All Things Must Pass

Infobox Album
Name = All Things Must Pass
Type = studio
Artist = George Harrison


Released = 27 November 1970 22 January 2001 (remaster)
Recorded = 26 May 1970 – September 1970
Genre = Rock
Length = 105:59 (1970) 126:17 (2001)
Label = Apple/EMI
Producer = George Harrison and Phil Spector
Engineer = Dennis MacKay
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:osrj284c05na~T00 link]
*Robert Christgau (C) [http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1983&name=George+Harrison link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/georgeharrison/albums/album/205260/review/6067390/all_things_must_pass link]
Last album = "Electronic Sound" (1969)
This album = "All Things Must Pass" (1970)
Next album = "The Concert for Bangla Desh" (1971)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = studio

---

Lower caption = Cover of 2001 remaster

"All Things Must Pass" is a triple album by George Harrison recorded and released after the break-up of The Beatles. The first triple album by a solo artist, the original vinyl release featured two records of rock songs, while the third, entitled "Apple Jam" was composed of informal jams led by Harrison with musician friends and other famous musicians.

Received as a masterpiece upon its 1970 unveiling, "All Things Must Pass" is widely considered to be one of the best albums made by a Beatle as a solo artist. It is certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA, making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.cite web|title=Gold and Platinum: Searchable Database|publisher=RIAA|url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH|accessdate=2007-12-04]

History

Background

The outpouring of such consistently great material on "All Things Must Pass" took many critics by surprise, with Harrison having long been overshadowed by the talents of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, despite the fact that some of his later period Beatles inclusions ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun") were hailed as highlights of their respective albums. Consequently, as Harrison had only placed just a few songs on any given Beatles album, he had amassed many compositions by their break-up, enabling him to offload many of them in one go on "All Things Must Pass".

Harrison had been accumulating the songs he recorded for the album as far back as 1966; both "The Art of Dying"cite book |last=Leng |first=Simon |year=2003 |title=The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps |publisher=Firefly Publishing |location=London |isbn=0-946719-50-0 |pages=p. 71] and "Isn't It a Pity"cite book |last=Sulpy |first=Doug |coauthors=and Schweighardt, Ray |year=1997 |title=Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of The Beatles' Let It Be Disaster |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |pages=p. 269 |isbn=0-312-19981-3] date from that year. In bootlegged conversation from the Get Back sessions, Harrison revealed that John had rejected "Isn't It a Pity" three years before, and that he (Harrison) had considered offering the song to Frank Sinatra. Harrison picked up several more songs in late 1968 while visiting Bob Dylan and The Band in Woodstock, New York. He and Dylan co-wrote "I'd Have You Anytime" and "Nowhere to Go" (also known as "When Everybody Comes to Town") at this time, and Dylan showed him "I Don't Want to Do It."Leng, Simon. 2003. "The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps". p. 32.] All three songs were attempted at some point in the sessions for "All Things Must Pass", but only "I'd Have You Anytime" made the album.

The January 1969 "Get Back" sessions saw early appearances of several other songs that would be considered for "All Things Must Pass", including the title track, "Hear Me Lord", "Isn't It a Pity", "Let It Down", and "Window, Window",cite book |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |year=2006 |title=The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=San Francisco |pages=231-232 |isbn=0-87930-892-3] but nothing came of them at the time. The tense atmosphere fueled another song, "Wah-Wah", which Harrison wrote in the wake of his temporary departure from the band.Leng, Simon. 2003. "The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps". p. 60.] He began writing "My Sweet Lord" while touring with Delaney & Bonnie in late 1969,Leng, Simon. 2003. "The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps". p. 45.] and would later utilize their backing group "Friends" as an important part of the "All Things Must Pass" sound. He made one last detour before beginning work on "All Things Must Pass", visiting Dylan while the latter was starting sessions for "New Morning" in May 1970, learning "If Not For You" and participating in a now-bootlegged session.Leng, Simon. 2003. "The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps". p. 50.]

Recording sessions

Recorded from May to August 1970 at Abbey Road Studios, and then further recording and mixing at Trident Studios from August to September 1970, Harrison enlisted the aid of Phil Spector to co-produce the album, giving "All Things Must Pass" a heavy and reverb-oriented sound, typical for a 1960s/1970s Spector production — but a sound Harrison would subsequently regret with the passage of time. In the EPK that accompanies the 30th Anniversary reissue George is asked what he thinks of the album now thirty years later and he says, "...too much echo."

