george harrison
Olivia Harrison: “I Wanted People To Know About George”
More often than not, the identities of wives/girlfriends/partners of famous musicians are defined in association with their notable counterparts. Olivia Harrison, widow of George Harrison, incorrectly falls into this category. Prior to becoming romantically attached to George, the Mexican-American Los Angeles native worked for his label, Dark Horse Records. They fell in love and he took her back to England to his historic home, Friar Park. Harrison recounts this ceremonial move in her poem, “My Arrival,” one of 20 in her latest book, Came the Lightening: Twenty Poems for George. Unlike her previous books: Concert for George (the companion to the Grammy Award-winning film of the same name) and George Harrison: Living in the Material World (the companion to the two-time Emmy-winning Mar...
George Harrison Classic ‘My Sweet Lord’ Gets A Thrilling, Cameo-Filled Video
The 50th-anniversary celebration for George Harrison’s monumental third album, All Things Must Pass, continues with a delightful, seven-minute video for “My Sweet Lord.” There are more than forty cameos throughout. Some from people you’d expect to see — Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh — but lots of others from TV, film, and comedy, underscoring the deep influence the songwriter had on those fields as well. [embedded content][embedded content] Directed by Lance Bangs and co-produced by Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine, the video stars Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as special agents searching for that which they cannot see. Their “boss” is Mark Hamill. And along the journey they get lots of help from people like Darren Criss, Jon Hamm, Rosanna Arquette; “Weird Al” Yankovic, Reggie...
The Reissue Section: Summer 2021
From deep jazz spiritualism to big dumb rock, Summer 2021 has been chockfull of archival releases of old favorites, obscure discoveries and newly unearthed recordings that will appeal to a vast array of music fans with ice cream money to burn. I keep hearing about how the CD era is dead and all that stuff. But this current cache of archival titles continues to prove the compact disc is very much a format that continues to bring joy and happiness to a large swath of the music-buying public. So yes, CD players still belong in cars, you savages! Stone Temple PilotsTiny Music…Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop Deluxe Edition (Atlantic/Rhino) Third albums are the ones that tend to cement an act’s career in a way that either helps them ascend to new heights or sink like a stone. For Stone Temple P...
All Things Must Pass – Super Deluxe Edition: George Harrison’s Epic is Celebrated 50 Years On
I admit it, I bought three box sets of Beatles bootleg material when I was in Singapore two decades ago. What I liked most in that treasure trove were the Liverpudlian’s takes on the songs that would eventually emerge in George Harrison’s first true solo album. When it appeared as a triple-disc set, All Things Must Pass was heralded as proof that The Quiet Beatle had much more going on than his few songs that John and Paul found room for on the band’s albums. Unpacking the original vinyl release was like exploring a classical box set (Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh replicated the experience a mere year later). Subsequent reissues of All Things Must Pass have maintained that sense of magnitude, and this 50th anniversary edition is no exception. The color treatment of the packaging ...
Jim James, Wayne Coyne, Angel Olsen on the Legacy of All Things Must Pass
George Harrison released his third solo project, the expansive triple-LP All Things Must Pass, in November 1970. And its songs — like “My Sweet Lord,” “Wah-Wah,” “Isn’t It a Pity,” “Behind That Locked Door,” and “Beware of Darkness” — solidified the former Beatle’s signature balance of earthly and divine, from his soulful slide-guitar to the searching spirituality of his lyrics. To celebrate the album’s “50th” anniversary reissue — including the massive Uber Deluxe Edition, complete with gnome replicas — SPIN spoke to three famous Harrison fans about his early masterpiece. Below, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips) and Angel Olsen go deep on the influence and legacy of All Things Must Pass — and Harrison himself. Jim James (My Morning Jacket) CREDIT: Nei...
