World of Stone
| "World of Stone" | ||||
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1975 single face label
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| Song by George Harrison from the album Extra Texture (Read All About It) | ||||
| Published | Oops/Ganga | |||
| Released | 22 September 1975 | |||
| Genre | Rock, soul | |||
| Length | 4:40 | |||
| Label | Apple | |||
| Writer(s) | George Harrison | |||
| Producer(s) | George Harrison | |||
| Extra Texture (Read All About It) track listing | ||||
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| 10 tracks |
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"World of Stone" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1975 on Extra Texture (Read All About It), his final album for Apple Records. It was also the B-side of the album's lead single, "You". Harrison wrote the song in 1973 but recorded it two years later, following the negative reception afforded his 1974 North American tour and the Dark Horse album. Due to its context on release, commentators view "World of Stone" as a plea from Harrison for tolerance from his critics. According to some of his biographers, the lyrics reflect Harrison's doubts regarding his devotion to a spiritual path – an apparent crisis of faith that followed his often-unwelcome spiritual pronouncements during the tour, and which permeated his work throughout 1975.
Harrison recorded "World of Stone" in Los Angeles with backing from musicians including David Foster, Gary Wright and Klaus Voormann. The downbeat mood of the recording is typical of the Extra Texture album while also demonstrating the influence of soul music on Harrison's career during this period. Music critics have tended to view the track in an unfavourable light; author Dale Allison describes the song as an "expression of alienation from the world".
Although George Harrison's 1974 album Dark Horse attracted highly favourable reviews from publications such as Melody Maker and Billboard, much of the critical reaction to the album was scathing and focused on his near-completed North American tour with co-headliner Ravi Shankar, which took place in November and December that year. Harrison had planned these concerts during a pilgrimage to India in February 1974, midway through a period that was otherwise blighted by rock-star excess and the failure of his marriage to Pattie Boyd. Author Gary Tillery suggests that Harrison envisaged the tour as a development of his acclaimed 1971 Concert for Bangladesh shows, where Shankar's Indian music set and Harrison's spiritually themed rock songs had been warmly received. "Why not carry the idea further and proselytize?" Tillery writes of Harrison's motivation. "One tour might open tens of thousands of minds to the wisdom found in Eastern mysticism."
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Wikipedia