Additional information
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. Japanese edition Without a doubt, George 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 slight flaw: the jams that comprise the final third of the album are somewhat dispensable, and have probably only been played once or twice by most of the listeners who own this record. Those same jams, however, played by Eric Clapton, Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock, and Jim Gordon (all of whom had just come off of touring as part of Delaney & Bonnie's band), proved to be of immense musical importance, precipitating the formation of Derek & the Dominos. Thus, they weren't a total dead end, and may actually be much more to the liking of the latter band's fans. ~ Richie Unterberger & Bruce Eder
Reviews
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..." Paste (magazine) - "The incredible 'My Sweet Lord' was obviously the most popular song off the album, but deeper, slower tracks like 'Behind That Locked Door' and 'I'd Have You Anytime' are just as sweet." Pitchfork (Website) - "Given his own studio, his own canvas, and his own space, Harrison did what no other solo Beatle did: He changed the terms of what an album could be."
