| The Quiet Beatle |
November 2002
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Behind Sad Eyes: The Life of George Harrison, by Marc Shapiro
Rock journalism has been defined as people who can't talk being interviewed by people who can't write for people who can't read. Marc Shapiro's new bio about guitarist George Harrison defies that glib and grim assessment.
George drank, used numerous drugs, womanized and wasted money -- that is to say, he was a rock star. However, unlike others in the field, Harrison was also a very spiritual and unselfish man, virtually inventing the charity super-gig with The Concert for Bangladesh. That there were no resolutions of these contradictions in his character make him interesting, and Mr. Shapiro uses this with great deftness.
The book has its flaws, such as the discussion of Harrison's film production career. At one point, he was the biggest producer of films in the UK through his Handmade Films endeavor, giving us Monty Python's Life of Brian for one. Shapiro dispenses with this in a matter of paragraphs.
Still, the book is a decent effort to cut through the spin and points out how difficult it is to write a biography of modern celebrities. Documentary sources are biased, and interviewees have their axes to grind. And of course, the fact that we all have our own favorite Beatle colors our perception of it all. In the interests of honesty and full disclosure, I always preferred George.
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Behind Sad Eyes: The Life of George Harrison.