abstract
| - %22Within You Without You%22 is a song written by George Harrison and released on the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song was Harrison's second composition in the Indian classical style, after %22Love You To%22 in 1966. The lyrics reflect his introduction to Hindu philosophy and the teachings of the Vedas, following Harrison's seven-week stay in India with his friend and sitar teacher Ravi Shankar. Recorded in London with musicians from the Asian Music Circle, the song marked a significant departure from the Beatles' sound. Harrison's embracing of Indian culture was further reflected in his choice of yogis such as Paramahansa Yogananda to appear on the Sgt. Pepper album cover.With the worldwide success of the album, %22Within You Without You%22 presented Indian classical music to a new audience in the West. Released during an era of changing social values, marked by the Summer of Love, it also influenced the musical and philosophical direction of many of Harrison's peers.The song has traditionally received a varied response from music critics, some of whom find it boring and sanctimonious in tone, while others admire its musical authenticity and consider the message to be the most meaningful on Sgt. Pepper. Writing for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described the track as being %22at once beautiful and severe, a magnetic sermon about materialism and communal responsibility in the middle of a record devoted to gentle Technicolor anarchy%22. Sonic Youth, Angels of Venice, Oasis, Patti Smith, Cheap Trick and the Flaming Lips are among the artists who have covered %22Within You Without You%22.
|