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103. ‘All Things Must Pass’ - George Harrison (1970)
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In the aftermath of The Beatles' earth-shattering split, George Harrison stepped into his own spotlight with the monumental 'All Things Must Pass'. Though initially conceived with perhaps less fanfare than his former band's releases, this ambitious triple LP would unexpectedly solidify Harrison's status as a formidable solo artist. It magnificently showcases his long-gestating songwriting prowess, exploring spiritual themes and personal reflections. Despite its epic scale, the iconic "Wall of Sound" production by Phil Spector, and perhaps some initial underestimation, 'All Things Must Pass' has become an undeniable classic of the early 1970s and a testament to George Harrison's unique and enduring musical vision.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to the Long Live Rock and Roll podcast. Having been long in the creative shadows of Paul and John, George Harrison unleashed All Things Must Pass onto to the world with little expectation of its impact.
00:00:13
Speaker
What began as a vast collection of penned up songs blossomed into a beautiful triple album unexpectedly revealing Harrison's profound songwriting talent. Despite its length Phil Spector's dense production and Harrison's own relatively low profile at the time, All Things Must Pass stands as a monumental and deeply cherished album in the post-Beetles landscape.
00:00:35
Speaker
Joining me to discuss this album is my co-host, Mr. Felipe Ameren. How you doing, bro? Doing really well, man. And you? Cool, man. Yeah, all good here. All good here. um I must admit, I've been a bit nervous about this episode for a while.
00:00:48
Speaker
You and me, we can talk about music all day long um and it's that's not the hard part. The hard part is tackling such a monumental album And isn't it rock music's first ever triple album as well? So write not only is it one of the greatest albums ever, not only is it recorded by a Beatle, not only is it like, you know, one of these landmark peaceful albums, but it's a triple bloody album. It's too much, isn't it? How do we navigate? There's no way we can we can scratch the surface of this album. with I imagine it if this is episode 103, maybe episode 203, we'll sort of come back and revisit it and talk about all the stuff we didn't do.
00:01:26
Speaker
But anyway, um let's just, I'll run you through as normal, a few little ah background details of the album. But before I get them up, I will give you guys the the requested terms and conditions, please, which is ah if you're listening to us on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon, it would do us a massive favour if you could scroll down, hit the five stars, write us a little line about what you think of us as a podcast.
00:01:46
Speaker
And what that does is it puts us further up the charts so we'd be seen by more people. And if you're watching on YouTube, make sure to like and subscribe to stay up to date with our content. So, All Things Must Pass by George Harrison, released on the 27th of November 1970.
00:02:01
Speaker
Apart from one song, the rest of the album was recorded between May and October of 1970 at the EMI, Trident and Apple Studios in London. It is generally a rock album. Some may consider there to be some folk rock in there.
00:02:14
Speaker
It lasts 106 minutes, which is equivalent to 1 hour 46 minutes. And it was released on the Apple label and produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector.
00:02:25
Speaker
So first, you want to talk about some background, yeah? Yeah, so it's impossible not to mention the Beatles' breakup as, um like, not an inspiration for the album, but part of what generated the album. but Yeah, maybe a reason for the album. Basically, a lot of those songs were written during his time with the Beatles.
00:02:46
Speaker
And I've seen an interview with with George where he goes on about... having like a quota of songs per album and he's joking about it's like you know what i wanted to release a lot of songs i was writing a lot of songs but they would let me put one or two songs per album so he said okay maybe we'll take another like 100 albums for me to actually put all my music out there. yeah So I need to do my own thing.
00:03:10
Speaker
So as soon as the Beatles decided to officially break up, he he started working relentlessly on this album and doing backing tracks and and guide tracks so and getting the musicians together.
00:03:22
Speaker
And then um the funny thing is he went to record Instant Karma with John Lennon, ah so like as ah to collaborate with John on that track. And Phil Spector was producing it, apparently. and then And then basically, according to George, he said, well, Phil needed a job.
00:03:39
Speaker
I needed the producer, whatever. So ah so he called him again. So he knew him from his work with the Beatles previously, and he was happy to have him. um I pause you there for two seconds just to tell the listeners that any song we mention in the episode is in a dedicated episode playlist that you'll see down in the description in the show notes.
00:03:57
Speaker
so we're doing all things must pass the whole album will be there in spotify playlist and anything else we mentioned including which i'm just about to put in now instant karma by john lennon because felipe mentioned this yeah please carry on so so um so basically there's a so phil spectre started listening to to the demos and he was like there's so much in here man there's so many songs it never ends like as endless list of amazing songs and he just And I said, George, you've got to do this. You've got to you start recording and and and and inviting the musicians and start producing it.
