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George Harrison – All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary

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What does it sound like?:

George Harrison was liberated when The Beatles finally split up in 1970. It was a moment he’d prepared for. In 1968, disillusioned with the acrimonious recording of The White Album, he travelled to America and recharged his batteries with The Band and Bob Dylan, where he enjoyed a musical respect and equality lacking in his relationships with Lennon & McCartney. He collaborated with Eric Clapton, co-writing Badge for Cream, and accompanied him on a tour with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, learning how to play slide guitar in the process. He also completed an apprenticeship as a producer, working with Billy Preston, Doris Troy, Leon Russell, Jack Bruce and enjoyed two hit singles with the Rhada Krishna Temple. The final ingredient was Harrison’s recruitment of Phil Spector to produce The Plastic Ono Band’s Instant Karma!

He had a bag full of songs rejected for Beatles records dating back years. Isn’t It A Pity and Art Of Dying date back to 1966 and Revolver. In early 1969, The Beatles chose For You Blue over All Things Must Pass, Hear Me Lord and Let It Down and spent time recording Dig It instead. After becoming a studio band only, Lennon rarely bothered to show up whenever a Harrison song was being recorded and McCartney was often condescending. His anger at continual rejection fuelled more songs such as Wah-Wah and Run Of The Mill. He co-wrote I’d Have You Anytime, picked up If Not For You and was inspired to come up with Apple Scruffs and Behind That Locked Door when he visited Dylan a second time in 1970. Inspired by Billy Preston, he composed devotional expressions of his Buddhism crossed with Gospel in My Sweet Lord, Beware Of Darkness and Hear Me Lord.

The eighteen tracks on the first four sides of vinyl are a heady mix of glorious Pop, Southern Rock, Country, rustic Americana, Blues, Gospel, Folk and Krishna chants, all supercharged by Spector’s Wall Of Sound. The songs are witty, gentle, angry, joyful, mundane, profound, spiritual, loving, mature and immensely powerful. They flow together beautifully. Normally, a double album includes filler and some weak songs but every single track hits its spot perfectly. Their versatility and depth made McCartney’s contemporaneous efforts seem superficial and Lennon’s narrowly introspective. The third piece of vinyl, the instrumental, improvised Apple Jams, invented Derek and the Dominos. Just be grateful, Harrison did not squeeze jams like Thanks For The Pepperoni between, say, I Dig Love and Art Of Dying but considered as a bonus disc, they are really quite pleasant. Critics and the public were equally awed. Despite its exorbitant price and luxuriant packaging, albeit with a self-deprecating photo on the cover, All Things Must Pass was a huge success and outsold Imagine and Band On The Run combined.

Over time, the quality of the songwriting has, if anything, grown in stature but Spector’s production has been a subject of some debate. Harrison’s generosity extended to a cast of thousands being invited to participate. There are twenty-six different musicians officially credited, not including an orchestra, a choir and additional horns. For all the madness that surrounded him, the album needed a Phil Spector to organise all those bricks into a single unit of sound to enable the songs to come alive. Harrison, himself, was an enthusiastic overdubber when Spector was recuperating from a broken arm, sustained in the studio when drunk. Wah-Wah, What Is Life, Let It Down and Hear Me Lord all benefit from his colossal sound, the acoustic guitars throughout are a marvel and he managed to coax from Harrison some of the best ever vocal performances, the outstanding example being the impassioned Hear Me Lord. Even so, he was much too liberal with the reverb, something Harrison wished could be fixed when he was putting together the 30th anniversary edition.

Now, twenty years on, Paul Hicks, with a strong pedigree updating Plastic Ono Band and Goats Head Soup, has the skills and the technology to carry out a remix. The result is intriguing and very different, which takes some getting used to and will undoubtedly divide opinion. It certainly improves the more you listen. The quieter ballads sound wonderful, with individual instruments much more clear, and a greater warmth in Harrison’s exposed and vulnerable voice. Behind That Locked Door, Run Of The Mill and The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) are especially lovely, almost matching Hicks’s outstanding work for the Lennon tracks with fewest musical elements. However, the blockbusters such as Wah-Wah and Art Of Dying fare less well, bass heavy with less immediacy than the original blend. It turns out that Spector was a master producer after all, especially when you consider his target listening kit was a transistor radio rather than high specification headphones and hifi of today. The ideal All Things Must Pass is probably a mixture of tracks from the 2001 remaster and this 2020 remix. The joy is both are readily available and you can create your own if so-minded. The Apple Jams are not remixed just remastered.

