When ‘Something’ first hit the ears of Beatles fans in 1969, the biggest group in the world was no longer about the two front men. There was someone new, emerging from the background as an artist in his own right.
From ‘Abbey Road’ on, George Harrison was no longer the hippy lead guitarist who hung out with Eric Clapton or was allowed the odd song on other albums (‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ seems to be the exception and a masterpiece overlooked by Lennon and McCartney). It was late in The Beatles’ career, the end in fact, but it paved the way for Harrison.
He said himself that he started writing and recording his first album within months of The Beatles’ split in the same year as ‘Something’, perfecting songs he’d written as far back as 1966 (‘Isn’t It A Pity’) and in those black Beatles days (‘Let It Down’, written during the ‘Get Back’ sessions).
Although he had released the instrumental concepts of ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Electronic Sound’, Harrison didn’t consider himself to be a solo artist until post-Beatles. But he jumped at the chance and was the first Beatle to release a solo album.
Now, almost forty years on, what he considers to be his solo debut is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Not only does ‘All Things Must Pass’ show Harrison to be a versatile song writer, one who mixes calming and serene melodies full of harmony and contentment with guitar-heavy anthems complete with Eric Clapton riffs, but it allowed him to branch out emotionally and spiritually.
It’s the Hare Krishna chanting, sweet intimate vocals and soft repetitive melody that will live on forever in ‘My Sweet Lord’. Other songs on the twenty-two-track album included stories of Clapton’s stolen dog (‘I Remember Jeep’, co-written by Cream’s Ginger Baker), the original proprietor of Harrison’s mansion (‘Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp’), and a birthday message to Lennon (‘It’s Johnny’s Birthday’).
Propelling ‘All Things Must Pass’ into the realm of greatness, more so than the debuts from Lennon or McCartney, is the array of talent standing side-by-side to Harrison. Aside from Clapton, a host of other close friends and impeccable talents came along for the ride: Ringo Starr, Yes percussionist Alan White, a nineteen-year-old Phil Collins, Procul Harum’s Gary Brooker, and Billy Preston. Bob Dylan co-wrote ‘I’d Have You Anytime’ and there is talk of John Lennon making an appearance.
Add a bit of Phil Spector and his wall of sound into the mix, and there’s the making for one successful solo foundation.
Even so, this is a Harrison album full of Harrison songs, Harrison voice and Harrison playing and, after the digital remaster in 2000 which saw the Spector reverb toned down, more of a Harrison sound too. He said himself that the remaster, which he oversaw, was a way of liberating the sound from “big production that seemed appropriate at the time, but now seem a bit over the top”.
In 1970, ‘All Things Must Pass’, the triple-album out-pouring of Harrison’s finest years as a musician, was a step into the unknown for Harrison. It still remains his definitive work.
Words by Gemma Hampson
George Harrison - ‘All Things Must Pass’
Released: 27th November 1970
Producer: George Harrison and Phil Spector
Musicians:
George Harrison - guitars, vocals, harmonica, Eric Clapton/Dave Mason - guitars, Klaus Voormann/Carl Radle - bass, Gary Wright/Bobby Whitlock/Billy Preston/Gary Brooker - keyboards, Ringo Starr/Jim Gordon/Alan White/Phil Collins/Ginger Baker - drums and percussion, Bobby Keys - saxophone, Jim Price - trumpet.
Tracklist:
1. ‘I’d Have You Anytime’
2. ‘My Sweet Lord’
3. ‘Wah-Wah’
4. ‘Isn’t It A Pity (Version 1)’
5. ‘What Is Life’
6. ‘If Not For You’
7. ‘Behind That Locked Door’
8. ‘Let It Down’
9. ‘Run Of The Mill’
10. ‘Beware Of Darkness’
11. ‘Apple Scruffs’
12. ‘Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)’
13. ‘Awaiting On You All’
14. ‘All Things Must Pass’
15. ‘I Dig Love’
16. ‘Art Of Dying’
17. ‘Isn’t It A Pity (Version 2)’
18. ‘Hear Me Lord’
19. ‘Out Of The Blue’
20. ‘It’s Johnny’s Birthday’
21. ‘Plug Me In’
22. ‘I Remember Jeep’
23. ‘Thanks For The Pepperoni’
1970 In The News:
- Brazil wins soccer World Cup.
- The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 takes place, with 600,000 people attending.
- Jimi Hendrix dies of alcohol related complications.
1970 Albums
Jimi Hendrix - ‘Band Of Gypsys’
John Lennon - ‘John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band’
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - ‘Déjà Vu’