Is This What You Want

Is This What You Want

The Beatles were a fan of fellow Liverpudlian Jackie Lomax long before he became the third artist released on their Apple Records. Lomax’s 1969 LP Is This What You Want? was produced by George Harrison, whose earthy touch resonates throughout—especially on the Harrison-penned “Sour Milk Sea,” which would only need a sitar to sound any more like a Harrison tune. Similarly, the opening Lomax original abounds with airtight vocal harmonies and George Martin–sounding string arrangements; it would have sounded much different had a non-Beatle mixed the record. The warm and slightly distorted tones of an old Rhodes electric jazz piano give the title track some separation between Lomax and the Fab Four—at least until the melody seeps in, closely recalling that of “I Am the Walrus.” We do get a good (if not great) sense of Lomax's individual style pouring from the standout blue-eyed soul ballad “Sunset” and the softly psychedelic serenade “Fall Inside Your Eyes.” Ringo Starr plays drums on “Going Back to Liverpool,” a baroque-pop homage to the Merseyside city.

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