As the year anniversary of his death rolls around, it is only fitting that George Harrison should have one final word to say. His new album, Brainwashed, was the project he had been working on when he succumbed to cancer in late November of last year. Although the album remained unfinished at the time of his death, Harrison was prepared. He left specific instructions for his son Dhani, and his good friend and former Travelling Wilburys' bandmate, Jeff Lynne about how to finish the album. And a year later, it is done.

But don't expect any revelations or end-of-life wisdom from Harrison on this album. Although he spent much of his life searching for reasons and meaning, this album shows that even at the end of his life he was no closer to a complete understanding than he was at age 20. "I keep traveling around the bend/There was no beginning/There is no end," he sings on the first track "Any Road." Nearly every word that Harrison sings on this mellow mix shows acceptance that life's mystery shall remain a mystery, even at the point of death.

If his lyrics leave the mystery of life unanswered, Harrison uses his music to draw some conclusions. During his lifetime as a musician, the guitar had always been his outlet. As the quiet sideman in the Beatles and even on his own as a solo artist, Harrison's guitar was his voice. This album serves to showcase Harrison's guitar, in the form of acoustic and electric, and even his late favorite, the ukulele.

"Give me plenty of that guitar," are the first words heard from Harrison as the album begins, and the music obeys quite nicely.

The opening song, "Any Road," is a jaunty number that moves quickly with the smooth strumming of Harrison on acoustic as well as slide guitar and the banjulele. Harrison sings of the to and fro rhythm of life, "I've been traveling on a wing and a prayer/By the skin of my teeth by the breadth of a hair," but he reassuringly adds that although the destination of such traveling is uncertain, the only certainty is that there is an end, "And if you don't know where you're going/Any road will take you there."

On "Stuck Inside a Cloud," Harrison seems to address his emotions regarding his illness. "Never been so crazy/But I've never felt so sure/I wish I had the answer to give/Don't even have the cure." He finds a temporary cure with his dazzling slide guitar solo that breaks between the simultaneously haunting and heartbreaking lyrics, bringing an uplifting spirit to the song.

The gem of the album comes in the instrumental piece, "Marwa Blues." Harrison's slide guitar gracefully slips along and envelops the listener in what feels like a tour of the deep blue depths of a rippling sea. The effect is together mysterious and magical, simply gorgeous.

The final song on the album, "Brainwashed," is a juxtaposition of musical, poetic and religious genres that leaves the listener a little uncertain as to what Harrison was trying to accomplish. Harrison sings somewhat bitterly about the brainwashing of society at the commence of the song, "Brainwashed in our childhood/Brainwashed by the school/Brainwashed by our teachers/And brainwashed by all their rules." Spliced in the middle of a song is an ill-fitting female voice that preaches a gospel from "How to Know God" (The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali). The song picks back up with the brainwashing lyrics again, but at the end it suddenly transforms into Indian hymn chanting. This odd mix doesn't hold together as one song. After 11 other enjoyable tunes, "Brainwashed," ends things on a jumbled and confusing note. Perhaps if Harrison had had the time to complete the album during his lifetime, he might have smoothed out the rough edges.

Despite the last song, the rest of the album can stand on its own as a final statement from a dying man. Harrison lived his life as a "dark horse," but he had immense talent behind the guitar. And as this album shows, even with its uncertain tone, Harrison found peace in life and death through his music.

Contact Julie Bender at bender.10@nd.edu

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