George Harrison - All Things Must Pass [BOXED EDITION]
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Free Music Notes for All Things Must Pass [BOXED EDITION]
Free Music Review: As Good As The Hype, And More
Hit: 5 Stars
Harrison had already proved his songwriting worth as a Beatle during their final few years, a growth that culminated in his two dazzling contributions to "Abbey Road". Even so, it came as something of a surprise when his first proper solo work, the triple-album set "All Things Must Pass", managed to both artistically and commercially outshine the initial solo efforts of Lennon and (especially) McCartney, who had belittled his efforts while still in the group. Drawing from an enormous back catalog of rejected Beatle tracks (a list so huge that outside of the 16 which made it onto the album, a further 10 or so--including such gems as "Beautiful Girl", "Mother Divine" and "I Live For You"--remained in the vaults), the dark horse and his willing co-producer Phil Spector fashioned an album of monumental reach, epic scope and lilting emotional beauty which, thirty years later, remains not only Harrison's crowning achievement but arguably still the bestalbum from an ex-Fab. Tracks like "Beware Of Darkness", "Run Of The Mill" and "Isn't It A Pity" are fashioned out of spiritual lyrics, silky vocals and cosmic orchestral arrangments which combine to create music that relieved many a heroin addict from his or her affliction, so powerful was their effect. The album seemed effortless and instantly memorable, the third disc of somewhat plodding jam sessions being recognized for what it was (a free bonus not to be considered part of the actual album itself).
As Harrison states in the remaster's new liner notes, he now wishes to re-do the songs sans the famous "wall of sound"; he gives us a sample of what he means with a rerecorded "My Sweet Lord", which substitutes the strings for more gospel-ish backing vocals and intricate slide guitar work. The acoustic guitars still glisten, and while not an improvement over the original, it is worthwhile nonetheless. Thankfully, the glorious wall of sound is still there on all the old tracks, remastered to sound like the original vinyl for the first time (and perhaps even a bit better); fans have always complained that the mix of the album seemed a bit muddy, and this is as clear as its going to get. I always thought the reverb to be essential to the sound of the album, and here it sounds better than ever. The rest of the bonus tracks are fine, although they could have put on more: "I Live For You" features a lilting pedal steel guitar part, while the acoustic demo for "Let It Down" is given an extra guitar overdub for maximum soothing effect. The "Apple Jam" sessions have been resequenced, and they do sound better in this context (the synth effects in "I Remember Jeep" come out best here). As for the original brown cover being replaced by the concrete and nuclear reactors in the booklet--some say it's Harrison being cynical, but cynicism is always the last refuge of the idealist, no?) Harrison's cynicism here is best expressed as a little joke, as he says, although they still should've reprinted the original brown cover as well!
Free Music Review: This is it!
Hit: 5 Stars
For those of you who agreed with my review of The Beatles' "1" album recently released, where I bemoaned the fact that the discs were simply tired re-hashes without the benefit of any reworking, remixing, or culling from the archives of fresh (hitherto unreleased) material, this re-release of "All Things Must Pass" is exactly what I was looking for. Re-mixes, additional tracks, never-released material - everything that made the album what it was originally is here for those of you who don't know what the fuss is all about, and fresh goodies for those of us who would love to revisit the goose bumps we got the first time around.The cover design itself is a bit of a throw-away; Harrison throws in a bit of urban plight into the colorized version of his original cover art; I suppose I half-expected to hear a complete re-work of all the material (and shame on Rob Zombie for pursuing this sort of thing for his own projects). When I put the discs into the CD player, however, I was pleasantly surprised at the warm, familiar sounds (re-mixed to present, in my opinion, a little less Spector, a little more Harrison and possibly Jeff Lynne).
The best of the work on the first disc is the reworking of "Wah Wah." This track, a tip of the hat to his ex-band mates, allows Harrison to cry that he is able to stand on his own without their well-intended (?) interference, that he is quite fully capable of constructing a lyrical bridge without having to rely on the Beatles crutch. The re-make allows you to hear, for the first time, the carefully poisonous fretting of the lead guitar without being smothered by the Wall of Sound. There's some delightful Voorman bass that also somehow was missed in the first release, which would have given McCartney a run for his money any day of the week.
