 Among Beatles and Harrison biographers , Chip Madinger and Mark Easter describe " Living in the Material World " as " superb " and Robert Rodriguez views Harrison 's " deft blending of Western and Eastern sounds " as a " production marvel " . Although he admires the " vaguely Indian middle eight [ s ] " , Elliot Huntley bemoans the " complex , powerhouse arrangement " used elsewhere and finds Horn 's sax playing " a little overbearing " . Simon Leng calls " Living in the Material World " a " musical Roman Candle " , and a " highly effective track " that is " the work of a very confident musician " . Ian Inglis praises Harrison 's " inventive " lyrics , of which the " got Richie on a tour " line is " one of his cleverest puns " , and notes that the song 's positioning in the running order " echoes George Martin 's policy of always selecting a strong track to close each side of every Beatles album " . 