The gold is in the extras. It’s rare when discs three, four and five are just as good as the album itself, with barely a skip track in ear-shot. The day one demos of fifteen songs are an absolute joy. Recorded with Ringo on drums and Klaus Voorman on bass and some occasional keyboards, Harrison sounds relaxed and happy, singing beautifully. He mainly strums away on his acoustic but does plug in occasionally. It’s much better than the Escher Demos on The White Album remix, showcasing Harrison’s talent and the wonder of his songs perfectly. Apparently, there were thirty songs recorded that day. It’s a pity, executive producer, Dhani Harrison, couldn’t find room for them all. Of the rejected compositions, Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna) would have fit in very nicely, proving that chanting the same phrase over again but with very slight variations can be captivating.

The day two demos of a further fifteen songs are almost as good. They have been readily available as a bootleg, Beware Of ABKCO, but have never been as clean as this. On this day, Harrison is solo and his camaraderie with Ringo is absent. Still, he sounds as though he’s having fun proving to Spector that he has enough great material for a gargantuan album. The highlight is when Beware Of Darkness is followed by a spine chilling Let It Down, both exquisite melodies sung with real feeling. Interestingly, the vocal to Hear Me Lord, accompanied by an electric guitar, already has a smidgen of echo. Window Window whimsically let’s the world pass by and expresses a real affection for sheds. Writing Nowhere To Go with Dylan might have been cathartic but it was wise to leave it off the album. It is more acerbic than Wah-Wah and features the word ‘prowl’ rhyming with ‘bowel’. Cosmic Empire must be the most cheery song about death. These two sets of demos are not to be kept on a shelf but are to be enjoyed multiple times. In fact, there is enough good quality material here to make you wonder why the third vinyl is a jam and not something more song based. It could have been a quadruple.

The collection of early takes is also of value. Presented in the order in which they were recorded, none of them could described as in a state of undress, just less heavily made up. As the songs arrived fully formed, these performances do not represent works in progress but can be regarded as complete in themselves, for the most part. They, generally, demonstrate that the songs fare better with fewer overdubs and less reverb and include some interesting sidelines. If you are not a fan of Harrison’s newly acquired slide technique, which was overdubbed later, you may well prefer them to those officially released. A version of the 1954 record, Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine) by The Four Aces, is a telling commentary on The Beatles, so much so that both Lennon and McCartney visited it at various points. Towards the end of recording, Harrison indulges in a Bluegrass version of Get Back, illustrating the importance of Ringo’s drum figure in the original. Woman Don’t You Cry For Me is a spritely all acoustic bottle-necked after-thought, a song he kept in his back pocket for six years.

The various bundles start with a two CD set (and LP equivalent) of just the remix, then a 3 CD with the addition of the early takes. To get the two demo days, you need to step up to the deluxe with five CDs and one 5.1 DVD, quadrupling the price. You get a nice scrap book put together by his wife, Olivia, and a poster. If you are willing to fork out a grand, you go for the Uber Deluxe. There isn’t any more music but you get both the vinyl and the CD versions. The book is expanded, with a real piece of oak from Friar Park to use as a bookmark, plus a second book outlining the making of, and Klaus Voorman contributes a nice drawing. There are sixth size replicas of Harrison and the four garden gnomes from the cover photo, a copy of Paramahansa Yogananda’s “Light from the Great Ones”, and Rudrashka beads in individual boxes, all encased in a crate big enough to use as a coffee table.

All Things Must Pass is a total validation of George Harrison as a songwriter, a musician, a Beatle and a human being. He never felt the need to attempt to match it. The slide guitar first unleashed here became his signature sound and its flowing melodies rippled through the rest of his career with many of the surplus songs turning up on later albums. His subsequent professional life was as supportive of others as it was understated for him. Naturally, he had other hits but they seemed of secondary importance to him. He enjoyed playing in a studio with his mates but was just as happy gardening in his stately home, Friar Park, where Sir Frankie Crisp once lived. This remix brings him back into a spotlight he never completely enjoyed but if ever an album deserves a refresh and a re-appreciation it’s All Things Must Pass. The whole package is a real pleasure to listen to from beginning to end, including all the extras but make sure you seek out the Day One Demos to hear him at his most pure.

What does it all *mean*?

All Things Must Pass already takes the prize for the best solo Beatle album. Now, it’s vying for the top spot for best fiftieth anniversary box set with Sgt Pepper.

Goes well with…

A room big enough for a new coffee table and top-of-the-range HiFi.

Release Date:

6th August 2021

Might suit people who like…

Great music.