"Apple Scruffs" is also magnificently retouched, this time without the studio sterility the original boasted, sounding this time moerlike a busker you might meet on the street, serenading his fans as this song was meant to be. The toned down "My Sweet Lord" is still the anthem it was hoped to be (and not a re-work of the Chiffons' "He's So Fine," court paperwork alluding thereto notwithstanding). Even the "Apple Jam" section is worth sticking around for!
There's so much more to this disc than meets the eye; no one who's heard it before (or owned it in its previous metamorphosis) will be able to listen to it and not be transported back to their first listening. For those of us fortunate enough to have bought it when it was originally released, and still have the original boxed Apple LPs, it will give you an opportunity to put your hands again on the faux-leather "binding" and smile a wrinkled smile at the tenant of Sir Frankie's castle.
I sincerely hope Harrison et. al. allow us similar peeks at the follow-on solo efforts from the early 1970s, particularly "Living in the Material World" and the sorely under-appreciated "Extra Texture" and "Dark Horse". Let it roll!
Free Music Review: And So He Must Be On His Way...
Hit: 5 Stars
Well, of course, let's start off with the obvious - George Harrison passed away November 29, 2001.I'd never seen a reason to write a review for this album before - I'd made the trek to my local record shop for five weeks in the cold winter of 2001, hoping for this album to come in. And, lo and behold, it did, after what seemed like years of waiting.
This.
Album.
Rocks.
There's not very much else to say. I write the review now because, after George's death, so many people are suddeny sitting up and paying attention. His first post-Beatles album, the material on here is mostly Beatles-caliber (as it's mostly stuff that the other two music-writers of the Beatles wouldn't let on the last few albums). Harrison, a devout follower of what he calls the Krishna Consciousness religion, throws religious mention throughout the music. Unlike his later albums, however, Harrison seems to find a balance between preaching and singing, keeping a somewhat etherial but not condescending tone up nicely. "My Sweet Lord", the #1 single that would later get him into trouble, is a lovely piece, as are "Wah-Wah", "What Is Life", "Let It Down", "Let It Roll", "Beware of Darkness", "Awaiting On You All", "All Things Must Pass", "Isn't It A Pity", "The Art Of Dying", and "Hear Me Lord". The "Apple Jams" at the end are good listens, but pretty forgettable. Harrison also, in honor of the re-release, recorded a new, 'unplagarized' version of "My Sweet Lord", which just doesn't have the same ring of the original. The instrumental "What Is Life" is my favorite piece on the album. Absolutely beautiful, I can see why he cut the excess instruments (they would get in the way of Harrison's vocals) but alone they sound marvelous. This is the track I listened to, over and over, when George passed away.
All those songs listed above glue the rest of the somewhat mediocre but never outright awful album together, and more than ever give it 5 stars. This is the Best of Harrison's 'spiritual side' right here. Unlike the excessively preachy "Dark Horse" or somewhat confusing mix that resolves into a decent album that is "Extra Texture (Read All About It)", this album gets the tone, and the music, just right.
P.S.: Let's see the albums that the studios hated re-released, please! "Thirty Three and One-Third" is without question Harrison's other masterpiece, yet it's out of print while trash like "Dark Horse" is still around? News was Harrison was working on remastering his other albums (along with a secret project reportedly in the can... hope that sees the light of day)... so let's see them! Masterpieces like "Cloud Nine" or the last great supergroup that was The Traveling Wilburys need to get re-released again, in honor of our dear departed friend and quiet confidant, George Harrison.
RIP Dark Horse (1943-2001) "What is this life without you?"
