He based the chord pattern on "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" by Bob Dylan, while the song's understated arrangement partly reflects the influence of the Band's 1968 album Music from Big Pink.

On release, William Mann of The Times rated it the equal of the album's best Lennon–McCartney compositions; Ian MacDonald later described it as Harrison's "touching token of exhausted, relieved reconciliation with God" and his "finest moment on The Beatles".

[41] The lyrics' reference to an extreme length of time is accentuated in the verses by the stretching out of a slow 68 metre into 98, and by the appending of a measure-long instrumental tag after each two bars of vocal melody.

[42] Partly as a result of the absence of resolution in the home key, the descending bassline in the verses – a 4–3–2–1 sequence of notes, mirroring the IV–iii–ii–I chord pattern – establishes an almost subliminal tonic.

[51][52] Since the start of the project, in late May, the album sessions had been fraught with disharmony,[53][54][55] partly as a result of the constant presence of Yoko Ono, Lennon's new partner,[56][57] and disagreements within the band over their new business venture, Apple Corps.

[61][nb 6] The drum part includes a series of loud fills that serve as a commentary beside the vocal line, in the manner of Starr's playing on "A Day in the Life" in 1967.

[27] Whenever McCartney played a certain note on the keyboard, the bottle began to vibrate,[1] producing an eerie clattering sound that the Beatles decided to incorporate in their subsequent performances of the track.

[1] Chris Gerard of PopMatters comments on the "palpable spiritual longing" conveyed in the song and describes this coda as a "weird spectral ending, with Harrison wailing like a wounded ghost while the band members rattle their instruments ominously".

[38][47] Relative to the stereo version, the contrast between the song's quiet and louder moments is less pronounced in the mono mix, where Harrison's second vocal part also arrives earlier on the opening line.

[75] The sequencing ensured that the song provided what author Mark Hertsgaard terms "a calm landing pad" after McCartney's heavy rock-styled "Helter Skelter".

[78][79] In addition to co-writing "I'd Have You Anytime" with Dylan,[80][81] Harrison further established his independence from the Beatles during this visit,[82] which music critic John Harris views as the foundation for All Things Must Pass.

[83] Among contemporary reviews of The Beatles, Alan Walsh of Melody Maker admired the song as "a gentle, lilting track"[84][85] while, less impressed, Record Mirror considered it "not a strong tune", with drums "monopolising the sound".

[91] Author Jonathan Gould praises the track as a "dark beautiful ballad" and a "breakthrough" for Harrison as a vocalist and composer, since it represents "the first time he ever allowed himself to sound humbled by his emotions in a song".

[92] Music critic Chris Ingham, writing for Rough Guides, similarly includes it among "a new phase" of Harrison compositions, along with "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun", in which "warmth and sweetness" replaced the dissonant qualities of his Indian-inspired melodies.

[93] Writing for Rolling Stone in 2002, Greg Kot deemed the song to be "quintessential Harrison, summarizing the impending exhaustion of the Beatles and the era they defined, while pointing the way toward the spiritual heights achieved by his solo debut masterpiece, All Things Must Pass".

In his commentary for the magazine, musician Colin Newman described it as "achingly beautiful" and "like the album in microcosm ... [a] lament for a long-lost love which ends with a ghostly freakout".

[106] A recording by Tanya Donelly appeared on her 2006 album This Hungry Life[107] and later on the CD accompanying Uncut's feature article on Harrison's career, in the August 2008 issue of the magazine.

[110] Having recorded the EP within days of Harrison's death in November 2001, James said he decided to release it eight years later partly as a result of attending the David Lynch Foundation's Transcendental Meditation awareness concert, "Change Begins Within", where "George's name came up a lot ... his spirit was very big at that event.