48

Comments

      • Well Tigg’a All Things Must Pass appears to be the only thing up on the Streaming Services at the moment so I listened to it and then the 2014 release. Certainly a lot more bass and more presence along the lines of what we got with the Ono Band recent remix.
        Had a listen to the whole thing – preferred the jams at the end and, appetite whetted went to Derek and The Dominoes. ATMP -its enjoyable, but for mine Ono and BOTR are for more fully formed records.
        For me the highlight is the closer the Out Of The Blue jam with Radle, Whitlock,Wright,Voorman,Price and Keys. Real shades of Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’

  4. Nice. I think it is certainly in top 3 of solo Beatles, maybe no. 1 (Plastic Ono Band and Ram other contenders). Not sure I am too interested in the demos though, Harrison’s voice is weak and Spector knew it, I like the production actually for the most part.

    And the price is outrageous costing about twice as much as it should with the box for the CD version being small with an apparently underwhelming book. I may listen through streaming once or twice but wouldn’t mind hearing the 5.1 mix. If price falls dramatically then maybe. the Lennon sets appear to be much better value.

    I did have the 5 LP version on pre-order but cancelled it as I don’t really care about the re-mix and I was effectively paying $110 for 2 extra LPs I would listen to once or twice and a fairly slim book.

    And the $1300 thing in a wooden box is a crass abomination, the most ludicrous musically based release I can think of.

    • His singing is much better than you think. OK. It’s not Lennon nor McCartney but he believes in these songs and he expresses them really well, especially in demo form when he was desperate to impress. I think the demos are as attractive a listen as the album itself. I bet Dylan’s technical vocal weaknesses don’t stop you buying his boxes.

      The five CD & DVD set is around a hundred pounds. That’s compatible with the Beatles, Stones and Floyd boxes that expand just single albums. There is an unimaginably large and expensive Imagine set.

      However, I agree the crate is beyond parody.

      • I got The Beatles ones for considerably less than that, all of which had really good books. For me the audio content has got worse in each subsequent one. I paid a little less for POB box ($120 = 75 quid) and there are 8 discs and a superb book.

        As for his voice, may be a fair point about Dylan as a comparison, his sets are uneven but pretty good value and I find his unreleased stuff more interesting than Beatles related ones. Also lots of live material which I love.

        Will give the first bonus disc a listen this weekend via streaming

  5. Great review. I can still see myself buying this on cassette (in a scrawny double box) in the big HMV at Oxford Circus.

    There is no little irony in an album entitled All Things Must Pass having such an ostentatious birthday.

  6. I have an old vinyl copy. Seems pretty good to me. The way the music sounds works with the introverted style vocals. I think his best work has quite a lot of production and instrumentation, thinking of Here Comes The Sun, and Something. Long, Long, Long is also up there. It is a bit Spectorish even which helps it. I don’t think his vocal is week, it’s just a bit reserved but that gives the music a different quality to other solo Beatles, which I like. More mature in a way.

  7. The Escher demos is a great typo.

    Splendid review as always, Tiggs. I came to this album extremely late and it certainly confirms Lennon’s 1971 comment that you could piece together a top-notch Beatles album from the then-current solo albums.

  8. I don’t usually buy remastered versions of albums I already own, but this is one of my favourite albums and my birthday’s coming up this month, so I did order the deluxe CD version of it yesterday…alongside a few other CD box sets and new and old albums that I found. Oh, and a ATMP T-shirt – which will be the first (and probably last) rock T-shirt I’ll ever own! Very unlike me to even be tempted by a tee, just a spur of the moment thing (proving that you should never do online shopping when you’re bored or feeling a bit low…)

    Edit: Oh, forgot to say: nice review, Tigger! As always.

  9. Danny Baker doesn’t rate it. Well that’s it, we know now what we should think. The great man has spoken.

    • DB – another sound reason for staying a million miles away from Twitter and an increasingly excellent example of why it’s wise to decline that last drink before hitting the social media superhighway.

      Given the way he’s always banged on about his epic boozing coupled with the bilious tripe he posted before and after the Euro 2021 final, two questions arise:

      1) When was “three shirts” last in the same postcode as sober?

      2) Does any one care what the raddled old sot says any more?

      Answers on a postcard to “Not for a very, very, very long time” competition…

      • He’s never going to be as funny or as pertinent as he was with Kelly on 606 or those early morning shows on Radio 5 but he still every so often makes a bunch of sense. IMHO he is 100% correct re ATMP.
        As for his drinking, he seems to be one of those people who can down a barrel of booze and still be relatively “sober”.
        I don’t often concur with his sporting opinions (apart from the travesty that is VAR) but at least he has an opinion. Always Certain, Sometimes Wrong.