Listen to a Previously Unheard George Harrison Demo, ‘Cosmic Empire’
Not too long ago, details were revealed of a massive box set for George Harrison’s classic solo debut album All Things Must Pass. The first song from that set has been released, and it’s a good one. For the first time, you can hear “Cosmic Empire,” and the story behind the song is almost as good as the song itself. According to a release, when Harrison commenced work on what would be All Things Must Pass, Harrison cooked up a whole batch of songs in the first two days, including a bunch that were unreleased. “Cosmic Empire” was one of the songs from the second day (May 27, 1970). The tune was cut with former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr on drums, bassist Klaus Voormann and Phil Spector producing. The other songs that didn’t make the cut on All Things Must Pass include “Going Down To G...
George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass to Get Massive 50th Anniversary Reissue
George Harrison’s iconic 1970 album All Things Must Pass, recorded and released in the wake of The Beatles dissolution, reached its monumental 50th anniversary in November 2020. To celebrate the anniversary, a deluxe, special edition of All Things Must Pass will be released on Aug. 6 via Capitol/UMe. Harrison’s voluminous range of ideas will now be compiled into 70 tracks, 5 CDs, and 8 LPs which include 42 unreleased demo recordings, session outtakes, and studio jams. While you listen through all of Harrison’s work, you’ll be able to flip through the exclusive All Things Must Pass scrapbook, which is also included in this new edition, that collects archival notes, track-by-track annotation, rare photos, memorabilia, and more. All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition is available for p...
Joe Strummer and George Harrison Meet in the Afterlife With Strummer’s Assembly
In The Future Is Unwritten, Julian Temple’s 2007 documentary on the late Joe Strummer, there are scenes in which the former Clash frontman’s friends gather around a campfire to reflect on the rock ‘n’ roll legend born John Mellor. When news arrived that George Harrison’s reactivated Dark Horse Records was releasing the new Joe Strummer compilation, Assembly, on March 26, a question arose: why? Did the Clash frontman and the late former Beatle also once gather around a campfire, acoustic guitars in hands, and jam on “Rock the Casbah” and “What Is Life”? <!– // Brid Player Singles. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”: “Brid_10143537”, “obj”: {“id”:”25115″,”width”:”480″,”height”:R...
Bob Dylan to Release Outtakes Set 1970, Includes Nine Songs With George Harrison
A few weeks ago, a European record store got its hands on 1970, a limited-edition Bob Dylan compilation featuring outtakes and rarities, plus collaborations with George Harrison. It quickly sold out and Dylan fans were left in the dark on how they could score the coveted part of the Bob Dylan – 50th Anniversary Collection, which featured rare sessions released due to what Columbia Records/Legacy called the “copyright extension series (which began in 2012).” That previously limited-edition set will be widely released on Feb. 26, 2021. The three-disc collection of previously unavailable studio performances includes the complete May 1, 1970 session of nine songs featuring Harrison. The pair perform together on Dylan originals (“One Too Many Mornings,” “Gates of Eden,” “Mama, You Bee...
George Harrison Estate Releases Stereo Mix of ‘All Things Must Pass’
George Harrison’s solo album, All Things Must Pass, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year. To honor it, Harrison’s estate is honoring the milestone with a new stereo mix of the title track. “The new stereo mix of the album’s title track is just a taste of more things to come in 2021 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of my father’s legendary All Things Must Pass album,” George’s son Dhani Harrison, said in a statement. He also added, “We’ve been digging through mountains of tapes, and they just kept coming – boxes and boxes of them. Making this album sound clearer was always one of my dad’s greatest wishes and it was something we were working on together right up until he passed. But with the help of new technology and the work of Paul Hicks on this project, we are now ...
Angel Olsen Covers George Harrison’s ‘Beware of Darkness’
With everything that’s happened in 2020 so far, the year has definitely been a mood. And Angel Olsen adds to it with an acoustic cover of “Beware of Darkness” from George Harrison’s 1970 album, All Things Must Pass. “The original is pretty great,” she captioned the Instagram video, which also included the lyrics to the track. “I’m just messing around like a tired sad shit.” It unsurprisingly got many rave reviews, including one from Jehnny Beth of Savages. “I love the way your voice gets more assured towards the end,” Beth commented on the video. “Properly walking then. The power of music. Thank you.” Olsen just released her fifth album, Whole New Mess, on Aug. 28 via Jagjaguwar. She also played the title track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Watch Angel Olsen’s cover of Ge...