00:04:31
Speaker
and And George co-produced the album with Phil Spector. um Well, there's a couple of things about production he he disliked. and and both But anyway, the yeah the idea was like he had so many songs, he had so much to say.
00:04:47
Speaker
And the Beatles wouldn't allow him to do so, which is a shame when you think about it When you think that all things must pass, the song should have been a Beatles song. you Imagine how lovely to fli it would have been. And it's much better than everything else in in the last Beatles album.
00:05:01
Speaker
How... um Yeah, and how lovely would it have been hearing some of these songs done by but sung by Paul, sung by John. yeah we I mean, we're treated to some of Ringo's drumming. But but let le let's talk about, you know, in general, um his post-Beatles identity, because this album really, really shaped him and showed to the world, I'm more than just a rhythm guitarist. Oh, I suppose he was lead as well, wasn't he?
00:05:25
Speaker
I'm more than just a guitarist of the Beatles. And being in the shadow of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, two of the greatest songwriters arguably ever to have existed. You know, people put them in the same breath as, you know, in terms of composers and melodies like Beethoven. You know, I was reading somewhere that there's ah there's a list somewhere of who wrote the most melodies in the world. And you've got Schuber, Franz Schuber, the classical composer up at top.
00:05:51
Speaker
I'm going to make this up, but someone like Frank Zappa, you know, a jazz composer, second. And then John Lennon and Paul McCartney in third, because they were just a powerhouse of writing good music, music that worked they worked together. And in the last few albums, you really, or the last two albums, I'd say,
00:06:09
Speaker
you really start to hear where George Harrison fits into it. And as the Beatles sound evolves and they become a little bit more progressive, a little bit more unorthodox, trying different things out. It's George's songs that make those albums from a nine out of 10 to a 10 out of 10. I'm thinking songs like Something, Mean Mine.
00:06:28
Speaker
yeah Those songs are just, for me, the difference in those last few albums from being incredible albums to almost perfect albums. Well, you know, i've ah I think Abby Rhodes one of my favorite all-time albums. I've listened to a million times since I was a kid. And and it's at some point in time, because he I don't know about you, but i keep changing which which ones are my favorite songs. And I didn't know anything about who was writing, who was singing. I couldn't identify the voices. didn't know who was George, who was Paul, whatever.
00:06:58
Speaker
So I was listening to the to the album and I said, oh, you know what? Here comes the sun and something are the two most beautiful songs in the album. And then in the future, I came to realize, oh, those are both George Harrison's.
00:07:09
Speaker
And maybe not maybe not the best songs in the album, but when I say the most beautiful songs, yes, they are. you know they they have that like ah the they They have that kindness and that like peacefulness yeah pissfulness yeah and and love in them.
00:07:26
Speaker
And it just makes you appreciate life in a way. So it's almost like all all his songs are about like observing reality, and thinking about how how amazing it is to be alive.
00:07:38
Speaker
I think there's a lot of this in his music. Yeah, and especially in this album, it comes through. yeah But he was here. So basically, he wanted to do all those things with the Beatles, and it's such a, you know, isn't it a pity?
00:07:49
Speaker
Very good, very good. No, I completely agree with you, man. And I think to do it so soon after the Beatles broke up, it's just it's almost obvious that he was just...
00:08:03
Speaker
desperate, desperate to to come out and be like, world, listen to my music. And it's hard, man, because if the Beatles were crap, you'd kind of be like, well, you know, yeah I can understand why George released a triple album, but yeah because John and Paul was so good, you know, did did you, were we together when we watched that?
00:08:22
Speaker
um Oh shit, what's it called? The the documentary that Peter Jackson did um Oh, is it? um It was the recording. Yeah, Get Back. No, I never watched the whole thing. No, I started fun time to watch the whole It was pretty good. But you can see George's frustration throughout that whole process. that Not really, know, Ringo's Ringo, right? Ringo will just sit and plod along in the background and do what he needs to do.
00:08:49
Speaker
But George became a creative force in the Beatles, as we just discussed, through the songs that he gave to the last couple of albums. And you can hear his frustration in Get Back when he's not being listened to. His ideas are not being... ah they're They're being heard, but John's like, well, it's my song. And Paul's like, oh, well, I want it to go like this.
