George Harrison had the privilege of having a lot of quality musicians playing on his albums. People who were or became friends of George’s.

George however also played as a guest on a large number of songs by others.
On this blog I want to pay attention to that part of George’s work.

Within the community of Harrison fans most of these collaborations are known, yet what I experience on forums is that there are still songs which are not well known.

So I want to start with some of those less known.

Sour Milk Sea - Jackie Lomax

Yes the song itself is known from George. This version by Jackie Lomax was George’s first ‘give away’.

Jackie Lomax was one of George's friends from Liverpool and just like The Beatles performed in Germany in the early 1960’s within the Merseyband “The Undertakers” and saw The Beatles play in Hamburg. In the mix 60’s Jackie formed a new band called “The Lomax Alliance” and tried to find the way in the USA against the advice of Brian Epstein who told Jackie that he would be better off going solo.

Jackie Lomax sang backing vocals on “Dear Prudence” and became one of the first artists to be signed on to the Apple label. One of the songs on the 1968 Harrison produced album Jackie recorded was a song George had ‘on a shelve’.

On the song Jackie finds himself surrounded by Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Nicky Hopkins and George Harrison. Not so bad for a first solo single record.

It's quite a heavy song with strong electric guitars

George wrote the song in Rishikesh, India when The Beatles were with the Maharishi for the meditation course. Sour Milk Sea is about the benefits of meditation, part of Living In The Spiritual World, an issue George wrote more songs about in the Beatles days, like Within You, Without You and The Inner Light.

In his book I Me Mine George says that he used Sour Milk Sea as the idea of “if you’re in the shit, don’t go moaning about it, do something about it”. The title comes from a picture from the Tantric Art called Sour Milk Sea – Kalladadi Samudra in Sanskrit – the origin and growth of Jambudvita, the central continent, surrounded by fish symbols, according to the geological theory of the evolution of organic life on earth. The appearance of fish marks the second stage.

Sour Milk Sea also was the first record where George and Eric exchanged guitar solos which in the years after would continue often on studio work, till the Cloud Nine album like the title song and If That’s What It Takes as well as on stage from The Concert For Bangla Desh till the Japan tour.

Jackie Lomax - vocals and guitars
George Harrison - guitars (2nd guitar solo)
Eric Clapton - guitar (1st guitar solo)
Paul McCartney - bass
Nicky Hopkins - piano
Ringo Starr - drums

You can hear the track here at YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT7HMdUEBI4&feature=player_embedded

In I Me Mine George says that he never recorded the song, well memory is not the best quality of the four Beatles.

Here is a demo The Beatles recorded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFzNT4oxkL4&feature=related