10 Greatest Final Albums In Rock

When it comes to final albums, it’s a bit of a different story when you’re racing against time. Even though George Harrison had been meaning to put together one more album in the late ‘90s, his cancer returning in the early ‘00s gave him a limited time to work on it. Brainwashed may have had to get released posthumously, but the most Worldly Beatle still had something to say by the end.

Bringing Jeff Lynne back to produce, the album varies a lot from one song to the next, from tracks that pick up right where George left off to one off live performances that he made in his last years on Earth. While his covers of songs like Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea go down very smoothly, the best moments are where he breaks out his own songs like Any Road, which is perfect for George preparing for that last big trip to the other side. Outside of his lyrical game, George had fully settled into his groove as a guitar player, making his slide guitar absolutely weep on songs like Rising Sun and Marwa Blues, both of which are a symphony made out of just a guitar.

There are a few rough edges on this album just because of circumstances, but George’s son Dhani matches his dad perfectly here, sounding like the spitting image of him when he has to harmonize. After having one last go around with the Quiet Beatle, ending the album with a Hindu inspired mantra is exactly the kind of peaceful ending that someone like George deserves.