00:09:07
Speaker
And with two powerhouses like John and Paul, who is George Harrison? to be like, actually, this is wrong. And after this album, you can't I feel like if John and Paul were up here with their songwriting, at the end of the Beatles, maybe George is here, but yeah all things must pass. Bring George up to the level of them. Don't you think?
00:09:25
Speaker
Well, the thing is, yeah the the ah the the few songs that the Beatles allowed him to put in the albums are all great. Yeah. Yeah. All of them. Yeah. And so it's like real it makes you think maybe there's there's not too many George Harrison songs because he only wrote those ones. Yeah. Or oh because those are the only good ones.
00:09:42
Speaker
i don't know. um This is something I couldn't quite confirm. But, you know, um one of the songs in All Things Must Pass, I just want to get this right, because i don't I'm not quite sure if the expression means what I think it is. ah Run Off the Mill.
00:09:57
Speaker
okay Well, you're the native speaker here. Do you know what that means? yeah It means normal. um It means kind of mediocre, isn't Kind of like average or something like If I Google what does run of the mill mean, it means lacking unusual or special aspects.
00:10:11
Speaker
Ordinary. So apparently that's something he heard from Paul about his songs. About one of his songs. So that's why he wrote the song. So that's like, you know, it's like Paul saying to him, you know, what you do is very average.
00:10:26
Speaker
The thing is, we were not there. I wasn't there in and in the in room, but I don't think George would just make this up. So I think the song is about how how he felt about the other Beatles not thinking he was...
00:10:40
Speaker
up to the standards of the band as a songwriter. I don't think he had... so the I must say this, Ringo is such like a cool character and so one of the best guys in the music industry. Because yeah when you think about it, he's the only one who collaborated with all the other Beatles after the breakup.
00:10:58
Speaker
yeah Because no one had actual issues with him. So apart from Ringo, I think no one really appreciated George and the band, not as much as he deserved to be appreciated. but But it's part of his personality to not fight back, I think.
00:11:11
Speaker
yeah And when you think about it, ah when they first started, they all had nicknames. So that was the way the media ah wanted to sell them. And he was the quiet beetle. Right.
00:11:23
Speaker
So that really sums up what he was. So he was there was a lot going on in his mind and his soul, but he wouldn't put it out. Yeah, agreed.
00:11:33
Speaker
um i mean, just to finish off this section that we've been doing by the artistic achievement. I mean, we spoke about, you know, the unreleased songs, you know, it is a pity, as you said, that isn't it a pity was rejected by them and all things must pass.
00:11:46
Speaker
God, I listened to the song, All Things Must Pass. And you think, my God, how how good would it have been? And this is not taking away from what George released, because George's song is 10 out of 10 song on its own.
00:11:58
Speaker
But just imagine. It's weird what saying, because I'm saying if the Beatles did it would be better. And I'm not saying that, but imagine it could be. Imagine that the final song on the final album of the Beatles is All Things Must Pass with John, George and Paul all singing it, harmonies, and maybe a great middle eight written by Paul or something. Do you know what I mean? It would great way just to say goodbye. That's great farewell. All Things Must Pass, including the band. I get goosebumps thinking about what we could have had. But, you know, in the end, things happen the way they happen.
00:12:31
Speaker
And we're lucky enough to get the first ever triple studio album by a solo artist, which in itself is such an ambitious achievement um to have that level of creative output where, God, it's like...
00:12:47
Speaker
You sit there and you think, you know, we've been in recording sessions where we've had 15 songs to go into a studio with and we'd be like, we'd have to talk to the artist and be like, right, well, we could only really fit 10 on the vinyl. What are getting rid of? What are we going to cut down? What doesn't go in? George was like, fuck that. We just put them all out release all of it. But there's not, i mean, there are some songs far better than others, but I'd still say the worst song on this album is a 7 out of 10.
00:13:11
Speaker
They're all of such good quality. Well, there's something about it, though. I believe He's kind of like ah breaking barriers here when it comes to to song promotion and and like releasing.
00:13:26
Speaker
Think about the whole marketing behind a record label. You know, you got enough songs for three albums. Well, so we can release one every six months or one a year. and and and producer and release the singles, in know the all do all that marketing strategy. yeah And he wasn't into that kind of kind of stuff. He was like, I'm writing songs, I'm recording songs. When I think I'm done, I'm going to release them.
00:13:47
Speaker
and it he So he wasn't bothered about um how many songs or if it's going to be a double, triple album. um He just wanted to put those songs out. that's for me, that's like... a true artist.
