 Harrison references his Beatles past as one of the trappings of the material world and refers by name to former bandmates John Lennon , Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr . The latter played drums on the track , recording for which took place in England between October 1972 and February 1973 , while the other contributing musicians include Jim Horn , Gary Wright and Jim Keltner . In a production that is highly regarded by some commentators , the rock portions of " Living in the Material World " include a slide guitar solo by Harrison , saxophone , two drummers and prominent Hammond organ , whereas the meditative Indian interludes feature flute , Zakir Hussain on tabla , and a rare post @-@ Beatle sitar performance by Harrison . Amid the favourable critical reception to the song on release , Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone termed it " an incantatory , polyrhythmic rocker with a falsetto @-@ on @-@ sitar refrain " . 
