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Read the original blog post10.36am
31 March 2008
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1
Recorded: November 1967 – February 1968
Producer: George Harrison
Engineers: Peter Bown, Ken Scott
Released: 1 November 1968 (UK), 2 December 1968 (US)
In January 1968 I was in Bombay, working on the soundtrack for the film Wonderwall – a Sixties hippy movie directed by Joe Massot. He asked me if I would do the music, but I told him I didn’t write music for films. Then he said that whatever I gave him, he would use. That sounded pretty simple and I thought: ‘I’ll give them an Indian music anthology, and who knows, maybe a few hippies will get turned on to Indian music.’
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12.42am
17 October 2013
Offline In the Beatles Monthly at the time of the White Album release……….Eric Clapton’s contribution to WMGGW was ‘hidden’ by an obscure reference to ‘Eddie Clayton’. Something along the lines of, “Great guitar played on this new track of Georges by Eddie Clayton……Not the Eddie Clayton from Liverpool, another Eddie Clayton. “
I’m betting it’s Clapton again here.
1.24am
22 December 2013
Offline Yeah, many believe that it was in fact Eric Clapton on the record, possibly because he was under contract to a different label? The guitar does sound like him too, interesting that Eddie Clayton’s name would be chosen for the pseudonym though, for we all know of him from the old Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group of the 1950s. Jackie Lomax, who recorded George’s ‘Sour Milk Sea’ for his 1968 Apple album, was also someone George knew from those days as well…:-)
2.11am
17 October 2013
Offline First EC that popped into George’s head I suppose.
1.33am
8 November 2012
Offline FYI, A collector’s edition of Wonderwall will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray March 25. [x-posted to the news thread]
parlance
8.26pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline "I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
6.12pm
22 December 2013
Offline meanmistermustard said
Didn’t realise Wonderwall was due for a re-release on the 25th March (Parlance posted the news above back when), only reminded thru this new review of the film by Examiner.I only remember the film thru it featuring in the Scorsese LITMW documentary and looking incredibly strange and colourful.
I find this bit “The Collector’s Edition of Wonderwall includes both the original theatrical version of the flick and a director’s cut that features additional music from Harrison’s score” interesting, wonder if the “additional music” will become available on a separate audio disc? ‘Wonderwall’ outtakes would be grand, I really dig this album…:-)
12.26pm
5 May 2014
Offline Hi,
On Harrison’s Wonderwall Music Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Jim Sullivan have their contributions. I know that Clapton plays on Ski-ing, but what about Jim Sullivan and Ringo Starr ?
Anyone any idea?
cheers, Klaas
7.34pm
8 November 2012
Offline I went to the screening and Q&A of Wonderwall last night at the Grammy Museum. Free tickets were given away through George’s FB (which is how I got them) and Breakfast with the Beatles, so I suspected that not a lot of tickets were sold. Not surprising, as it’s an awful movie, so the less said about that the better (as someone put it, much like Magical Mystery Tour , at some point in the 60s, drugs fueled an attitude that experimentation was more important than narrative).
I was mostly interested in the discussion afterward between the museum’s executive director Bob Santelli and journalist David Wild. David talked a little about the film and some themes that appear, such as the use of green, and drew analogies between the main character’s obsessiveness and today’s internet culture. He also mentioned how the main actor looked like an older version of George, and we all smiled and nodded and recognition (I thought in particular he looks like a cross between an older George and Ringo).
Most of the conversation focused on what George’s participation in the project reveals about him as a mysterious subject who continues to fascinate; it’s hard to wrap one’s head around the fact that he did Electronic Sound and this soundtrack at the time that he was stockpiling songs for his soon-to-come masterpiece All Things Must Pass . Wild shared a couple of stories about meeting George at a Christmas part at Tom Petty’s house, during which Wild gave Petty a Beatle-related gift as his Secret Santa, leading George to quip, “Ah, The Fabs. I remember them.” He also told us that he was a consultant on Scorsese’s documentary, and met him along with Olivia and Dhani at their LA home. Scorsese very first question was, “What’s your take on George?” No pressure there. Wild had an interesting theory about how George, having the most normal/healthy childhood, didn’t embrace celebrity the way the others had, and moved on more quickly past it. So he was always searching for more, and never stayed stuck in a stage for too long, and one simple example of this was the fact he moved on from playing sitar and didn’t really touch it much after the 60s. And as he was explaining this to Scorsese, Dhani jumped in and said, “Yes! That is my dad!”
The Q&A was brief since the movie’s on the longish side. I was a bit hesitant to ask my question, as I thought the answer might be obvious. But curiously, it stumped both men. I asked if George was doing the singing/chanting at the end of the film (and apparently the version on the new DVD is different from the original), and they weren’t sure. Anyone have insight into this?
parlance
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Reviewers
17 December 2012
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Nice piece about the album from last Thursday’s Guardian.
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9.53am
16 April 2015
Offline I enjoyed the article Ron Nasty . I have always been a George fan, but I will confess that in my Beatles explorations, Wonderwall, the album and movie, remained mysteries I had little interest in. Fast forward to the past couple of years, and I purchase a digital version of GH the apple years and discover it. I bought the dvd and projected it onto a screen in my back yard last night. The colors, light, and motions are really impressive when spread out on a screen. I’ve even taken to listening to the track Cowboy music in my daily rotation, it seems to pick me up some.
I really enjoy the history behind the whole project. The first official musical solo work from a Beatle, and a whole host of friends and other musicians. The whole project has an almost underground element to it. The Fool do a cameo, and were also set designers. Eric Clapton, Ringo, Peter Tork, the Remo Four, along with accomplished Indian musicians and east tends to meet west. A $600.00 budget came out to be $15,000.00 and the deficit was covered by George. It seems he really wanted to do this soundtrack.
I do have to wonder what Paul was doing with that banjo loaned to Tork for the session? The article says he couldn’t play it conventionally. Unconventional things have been known to occur in Beatles music and lore so maybe there is a story there.
It’s nice after so many years of being a Beatles student to find this diamond in the rough that I had so carelessly overlooked. Of course, I liked Magical Mystery Tour , so I suppose I should have realized that Wonderwall would be a good fit for me.
I think for his first non-Beatle outing and apparently producing and doing most all of the work required to complete this project is a testimony to George’s talent and to what he would become. The film has a weak and boring “plot” if you want to call it that. However, that isn’t I don’t believe what it was really intended to be about. It stands on it’s artistic merits whatever they be.
The soundtrack is just a wonderful collage of some really great musicians blending music genres and doing things that no one else was at that time. I am glad that George did this, and also pleased to find it and take the time to appreciate it.
I've been breaking up dirty dishes and been throwing them away.
3.14am
30 December 2022
Offline I listened to this today. It’s interesting to say the least. I’ll listen to it again tomorrow but currently my favourite song off of it is In the First Place
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sigh butterfly6.44pm
11 June 2015
Offline @Neely If you’re interested, a few years back Pepdog posted a copy of the film here. The restoration work is pretty good. https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..wall-1968/
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