Extra Texture (Read All About It)

Untitled

Extra Texture (Read All About It) is an album by George Harrison which was released in 1975. Following the Dark Horse debacle, Extra Texture (Read All About It) was Harrison's last album under his contract with Apple Records (and also the last studio album on Apple) and EMI, all set to embark on his own Dark Horse Records imprint, initially distributed by A&M Records.

Once Harrison allowed himself some needed time to rest following the events of 1974 and busied himself with other Dark Horse acts, he finally got around to recording his "contractual obligation" album - the bulk of which was cut at A&M Studios in Los Angeles in the summer of 1975. Among the musicians he used to record Extra Texture (Read All About It) were Jim Keltner on drums, Leon Russell on piano, and a young David Foster - then contracted with Dark Horse Records with a band called Attitudes - who provided three string arrangements and keyboards. Different bass guitarists appear on nearly every track, and include Klaus Voormann, Carl Radle, Paul Stallworth, Willie Weeks, and Harrison himself, playing synthesized Arp bass.

Specially for the album, Harrison completed "You", a song he had intended for Ronnie Spector to record, and which went no further than its backing track back in 1971. It subsequently became a Top 20 hit in the United States, and reached #38 in the United Kingdom. The follow-up single in February 1976, "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)" - a lyrical sequel to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - was the last new release on Apple Records until the label was revived in the 1990s, and also the first solo Beatles single to miss the charts. "Ooh Baby (You Know That I Love You)" was the first of two Smokey Robinson tributes Harrison would release.

Released with a thick and heavily textured orange cover (hence its title), Extra Texture (Read All About It) was better received than Dark Horse by the critics, though it was still considered slightly below par by the general public. Harrison himself would later designate the album as his worst. The album reached #8 in the US - his last Top 10 album there for twelve years - and went gold, while reaching #16 in the UK.

Points of interest: Perhaps a joke referencing the impending demise of The Beatles' Apple Records label, the Apple logo is presented on Extra Texture (Read All About It) all eaten away. In addition, Harrison is pictured on the inside jacket with the caption "OHNOTHIMAGEN" (i.e. "Oh, not him again!"); a humorous take on Harrison's dwindling popularity at this time. The album's curious title stemmed from a word game played by Harrison and several other musicians during the album's recording sessions.

Extra Texture (Read All About It) was remastered for CD release in 1992.

Track listing

Side One

All songs written and composed by George Harrison

1. "You" – 3:41
   • Backing track cut in February 1971 and intended for Ronnie Spector; finished in 1975 for this album
   • Covered by Lisa Mychols for the tribute album
2. "The Answer's At The End" – 5:32
   • Inspired by a wall caption written by Sir Frankie Crisp, the original proprietor of Friar Park, which Harrison purchased in 1970
3. "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)" – 4:11
   • A lyrical successor to Harrison's 1968 composition "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
   • A second, posthumous, release of the song was published over the Internet in 2006 as part of Dave Stewart's Platinum Weird project
4. "Ooh Baby (You Know That I Love You)" – 3:59
   • A musical tribute to Smokey Robinson
5. "World of Stone" – 4:40
6. "A Bit More of You" – 0:45
   • A 45-second reprise of "You"'s backing track

Side Two

1. "Can't Stop Thinking About You" – 4:30
2. "Tired Of Midnight Blue" – 4:51
   • Originally titled 'Midnight Blue', but changed to avoid confusion with Melissa Manchester's recent hit. It was inspired by George's feelings of frustration during his mother's long illness and subsequent death
3. "Grey Cloudy Lies" – 3:41
4. "His Name Is Legs (Ladies And Gentlemen)" – 5:46
   • Features the vocal antics of "Legs" Larry Smith, formerly a member of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

Personnel

• George Harrison - vocals, guitar, Moog synthesizer
• Jesse Ed Davis - guitar (tracks 3-7, 9)
• Chuck Findley - horn (tracks 4, 10)
• David Foster - organ, electric piano, arp (tracks 1-3, 5-7, 9, 10)
• Jim Gordon - drums (track 1)
• Nicky Hopkins - piano (tracks 6, 7)
• Jim Horn - flute, saxophone (track 1)
• Jim Keltner - drums, percussion (tracks 1-9)
• Dennis Killeen - percussion
• Norm Kinney - percussion (track 2)
• Andy Newmark - drums (track 10)
• Billy Preston - electric piano (track 10)
• Carl Radle - bass (track 1)
• Emil Richards - percussion
• Leon Russell - piano (tracks 1, 8)
• Tom Scott - horn, saxophone (tracks 4, 10)
• Legs Larry Smith - vocals (track 10)
• Paul Stallworth - bass, background vocals (tracks 2, 7, 8)
• Klaus Voormann - bass (tracks 4-7)
• Willie Weeks - bass (track 10)
• Gary Wright - organ, electric piano, arp (tracks 1-7)

Chart positions

Chart (1975)	Position	Weeks
United States Billboard 200	8	11
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart (top 20)	8	10
Japanese Oricon Weekly LP Chart (top 100)	9	12
UK Albums Chart (top 60)	16	4

Shipments and sales

Country	Organization	Certification	Shipments
United States	RIAA	Gold	500,000+

Country	Provider	Sales
Japan	Oricon	44,000+