All Things Must Pass

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This article is about the album. For the song, see All Things Must Pass (song).
All Things Must Pass
Studio album by George Harrison
Released 27 November 1970 (1970-11-27) (US)
30 November 1970 (1970-11-30) (UK)
Recorded 26 May 1970 – September 1970
Abbey Road Studios, London; Trident Studios, London
Genre Rock
Length 105:59
Label Apple
Producer George Harrison, Phil Spector
George Harrison chronology
Electronic Sound
(1969)		 All Things Must Pass
(1970)		 The Concert for Bangladesh
(1971)
Singles from All Things Must Pass
  1. "My Sweet Lord"
    Released: 23 November 1970 (US); 15 January 1971 (UK)
  2. "What Is Life"
    Released: 15 February 1971 (US)

All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison, recorded and released in 1970, the first solo work from him since the break-up of The Beatles in April that year. The original vinyl release featured two LPs of rock songs as well as Apple Jam, a third LP of informal jams.[1] All Things Must Pass was the first triple album released by a solo artist; in regards to the album's size, Harrison stated "I didn't have many tunes on Beatles records, so doing an album like All Things Must Pass was like going to the bathroom and letting it out."[2]

The album was critically acclaimed and, with long stays at #1 in both the US and the UK, commercially successful. It was certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2001.[3]

Contents

[edit] Background

Harrison had been accumulating the songs he recorded for the album as far back as 1966; both "The Art of Dying"[4] and "Isn't It a Pity"[5] date from that year. In bootlegged conversation from the Get Back sessions, Harrison revealed that John Lennon had rejected "Isn't It a Pity" three years before, and that he (Harrison) had considered offering the song to Frank Sinatra.[5] 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".[6] All three songs were attempted at some point in the sessions for All Things Must Pass, but only "I'd Have You Anytime" was included in 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",[7] 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.[8] He began writing "My Sweet Lord" while touring with Delaney & Bonnie in late 1969,[9] 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.[10]

[edit] Production

Harrison recorded the album from May to August 1970 at Abbey Road Studios, and then further recorded and mixed it 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 electronic press kit that accompanies the 30th Anniversary reissue Harrison is asked what he thinks of the album 30 years later; he replied, "...too much echo."

In late May 1970, before recording the album, Harrison sat in a studio with Spector and ran through 15 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 15 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.,[11] along with other tracks such as "Gopala Krishna" and "Dehradun" that did not make the final cut.[12] 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.[13]

Musicians involved in the recording included Eric Clapton and the other future members of Derek and the Dominoes, Klaus Voormann, future Yes drummer Alan White,[14] Ringo Starr, members of Badfinger, keyboard players Billy Preston, Gary Brooker and Gary Wright, and Pete Drake on steel guitar.[citation needed] A young, pre-Genesis Phil Collins played bongos on "Art of Dying", but was not credited on the original release (this was fixed on the 2001 remaster). Bob Dylan, a close friend of Harrison, 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 album New Morning. Alan White stated that John Lennon may have played on "If Not For You".[15] Though uncredited, Maurice Gibb was also present in the recording session having been friends with Ringo Starr, and played keyboards on "Isn't It a Pity", though there is no definitive evidence as to which version.[16] In an 18 October 2009 BBC Radio 2 interview, tape op John Leckie claimed that Richard Wright of Pink Floyd contributed organ but he receives no written credit on the album.[citation needed]

[edit] Release

The album was released on 27 November 1970 in the United States, and on 30 November 1970 in the UK.[17][18] "My Sweet Lord" was released as the first single, and was commercially successful, reaching number one on various charts around the world. 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 album. According to EMI, the album sold 18 million copies worldwide before the release of the expanded edition in 2001.[19]

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[20]
Blender 5/5 stars[21]
Robert Christgau C[22]
Rolling Stone (Positive)[14]
Rolling Stone 4.5/5 stars[23]
MusicHound 5/5 stars[24]

The album received and continues to receive critical acclaim although not universally. On release, Rolling Stone magazine deemed it "an intensely personal statement and a grandiose gesture, a triumph over artistic modesty".[14] Allmusic described it as "his best ... a very moving work";[20] Robert Christgau however, was less enthusiastic, considering the album to be "featureless" and bemoaning the "anonymity" of the vocals.[22] Most reviewers discount the third disk of jams as not being on par with the rest of the album.

