Dream Weaver: A Memoir; Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison

As a Wright fan, I lapped up the various stories about his youth, musical career, and spiritual journey. Evaluating the book as a piece of literature I found it easy to follow without too many run on sentences. He keeps the technical aspects of Eastern mysticism to a minimum, however, he does often cite from Yogananda. While reading I found some anecdotes rather expressive to the degree that this book could be made into a movie. He refers to several trips abroad with candid observation and humorous circumstances. There are also moments of great concern for trials in his life and how he gets through them with spiritual tools. Despite the mention of George Harrison, this remains Gary Wright's memoir. George and Gary become close friends and he is instrumental in how Gary looks at life's challenges. Most of the elements of George reflect his demeanor in the studio, cooking, and gardening. Several trips to India play a large role in solidifying Wright's personal life. He is witness to the respect shown to advanced Yogis and stateside the spiritual fellowship and tools are present in Self Realization Fellowship devotees. Thematically, this memoir is about how eastern spirituality kept him centered despite whatever life threw his way including several brushes with death, the ups and downs of the music industry, and personal tragedies in terms of the loss of loved ones and divorce. Gary credits God for blessing him with the contacts he needed to make music and mitigating some of the hazards he faced along the way. Those who wish to delve deeper into what SRF believes and practices (spiritual exercises; yoga,meditation) can find their website. There is also the rather popular book "Autobiography of a Yogi" which gets rave reviews. Gary Wright may have made a name for himself with Dream Weaver, but he feels that he is humbly honored to be used by God to serve others through his music.

Gary Wright seemed to just pop onto the scene and into our lives in the mid-1970s. But the truth is that he'd been deeply into the music business for years by then, working behind the scenes as an in-demand studio musician and songwriter, based most often in London or in Europe. He also performed and recorded albums with his own group, Spooky Tooth. And it turns out that we'd been hearing him all along without knowing it: on Harry Nilsson's single "Without You," on Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy," on George Harrison's album, "All Things Must Pass," and on a variety of other recordings. He was a busy guy.At the same time, Wright was exploring spiritual options to fill the void that his Catholic upbringing had left with him. His interest in Eastern philosophies -- and especially in the Self-Realization Fellowship of Paramahansa Yogananda, and his book, "Autobiography of a Yogi" -- helped to reinforce further Wright's friendship with George Harrison. The former Beatle was already following Indian philosophies and lifestyles, like the Krishna Consciousness Movement. He was happy to help Wright explore these kinds of teachings and practices. The two began to hang out, both personally and professionally. They even made a pilgrimage to India together.It was a natural progression, then, that his musical and philosophical paths would join together when Wright recorded his first solo album, "The Dream Weaver," in early 1975. And that's when things really began to happen. "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive" quickly became chart hits, and Wright became famous. Wright outlines the before, during, and after of the process. Which eventually leads us up to today and to The Rest of the Story.Maybe Wright (or his publisher, or his editor) felt that this book would grab more readers if George Harrison's name was mentioned in the title. While this may be true, his life story is worthwhile on its own. The behind-the-scenes telling is as enlightening to the times and to our favorite music genre as any of the other rock musician autobiographies that have been published in recent years. An added benefit here is the absence of trash-talking, dirt-dishing, and foul language. Some readers may say this is a sanitized view of the scene. Others will find it delightfully refreshing.Anyone who was of music-listening age in the 1960s and 1970s will probably enjoy reading Gary Wright's version of what was happening to him back then. And yes, every George Harrison fan should read this book, too.

I have been waiting for this book for 40 years! Gary Wright is simply the most astounding musical geniusever to come from the field of rock music, and this book contains priceless insight into the man's lifeexperience and his amazing creative mind. As you read this book, written by Wright himself in his own words,you can hear the man's sweetness and his deep spirituality coming through. I am not a religious person, butI truly believe Wright was sent to this earth from Heaven to create music and to bring to humanity some ofthe most remarkable sound ever heard by human ears. The book is the perfect account of how Wright hasfulfilled his amazing destiny, and it contains a fascinating step by step account of the creative processthat led to his masterpiece 'Dream Weaver'. This book is a must read for anyone seriously connected to music,either as a music professional or simply a music lover!

An easy read. Gary has enjoyed success particularly with his Dream Weaver album. It is a bit unkind to call him a one hit wonder, but a lot of his other albums haven't set the heather on fire.The book concentrates on Gary' s religious beliefs and the impact India and George Harrison has had on his life. There are a few factual errors in the book and methinks the influence of George Harrison on his life is a little overstated. But I wasn't there so I am possibly wrong.