GEORGE HARRISON ‘All Things Must Pass’ 50th Anniv. 5CD/Bray

$265.00 Inc GST

Out of stock

Description

Most fans have a favorite Beatle, but in our opinion (controversial as it may be), there’s not a lot of room for debate about which Beatles solo album is the best: George Harrison’s epic “All Things Must Pass.” 

Released in November 1970, just seven months after the group’s breakup was belatedly confirmed, it has become synonymous with the concept of suppressed brilliance. Since he first landed a composition on a Beatles album with “Don’t Bother Me” in 1963, Harrison had battled, largely unsuccessfully, to place his songs on the group’s records, eventually securing one per LP and finally one per vinyl side. Thus, he had a huge backlog of material, and his deep frustration at trying to break the John Lennon-Paul McCartney songwriting stranglehold was one of many factors in the group’s dissolution. Yet it’s also the reason why “All Things Must Pass” is such a masterpiece: He’d been working toward it for his entire career.

The eternally underrated Harrison was by far the most extracurricularly prolific Beatle. He wrote, co-wrote, produced and/or played on songs or albums by CreamBilly Preston, singers Doris Troy and Jackie Lomax and others; dabbled in Indian and electronic music; and even joined his best friend Eric Clapton for a brief barnstorming tour with American combo Delaney & Bonnie. (He’d continue that streak after this album’s release, writing and producing the great singles “It Don’t Come Easy” for Ringo Starr and “Try Some, Buy Some” for Ronnie Spector.) He was invited to Woodstock to visit the Band in 1968 and ended up hanging out with Bob Dylan, with whom he co-wrote “I’d Have You Anytime,” the opening track here.

All that preparation and pent-up inspiration came to fruition on this remarkable album, which was originally released as two vinyl LPs, along with a bonus disc of jams by the amazing line-up of musicians Harrison assembled: In addition to Clapton, Starr and Preston were guitarists Dave Mason and Peter Frampton, bassist Klaus Voorman,keyboardists Gary Wright and Gary Brooker, drummer Alan White, all of Badfinger and the musicians who would join Clapton in Derek and the Dominos — and the whole shebang was produced by Harrison with “Wall of Sound” maestro Phil Spector.

Not surprisingly, this meticulously prepared 50th anniversary edition presents the album more gloriously than ever, with a brand new, pristine remix included in several different packages ranging from standard vinyl or 3CD to this 5CD/bluRay Deluxe version… through to a SUPER DELUXE version which, as you would expect, includes a lavish, coffee table style book filled with gorgeous photos, many of them previously uncirculated, and the estate has done a deep dive into the archive and reproduced handwritten lyric sheets for nearly every song, along with diary entries (“January 10, 1969: Left the Beatles,” regarding his brief departure during the “Let It Be” sessions) and other items.

Both long-time fans, as well as curious dilettantes, may well experience numerous epiphanies large and small when immersed in all this content.  *PRE-ORDER NOW!!  (From recent experience, these expanded versions do not stay in print for long)

*ALSO AVAILABLE on VINYL & 3CD SET.