00:13:59
Speaker
ah like I was just want to write stuff, release stuff, um and I want people to listen to what I have to say. There's nothing about marketing or, oh, you know, we need to promote this in a certain way, or we need only this certain amount of songs for an album. We can't have instrumental tracks in the album.
00:14:15
Speaker
There's no criteria. I think the only criteria is if I think it's good, I'm going to do it. Spot on, bro, yeah. So what you said about the artist part, where he's just, that is the sign that this poor artist has been left, you know, with just a plethora of songs to get out.
00:14:31
Speaker
Yeah, and apparently the the he decided to, to like, um finish and release the album when the ah when the accountant from Apple Corps came to him and said, look, we need...
00:14:42
Speaker
We need the deadline for the, we need to know when you're going to finish this. And he was like, right, ah yeah, let's do it. Let's finish. Let's release whatever I've got and ah up to this point. So basically he released everything he had all at once.
00:14:56
Speaker
Amazing, amazing. Well, let's dig into the album and talk about the music and the lyrics behind it. I mean, the first thing, there's three things we're going to talk about in general in this section. um And the first one I want to talk about is the production on it, because the production is just sublime. And we heard it, you know, in the flo final few Beatles albums. They have this fantastic way of...
00:15:19
Speaker
creating such a thick, densely layered sound where the guitars and the bass and the drums matter as much as the orchestration. And we have to thank George Martin for that. You know, he was a fantastic producer in that sense.
00:15:30
Speaker
But this is not the Beatles. This is George Harrison with a new concept, a new idea and a new theme to the album. We were then treated to Phil Spector, Phil Spector's production. And as as we know, his famous wall of sound production techniques.
00:15:42
Speaker
And I think a perfect example for me is the song Wawa, where you just have this fantastic, all these layers of guitars the horns, the percussion, just create this this huge landscape. And it's almost, almost overwhelming when you hear how many is just instruments are going on everywhere. It's on the edge, isn't it? Like, you're like, oh, is this too much? No. But it's just yeah reined in perfectly. It's so melodic, that's why. Yeah.
00:16:09
Speaker
um The other songs I've got, you know, What Is Life, just so rich, the instrumentation, the upbeat arrangements. It's just this has this full production style. And I think when you talk about, you know, we said all things must pass.
00:16:21
Speaker
The orchestration on it, man, the mixing, the trumpets at the very end, it all just has this level of production that. the the The production almost transcends. You listen to it and you think, how can someone produce something this well? Because there is so much going on. As I said, as you said before, it's almost overwhelming, but it's not.
00:16:43
Speaker
What do you think about it? Well, I think there's too many people involved. You know, the amount of musicians that play on every track, it's a lot. So I think maybe, although some people might criticize Phil Spector's style, ah he found a way to make every...
00:17:00
Speaker
instrument and in the track being heard so you can actually hear every detail so that's why it's a bit overwhelming it's all in there it's kind of everything is in your face ah but in a way it doesn't it it doesn't sound louder than the vocals and it's just just because ah the lyrics are so important i think the lyrics are like so important for george harrison that if the instrumental parts were just too powerful then it would take away from from uh the quality of the melodies and lyrics there's something about maybe the the um um that sort of big production style it's a huge contrast with the simplicity of the chords and melodies and lyrics there's something i noticed by reading the lyrics in the album it's like they're all really short
00:17:52
Speaker
even when the song is four or five minutes long, there's like three verses. Yeah. So, and I think the song that some sums all of it up is is My Sweet Lord, because I watched an interview with him explaining the song, and he said it was intended to be like a mantra.
00:18:09
Speaker
So it's, and he says the words repetition and simplicity. And I think like, yeah, that song's got nothing in terms of lyrics. It's like three lines.
00:18:21
Speaker
But you don't even notice, you don't realize until you get to the end of it. If you actually don't have the lyrics in front of you, every time we do these episodes, I have the lyrics on the screen yeah and I follow them when I'm listening. So I do one listen to the album ah without paying attention to the lyrics and I do another one just paying attention to the lyrics.
00:18:38
Speaker
And every time I see it, it's like, every so Every time I looked into any lyrics from this album, it was like, they're so short. There's nothing there. But at the same time, there's everything. I think there's something about his songwriting style, something about the lyrics. It's like there's no interpretation needed.
00:18:55
Speaker
No, it's just there, isn't it? He's telling you this about it. Yeah. So when he's talking about ah you know Bad feelings he had about his friends or his bandmates, you can you can you can hear it. It's all there. like Isn't it a pity?
