The Best of George Harrison - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

The Best of George Harrison was released in November 1976 on EMI's Parlophone label in Britain (catalogue number PAS 10011) and as Capitol DT 11578 in America. Some sources give the UK date as 14 January 1977, however, implying that the Harrison compilation was delayed there to allow for the release of the Beatles' 1967 Capitol album Magical Mystery Tour.

In the US, with Harrison actively promoting the concurrent Thirty Three & 1/3, and enjoying some of his best reviews in years, the compilation reached number 31 on the Billboard 200. By 15 February 1977, it was certified gold in America for sales of over 500,000 units. Like Starr's 1975 compilation, The Best of George Harrison failed to place on the UK's Top 60 Albums Chart. EMI, in an attempt to capitalise on recent publicity from the ruling on Bright Tunes' plagiarism suit against Harrison, also reissued "My Sweet Lord" (backed with "What Is Life") as a single on 25 December 1976.

Although the album was generally well received, its content drew criticism from fans, who felt the overall effect diminished the significance of Harrison's solo career. In their book The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler summed up the implication: "George's 'Best Of'. Half Beatle, half Harisongs. But will there be a Volume II?" Occasional Village Voice and Rolling Stone contributor Nicholas Schaffner observed a couple of minor positives on this "half-baked" collection: "The Best of George Harrison does confirm that George's big production numbers from All Things Must Pass more than hold their own alongside the seven featured Beatles tunes ... And the album is undeniably better looking than Rock 'n' Roll Music." In Melody Maker, on the same page as his mixed review of the "exhausting" Wings over America (which featured live versions of a number of McCartney's Beatles-era songs), Ray Coleman provided a favourable assessment: " a highly individual artist who always keeps creative musical company; it's a good album, essential for Harrison students who may not have all the records ..." Writing in Swank magazine, Michael Gross recognised Capitol Records' "slick marketing ploy" but admired the music, the "final treat" being the availability of "Bangla Desh" for the first time on an album.

Commenting on the controversial choice of tracks, but without regard for the compromises permitted on the Lennon and Starr albums, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes: "But all this is down to a matter of timing and circumstance: Harrison needed to have a hits collection out in 1976, he didn't have enough big hits to fill out 13 tracks (even if he certainly had enough great album tracks to do so), and so the Fabs were brought in to fill in the cracks. The result might be a little underwhelming in retrospect, but it's undeniably entertaining."

Harrison biographer Elliot Huntley is scathing in his opinion of the album's content, writing: "Had EMI forgotten the great songs on All Things Must Pass?" The inclusion of Beatles material was a "completely unnecessary public humiliation" for Harrison, Huntley continues, giving the impression that Starr and Lennon's solo careers up to the end of 1975 had been more successful than his – "when, in reality, the opposite was the case". In Huntley's view, the record companies should have "gone the whole hog" and released a compilation dedicated to Harrison's Beatle songs, a collection that would have "certified how underrated Harrison's talent had been" within his former band. In his book Fab Four FAQ 2.0, Robert Rodriguez likewise bemoans EMI/Capitol's attempt to humiliate Harrison with a compilation that failed to reflect his standing as the most accomplished ex-Beatle during 1970–73. Rodriguez describes the company's efforts to "effectively sabotag" Harrison's Thirty Three & 1/3 chart run as "a final touch worthy of Allen Klein".

Despite the 2009 Let It Roll compilation and the 2005 reissue of the Concert for Bangladesh live album, The Best of George Harrison remains the only CD release featuring pop's first-ever charity single, "Bangla Desh". (In July 2011, it was made available as an iTunes-exclusive download as part of The Concert for Bangladesh, however.)