The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)

The composition originated during a period marked by Harrison's devotion to a Hindu-aligned ascetic life and the height of his public association with the Hare Krishna movement, which included his donation of Bhaktivedanta Manor for use as an ISKCON temple.

Although some commentators consider it an obvious choice as a live track, Harrison performed "The Lord Loves the One" only once in concert – on the opening night of his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar.

[5][6] The Gaudiya Vaishnava teachings of Prabhupada, based on Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, resonated with Harrison,[7] whose quest for an ego-less, God-conscious existence amid the false reality of Beatlemania had first taken him to India in September 1966.

[35] The latter also notes the antipathy that Harrison felt towards politicians following the Bangladesh aid project, when the American and British governments continued to withhold funds intended for the millions of starving Bangladeshi refugees.

"[29] The studio manager at the time,[29] former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, recalls Harrison wearing his Hindu prayer bag and "mumbling away, chanting his mantra", often unable to reply to questions put to him.

[51][52] The recording opens with Harrison's acoustic guitar and an electric piano riff that creates "a sense of foreboding", according to Inglis, who likens the intro to Three Dog Night's 1970 hit single "Mama Told Me Not to Come".

[55][nb 1] Assisting Horn on "The Lord Loves the One", Voormann played one of the tenor saxophone parts,[57] a role he had recently provided on Harry Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson album (1972), to which Harrison and Hopkins also contributed.

[71][nb 2] Part of this image was also used on the LP's side-one face label;[71] in addition, it appeared opposite the words to "The Lord Loves the One" in the lyrics section of the Material World songbook, published by the Charles Hansen sheet music company.

[74] Writing in 1977, author Nicholas Schaffner described the combination of these "color representations of the Hindu scriptures" and the album-wide message espoused by Harrison in "The Lord Loves the One" as "a luxuriant rock devotional designed to transform his fans' stereo equipment into a temple".

"[80] While noting the song as an autobiographical statement on the singer's "struggle to retain personal dignity and peace of mind", Watts wrote: "He's dealing in lofty sentiments and abstractions; not everyone will want to drink of the cup.

[84] On an album that he considered "a pop religious ceremony for all seasons, one in which Harrison acts as priest, deliberately placing his gifts and his legend into public service for God", Holden added of the song: "I hope that Aretha Franklin gets her hands on it, and soon.

"[84] Among reviewers in the 21st century, Zeth Lundy of PopMatters and Music Box editor John Metzger highlight "The Lord Loves the One" as one of the standout tracks on Living in the Material World.

[87] While noting that the media and anyone else associated with "the rock circus" had a vested interest in upholding its importance, Leng comments on the hostile reception afforded the song originally: "In 1973, no one dared point out that the emperor had no clothes on – except Harrison.

[2] Author Robert Rodriguez describes "The Lord Loves the One" as "not the sanctimonious rant that some characterized it as", but a revelation of Harrison's inner conflict between his "earthly" status as a rock star and that role's "utter triviality in the Grand Scheme of things".

[93] In his unfavourable assessment of the song, Ian Inglis contrasts it with the "impressive set of lyrics" on "Living in the Material World" and criticises Harrison for his "turgid proselytizing", which he likens to "the imprecations of an evangelical preacher".

[94] Inglis concludes: "Harrison's impressive guitar work helps to compensate for the absence of a clear melody, but the song is ultimately undermined by some of his least-effective lyrics; the description of political leaders as 'big girls' is puerile and sexist.

Rabey refers to the song among Harrison's "mini-sermons illustrating Hindu concepts" (in this case, karma) and concludes: "While he failed to convert everyone to his beliefs, he nudged his [Beatles] bandmates – and his listener fans – a bit further to the East, encouraging audiences to open themselves to new (or very old) spiritual influences.

[100] Consistent with his perception of an anti-stardom message in the song, Leng writes of there being an "immense [paradox]" in Harrison's attitude to this highly publicised tour, since: "here was one of the world's most famous musicians telling a leading writer from Rolling Stone that he'd 'gladly kiss it all good-bye' and pursue his utterly sincere spiritual quest.

"[104][nb 6] With Shankar's segments having been poorly received,[109] Harrison then reworked the show's setlist, with the result that "The Lord Loves the One" and another Material World track, "Who Can See It", were dropped for the rest of the tour.