        • Erm… doesn’t often happen… 60s dodger AND a Millwall fan (the perfect combination!), but I agree with Baker.

          Like still being at a party on a Sunday morning with only warm shandy on offer.

          • I’m in the Baker/Wrong/Daze camp here too. I have no idea how that happened. A few tracks aside, I’m not a fan of ATMP (though I must check out these extras as that versh of Isn’t It A Pity above sounds quite nice). My Sweet Lord is ace though. Ties with Boy George’s Bow Down Mister as my favourite Hare Krishna based song. I bet I’m in a minority of just me when I say that my favourite post-Beatles album is George’s self-titled one with Blow Away on it. I like plenty of post-Beatles tracks (especially McCartney’s), but ‘George Harrison’ is the only album I like all the way through.

            • A splendid and thoughtful review. But I think ATMP would have made a superb single album. In terms of sheer melodious and joyous punch, I would argue in a most muscular fashion that, as a sprawling whole, this record lacks the succinct power of ‘Ram’ or ‘Band on the Run’.

    • I was going to say that I’m not surprised that DB is no longer capable of appreciating the subtle complexities in the melodies and the lyrics but that might insult a number of Afterworders as well.

      😀

    • “Too much like a Clapton and heavy friends jam” yawn

      Baker’s appearance at the recent Word In The Park was like watching an overindulged hyperactive 6 year old being allowed up late at his parents dinner party.

  10. I’m not a man of faith, or at least not an easily labelled one. I sometimes wish I were.
    In that regard, I’ve often turned to this album when feeling reflective or questioning. I know some find him ‘preachy’ here, but I think his voice and musical sensibility (despite the Wall of Sound) presents a fragility and an equanimity that I’ve always found comfort in. Whilst declamatory in parts, I don’t feel preached to.

    I listened to the Atmos mix over Apple Music yesterday. I loved the immersiveness (pretty new to 5.1 so it’s still very novel to my ears) but I’ve never understood George’s regret over ‘all the reverb and the wall of sound’. That is very much part of the album’s character, so the new mix felt like it lost something. Still, other versions are still available and nothing has been erased.

    Great review. Thank you.

  11. Good review Tiggs, I played the 8LP set today without any distractions. Very nice. Whether it’s the best solo album by a former HJH is open to discussion. I reckon Macca has maybe 2 better albums.

    • Top twenty solo Beatle albums:

      1. George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
      2. Plastic Ono Band
      3. Fireman – Electric Arguments
      4. Paul McCartney & Wings – Band On The Run
      5. John Lennon – Imagine
      6. Paul McCartney
      7. John Lennon – Rock ‘n’ Roll
      8. Paul & Linda McCartney – Ram
      9. George Harrison
      10. Ringo Starr – Ringo
      11. Paul McCartney – Run Devil Run
      12. George Harrison – Cloud 9
      13. John Lennon – Mind Games
      14. Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation In The Backyard
      15. George Harrison – Living In The Material World
      16. John Lennon – Walls And Bridges
      17. Ringo Starr – Goodnight Vienna
      18. John & Yoko Ono Lennon – Double Fantasy
      19. Paul McCartney – Flaming Pie
      20. Paul McCartney II

      • An excellent list, albeit in the wrong order. I’m very fond of the whole The Fireman thing. And ‘Sing The Changes’ is the first reason that Wingspan is not enough McCartney for me. Great video too.

        • I agree with you. There are loads of solo Beatles tracks to love but each album has too many weak ones. By the time, you get to my number six, the ratio of strong:weak falls dramatically. I am, of course, thinking of ATMP as a double not a triple.

      • You mean your 20 favourite Beatles solo albums I think. What’s this “Paul McCartney” album? Good list, but naturally incorrect unless it is just for you.

            • My top 12

              POB
              ATMP
              RAM
              BOTR
              Chaos
              Imagine
              Back to the Egg
              Tig of War
              George Harrison
              Ringo *
              Cloud 9
              Red Rose Speedway

              * Actually Walls and Bridges but I had to include one from him and all 4 are on it

              • I’m very late to the party but I also find that John Lennon’s work is divisive. On POB, his vision and execution is clear – I can kind of enjoy it for that voice, that voice. But it is not inclusive music. McCartney always attempted inclusive music I think ( despite Jon Landau’s characteristic inability to hear it. It is why Ringo’s albums are of a different ilk. I think its an art vs pop issue. I don’t find Lennon is a particularly good writer once his obsession with himself becomes his dominant focus and worse once he goes political full time. Heroin obviously a factor – so Strawberry Fields might be about himself but his vision allows him to execute ( as well as McCartney’s presence) In my view, McCartney and Lennon’s judgement of Harrison’ material was spot on and they egged him on until he wrote great things. As somebody insightfully remarked above, it’s not like Harrison kept producing great songs – he only managed about two – three good ones a year and guess what – that’s what he gets on the Beatles albums.

