Isn't It a Pity
| "Isn't It a Pity" | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||
| Single by George Harrison | ||||||||||||
| from the album All Things Must Pass | ||||||||||||
| A-side | "My Sweet Lord" (double A-side) |
|||||||||||
| Released | 23 November 1970 (US) | |||||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||||
| Genre | Rock | |||||||||||
| Length | 7:10 | |||||||||||
| Label | Apple | |||||||||||
| Writer(s) | George Harrison | |||||||||||
| Producer | George Harrison, Phil Spector | |||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
"Isn't It a Pity" is a song by George Harrison from his 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass. It was written in 1966 but was rejected for inclusion on releases by The Beatles.
Contents |
[edit] Composition and recording
In a bootlegged conversation from the January 1969 Get Back sessions, Harrison revealed that John Lennon had vetoed "Isn't It a Pity" three years before, and that he (Harrison) had considered offering the song to Frank Sinatra.[1] Like a number of his unused compositions from the latter half of the Beatles era, it was among the dozens of tracks considered and/or recorded for Harrison’s first proper solo release, in 1970.[2] The lyrics are consistent with the karmic subject matter of much of the All Things Must Pass album;[3] Harrison would later say of the track: "'Isn't It a Pity' is about whenever a relationship hits a down point ... It was a chance to realise that if I felt somebody had let me down, then there's a good chance I was letting someone else down."[4]
Two different versions of the song were eventually included on All Things Must Pass. The so-called “Isn’t It a Pity (Version Two)” appeared in reprise form, as the penultimate track on side four of the original three-record set. This take is noticeably slower than the better known, seven-minute “epic” that closed side one;[5] Eric Clapton’s lead guitar fills, phased piano from Tony Ashton, and John Barham-arranged flute dominate Version Two, which is also more in keepinig with The Beatles’ earlier attempts on the song.
Like the concurrently recorded "My Sweet Lord", the album's other "Isn't It a Pity" starts small and builds, betraying the influence of co-producer Phil Spector more so than the "sedate" Version Two.[6] “Isn’t It a Pity” (Version One, as it were) starts out “dirge”-like[7] with a two-note pedal provided by layers of keyboards and acoustic guitars.[8] (An electric guitar is vaguely audible also, on the left channel of the stereo mix, which could well be Clapton again, although While My Guitar Gently Weeps author Simon Leng does not credit him, or anyone else, for the part.) Only at the one-minte mark, at the start of verse two, does the rhythm section come in, after which the instruments “begin to break out of their metronomic straitjacket to attain an almost ecstatic release”.[9] A “balmy” slide guitar passage, supported by Barham’s string section,[10] follows this second verse, and from that point on – around 2:38 – the same, circular chord structure continues for the remaining four-and-a-half minutes of the song. The long fade-out sees the “pseudo-symphonic tension” burst into a frenzy of orchestral brass and tympani, further bottleneck soloing, and the “What a pity” mantra joined by “Hey Jude”-style chorus.[11][12]
[edit] Release
The full, seven-minute “Isn’t It a Pity” was issued in the United States and Canada on 23 November 1970, just prior to the album's release, on a double A-side single with "My Sweet Lord", as Apple 2995.[13] The single was phenomenally successful in North America, and around the world.[14][15][16] Both "Isn't It a Pity" and "My Sweet Lord" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[17][18] but "Isn't It a Pity" was the lead side when the single held the top spot on Canada’s RPM 100 chart for five weeks, through to mid January 1971.[19]
Despite this commercial success, and its standing as one of the most-covered songs among Harrison’s post-Beatle output, “Isn’t It a Pity" was a notable omission from EMI’s The Best of George Harrison in 1976. It was included on the 2009 compilation Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison, however.[3] A demo version of the song, recorded during the Get Back sessions, is also available on Let It Roll as an iTunes Store exclusive.