In 1999 the album appeared at number 9 on The Guardian's Alternative Top 100 Albums list where the editor stated that the album was "[t]he best, mellowest and most sophisticated of the Beatles' solo albums".[25]

All Things Must Pass was originally listed as having reached number four in the 1971 UK charts; however, in 2006, the Official UK Charts company changed their records to show that it was number one for eight weeks. This was because there had been an eight week postal strike when the album had originally been on the charts, and there was a delay in getting data from record retailers.[26]

[edit] Subsequent releases

[edit] 2001

With Harrison's supervision, a remastered edition of the album was released in 2001, just months before his death. It featured renewed artwork and contained bonus tracks, including an unreleased song ("I Live For You") as well as a partially re-recorded version of "My Sweet Lord". It debuted at No. 4 in U.S. Billboard's Pop Catalog Chart, and also charted at No. 46 in Japan, No. 68 in France and the United Kingdom.[27][28][29] In 2007, it re-entered and peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Catalog chart, following release of his posthumous compilation album Let It Roll. [30]

[edit] 2010

For the 40th anniversary of All Things Must Pass, the album was re-issued in a box set of 3 vinyl LPs in November 2010. Simultaneously, a digitally-remastered version of the album was made available for download from Harrison's official website.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Original release

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "I'd Have You Anytime"   George Harrison, Bob Dylan 2:56
2. "My Sweet Lord"   Harrison 4:38
3. "Wah-Wah"   Harrison 5:35
4. "Isn't It a Pity" (Version 1) Harrison 7:08
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
5. "What Is Life"   Harrison 4:22
6. "If Not for You"   Dylan 3:29
7. "Behind That Locked Door"   Harrison 3:05
8. "Let It Down"   Harrison 4:57
9. "Run of the Mill"   Harrison 2:49
Side three
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Beware of Darkness"   Harrison 3:48
2. "Apple Scruffs"   Harrison 3:04
3. "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)"   Harrison 3:46
4. "Awaiting on You All"   Harrison 2:45
5. "All Things Must Pass"   Harrison 3:44
Side four
No. Title Writer(s) Length
6. "I Dig Love"   Harrison 4:55
7. "Art of Dying"   Harrison 3:37
8. "Isn't It a Pity" (Version 2) Harrison 4:45
9. "Hear Me Lord"   Harrison 5:46
Side five (Apple Jam)
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Out of the Blue"   Al Aronowitz, Eric Clapton, Jim Gordon, Harrison, Bobby Keys, Jim Price, Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock, Gary Wright 11:14
2. "It's Johnny's Birthday" (Based upon "Congratulations") Bill Martin, Phil Coulter; renewed lyrics by Mal Evans, Harrison, Eddie Klein 0:49
3. "Plug Me In"   Clapton, Gordon, Harrison, Dave Mason, Radle, Whitlock 3:18
Side six (Apple Jam)
No. Title Writer(s) Length
4. "I Remember Jeep"   Ginger Baker, Clapton, Harrison, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann 8:07
5. "Thanks for the Pepperoni"   Clapton, Gordon, Harrison, Mason, Radle, Whitlock 5:31

[edit] 2001 remaster

[edit] Disc one

Track 1-9 as per Side-one and Side-two of original issue.

Additional tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
10. "I Live for You" (New backing vocals and instrumentation from George and his son Dhani in 2000, alongside steel guitar played by Pete Drake in 1970) Harrison 3:35
11. "Beware of Darkness" (An acoustic run-through of the song recorded on 27 May 1970) Harrison 3:19
12. "Let It Down" (An acoustic run-through of the song recorded on 27 May 1970, with overdubbing added in 2000) Harrison 3:54
13. "What Is Life" (An early mix of the song's backing track on 9 August 1970 with piccolo trumpet and oboe) Harrison 4:27
14. "My Sweet Lord (2000)" (A re-working of the original recording with new overdubs in 2000, including new lead and backing vocals from George and Sam Brown) Harrison 4:57

[edit] Disc two

Track 1-9 as per Side-three and Side-four of original issue.

Apple Jam
No. Title Writer(s) Length
10. "It's Johnny's Birthday" (Based upon "Congratulations") Martin, Coulter; renewed lyrics by Evans, Harrison, Klein 0:49
11. "Plug Me In"   Clapton, Gordon, Harrison, Mason, Radle, Whitlock 3:18
12. "I Remember Jeep"   Baker, Clapton, Harrison, Preston, Voormann 8:07
13. "Thanks for the Pepperoni"   Clapton, Gordon, Harrison, Mason, Radle, Whitlock 5:31
14. "Out of the Blue"   Aronowitz, Clapton, Gordon, Harrison, Keys, Price, Radle, Whitlock, Wright 11:16

[edit] Personnel

The following musicians are credited on the 2001 release:

Engineers:

[edit] Charts

[edit] Chart positions

Chart Position
Australian Kent Music Report Chart[33] 1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[34] 1
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[35] 1
Italian Albums Chart[36] 2
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[37] 4
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[38] 1
UK Albums Chart [29] 1
U.S. Billboard 200 [39] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart [40] 10

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (1971) Position
Australian Albums Chart[33] 5
Italian Albums Chart[36] 18
U.S. Billboard Year-End[41] 18

[edit] Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[42] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[43] 6× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