      • It’s a worthy list, but if we’re talking simple pop pleasures then I’d put the Ringo album top three, maybe even top on a dreary wet Sunday. These days, ATMP or Plastic Ono Band can feel too much like homework.

      • Goodnight Vienna was one of the first albums I bought. I was mad about science fiction and they showed a bunch of films on BBC on Wednesdays like Them!, and Day The Earth Stood Still. I was thereby taken by the cover of Ringo’s album. The contents were less appealing but I was fond of his take on Only You. I didn’t know the original but it’s a great song and worked for him.

        • It’s a lot of fun. Ringo sings with more confidence than he did on Ringo. There isn’t a song as good as Photograph but there is greater consistency and Ringo is enjoying himself more. My CD version has Blindman as a bonus (as well as Back Off Boogaloo) – it’s Ringo’s best song in my view.

      • Interesting. But ‘Plastic Ono Band’ is surely a critic’s favourite and I can’t, ahem, ‘imagine’ anyone listening to it for pleasure (which will ultimately result in it being largely forgotten except as an interesting historical footnote- tunes are what gives music longevity…and the tunes here aren’t great). Similarly the ‘Imagine’ album could make a great EP. Macca’s debut would make a lovely single (Maybe I’m Amazed b/w Every Night). Ringo’s eponymous long player is a joy (almost) throughout. For my money the finest Beatles solo moments are ‘Ram’ (not a duff track on there) and ‘Band on the Run’ (same). ‘All Things Must Pass’ has fine moments but should have been a single album. The best track on there (‘What is Life’) would have made a spectacular Beatles single.

  12. Having bought this album about 4 or 5 times, starting with the original box set of LPs some time in the 80s, and as it was so expensive, I decided I wasn’t going to buy this. But I listened to the bonus tracks the other day and they are excellent, and now Tigger’s review has pushed me over the edge and made me want it. It’s even made me want to listen to the jams disc for only the third time in my life. The price remains a barrier though, particularly as I’ve just bought several excellent books of all the full singles and albums charts from the 60s through to the 90s, which I know I’m going to lose days to, every time I pick one of them up. I’m therefore going to be spending the next few months impatiently waiting for it to drop in price.

  13. Haven’t got a bank vault for the box/oak sliver/gnomes edition, so that’s out of the question. My old vinyl boxed set copy* hasn’t had a spin since the last century, and the 2001 remastered CD edition I bought sounds pretty fine already, so this reissue is going to pass me by, as all things must.

    *which appears to be missing from the immense list of STCH 639 issues on Discogs; I’ve got appropriately tinted coloured Apple labels, both sides whole, no cut fruit visible, different labels on the jam disc, the box is white inside with tracks & musicians on the front inside, generic inner sleeves with no lyrics, a neat little separate lyric booklet that I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere. Any ideas where this was issued? I bought it second hand from Tony’s in Brizzle, about 1985.

  14. Lovely review Tigger. It will prompt me to listen to it on Spotify and then who knows. Maybe next years challenge will be 12 solo ex Beatle albums 🤔

    Interesting point about Lennon and McCartney’s attitude towards Harrison. I’ve often wondered how that much success and adulation might have affected them.

    Anyway this appeals to me…

    “The eighteen tracks on the first four sides of vinyl are a heady mix of glorious Pop, Southern Rock, Country, rustic Americana, Blues, Gospel, Folk and Krishna chants, all supercharged by Spector’s Wall Of Sound. “

    • Instead of feeling hard done by he should have thanked his lucky stars he got to be in a band that was so successful. Because of Lennon/McCartney he got the chance to develop his own songwriting with songs that were transformed for the better by his bandmates. A Harrison led band with him as sole songwriter in an alternative universe doesn’t even get off the ground. And because The Beatles everyone wanted to hear his new record when they split up.

      • I think this is reasonable but also slightly unfair. George was clearly the 3rd biggest talent in the band and I think having the other 2 around really helped him in terms of songwriting. But despite releasing a “triple” album (a double really) he was generally not a prolific song writer and there were only 8 more complete solo albums in the 30 years before his death. Some of which were dismal (Dark Horse, Extra Texture, Gone Troppo, Somewhere in England) and some were brilliant (George Harrison, Cloud 9)

      • The band dynamic is interesting. Harrison was the youngest and very much the junior member from the start. Lennon was very much the leader but songwriting was quite flexible. Once they signed with a record company in 1962, things were set. The Lennon-McCartney partnership was established and fixed, even if one of them had contributed nothing. This was the real power base. By 1966, when Harrison’s songs were clearly improved significantly, he still struggled to find vinyl space.

