SAVOY TRUFFLE
Harrison | The Beatles (1968)
JOEY SANTIAGO (PIXIES): “The mix is all about a trip to the dentist’s office. The guitar tone — most likely run through a fuzz pedal — sounds like a drill. The bending, stabbing notes during the lyrics, ‘But you’ll have to get them all pulled out’ really gets the image of a dentist’s drill across vividly. I borrowed those bending, stabbing notes from him and have no intention of returning them anytime soon. The phrasing is total Harrison — even with the fuzz, you can tell it’s him. He does have that ‘George Harrison sound’ as well, but to identify a guitar player with phrasing is rare. It can be imitated; Eric Clapton’s solo on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ sounds like a nod to George’s style.”
TROY VAN LEEUWEN (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE): “The chord progression is really fun, and the guitar sound is on point with George’s voice. When I listen to the Beatles’ records in chronological order, I can hear Harrison’s influence on the band’s sound swing from his early country picking into a love of Eastern music with his sitar, then back to superb rock splendor with his slide playing. It seems it was the White Album that started the swing back to electric guitar-driven songs for him. I recently heard that the song was written about Eric Clapton’s love of chocolate. Just goes to show that you never know when inspiration will strike… or the craving for chocolate!” BUZZ OSBORNE (MELVINS): “The solo is really cool. Totally dry and inyour-face production, which I think sounds fantastic. I love the guitar stabs he does throughout the chorus.
All in all, a really cool song — and it even has distorted saxophones! One of George’s best.”
SADLER VADEN: “Not only does it showcase his wit behind the pen, but it’s also on full display with his guitar playing on this record. The solo section contains all the aspects of Harrison’s playing that I love. It bridges the gap between his melodic sensibilities and straight up rock ’n’ roll guitar. The tone has teeth! The way he composed his solos that also incorporated that lovely reckless abandon makes him one of my all-time favorite players, and this track is the perfect example.”