page_title: Far East Man
section_title: Recording
hierarchical_section_title: Far East Man / George Harrison's version / Recording
caption_attribution_description: English: Willie Weeks performing at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival, cropped version
context_page_description: "Far East Man" is a song written by English musicians George Harrison and Ronnie Wood, each of whom released a recording of the song in 1974. Wood's version appeared on I've Got My Own Album to Do, his debut solo album, and Harrison's on Dark Horse. Their only official songwriting collaboration, "Far East Man" is an affirmation of friendship in the face of life's obstacles and musically reflects the two guitarists' adoption of the soul genre. Written mostly by Harrison, the composition has been interpreted as a restatement of the humanitarian message expressed in his 1971 single "Bangla Desh", and a tribute to Indian musician Ravi Shankar.
  The song originated during a period of romantic intrigue surrounding Harrison's marriage to Pattie Boyd and Wood's to his wife Krissie, which culminated in Boyd leaving Harrison for his and Wood's mutual friend Eric Clapton. Wood recorded "Far East Man" in July 1974 at The Wick, his Surrey home that had also become an established meeting place for many leading rock musicians.
context_section_description: Harrison taped the basic track for his version of "Far East Man" at Friar Park over August and September 1974, during sessions for his album Dark Horse. Having "brushed up the lyrics a bit", as he puts it in I, Me, Mine, Harrison retained Newmark and Weeks from the sessions with Wood, and brought in keyboard player Billy Preston and saxophonist and arranger Tom Scott, both of whom would also be part of his all-American tour band. Leng describes "Far East Man" as "the first Harisong to tap into 1970s soul" and notes the "supreme soul credentials" of Newmark, as the former drummer with Sly and the Family Stone, and Weeks, who had supplied the highly regarded basslines on Donny Hathaway Live (1972). Newmark later recalled of his and Weeks' first sessions for Harrison: "We were completely thrilled to be asked to play on his record … It was the most exciting thing to happen to me. I had to keep pinching myself to remember it was real."
  At the start of the song, Harrison delivers a spoken dedication to Frank Sinatra, adding: "we love you, Frank, and we hope you include this one at Caesars Palace on your next live album." This message referred to Sinatra's adoption of the Harrison composition "Something", which he lauded as "the greatest love song of the past fifty years". On "Far East Man", Inglis finds Scott's multiple horn parts "reminiscent of the soul stylings" of King Curtis, Junior Walker and the Funk Brothers. Unlike on the Wood recording, Harrison's slide guitar appears only midway through the Dark Horse version (overdubbed onto his rhythm guitar part), in a solo that author Elliot Huntley describes as "wonderfully complement[ed]" by Scott's "bachelor-pad saxophones".
  Harrison's commitment to his other projects – such as starting up a new record label, Dark Horse Records, and organising Shankar's European revue, the Music Festival from India – affected progress on the album. According to authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, Harrison had to overdub much of his vocals while in Los Angeles for tour rehearsals, in October. Combined with his having to sing during the rehearsals, the overexertion damaged Harrison's voice, compromising his performance on songs such as "Far East Man". His throat condition worsened during the subsequent tour, earning Harrison highly unfavourable concert reviews from a number of critics, who objected also to the substantial stage-time afforded Shankar's ensemble.
caption: The song was the first of many Harrison recordings to feature bassist Willie Weeks (pictured in 2007).
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