        After The White Album, Lennon wrote very few songs of real substance for The Beatles and McCartney’s often didn’t pass muster. If you include The White Album itself, it seemed any old shit either of those two offered had priority over Harrison’s.

        All four were lucky to find each other and lucky to find George Martin. All of them benefited from the collective but Harrison was justified in feeling disgruntled about the way his songs were treated between 1966-70.

        Everyone wanted to hear the solo albums after the split. It turns out that many many more people wanted to hear Harrison’s over McCartney’s and Lennon’s.

        In 1970, George Harrison was 27.

        • The point is that they became a phenomenon because of L/Mc songs in the mop top years. The money they earned for EMI gave them the freedom to do what they want and meant Harrison could get more involved. He had cause for some resentment post White Album I suppose but he preferred to have Piggies instead of Something on that record so you wonder if LIB and AR would have been transformed for the better with more Harrison material. Awaits Tiggerlion alternative track listings

          • Both Something and All Things Must Pass were demo’d on 25th February 1969. Both could have been on AR or LIB. He was unable to persuade the other Beatles to record them at the time, though they came back to Something.

        • He got 3/14 on Revolver, only 1 on Pepper, but 3 other 67 compositions were released, 4 on White Album and 2 on Abbey Road, 2 on Let it Be so pretty good. I think All Things Must Pass was a real candidate for release as was Not Guilty and (maybe) Circles. Not sure the other stuff he had hanging around was developed far enough within the band for consideration. He hit a real hot streak 1969-70 which was not really ever quite repeated for me

          All 3 main songwriters had plenty of great stuff in that period.

          Lennon was weak for a while in 69, probably because of heroin, but still released great stuff 1969-71, then came poor STINYC and lacklustre Mind Games before a somewhat return to form, but he also never reached those heights again.

          Macca’s stuff was also subsequently patchy, but all his 70s albums have worth. And he has been able to produce great material even to this day.

            • It’s a very fine song. I know he was working on it at the time of Revolver but did he want it on that album? Had he completed it and did they try to play it? As I said he got his best representation ever on that album anyway (not including 50% of original tracks on Yellow Submarine.

              To me it doesn’t really sound like a Beatles song, but you could probably say the same about Tomorrow Never Knows

            • Now that is fighting talk. Harrison’s delivery is not a patch on Lennon’s, but then he hadn’t had as much practice. Sometimes I find GH’s singing style a bit overwrought, tending towards the whine. When he gets the right tune – Long, Long, Long, Give Me Love, for example, it can sound ace, a lovely plaintive sound that perfectly matches the mood. But too often it’s a cumbersome tool that has no clear idea of where it wants to go. Ronnie Lane sounded a lot like George Harrison at times, but was a much better singer. ATMP would be miles better with either Lennon or Lane on lead vocals. But then it wouldn’t be a GH record.

  15. I’ve never actually noticed the cavernous reverb people go on about on this record. Maybe it’s a compliment to the songwriting and production but I’ve always found the sound pretty transparent and it hasn’t aged at all.

    That said, it’s a cliche but true that this is would have been better as a single forty minute album… I very very rarely listen to the whole thing, not even including record three. Too much George at once is hard to take.

  16. Erm …. am I the only Afterworder who really likes Harrison’s swan song, “Brainwashed”? Nobody’s mentioned it anyway.

    (great review of ATMP, by the way, Tigger).

    • Well I love it, but I love everything George Harrison, always did, always will. Don’t own any solo albums by the other three, used to have a Lennon compilation but gave it away after ripping two or three tracks. Never could stand Macca.
      There’s plenty more unpopular opinions where that came from! 😀

      • I think the decision to rip two or three Lennon solo tracks is quite reasonable. I would probably add a few more but not many. Instant Karma, No. 9 Dream, Jealous Guy, Mind Games, Watching The Wheels. Now I’m struggling a bit. I had this idea Shaved Fish was a good selection but I got a secondhand vinyl copy and there wasn’t much to get excited about. Macca I’m more favourable towards. The first two albums are great but then it gets a bit patchy, including BOTR. ATMP by comparison seems a triumph, on another level.