00:19:10
Speaker
So that phrase, it's there. you know When he wants to say that human beings don't treat themselves or and don't treat ah each other nicely, he just says with those words. When he wants to say he loves someone, he just says it with those words. yeah So it's like...
00:19:25
Speaker
it it's it's I love that you know in rock music you have a lot of poetry and it's like you know you need to dig into the lyrics and try to find the meaning. On the other hand, with with George, you have the beauty of simplicity.
00:19:39
Speaker
This is what I want to say. like as in a mantra i'm going to repeat it until you get it it's not it's not designed to be hard to understand yeah and i love that and he always he always talks about he always talked about his music as being simple as not being like oh he never referred to himself as a composer or as anyone who's like he used to say like you know uh when you say i watched an interview with him and the guy say when you say you write music do you write the notes on a paper so no no i don't know how to write music i don't know music theory but I don't think I'm a, ah so like a composer, like a classical musician.
00:20:14
Speaker
What I do, it's not even music. It's just a simple thing that I do. You know, it's like he he would play himself down in that sense, but like, it's true. Like it's very, very simple. yes And that's the beauty of it.
00:20:27
Speaker
That's great point. Let's stick with the lyrics themes then. um And I think what one of the obvious um departures and statements of this album is his incorporation of philosophy and spirituality, especially, you know, he took great interest in Hinduism and Eastern spirituality.
00:20:45
Speaker
And he they did he did this earlier in 64, I think it was with the Revolver album, because there's quite a bit sitar on that album. And I think they'd gone over, did they tour India or something? And he went and he he gained a massive interest in that.
00:20:58
Speaker
And, you know, you've got songs like, you know, um awaiting on you all isn't that just like what a great song but it's so high energy it's like a gospel rock track isn't it you kind of hear this religious undertones in there and it's got direct references to like spiritual practice cleansing power of chanting and faith and like you said mantras um another one criticizes the pope on that one so i did the very well and then i go on to explain that one no no it's interesting because it yeah he he he talks about uh you know um spirituality as as kind of in my view of that is like he's talking about finding that spirituality inside of yourself yes it's not about organized religion he's not necessarily uh saying that you know no one should follow a religion but it's like he's talking about know finding uh your own spirituality and then
00:21:54
Speaker
um and that there's something about the Pope at the end. He says he owns 50% of general mortars. I think it's it's ah it's a take on him about, you know you know, you're talking about not being materialistic, but you have loads of possessions. Well, George Harrison himself had loads of possessions. so yeah ah But the the the the point for me is he literally says no temples, no churches.
00:22:17
Speaker
You don't need those things. yeah ah I'd like to think that he's not saying it's bad for you if you go to those places. I like to think like that in the end of the day, you're going to find your spirituality. you're going to find your true self yeah within yourself.
00:22:33
Speaker
You don't need external influences for that. And I think um the whole album is about him finding himself in a way. yeah but that's why he's talking about the main themes for him like the the the band's breakup is in in loads of lyrics uh his love for the human race and his love for specific people as well and and and his relationship with himself i think the album is a lot that's the spiritual side of the album that is i i must say the songs that clearly about that um let me run through the whole list yeah um
00:23:07
Speaker
because I can see like two or three different themes in the lyrics so i would say well clearly my sweet lord that that goes without saying ah that's spiritual and then you have um the other one would be all things must pass a the art of dying art of dying is one of my absolute favorites of this album and of course hear me lord And I'd add to that. Awaiting on You All. Awaiting on You All. Yeah, yeah.
00:23:37
Speaker
um I agree with everything you said, man. Sorry, Beware of Darkness. That's another one. See, it's like half of the album. Yeah. yeah All Things Must Pass is nice because it's not an out-and-out religious song, is it, or spiritual. It's just talking about nature and impermanence and like you know just just how life...
00:23:56
Speaker
I feel like all these songs, whether they're slightly leaning a bit more towards religion or more towards the the impermanence and cyclical nature of life, is it that he's just looking at life overview and saying, well, what's guiding my journey? What am I doing towards life? What do I believe in?
00:24:12
Speaker
What is the earth telling me? And I think all things must pass is a nice or more natural side, whereas Hear Me Lord is and My Sweet Lord is a bit more on the religious side. um I mean, hear me, Lord, that's just a prayer.
00:24:26
Speaker
It's like he's written a prayer. The thing is, like if you so you got into ah so some meditation practices and and praying, and then you're recording an album.
00:24:37
Speaker
A lot of people would say, I'm not going to put this in the album because that's going to kind of segregate my fans who are not into the religious stuff. yeah Well, that's you. That's who you are. Why wouldn't you put in the album? exactly So I think there was a ah little bit of ah a uncertainty from from the label ah ah in it.