[edit] References

  1. ^ "George Harrison". Starling.rinet.ru. 2001-11-30. http://starling.rinet.ru/music/harrison.htm#things. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  2. ^ "George Harrison - In His Own Words". Superseventies.com. http://www.superseventies.com/ssgeorgeharrison.html. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  3. ^ "RIAA.com". RIAA.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=All%20Things%20Must%20Pass&artist=&perPage=25. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  4. ^ Leng, Simon (2003). The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps. London: Firefly Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 0-946719-50-0. 
  5. ^ a b Sulpy, Doug; and Schweighardt, Ray (1997). Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of The Beatles' Let It Be Disaster. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 269. ISBN 0-312-19981-3. 
  6. ^ Leng, Simon. 2003. The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps. p. 32.
  7. ^ Unterberger, Richie (2006). The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 231–232. ISBN 0-87930-892-3. 
  8. ^ Leng, Simon. 2003. The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps. p. 60.
  9. ^ Leng, Simon. 2003. The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps. p. 45.
  10. ^ Leng, Simon. 2003. The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps. p. 50.
  11. ^ Unterberger, Richie. 2006. The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film. p. 286-288
  12. ^ The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Simon Leng, p. 54, SAF Publishing Ltd, 2002, ISBN 978-0-946719-50-1
  13. ^ George Harrison - The Making Of All Things Must Pass at Discogs
  14. ^ a b c Gerson, Ben (January 21, 1971). "George Harrison All Things Must Pass > Album Review". Rolling Stone (74). Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/all-things-must-pass-19710121. Retrieved 9 November 2009. 
  15. ^ Tiano, Mike. "Alan White & The Beatles". Notes From The Edge. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071015072854/http://nfte.org/interviews/AW_Lennon.html. Retrieved 4 December 2007. 
  16. ^ "Gibb Songs : 1970". Columbia.edu. http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/70.html. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  17. ^ Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961−1975, Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976), p. 94.
  18. ^ Keith Badham, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970−2001, Omnibus Press (London, 2002), p. 16.
  19. ^ "Exclusive: George Harrison Talks Catalog Reissues". billboard.com. Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/news/exclusive-george-harrison-talks-catalog-410439.story. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  20. ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. All Things Must Pass at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 April 2006.
  21. ^ link[dead link]
  22. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "George Harrison > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1983&name=George+Harrison. Retrieved 30 April 2007. 
  23. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (October 12, 2000). "George Harrison: The Rolling Stone Hall of Fame All Things Must Pass > Album Review". Rolling Stone (851): p. 94. Archived from the original on 14 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060814002619/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/georgeharrison/albums/album/205260/review/6067390/all_things_must_pass. Retrieved 14 June 2006. 
  24. ^ Gary Graff & Daniel Durcholz, MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999), p. 329.
  25. ^ Cox, Tom (29 September 1999). "The Alternative Top 100 Albums". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/albums/Story/0,,209103,00.html. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
  26. ^ "Number one for Harrison at last". icLiverpool. http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=17476343&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=number-one-for-harrison-at-last-name_page.html. Retrieved 4 December 2007. 
  27. ^ "Catalog Albums - Billboard.com". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/charts/catalog-albums?chartDate=2001-02-10. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  28. ^ ジョージ・ハリスン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of All Things Must Pass: New Century Edition by George Harrison" (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/410161/1/ ジョージ・ハリスン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  29. ^ a b "Chart Stats - George Harrison - All Things Must Pass". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=37052. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  30. ^ "All Things Must Pass: 30th Anniversary Edition - George Harrison". billboard.com. Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/album/george-harrison/all-things-must-pass/458578. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  31. ^ a b "discogs credits". Discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/George-Harrison-All-Things-Must-Pass/release/1485752. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  32. ^ "allmusic credits". Allmusic.com. 1970-11-27. http://www.allmusic.com/album/all-things-must-pass-r8992/credits. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  33. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. 
  34. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 14, No. 19, December 26 1970". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3735&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  35. ^ "dutchcharts.nl George Harrison - All Things Must Pass" (in Dutch). Hung Medien, dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=All+Things+Must+Pass&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  36. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1971" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1971.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  37. ^ a-ビートルズ "- Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Beatles" (in Japanese). 2007-12-30. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html a-ビートルズ. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
  38. ^ "norwegiancharts.com George Harrison - All Things Must Pass". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=All+Things+Must+Pass&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  39. ^ "allmusic ((( All Things Must Pass > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r8992/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  40. ^ "Album Search: George Harrison" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/search.asp?search=george+harrison&x=0&y=0&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  41. ^ "1971 Year-end Albums - The Billboard Pop Albums". http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=SQ8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA15&lpg=RA1-PA15&dq=billboard+1971+18+must+pass&source=bl&ots=2qub1sJOki&sig=J5Fifpzh1RzguF3RzjxwCZ2Hkbw&hl=ja&ei=4suJTvrtBe_nmAWG8bUB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  42. ^ "Canadian album certifications – George Harrison – All Things Must Pass". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=All+Things+Must+Pass&sa=George+Harrison&smt=0. 
  43. ^ "American album certifications – George Harrison – All Things Must Pass". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22All+Things+Must+Pass%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

[edit] External links

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