Thirty-Three & A Third - GEORGE HARRISON***

Woman Don't You Cry For Me/Dear One/Beautiful Girl/This Song/See Yourself/Its What You Value/True Love/ Pure Smokey/Crackerbox Palace/Learning How To Love Me

Regrettably, Thirty-Three & A Third was another mediocre album released by George Harrison in fairly quick succession. The inspiration behind his first two solo albums is now a memory. (US:11 UK:35)

“With the exception of a few tracks, it feels like an uninspired latter period Harrison solo album. Nothing special, but quite pleasant nonetheless.”

“The melange of soft rock, blues and pop-soul he's been flirting with the past few albums has suddenly shifted sharply into focus, and the result is a smooth, attractive record that has worn rather well. It helps that George has throttled back the spiritual harangues quite a bit.”

“33 & 1/3 is George Harrison's first album released on the Dark Horse record label. It has only two good songs: This Song and Crackerbox Palace. The rest are fair, though thankfully, there are no skip-past-'em tracks.”

“The songs are all accessible, although as is the case with George's albums, you'll need to spend more time getting to know some tracks while others will take their presence felt almost immediately. Both Crackerbox Palace and This Song manage a rare combination of message and buoyant pop sensibilities.”

“Now, this album is certainly pleasant, and there aren't any really bad songs on here, but there aren't any truly great ones either. It works undeniably well as background music, which I don't really mean to sound like an insult, but that's what it is. Track after track is nicely tuneful with lots of enjoyable slide guitar from Harrison, but the record is sorely lacking in emotional impact.”

“33 & 1/3 is a great piece of work. It is far more optimistic than the last offerings, and a lot more coherent. I personally think the record is quite sweet at times, with love being a recurring theme. Some songs are supposedly leftovers from the last days of the Beatles, but is still feels like a grown up George Harrison record. The guitar work should be mentioned, it is simply lovely.”

“Thirty Three and 1/3 has some good songs, Crackerbox Palace is tremendous and This Song is a hilarious counter-punch to his legal troubles.”