inspired the song.
[2] Harrison discussed "Here Comes the Moon" on the BBC Radio 1 show Roundtable,[47] when he appeared as a guest alongside Michael Jackson on 9 February 1979.
[67] While recognising the album's avoidance of contemporary pop styles,[68] he grouped the song with "Not Guilty" and "Soft-Hearted Hana" as tracks that "transport us back into psychedelic lotus land, but their tone is so airy and whimsical that the nostalgia is as seductive as it is anachronistic".
[16][72] Steve Simels of Stereo Review complained that Harrison was "still doing cut-and-paste games with his Beatles stuff" and said that the "recycling" of "Here Comes the Sun" "should tell you all you need to know about the declining state of George's creative powers".
[74] Greg Kot's assessment for Rolling Stone in 2002 read in part: "'Here Comes the Moon' is a dreamy little wonder, the kind of incantation that underscores the [album's] romantic subtlety …"[75] Among reviews of the 2004 reissue, PopMatters' Jason Korenkiewicz recognised "Here Comes the Moon" as one of the standout tracks, describing it as a "dreamy psychedelic sing-a-long" on an album that reflected Harrison's "new found sense of calm and peace",[76] while Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone said it was one of the "memorably lilting tunes" that made George Harrison the artist's "midcareer peak".
[77] Conversely, Richard Ginell of AllMusic deems George Harrison to be "an ordinary album from an extraordinary talent", and he dismisses the track as "a lazy retake" on "Here Comes the Sun".
[78] Former Mojo editor Mat Snow includes "Here Comes the Moon" among the album's best tracks, which he describes as "romantic and reflective" and, thanks largely to Titelman's involvement, "tastefully contemporary".
[79] Writing on his website Elsewhere, New Zealand Herald critic Graham Reid considers the song to be a "lovely" track, yet also, in its drawing on a similar theme to "Here Comes the Sun", a sign that Harrison's inspiration was waning.
[81] Rodriguez adds: "Even had the earlier song never been written, 'Moon' would still stand as a lovely, lyrical evocation of the lunar orb and the emotion it stirs.