In late May 1970, before recording the album, Harrison sat in a studio with Spector and ran through fifteen songs on guitar, with occasional support from an unknown bass player. These demos (eventually bootlegged as "Beware of ABKCO!" due to an altered line in his performance of "Beware of Darkness") showed him in the process of weighing his material, as eight of the songs would be either substantially reworked or not appear on the finished album. Among these early outtakes, three have been officially released in one form or another: "Everybody, Nobody" was an early version of "The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp", "Beautiful Girl" would be finished for "Thirty Three & 1/3", and "I Don't Want to Do It" would wait fifteen years until being revisited for the soundtrack of "Porky's Revenge". Five other songs, "Cosmic Empire", "Mother Divine", "Nowhere to Go," "Tell Me What Has Happened With You," and "Window, Window", have not seen official release.Unterberger, Richie. 2006. "The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film". p. 286-288.] Two demos of songs that did make the album, "Beware of Darkness" and "Let It Down" (with overdubs from 2000), would eventually be released on the remastered "All Things Must Pass". Full discs of electric outtakes from the recording sessions would also leak on bootlegs in later years, and some of those tracks were also included in the remaster. Multiple takes of songs from the album appear on a bootleg three-disc box set "The Making of All Things Must Pass" along with other releases.

The album features the talents of Ringo Starr, members of Badfinger, Eric Clapton and the other members of Derek and the Dominoes, future Yes drummer Alan White, and Billy Preston. Bob Dylan, a close friend of Harrison's, co-wrote "I'd Have You Anytime" with him, while Harrison covered Dylan's "If Not For You", which had been recently released on Dylan's "New Morning" album. Alan White stated that John Lennon played on "If Not For You."cite web | last = Tiano | first = Mike | url = http://www.nfte.org/interviews/AW_Lennon.html | title = Alan White & The Beatles | format = | work = | publisher =Notes From The Edge | accessdate = 2007-12-04]

Reaction and aftermath

"All Things Must Pass"' lead single was "My Sweet Lord", which proved an enormously popular recording, reaching #1 worldwide, and earned Harrison a copyright infringement suit from the publishers of The Chiffons's 1963 hit "He's So Fine" — a grievance that would not be settled for years. (A judge later found that Harrison had unintentionally copied the earlier song; this prompted Harrison to later write "This Song". He also bought the publishing rights to "He's So Fine" to prevent future suits.) The album itself reached #1 in the UK for eight weeks, and spent seven weeks at the top in the U.S., where it was certified six times platinum, making "All Things Must Pass" Harrison's most commercially successful and generally best-loved album.

Anglo-Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John's cover of Harrison's "What Is Life" reached the UK top twenty in 1972. (The year before, she reached the top ten with a cover of Dylan's "If Not For You", arranged similarly to Harrison's version; in the US, her version became her first successful pop single,reaching #25. She would cover another song from "All Things Must Pass", "Behind That Locked Door").

A remastered edition of "All Things Must Pass", supervised by Harrison, was released in 2001, just months before his death; it contained bonus tracks, including a partially re-recorded additional version of "My Sweet Lord". It also included a newly colourised version of the originally monochrome cover. With the original version of the album being concurrently deleted, the remastered edition of "All Things Must Pass" is the only commercially available version of the release.

On July 29, 2006, The Official UK Charts company changed their records because there was a postal strike when the album had originally been on the charts. At the time, record retailers would send in documents saying how many records had been sold, but because of the strike they could not during an eight-week period in 1971. "All Things Must Pass", which had originally peaked at number 4 (with Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at number one), now has been given the number one spot for all eight weeks.cite web | last = | first = | url = http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=17476343&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=number-one-for-harrison-at-last-name_page.html | title = Number one for Harrison at last | format = | work = | publisher =icLiverpool | accessdate = 2007-12-04]

Track listing

All songs by George Harrison, except where noted.

