DARK HORSE, 1974

George Harrison composed and laid down the tracks for Dark Horse during a special phase in his private life. The material on the album primarily addresses his separation from his first spouse, Pattie Boyd, and his temporary withdrawal from the spiritual certainties of his previous work.

During this era, he allocated a considerable portion of his time and effort to establishing Dark Horse Records and focusing on the label’s initial artists—Shankar and the band Splinter—a commitment that sidelined his personal musical pursuits. The writer Simon Leng characterizes the record as “a musical soap opera, cataloguing rock-life antics, marital strife, lost friendships, and self-doubt.”

Dark Horse boasts a diverse roster of contributing musicians, including Tom Scott, Billy Preston, Willie Weeks, Andy Newmark, Jim Keltner, Ringo Starr, Gary Wright, and Ron Wood. Musically, the album demonstrated a shift towards the funk and soul idioms, and it yielded the successful singles “Dark Horse” and “Ding Dong, Ding Dong.”

Following the criticism directed at his performance style during the concurrent tour, the album itself met with a largely unfavorable reception from most critics upon its release. It reached a peak position of number 4 on the US Billboard albums chart and achieved top-ten status in several European nations. However, it was notable as the first solo effort by Harrison after the Beatles to fail to chart in the UK.

Tom Wilkes was responsible for designing the cover art, which features an image of Harrison from his school days at the Liverpool Institute overlaid onto a scenic Himalayan backdrop. The album was later re-released in a digitally restored version in 2014 as part of the Apple Years 1968–75 box set dedicated to George’s work.

Tracklisting

All songs by George Harrison, except where noted.

Side A

“Hari’s on Tour (Express)” – 4:43

“Simply Shady” – 4:38

“So Sad” – 5:00

“Bye Bye, Love”(F.Bryant,B.Bryant,Harrison)4:08

“Māya Love” – 4:24

Side B

“Ding Dong, Ding Dong” – 3:40

“Dark Horse” – 3:54

“Far East Man” (Harrison, Ron Wood) – 5:52

“It Is ‘He’ (Jai Sri Krishna)” – 4:50

(2014 reissue bonus tracks):

“I Don’t Care Anymore” – 2:44

“Dark Horse” (Early Take) – 4:25

Personnel

According to 1974 LP credits, except where noted. Track numbers refer to CD and digital versions of the album.

George Harrison – vocals (2–9), electric and acoustic guitars (1–9), Moog synthesizer (4, 9), clavinet (3, 4, 6), organ (6),[326] bass (4), percussion (4, 5, 6, 9), gubgubbi (9), drums (4), backing vocals (2–6, 8, 9)

Tom Scott – saxophones (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), flute (7, 9), horn arrangements (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), organ (1)

Billy Preston – electric piano (5, 7, 8), organ (9), piano (9)

Willie Weeks – bass guitar (3, 5, 7–9)

Andy Newmark – drums (5, 7–9), percussion (8)

Jim Keltner – drums (3, 6, 7)

Robben Ford – electric guitar (1, 2), acoustic guitar (7)

Jim Horn – flute (7, 9)

Chuck Findley – flute (7, 9)

Emil Richards – percussion (7, 9)

Ringo Starr – drums (3, 6)

Klaus Voormann – bass guitar (6)

Gary Wright – piano (6)

Nicky Hopkins – piano (3)

Roger Kellaway – piano (1, 2), organ (2)

Max Bennett – bass guitar (1, 2)

John Guerin – drums (1, 2)

Ronnie Wood – electric guitar (6)

Alvin Lee – electric guitar (6)

Mick Jones – acoustic guitar (6)

Lon & Derrek Van Eaton – backing vocals (7)

uncredited – female choir (6)

In the United States, Dark Horse achieved significant commercial success, earning a gold certification from the RIAA on December 16th. On the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, the album reached its highest position at number 4. However, its presence on the chart was relatively short-lived, exiting the Top 200 after a seventeen-week run. The record also matched this peak performance on the national charts published by Cash Box and Record World, also hitting number 4. Meanwhile, in Canada, the album’s best showing was number 42 on the RPM Top 100 chart in early February 1975.

The album’s namesake track, released as a single, was a strong performer in the US, climbing to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The subsequent single, “Ding Dong, Ding Dong,” which was released on December 23rd, reached number 36.

The album Dark Horse was first made available on CD in January 1992. It received a second round of digital restoration and was put out again in September 2014, forming part of the comprehensive George Harrison collection titled The Apple Years 1968–75 box set.

This particular reissue features supplementary tracks, including an uncirculated demo recording of the title song “Dark Horse” and the long-out-of-print track “I Don’t Care Anymore.” Author Kevin Howlett contributed an essay for the CD booklet liner notes. Additionally, the DVD component, exclusive to the box set, contains Harrison’s promotional clip for “Ding Dong, Ding Dong” and the 1974 Capitol Records television advertisement for the LP.

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