Located less than half a mile from the site in which the ABC Cinema stood - where the Beatles

performed in 1963 - stands the historic, Grade 1 listed, St. George's Theatre, on King Street,

Great Yarmouth.

Tonight, the former chapel building shall house a celebrative showcase of the music created by

the late, great, George Harrison. 

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I knew nothing of the George Harrison Project's existence prior to stumbling upon the advert on

the theatre's website, of which I have been enjoying shows at for over twenty years.

It was undoubtedly a welcome, and pleasant, surprise to see an eye-catching piece of art work

advertising the show - an impressive pencil sketch of Harrison, with the titles of many of his

greatest hits flowing through the strands of his hair.

The design promises many crowd pleasers; 'Here Comes the Sun', 'Something', 'Taxman', and

'My Sweet Lord', among others. Intriguingly, lesser-known compositions are also listed; 'Cheer

Down' and 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea', to name but two. 

Tributes to the Beatles can be witnessed across the globe, undoubtedly performing

somewhere, somehow, every minute of every day. But tributes to the artists as individuals are

far less common. Not least of all, Harrison. This is a very welcome change to the usual look-a-like dedications that perform relentlessly. 

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"It is, after all, about the music..."

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As I took my seat, I heard whispers amongst the crowd of songs they would like to hear.

I gazed upon the stage, admiring the vast array of guitars. No replica Lennon-Rickenbackers. No Harrison-inspired painted Stratocasters. As much as I admire some of the top Beatles' tributes, it is, after all, about the music, not the look.

It is with this thought that I look around the small theatre and see many empty seats behind me. There is but five minutes until the show starts, yet the room is rather desolate.

We sadly live in times where this is more commonplace than ever. At £21 per ticket, I can understand why people struggle to afford to attend shows regularly, even more so when the acts are relatively unknown. It is important to remember that the empty seats are no reflection of the talents of the artists themselves. 

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As the lights fade, the small, but eager audience claps and welcomes the band to the stage.

The group is made up of six members - a drummer, pianist/percussionist, bass, rhythm guitar, and lead guitar. Four of the members have microphones - a welcome sight in anticipation of vocal harmonies being part of their performance 

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The opening song to any musical performance is always vital - it compares to the opening chapter of a novel, or the first scene in a movie. Its job is to grab the audience, to captivate, to excite. It is a statement - this is what we have for you tonight! 

They struck the instantly recognisable 7th chord, as the familiar beat of 'Taxman' fills the theatre. Good choice.

People's heads bounce along to the beat. The overall sound of the band is clean and crisp. Each individual strike of the snare rings concisely and every individual note of the bass is distinct. 

The lead singer - Gary - clearly has no inclination to pretend he is a reincarnation of Harrison. He does not intend to mimic his idol. He is just enjoying the music, being himself. 

 

As the night continues, familiar songs are performed, with a healthy mixture of Harrison's Beatles' compositions and his solo work.

A pleasant surprise was 'I Don't Want to Do It', as featured in the 1985 feature film, Porky's Revenge!

Penned by Harrison's friend and idol, Bob Dylan, in 1968, Harrison recorded the song in November 1984, at the Los Angeles-based Record Plant West.

Harrison did, in fact, record a demo of the song whilst working on his first solo project, All Things Must Pass, but the track remained relatively unknown until being released as a single, to coincide with the film's release. 

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"... Slightly too low in the overall mix."

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It would be extremely amiss of any Harrison tribute to not include songs by the Traveling Wilburys.

'Handle with Care' became not only the first song recorded by the British-American supergroup but also the opening song on their debut album. It was also their debut single, released on October 1, 1988. 

Much like Ringo Starr's vocal spot in the performing days of the Beatles, the George Harrison Project also allows their drummer, Allan, to take the spotlight.

Adopting the role of Harrison, Allan has a reasonably high vocal range, which is telling when he sings much of the vocal harmonies within the other compositions.

As Allan worked his way through the track, it became apparent that, at least on this song, his vocal sound is slightly better suited to match the sound of Harrison than that of his lead singer counterpart.

Unfortunately, however, for Allan, his vocals were rather low in the mix. At one stage, he was only just audible above the rest of the band's instruments. The levels set for his microphone were near perfect for his backing vocals, but once he took centre-stage, the power was simply not enough to cut through with complete clarity. 

Gary would sing the verses as originally performed by the late Roy Orbison.

Gary's vocals on this song perfectly suit the low-end range of Orbison, and the balance between Allan and Gary worked very well.

What I felt let this song down, however, was the fact that the drums were slightly too low in the overall mix.

On the original recording of the track, there are multiple points throughout the song where the music stops, allowing for a loud, crisp, snappy singular drum strike to bring the band back in.

The production on the Wilburys' albums is second to none, and it is that drum strike sound which makes 'Handle with Care' particularly pleasing.

With those strikes too low in the band's mix, this performance sadly suffered. Regardless, the band performs the song very well - it is not an easy number to conquer. 

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The lack of power in the drums unfortunately carried over onto the next song, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'.

It is important that I emphasise at this point that the musicians were faultless. The drummer, Allan, has impeccable timing - every beat right on cue. These are all talented musicians who clearly know the songs well. But the overall mix was not quite putting their talent out to the audience.

'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' is a powerful song. It is a dirty song, with thumping drums, a deep, hard bass line, and a gritty, raw guitar solo. But if the sound is not right, then that grit makes the song appear slightly underwhelming.