Original release

tudio album

ide one

#"I'd Have You Anytime" (George Harrison/Bob Dylan) – 2:56
#"My Sweet Lord" – 4:38
#* "Harrison was sued in the spring of 1971 by the publishers of "He's So Fine" for copyright infringement, with the case finally being settled in 1976 with a royalty payment"
#"Wah-Wah" – 5:35 "Thanks to the O'Hara-Smith Singers, Ciril, Betty, and Tommy Boy"
#"Isn't It a Pity" (Version 1) – 7:08
#* "Originally written in 1966"

ide two

#"What Is Life" – 4:22
#"If Not for You" (Bob Dylan) – 3:29
#"Behind That Locked Door" – 3:05
#* "Written for Bob Dylan following his performance at the Isle of Wight"
#"Let It Down" – 4:57
#* "Written and performed during the Get Back sessions"
#"Run of the Mill" – 2:49

ide three

#"Beware of Darkness" – 3:48
#"Apple Scruffs" – 3:04
#* "Written about the Apple Records groupies who routinely hung around the studios, nicknamed "Apple scruffs"
#"Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" – 3:46
#* "Sir Frankie Crisp was the original proprietor of Harrison's mansion, Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, which he purchased in 1970"
#"Awaiting on You All" – 2:45
#"All Things Must Pass" – 3:44

ide four

#"I Dig Love" – 4:55
#"Art of Dying" – 3:37
#* "Features 19-year-old Phil Collins on percussion"
#"Isn't It a Pity" (Version 2) – 4:45
#"Hear Me Lord" – 5:46

Apple Jam

ide five

#"Out of the Blue" (Jim Gordon/Carl Radle/Bobby Whitlock/Eric Clapton/Gary Wright/George Harrison/Jim Price/Bobby Keys/Al Aronowitz) – 11:14
#"It's Johnny's Birthday" (Based upon "Congratulations" - Bill Martin/Phil Coulter) – 0:49
#* "Recorded in August 1970 with Ringo Starr and presented to John Lennon on 9 October in celebration of his 30th birthday"
#"Plug Me In" (Jim Gordon/Carl Radle/Bobby Whitlock/Eric Clapton/Dave Mason/George Harrison) – 3:18

ide six

#"I Remember Jeep" (Ginger Baker/Klaus Voormann/Billy Preston/Eric Clapton/George Harrison) – 8:07
#* "Uses white noise from Harrison's 1969 Electronic Sound album track "No Time or Space"
#* "Jeep" was the name of Eric Clapton's dog that had been stolen"
#"Thanks for the Pepperoni" (Jim Gordon/Carl Radle/Bobby Whitlock/Eric Clapton/Dave Mason/George Harrison) – 5:31

2001 remaster

In 2000, George Harrison personally oversaw the remastering of "All Things Must Pass" - the beginning of a re-issue project that was to see all his albums refurbished. Harrison lived long enough only to witness "All Things Must Pass"' re-release in January 2001 on his own GN Records imprint, distributed by EMI.

Besides the colourfully re-imagined cover art, the two studio albums have been split across the two CDs, with bonus material appearing at the end of the first disc, and the "Apple Jam" - with an adjusted sequence - concluding the second disc.

Disc one

#"I'd Have You Anytime" (George Harrison/Bob Dylan) – 2:56
#"My Sweet Lord" – 4:38
#"Wah-Wah" – 5:35
#"Isn't It a Pity" (Version 1) – 7:09
#"What Is Life" – 4:22
#"If Not for You" (Bob Dylan) – 3:29
#"Behind That Locked Door" – 3:05
#"Let It Down" – 4:57
#"Run of the Mill" – 2:49
#"I Live for You" – 3:35
#* "A 2000 recording of a previously unreleased track from the 1970 sessions for All Things Must Pass"
#"Beware of Darkness" – 3:19
#* "An acoustic run-through of the song recorded on 27 May 1970 at the start of the sessions"
#"Let It Down" – 3:54
#* "An acoustic run-through of the song recorded on 27 May 1970 at the start of the sessions, with a keyboard overdub effected in 2000"
#"What Is Life" – 4:27
#* "An early mix of the song's backing track on 9 August 1970 with piccolo trumpet and oboe"
#"My Sweet Lord (2000)" – 4:57
#* "A re-working of the original 1970 recording with new overdubs in 2000, including backing vocal from Sam Brown"

