One hears him instructing Ringo Starr at the beginning of “Art of Dying (Take 1).” He wonderfully covers the oldie “Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine).” There’s also a rhythmically reworked version of “What Is Life (Take 1)” and playful jams on “Get Back” (yes, that “Get Back”) and “Down to the River (Rocking Chair Jam).” The reissue ends with what amounts to two additional albums of “Session Outtakes and Jams.” Take 14 of “Isn’t It A Pity” finds Harrison playfully altering the lyrics. Then there are songs not on the album proper: the bluesy work-up “Going Down to Golders Green” and the spiritual pop of “Dehra Dun” and “Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna)” being relative highlights. Many provide significant context: a sparse version of “I’d Have You Anytime (Take 1),” different lyrics to “Awaiting on You All (Take 1)” a guitar-forward and horn-less “What Is Life (Take 3),” a spare, solo electric “Wah-Wah (Take 1),” and “Beware of Darkness (Take 1)” with the early “beware of ABKCO” lyric. All of these songs are present here, mostly in first take form. Harrison initially presented 30 demos to Spector on May 26 and 27 of 1970, songs that he had compiled from as far back as 1966 and which would ultimately make up the album. That said, the meat of this reissue is in its extensive exploration into the album’s creation. Not much needs to be written about the album proper that hasn’t already been, so let’s suffice it to restate that All Things Must Pass should be considered Harrison’s masterwork and sounds as stunning today as it did upon original release in 1970. And it’s this reviewer’s carefully considered assertion that the album is better for it.
Things that were hidden or that may have been missed before are now ripe for enjoyment.
And although bringing Harrison’s vocals more to the fore has the effect of demystifying what was to a certain degree enchantingly mysterious about the original album, hearing Harrison’s vocals so clear and forward now gives a new wrinkle to All Things Must Pass’s sonic experience. His son has attempted to rectify that with this set. Harrison lamented upon the album’s 30 th anniversary reissue, that he was less than fond of the original album’s production in retrospect.
George harrison all things must pass remastered cd upgrade#
The most evident sonic upgrade on the reissue is that Harrison’s vocals are noticeably more prominent in the mix and the reverb lessened. Aside from the album(s) proper, the set features 47 additional tracks, 42 as yet unreleased, providing a heretofore unheard wealth of history, context, and augment to the original document. Executively produced by Harrison’s son Dhani, the super deluxe anniversary reissue is comprised of either 5 CDs and 1 Blu-ray audio disc or 8 180g LPs, along with a 60-page “scrapbook” featuring photos, ephemera, a track-by-track guide, and interview commentary from Dhani Harrison and engineer Paul Hicks, who combed through old tapes to compile the mammoth additions to this set. With 2020 marking the 50 th anniversary of All Things Must Pass’s release, CAPITOL/UMe has pulled out all the stops for its reissue. Harrison’s spiritual, deep, and penetrating songs that embedded themselves in the psyche and captivated, while still leaving room for playfulness, perhaps most exemplified on the final LP, affectionately referred to as “Apple Jam.” The wealth of players contributing to the sonic landscapes, from Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann, and Billy Preston to Eric Clapton, members of Badfinger, Dave Mason, and Bobby Keys among many others. Phil Spector’s production with Harrison’s vocals somewhat deep in the mix, lending the recording a certain mystical quality. But in slowly removing the records from their jackets and putting them on the turntable again, many years after first discovering the album, what was crystal clear, despite a few pops and hisses from the well worn vinyl, was the magic contained in those grooves. Somehow, the giant poster seems to be the most intact piece of the old set. Far from pristine, my copy suffers from a box that is in tatters, each corner broken, sides missing, and with an inexplicable heavy duty staple covering some tape in the upper left hand corner. As soon as I heard that CAPITOL/UMe was releasing a deluxe box set of George Harrison’s 1970 solo debut, All Things Must Pass, the first thing I did was go to the bookshelf and pull out my old copy of the original 3 LP set.