At a time when George’s commercial forces began to wain, he still had to produce an album at the insistence of his contract with Warner Bros. Upon the listening of the album, one could tell that in some places, he was running out of steam. He just didn’t have the desire and stuff to deliver. “Life Itself” lends itself to a suggestive creator and we know who it is—God. It may very well be the Hindu God but I think not. Anyway, this song is the gem of this very album. A very close second is the single he wrote and recorded originally for Ringo Starr that was re-written and recorded as a tribute to John Lennon after his tragic death in 1980.
This is not to say that the other songs are all clunkers. “Save the World” is an excellent prayer for all humanity. It is classically reminiscent of the mournful vocal quality that backs these prayerful and humble prayers for a better world. “Hong Kong Blues” was a comical story of someone who got twenty years for kicking Buda’s gong. Complete with synthesizer horns and excellent rhythm guitar parts. Comical lyrics make the song a very strong one. “Baltimore Oreole” is a fabulous, luxurious ballad, with high strings, saxes in the like. The weaker songs are probably ones like “Tear Drops.” The reason why they are weaker is because they don’t have a story of meaningful lyrics. Some songs are just downright weird like “Blood From a Clone.” The album is a mixed bag and is worth a few good listens. It’s not his best, but when your inner self wants to create the music you want and you attempt to mix your style with top 40, this is what you get. It was quite good on the strong songs, though.