        • Yebbut the reverse of that equation is that if George had been able to put more songs on Beatles albums he wouldn’t have had the wealth of material that was splurged out on ATMP, and conversely Lennon, and Macca in particular, could have ended up with more riches to put on their respective opening solo salvos. And we might not be having this debate.

  18. The earlier video where Bobby Whitlock goes through the tracks has been unblocked.
    Here, he’s full of praise for the mix of the streams & doesn’t need the physical product – don’t know whether this means that it’s only the vinyl version that’s rubbish & the CD version is ok.
    After his enthusiasm here, it’s not surprising he was so let down by the release.

    It’s a fascinating 20 min reminisce of who played what.

    https://youtu.be/iwUuGo5MPuo

    • That’s more like it! That’s how I hear this remix. It does sound as though his insight would have improved the sleeve notes considerably.

      I guess his hearing changed after his youtube blog was blocked. Although, I notice he couldn’t hear his phone during this one.

  19. I’m totally open to remixes and messing about with old recordings – as long as the ‘original’ is still available, then why not? I have loved the Beatles remixes, although Pepper was the probably the most necessary, and the recent Lennon ones have been terrific.

    So….I came to this with high expectations. I have also upgraded some elements of the hifi in recent months and years, so I am enjoying the revelatory aspect of new masters and mixes. However, this is a disappointment to me.

    I have only listened to this once throgh, but initial reactions are quite relevant I think. To my mind, some tracks just sound awful – Wah Wah is a mess, as is the title track where George’s vocals almost sound like a different, inferior, take. My Sweet Lord hardly sounds any different – maybe the acoustic guitars are little higher in the mix. The non wall of sound tracks seemed a bit brighter perhaps.

    I will be doing a side by side listen at some point (when Mrs. T isn’t around – she hates it when I do things like this!!) so maybe I will change my mind!

  21. I’m a lazy boy, havent had time to read the thread, nor over on Hoffmans. I got the 5cd mp3 today. I dont like the new version, the vocals too high in mix, too dry. The echo removed or too far in background. I miss the spector version.

    The extras are what ill listen to over next days, but ill revert to previous version for the main album. Dont like this new version.

  22. A “wall of sound”seems to have been the intention

    Title: My Sweet Lord
    Written by George Harrison
    Vocals: George Harrison
    Guitar: George Harrison
    Guitar: Eric Clapton
    Guitar: Pete Ham
    Guitar: Tom Evans
    Guitar: Joey Molland
    Guitar: Peter Frampton
    Keyboards: Billy Preston
    Keyboards: Bobby Whitlock
    Keyboards: Gary Brooker
    Drums: Ringo Starr
    Percussion: Jim Gordon
    Percussion: Alan White
    Percussion: Mike Gibbons
    Bass Guitar: Klaus Voormann
    Bass Guitar: Carl Radle

  24. I commented upthread that my first impressions of the new remix weren’t entirely positive. I have now listened more and also compared with my other versions. It is here that I should offer to resign my AW membership as I hadn’t twigged that the version of ATMP in the Harrison Apple albums box was actually a new remaster – the track listing is the same as the 2001 edition and I had always assumed therefore that they were the same. I’m not sure I have even listened to it, as I would reach for the 2001 box rather than extricate the damn thing from the 2014 box.

    The discussion above has become entwined with the merits of the album itself, and I have to confess I never bought it on record as it was very expensive, a friend had it anyway at the time, and I bought the Bangla Desh live set which featured great versions of several of the songs. There were also some tracks (not to mention one whole LP) that I didn’t much care for, so investment never seemed to make sense. It still isn’t my favourite Harrison album by a long chalk. Perhaps this makes me listen more critically.

    My favourite overall version is the 2014 remaster – it somehow sounds a more relaxed and comfortable listen than the 2001 version. There are some of the quieter tracks that have definitely benefited from the new treatment, but the more bombastic tracks now sound confused and very bass heavy. Harrison’s vocals somehow often sound weaker for being pushed upfront, and I am amazed that they thought this improves the title track – you hear the strain in his vocal very clearly which is very jarring, but it is quite a difficult song. Whisper it softly, but the best version of this song is McCartney’s at the Concert for George (and got me wondering if this was the reason it was never pursued by the Fabs – i.e. George struggled to sing it).

    I have the 3CD version and haven’t heard the vinyl. My hifi is very revealing, so maybe a different system would produce a better listening experience, and I also wonder how much influence streaming came into this mix….? Are things mixed now for that medium first and foremost?

