George Harrison Said ‘Thirty Three & 1/3’ Was Happier Than His Previous Album, ‘Extra Texture,’ Here’s What He Really Meant

George Harrison said his 1976 album, Thirty Three & 1/3, was happier than his previous 1975 record, Extra Texture. The former is more positive than the latter, that’s for sure.

Something very important, and certainly mood-changing, happened to George while he made Thirty Three & 1/3.

The former Beatle called ‘Extra Texture’ ‘grubby’

Over the years, George hardly commented on Extra Texture. Although, he did give some insight into what he thought of his album during a 1987 interview with Musician Magazine’s Timothy White. George called the album “grubby.”

“The production left a lot to be desired, as did my performance,” George said. “I was in a real down place. Some songs I like, but in retrospect I wasn’t very happy about it. ‘Grey Cloudy Lies’ described clouds of gloom that used to come down on me. A difficulty I had.

“I’ve found over the years that I’m more about to keep them away, and am quite a happy person now.”

George had a lot to be gloomy about during the recording of Extra Texture. For instance, “This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)” is about the press’ harsh criticism of his 1974 solo tour of America. Plus, his first marriage to Pattie Boyd recently crumbled.

Three songs were written in 1973, “World of Stone,” “Grey Cloudy Lies,” and “Can’t Stop Thinking About You.” They reflect that dark period in George’s life.

George might’ve thought Extra Texture was “grubby,” but it’s more soulful than anything else. On George’s website, his widow, Olivia, calls the album “moody.” Besides the gloomier songs, “You” pays homage to old-school R&B and one of George’s biggest influences, Smokey Robinson.

With everything that George went through in the early 1970s, soulful music might’ve been his go-to. However, while George recorded Thirty Three & 1/3, his mood completely changed.

George Harrison said ‘Thirty Three & 1/3’ is much happier than ‘Extra Texture’

In a 1977 interview with Count Down, George said he liked Thirty Three & 1/3 much better than Extra Texture.

“Yeah, I liked it, I mean, for me, it’s like the songs, you know, it’s usually different songs mean different things to me,” George said. “But I think, generally, the album’s nice because it’s happy. Like we go through so many crazy things in our lives and I’ve been up and down and up and down and the music always reflected.

“You know, like some albums, I think my last album was more down, and this one is happy and up. That’s what I like about it.”

George certainly had more to be happy about while making Thirty Three & 1/3.

George fell in love with his wife, Olivia, while he made ‘Thirty Three & 1/3’

The biggest reason George was happier while making Thirty Three & 1/3 is that he fell in love with his second wife, Olivia Arias. George wrote most of the album while vacationing with Olivia in the Virgin Islands. Vacationing with his new girlfriend in a beautiful place had to rub off on his songwriting.

There is more than one love song on the album, including one aimed at Olivia, “Learning How to Love You.” As usual, George could be singing about his love for God or Olivia, but one is explicitly aimed at Robinson again, “Pure Smokey.”

Meanwhile, there’s as much humor as love on Thirty Three & 1/3. George pokes fun at his 1971 “My Sweet Lord” copyright infringement lawsuit on “This Song.” He also jokes about his home, Friar Park (although the song wasn’t based on the 1800s mansion initially), on “Crackerbox Palace.”

George was happier Thirty Three & 1/3 changed drastically, and it’s all thanks to Olivia. In 1979, George told Rolling Stone that he felt like he had almost no voice and no body before meeting her.

“Well after I split up from Patti [Boyd, Harrison’s first wife], I went on a bit of a bender to make up for all the years I’d been married,” George said. “If you listen to ‘Simply Shady,’ on Dark Horse, it’s all in there.

“I wasn’t ready to join Alcoholics Anonymous or anything – I don’t think I was that far gone – but I could put back a bottle of brandy occasionally, plus all the other naughty things that fly around. I just went on a binge, went on the road . . . all that sort of thing, until it got to the point where I had no voice and almost no body at times.”

Olivia told Yahoo Entertainment that George was “having a bit of a little bit too much fun” when they met, referring to George’s “bender.”

She admitted that she “definitely had some trepidations” about getting romantically involved with a Beatle. Even Eric Clapton warned her about what type of person George was at the time. Olivia decided George was worth everything, but there was a “bit of dusting to do, a bit of clearance.”

She added to AARP that George had “a bit of a cloud over his head. He had a furrowed brow we used to call ‘the mark of the beast.'” They battled that beast together.

So, if it wasn’t for Olivia and her precious love, George might not have written happier songs for Thirty Three & 1/3. We owe her a lot.