A live version, again with Clapton, was included on the album Live in Japan.[3]
[edit] Reception
“Isn’t It a Pity” remains one of Harrison’s most popular songs with critics and fans alike. Allmusic calls it “deeply moving and powerful”.[3]
In his study of Harrison’s musical career, Simon Leng identifies the song as musically “sumptuous” and praises Harrison’s inventive melody and “unique” use of notes beyond the key signature, as well as John Barham’s “evocative, suspended orchestration".[20] He notes also the similarity of their combined musical counterbalance with elements of Indian raga, in the number of swaras (tones) in both ascending and descending scales.[21] To Leng, "Isn't It a Pity" is the "pivotal song", the “essence” of All Things Must Pass, encapsulating the album’s struggle between “gospel ecstasy and the failure of human relationships”.[22]
Writing in the mid ’70s, Village Voice journalist Nicholas Schaffner noted the song’s “towering simplicity” and the “endlessly repetitive fade-out that somehow manages to be hypnotic instead of boring”. [23] Like Schaffner, a number of commentators have remarked on the significance of “Isn’t It a Pity” in the wider, Beatles context, starting with the song’s length: 7:10 – just a second less than “Hey Jude”.[24][25] Ben Gerson, in his original Rolling Stone review, described the song as a “lament … whose beginning is the broken thirds of John's ‘I Am the Walrus’ and whose end is the decadent, exultant last half of Paul's ‘Hey Jude’".[26] On this point, Leng adds: “Ever bittersweet, ‘Isn’t It a Pity’ records the last dying echoes of the Beatles.”[27]
In 2010, listeners voted "Isn't It a Pity" seventh on AOL Radio's poll to find the ten best post-Beatles George Harrison songs.[28] Both Eric Clapton and Tom Petty have named "Isn't It a Pity" as being among their favourite two Harrison compositions, Petty calling the song "a masterpiece".[29]
[edit] Personnel
The musicians who performed on “Isn’t It a Pity” are believed to be as follows:[30][31]
- George Harrison – vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitars, backing vocals
- Eric Clapton* – electric guitar, backing vocals
- Billy Preston – keyboards
- Gary Wright – keyboards
- Tony Ashton – piano
- Pete Ham – acoustic guitar
- Tom Evans – acoustic guitar
- Joey Molland – acoustic guitar
- Klaus Voormann – bass
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Mike Gibbins – tambourine
- John Barham – orchestral and choral arrangements
- uncredited/player not known – maracas
* denotes unconfirmed. Note also that Maurice Gibb is rumoured to have played keyboards on this song.[32]
[edit] Cover versions
As with other All Things Must Pass tracks such as "My Sweet Lord" and "What is Life", "Isn't It a Pity" attracted a number of cover versions due to the popularity of the album. In May 1971, singer Matt Monro released a UK single of "Isn't It a Pity" (produced by George Martin), and late that year, Ireland's 1970 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Dana, did the same. While Dana's rendition provided a poignant commentary to the political upheaval then gripping Ulster,[33] Nina Simone's "intense", 11-minute reworking of "Isn't It a Pity" was a statement on the Vietnam War.[34] Her 1972 album Emergency Ward! also includes an 18-minute, gospel-inspired take on "My Sweet Lord".[34] A six-minute version of "Isn't It a Pity" was included on her 51-track compilation, The Essential Nina Simone (1993).[35] In his autobiography, Harrison admits to having been influenced by Simone's treatment of the song when he came to record "The Answer's at the End", for his 1975 album Extra Texture.[36]
"Isn't It a Pity" has been covered by numerous other artists, including Pedro Aznar, the Cowboy Junkies, Peter Drake, 18th Dye, Galaxie 500, Television Personalities, Nicky Thomas, The Three Degrees,[37] Elliott Smith, Rafo de la Cuba, Bettye Lavette, and Jay Bennett and Edward Burch. Eric Clapton and Billy Preston performed the song at the Royal Albert Hall tribute to George Harrison in November 2002.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart | 1 |
[edit] References
- ^ Doug Sulpy & Ray Schweighardt, Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of The Beatles' Let It Be Disaster, St Martin's Griffin (New York, NY, 1997), p. 269
- ^ The Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison, Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002), p. 39.
- ^ a b c d "Isn't It a Pity". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/t743155. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ George Harrison, I Me Mine, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002), p. 170.
- ^ Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006), p. 98.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 98.
- ^ Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978), p. 142.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 86.
- ^ Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, p. 142.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 86.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 86.
- ^ Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, p. 142.
- ^ Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961−1975, Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976), p. 93.
- ^ Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, p. 142.
- ^ Roy Carr & Tony Tyler, The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Trewin Copplestone Publishing (London, 1978), p. 94.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 85.
- ^ "The Billboard Hot 100 "Isn't It a Pity"". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3070607&cdi=8842459&cid=01%2F02%2F1971. Retrieved 2009-06-16.[dead link]
- ^ Riley, T. (1988). Tell Me Why. pp. 348–349. ISBN 0-679-72198-3.
- ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.3733&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=5ppv5gl1nvtb61pjd64e29bap6
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 87.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 87.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, pp 98, 86−87.
- ^ Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, p. 142.
- ^ The Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison, p. 40.
- ^ Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, p. 142.
- ^ Ben Gerson, "Reviews: George Harrison All Things Must Pass", Rolling Stone, 21 January 1971, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/all-things-must-pass-19710121 (retrieved 20 February 2012).
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 87.
- ^ [1] AOL, 2010.
- ^ The Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison, p. 224.
- ^ "George Harrison: Isn't It a Pity". The Beatles Bible. http://www.beatlesbible.com/people/george-harrison/songs/isnt-it-a-pity/. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 86.
- ^ "Gibb Songs : 1970". Columbia.edu. http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/70.html. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
- ^ Alan Clayson, George Harrison, Sanctuary (London, 2003), p. 296.
- ^ a b "Emergency Ward!". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r53352. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ "The Essential Nina Simone". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r190592. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ Harrison, I Me Mine, p. 300.
- ^ "Isn't It a Pity". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:754681~1~T000. Retrieved 2009-06-16.[dead link]
| Preceded by "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one single December 19, 1970 - January 16, 1971 (5 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Knock Three Times" by Dawn |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