    • I think you are right. It has been mixed for streaming, earpods and Bose speakers attached to computers. I’ve been listening to the remix repeatedly since my post and I’ve got used to the surprises, such as hearing instruments I hadn’t heard before or the low register “Old Sir Frankie Crisp”. It’s been a pleasure. I don’t have expensive HiFi, so the booming bass isn’t a problem for me. The remix brings a different perspective and brought me back to the album and its incredible songs. I’m delighted to have it and the 2001 remaster and am looking forward to listening to both regularly. I don’t have the 2014 remaster, sadly.

      Of course, the focus is going to be on George, his voice and his guitar. There are times he sings with impressive power and passion but, mostly, he sings with an intimacy and sincerity that is totally endearing, at least to me. May I say, both are qualities that John and Paul could learn from. However, these tracks, as wonderful as they are, need to rub shoulders with John and Paul songs (all three of whom need a Ringo song to keep them grounded). One George after another after another can be wearing. An hour plus is just too much. The quality here is outstanding. I’m sure George would be the star contributor to a 1970/71 Beatles album but the listener needs the variety.

      The second thing the remix has taught me is that he really could have done with ‘chick backing singers’ as Bobby Whitlock might say. Some of the backing vocals are really weak. I’m surprised Phil Spector didn’t suggest it.

      You are missing a trick by not having the demos and early takes. They are the best bonus tracks in a box since Miles Davies The Complete On The Corner.

      Day one demos, tracks from POB, the rougher McCartney I songs and Early 1970 (with Ringo, Klaus and George again) would make for a very raw late 1970 album. Then, crank up the production values for a follow up. Hours of listening fun!

      One thing for sure. This 50th Anniversary set has refreshed my enthusiasm for a fantastic album.

  25. Bobby now seems to have (or to have had to have) removed his deeply ATMP critical toobs from his channel. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before the Illuminati become involved.

  27. I’m sure you’re all itching to know what version of “All Things Must Pass” I have in my collection. Well, I’ll tell you. It’s the original black-and-white CD issue from 1988 in the FATBOY CD jewel case.

    We all remember Fatboy CD cases, don’t we? They’re what double albums used to come in, back in the old days. Even though they only contained 2 CDs and a feeble little 4-page booklet, they were MASSIVELY wide like a huge great brick and took up an immense amount of precious shelf space in your collection. They were such a nightmare, they almost put me off buying certain double albums.

    I say BOOOO for the old Fatboy cases. I don’t miss them one iota. Good riddance.

    Are there, perchance, any fans of the Fatboy cases among my Afterword brothers and sisters?

  28. Why are people still saying fat boy in this age of wokelightenment? The term boy is, of course, fraught with
    its own set of problems….

    Can we not be sensitive to the needs of larger people (such as myself) and avoid the gender minefield by
    referring to such packages as differently sized CD cases

  29. Why are people still saying fat boy in this age of wokelightenment? The term boy is, of course, fraught with
    its own set of problems.

    Can we not be sensitive to the needs of larger people (such as myself) and avoid the gender minefield by
    referring to such packages as differently sized CD cases?

    I’m sure it’s not beyond the capabilities of other AWers to come up with an equally anodyne and inoffensive
    term….

    • Some things are best left alone, he says.

      This remix has attracted a lot of attention. It seems the vinyl versions are the most disappointing and the digital the most pleasing. I actually went back bought the 2014 remaster to compare. I enjoy the opportunity to hear the songs in different ways and that’s what this 50th anniversary edition does. You don’t just get a remix, which brings out the singing and the playing in different ways, but also the demos and early takes. My favourite track changes all the time and is currently Hear Me Lord (take 5), all nine minutes of it, featuring a great guitar solo (Harrison, I think) and, I’m convinced, Nicky Hopkins on piano.

      Hearing day one of demos, make me wonder how it would have been if The Solo Beatles released albums of their own songs backed by The Other Beatles: a POB with McCartney on bass, ATMP with Lennon/McCartney backing vocals and Maybe I’m Amazed with Ringo on drums.

      You might find Harrison’s vocals tiring, the remix annoying, the whole package desperately venal, but the overwhelming feeling I have is amazement at the quality of the songs. Just wow. That alone makes me very grateful to Dhani and co for putting it all together. There is hours of listening pleasure ahead of me.

        • Well if you visit the Hoffman forum you will find that current mastering choices are often “fatiguing” or “ear bleeding”. Looks like Dhani and co have gone for a modern sound that would please teenagers/young adults who listen on phones/Bluetooth speakers. Just how many of those are interested in a 50 yr old album remains to be seen.

  33. I like the 2014 job, but at a pinch prefer 2001. I have no problem at all with the Spector effect. Intrinsic and essential. It’s not the same album for me without it.

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