Disc two

#"Beware of Darkness" – 3:48
#"Apple Scruffs" – 3:04
#"Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" – 3:46
#"Awaiting on You All" – 2:45
#"All Things Must Pass" – 3:44
#"I Dig Love" – 4:55
#"Art Of Dying" – 3:37
#"Isn't It a Pity" (Version 2) – 4:45
#"Hear Me Lord" – 5:46
#"It's Johnny's Birthday" (Based upon "Congratulations" - Martin/Coulter) – 0:49
#"Plug Me In" (Jim Gordon/Carl Radle/Bobby Whitlock/Eric Clapton/Dave Mason/George Harrison) – 3:18
#"I Remember Jeep" (Ginger Baker/Klaus Voormann/Billy Preston/Eric Clapton/George Harrison) – 8:07
#"Thanks for the Pepperoni" (Jim Gordon/Carl Radle/Bobby Whitlock/Eric Clapton/Dave Mason/George Harrison) – 5:31
#"Out of the Blue" (Jim Gordon/Carl Radle/Bobby Whitlock/Eric Clapton/Gary Wright/George Harrison/Jim Price/Bobby Keys/Al Aronowitz) – 11:16

Personnel

The following musicians are credited on the 2001 release:
* Guitars: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Peter Frampton
* Bass guitar: Klaus Voorman, Carl Radle
* Orchestral arrangements: John Barham
* Keyboards: Gary Wright, Bobby Whitlock, Billy Preston, Gary Brooker
* Drums and percussion: Ringo Starr, Jim Gordon, Alan White, Phil Collins, Ginger Baker
* Harmonica - George Harrison(?) (harmonica is played on "If Not for You" and "Apple Scruffs"; the musician is unknown)
* Pedal steel guitar (with talk box): Pete Drake
* Tenor saxophone: Bobby Keys
* Trumpet: Jim Price
* Rhythm guitars and percussion: Badfinger
* Fender Rhodes and backing vocals ("I Live for You") and ("My Sweet Lord", 2000 version): Dhani Harrison
* Tambourine ("My Sweet Lord", 2001 version): Ray Cooper
* Additional lead vocals ("My Sweet Lord", 2001 version): Sam Brown

Cover versions

*Billy Preston covered "My Sweet Lord" and "All Things Must Pass" on his 1970 album "Encouraging Words"
*Galaxie 500 covered "Isn't It a Pity" on their 1989 album "On Fire"
* Tom Petty's early band, Mudcrutch, did a live version of "Isn't It a Pity" that has surfaced on soundboard recordings from the early '70s. Tom Petty later revisited the song with The Heartbreakers during their winter 2002 tour for "The Last DJ".
* Joe Cocker covered "Beware of Darkness" on his 2007 album "Hymn for My Soul"
* The prog rock band Spock's Beard covered the song "Beware of Darkness" on their album by the same name.
*Nina Simone covered "Isn't It a Pity"
*Leon Russell covered "Beware of Darkness" on his album "Leon Russell and the Shelter People."
*Concrete Blonde covered "Beware of Darkness" on their eponymous 1986 debut album.
*The Rutles covered "Isn't It a Pity" during their farewell tour.
*Eric Clapton paid tribute to Harrison at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival when he covered "Isn't It a Pity".
*Elliott Smith covered "Isn't It a Pity" in concert on occasion.
*Ocean Colour Scene covered "Wah-Wah" on their 2005 album A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad.
*Several songs from the album were featured in the all-star Concert for George, including a Billy Preston/ Eric Clapton duet covering "Isn't it a Pity." This version includes back-up vocals purposely reminiscent of the Lennon/McCartney song "Hey Jude," musically tying together Harrison's solo career with his time with the Beatles.
*The Three Degrees covered "Isn't It A Pity".

Charts

Albums

References

External links

* [http://georgeharrison.com/atmp/ The official "All Things Must Pass" website]
* [http://www.jpgr.co.uk/stch639.html Beatles Recorded Sound Index entry]
* [http://www.inscribemusic.com/team/team_johnbarham.htm More information on John Barham]

succession box
before = "Abraxas" by Santana
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years = January 2, 1971 – February 19, 1971
after = "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Original Castsuccession box
before = "Pendulum" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
title = Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
years = March 22, 1971 – May 16, 1971
after = "Pearl" by Janis Joplin