Free Music Review: Desert Island Disc
Hit: 5 Stars
Hey, what can one write after 68 (at my point of writing) mostly glowing reviews? Let's put it like that: If in anybody is interesed in knowing what George Harrison is all about, that wonderfully melodious, understated and subtle lead guitarist of the Beatles, and their occasional if highly inspired song-writer, this is the album to get. Harrison, never got any better, or even equalled this feat - "Isn't it a Pity", eh?. In ATMP Harrison, manages the almost impossible, merging very spiritual lyrics with incredibly beautiful music to create a piece of rock or pop history. Normally, religious coverts just sound awfully contrived or corny when singing about their convictions, but Harrison (a converted Hindu of Hare Krishna denomination) comes across as genuine and deeply inspired by his faith, and the songs are so strong, they would have stood out on any Beatles album. George's gone more Hindu than most Indians, but who cares. The music, which is inspired by his faith, makes the hair stand up on your back - the melodies are just beautiful, pure Harrison. Anybody who likes "Something" or "Here Comes the Sun" from "Abbey Road" will love ATMP. Pop melodies don't get better than this. And just a bit of information for die-hard Harrison fans: The song title "Wah-Wah" is a pun, mixing together the word for the wah-wah (the guitar gizmo) with the same-sounding Indian word which means "bravo!" or "great!", in the context of classical Indian concerts. The expression is usually shouted by members of the audience during Indian classical concerts, after especially complex twists of melodies or a very clever play of words, to express their enthusiasm or awe. Don't forget, George knows a bit of classical Indian music. Thus, "You've given me a wah-wah" actually means "you've cheered me on". Trust me, I'm an India freak myself. All things said, to me ATMP is a sort of desert island disc, one of maybe ten records I will never tire of in my life (or in this incarnation, or whatever). In saying that, I of course refer to the "song part" of the album. Forget about those boring, never-ending jams which I don't even listen to anymore - I just zap them away, and I don't even regard them as being part of the "real" ATMP; they were just a gimmick in line with spirit of the times when the album was originally released, and I wouldn't have minded at bit if they had been omitted for the re-release. Still, all in all, this record is a gift from heaven. I don't know about George's spiritual achievements, but to have created such a timeless, wonderful record should certainly give him tons of good karma and possibly prevent him from having to be re-born. Wah-Wah!Free Music Review: Harrison Breaks Out
Hit: 5 Stars
The original cd release of this album was marred by a muddy and hissy sound that took away from the great music. Finally after years of clamoring from fans, George Harrison has issued a remastered version of his classic All Things Must Pass. The results are outstanding as the songs sound clear and fresh. George Harrison was the Beatle who most immediately benefited from the band's breakup. Mr. Harrison was stifled by the domination of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership and was only allowed a song or two per album. The songs that did appear, like "Taxman", Here Comes The Sun" & "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", showed that he was an excellent songwriter in his own right. When it came time to record his first proper solo album, he released an album of electronic noise called Wonderwall in 1968, he had such a backlog of material it yielded a double album with a third bonus disk. The songs are deeply rooted in the Maharisi's teachings that have been a large part of his life for the past thirty years. Despite the religious musings, the songs have an upbeat, full sound lead by Wall of Sound producer Phil Spector. Although Mr. Spector does sometimes overproduce songs, he makes a song like "My Sweet Lord" that could have been plodding and ponderous into a soaring affirmation. Of course that song was a huge number one hit, but others standouts include the beautiful cover of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You", the nice tribute to fans who hung outside the Apple Records offices, "Apple Scruffs", the yin and yang of "I Dig Love" and "The Art Of Dying" and the rollicking "Wah-Wah". "What Is Life?" may well be the best song he has ever done with it's blaring horns, layered guitars and smooth vocals. The production is classic Wall of Sound harkening back to Mr. Spector's work on Ronettes and Crystals records. The last few songs are from a jam session that included Eric Clapton and made up the bonus disk on the original release. They loose song structures that the band just have fun with. The bonus tracks included on the re-release don't really add much and the "My Sweet Lord 2000" would have been better left unrecorded. The cd booklet is expansive and contains many insights from Mr. Harrison himself. All Things Must Pass was to many a surprise success as they thought that only Paul McCartney and John Lennon would be successful in their post Beatle days. Not only was "My Sweet Lord" the first solo Beatle song to hit number one, but the album also reached the top of the charts and thirty years later still sounds fresh and exciting.