George Harrison All Things Must Pass CD

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.
Without a doubt, Harrison's first solo recording, originally issued as a triple album, is his best. Drawing on his backlog of unused compositions from the late Beatles era, Harrison crafted material that managed the rare feat of conveying spiritual mysticism without sacrificing his gifts for melody and grand, sweeping arrangements. Enhanced by Phil Spector's lush orchestral production, and Harrison's own superb slide guitar, nearly every song is excellent: "Awaiting on You All," "Beware of Darkness," the Dylan collaboration "I'd Have You Anytime," "Isn't It a Pity," and the hit singles "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life" are just a few of the highlights. A very moving work, with a very significant flaw: the jams that comprise the final third of the album are entirely dispensable, and have probably only been played once or twice by most of the listeners that own this record. ~ Richie Unterberger
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) packagingsRolling 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..."