All Things Must Pass [30th Anniversary Edition] [Remaster]

Performer: George Harrison
Artist: Dave Mason; Eric Clapton; Billy Preston; Ringo Starr; Badfinger
Producer: George Harrison; Phil Spector
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Includes 5 bonus tracks. Personnel: George Harrison (vocals, guitar); Sam Brown (vocals); Dhani Harrison (acosutic guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, background vocals); Badfinger (guitar, percussion); Dave Mason, Eric Clapton (guitar); Pete Drake (pedal steel guitar); Bobby Keys (tenor saxophone); Jim Price (trumpet); Billy Preston, Gary Wright, Bobby Whitlock, Gary Brooker (keyboards); Carl Radle, Klaus Voorman (bass); Ringo Starr, Alan White, Jim Gordon (drums, percussion); Ray Cooper, Mal Evans (tambourine). Engineers: Ken Scott, Philip McDonald, Ken Scott. Includes liner notes by George Harrison. Digitally remastered by Jon Astley. Personnel: George Harrison (guitar); George Harrison (vocals); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums, percussion); Sam Brown (vocals, background vocals); Eric Clapton (guitar, guitars); Badfinger (guitar, percussion); Joey Molland, Pete Ham, Peter Frampton, Tommy Evans (guitar); Pete Drake (pedal steel guitar); Billy Preston (piano, organ, keyboards); Dhani Harrison (Fender Rhodes piano); Gary Brooker (keyboards); Klaus Voormann (bass instrument, bass guitar); Mike Gibbins (percussion); Dave Mason (guitar); Bobby Keys (tenor saxophone); Jim Price (trumpet); Gary Wright, Bobby Whitlock (keyboards); Carl Radle (bass guitar); Jim Gordon , Alan White (drums, percussion); Mal Evans, Ray Cooper (tambourine). Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley. Liner Note Author: George Harrison. Recording information: EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England (05/1970). Photographer: Barry Feinstein. Arranger: John Barham. Though George Harrison's solo albums for most of the 1970s and early '80s were uneven, often slapdash affairs, 1970's ALL THINGS MUST PASS is a brilliant piece of work. Produced by Phil Spector, whose expansive, majestic arrangements and sonic flourishes suit Harrison's songs perfectly, ALL THINGS MUST PASS eclipses everything the other Beatles recorded at the time (excepting John Lennon's PLASTIC ONO BAND). This sprawling double record gives the impression of Harrison being uncorked and pouring forth all of the songs and ideas edged out by Lennon and McCartney during the Beatles years. The title and the melancholic black and white cover photo match the mood of the music, which brims with an armchair wisdom, and the weary, disillusioned air that permeated the early '70s in the counter-cultural wake. Yet the album also boasts an abiding sense of spirituality and tenacious optimism, as on the lullaby-like hit single "My Sweet Lord" and "Isn't It a Pity," a compassionate study of human suffering. "What Is Life" and "Awaiting on You All" continue these themes, but Spector's bright pop polish lends a counterweight, making the record feel light and deeply personal at once. Despite some lengthy, formless jams, as on the 11-minute-plus "Out of the Blue," ALL THINGS MUST PASS stands among the great records of the early '70s. All Things Must Pass has long been one of the more vexing classic albums to make it to CD. It appeared previously in two distinctly different (yet confusingly similar) packagings in the late '80s, one from England and one from America, both of which were straight reissues of the original triple LP. Neither was a wholly satisfactory release, owing to the same problems that existed on Layla by Derek & the Dominos -- both albums (which have related histories) were recorded using lots of tracks (and no noise reduction technology) to achieve a very big sound, which was impressive on vinyl but had a lot of noise when processed digitally for CD. This expanded and remastered edition, released in January of 2001, solved most of those problems as well as offering five additional tracks. The remastering, done sometime in 2000, has imparted greater resolution to the music without losing the wall-of-sound effect that most of the album was intended to display. In the process, it's possible to discern the various guitars at work far better than on the original LP set, and to better appreciate the virtuosity of the playing involved as well as the sheer size of the ensemble Harrison assembled. Additionally, and almost more important in terms of enjoying the album as a whole, the new edition captures the warmth and nuances of Harrison's singing on songs like "Let It Down," "Run of the Mill," and "Isn't It a Pity (Version Two)." This improvement isn't reflected everywhere -- on "The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp," for example, his voice is still buried fairly deep in the mix and not as up front as it is elsewhere, but that's how it was mastered originally, and even Harrison admits, in the notes introducing the accompanying booklet, that he had to resist the urge to remix the album. Of the five bonus tracks, one is an entirely new song from the original sessions, and three more are outtakes of existing songs in versions that have appeared on various bootlegs, while "My Sweet Lord (2000)" is a stripped-down reconsideration of the song. It doesn't add anything in particular, except to show that Harrison can still play up a storm. The so-called "Apple Jam" tracks that comprised disc three of the original LP have also been remastered, to their considerable advantage -- the nuances of the playing on those sessions, which essentially marked the birth of Derek & the Dominos, are brought out in crisp detail and they are worth hearing, now more than ever, and that goes double for the hard-rocking, Chuck Berry-esque jam "Thanks for the Pepperoni." The new edition comes in a box with each CD in a separate slipcase and a booklet containing photos from the original sessions, full lyrics, recording credits, and an essay by Harrison. ~ Bruce Eder

Rolling Stone (1/7/71, p.46) - "..an intensely personal statement and a grandiose gesture, a triumph...an album of striking honesty and force.." Rolling Stone (10/12/00, p.94) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...An album that is simultaneously modest and bold...[it] has stood up well to the passing of time....a bracing air of creative liberation..." Entertainment Weekly (1/26/01, p.103) - "...Brighter, remastered sonics....Harrison and Phil Spector's Wall of Krishna Sound is still majestically congested, and the songs are so strong that Harrison would never top them. Even the jams feel refreshing in their looseness..." - Rating: A- Q (3/01, pp.122-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Rock and religion have rarely, if ever, been so happily conjoined....it remains the single most satisfying collection of any solo Beatle, maybe sounding even fresher for being sidelined so long..." Alternative Press (5/01, p.96) - "...His best and most accomplished work..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) - Included in Mojo's "Best Reissues of 2001". Mojo (Publisher) (3/01, pp.86-7) - "...This remains the best Beatles solo album....oozing both the goggle-eyed joy of creative emancipation and the sense of someone pushing himself to the limit..."

George Harrison was always a fluid guitarist, but his voice and his skills as a songwriter came to full flower in the post-touring years of the Beatles. He became the first from that defunct band to release a work that was justifiably hailed as a masterpiece, the epic ALL THINGS MUST PASS. With his passing in 2001, the rock world lost one of its most deeply spiritual voices, whose signature slide-guitar style and early experiments with incorporating Eastern influences into rock were enormously influential.

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