The overall mix was perfect for the gentler songs within the set, such as 'Do You Want to Know a Secret?' and 'All Things Must Pass', but without careful alterations of the sound being made for the harder songs, the overall edge lacks slightly. 

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After a generous fourteen songs made up the first half thus far, the band announced their impending halftime break.

The closing song for part one was the undoubtedly catchy 'Got My Mind Set On You'. A nice touch was the fact that, with this song, and with several prior, Gary and his co-performer, Alan, who plays lead guitar, recites stories of the songs they are performing.

I always appreciate this effort - the Beatles, both as a group and as individuals, have always commanded a desire from their fans to know every intimate detail, so to educate an audience is a wise move on the band's part. 

Contrary to popular belief, 'Got My Mind Set On You' was not a Harrison original. Released as 'I've Got My Mind Set On You' by American R&B singer James Ray, in 1962, it was this version that Harrison had always adored. 

I have only ever witnessed one other group attempt this song live, and that was by a well-established covers band in Liverpool's famous Cavern Club. This was a welcome treat for Harrison fans, which was executed very well. 

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"... they seemed suddenly more gentle, more quiet."

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The second half opens with the beautiful 'Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)', from Harrison's 1973 album, Living in the Material World.

As precise and note-perfect as the musicians were, suddenly the vocals seemed somewhat toned down.

Had the overall mix been adjusted? Had the instruments been turned up? Although I could hear the lyrics of which were being sung, they seemed suddenly more gentle, more quiet. 

 

As the band continued through the second half, the vocal levels seemed to vary between songs, so I suspect they do not utilise any technology which would limit or raise vocal volume to the desired level. This is not a criticism - I admire and respect all bands who retain as much authenticity as possible. But this does, naturally, have its downsides.

You only have to spend a mere few minutes watching Beatles' performances online to notice that their vocal levels were, at times, all over the place.

Some footage shows Lennon booming over the drums, to where he is almost off-key, to the other end of the scale, where he is barely audible.

Mastering levelling is undoubtedly an art form, and no two venues are ever the same. Every curtain, chair, and person affects the sound and how it travels through the air. 

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The next highlight of the evening was 'When We Was Fab'. Released in 1987, as part of Harrison's Cloud Nine album, it is a rare insight into Harrison's reminiscing of times gone by.

Co-written by Jeff Lynne, the track is awash with references of Harrison's days as a Beatle.

The original recording includes reversed sounds, a sitar, and a cello, all of which were expertly reproduced by the band's keyboard player, culminating in the final outro, played with microscopic accuracy. 

As with many of the songs performed this evening, the group stand in front of a large screen, displaying images of Harrison throughout his lifetime, along with many pieces of video footage, including the music video for 'When We Was Fab'.

Whilst I appreciate supporting imagery for a band, I feel that, if overused, it detracts attention from the artists themselves. 

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"A fantastic, toe-tapping rendition..."

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Returning to the Wilburys' songbook, the band performed a fantastic, toe-tapping rendition of 'End of the Line'.

Sadly, Allan's vocals suffered again within the mix, but this did not detract from the audience's enjoyment, as several began to hint at the inevitable dancing that would take place as the momentum grew within the room. 

'End of the Line' was followed closely by the inevitable 'Here Comes the Sun' - a staple of any Beatles-related show - performed beautifully, and note-perfect, with Alan switching his electric guitar for an acoustic.

In contrast to some other songs, the balance on this number was perfect, and the audience's joy was apparent. 

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Excitement grew further as 'Wilbury Twist' filled the theatre.

Many audience members rose to their feet and danced along the gangways.

This was the first time I had seen anyone perform this song, and it was an absolute joy to witness. 

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Dancing soon transposed into a moment of tranquility as Gary and Alan reached for the ukuleles, performing a beautiful rendition of 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea'.

Originally published in 1931, but recreated by Harrison and used on his 2002 posthumous Brainwashed album, the song allowed for several minutes of reminiscing about the great artist we lost back in 2001, at just 58 years of age. 

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"The George Harrison Project delivered..."

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As is the case with the opening song, the closing tracks are just as important to get right. You need to leave your audience remembering what a fantastic performance they watched. They need to be left wanting more.

The George Harrison Project delivered this in their closing two songs, 'Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby' and 'Roll Over Beethoven'.

They impeccably performed both, allowing the audience to appreciate what made the Beatles a true tour de force - pure rock and roll. 

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Overall, the George Harrison Project is worthy of any Harrison', Beatles', or Wilburys' fan. They perform their songs extremely well, and do not pretend, nor attempt to be, anything other than a group of gentleman who perform songs they love - and their passion shines through. 

They highly impressed me with their set list - an eclectic mixture of songs which spans Harrison's career - allowing for a suitable flow of tempo throughout the night.

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If you would like to learn more about the George Harrison Project, you can visit their official website here. Even better - go see them live. You won't be disappointed. 

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Set List:

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Taxman

What Is Life?

I Want to Tell You

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Don't Bother Me

All Things Must Pass

I Need You

I Don't Want to Do It

Blow Away

Handle with Care

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Old Brown Shoe

Isn't It a Pity

If I Needed Someone

Got My Mind Set On You

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)

Cheer Down

Think For Yourself

Something

Heading For the Light

When We Was Fab

This Is Love

End of the Line

Here Comes the Sun

All Those Years Ago

Wilbury Twist

For You Blue

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

I'll See You In My Dreams

My Sweet Lord

Everybody's Trying to be My Baby

Roll Over Beethoven

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