00:24:55
Speaker
in regards to my sweet lord being so explicitly religious yeah that they did so well this is this like going to clash with the gospel market is this like not going to be seen as a as a as ah a good song because it's too religious or is it going to be like ah sound is going to sound fake or whatever, or like religious people going to get upset and non-religious people will get upset as well. So it's that kind of I think people were not really um comfortable with that song, but he didn't care. Right. So this is me. This is how I think this, this is what I feel.
00:25:30
Speaker
And the idea of the mantra is If you think about the commercial side of music, writing as a mantra is quite clever, because if you don't get the lyrics first time around, they're going to come again and again and again and again.
00:25:42
Speaker
yeah And then you end up singing. And that's like yeah it's it's it's a great formula to get ah people singing along. Like if you you listen to the album at home, you go like catch a bus to go to work, whatever. And then and you start listening.
00:25:56
Speaker
to that thing in your head because because it's so repetitive it's going to be stuck in your head forever so I think commercial is a great idea I don't think he was thinking of that but it's just it's another byproduct of the album yeah yeah yeah it is um anything else say on lyrics ah well ah just what I think is the themes I can see in the album apart from the the the religious spiritual side of it is love And on the Beatles breakup, I think it's clear, it might be about relationships in general, but when you think about the song Wah Wah, there's a line for me, that's him talking to Paul, maybe John, but most likely Paul.
00:26:36
Speaker
You made me such a big star, being there at the right time, cheaper than a dime. so uh so he basically saying like kind of being thankful in a way that the beatles made him the superstar he became yeah but on the way you know uh criticizing them for for not giving him enough room uh isn't it ah a pity is another one about that and i would say that uh run of the mill we talked about that so that's so all those songs um for me him expressing how much
00:27:11
Speaker
know how he felt about not being heard in the band. And I think it's it's quite a big deal for him because there's a lot of songs about that. And when it comes to the love songs, I just want to mention my favorite, which is What Is Life?
00:27:25
Speaker
Because that song, um that's Motown to me. so But yeah maybe that's a... That's part of another topic. but Well, that's where we are headed right now, which is to the the the fusion of genres in this album, because it has a cohesive sound for it, doesn't it? Undoubtedly.
00:27:44
Speaker
But you also have this fantastic blend. You've got rock, folk, gospel, singing, country music here and there. You've got the Indian influences as well. And i mean, i'm just going to talk about a few songs right here. this So my sweet Lord, you've got that beautiful gospel style call and response vocals, but with pretty heavy rock instrumentation.
00:28:04
Speaker
And then the Indian spiritual mantras, the Harry Krishna, the Charm and stuff, um which really creates this. It's almost like a unique transcendent sound because you're hearing rock music here.
00:28:17
Speaker
you've got the the gospel call and response vocals, but then in your head, you're hearing like this call to prayer, call to religion. And it's just unusual. I remember hearing this for the first time a good few years ago and was sat there going, this is unusual. Like I don't, I'm not, I'm not, I don't think I've ever heard anything like this before.
00:28:33
Speaker
And I don't know I've ever heard anything like it again. um Behind That Locked Door. Now, it's not one of the most spoken about songs of this album, but it really does have that country inspiration with it. You know, the ballad, the pellets. the and Apparently he wrote that one for Bob Dylan, sir.
00:28:49
Speaker
Is that the one? Okay. Well, maybe that's why it's country inspired. You know, you've got the pedal steel guitar, um And it just really showed, I thought this was the one that showed that George Harrison had this ability to just weave a variety of different styles into his own musical voice, because it's still a George Harrison song. It's not so different that it doesn't fit the album.
00:29:08
Speaker
It's still good, but it just has different quality it. But it's like folk and country, you know, and for that, it's important to mention that Pete Drake is on Pedal Steel Guitar on that song. He's a Nashville musician.
00:29:19
Speaker
right and it's like so he wanted to sound really country in a way so you don't bring a pedal steel player yeah exactly that's a such it's one of my favorite instruments i love the sound of it and it's it's it has that unique presence in a song every time you have a pedal steel guitar so because george does a lot of this light guitar so he's basically playing the normal guitar with his light uh but then in this case you have a pedal steel guitar so that's a If you guys are not familiar with the instrument, you know ah look it up. It's it's phenomenal instrument and has a really particular sound yeah and he is really like related to American ah country music. So I think it's important to bring that vibe. As soon as you hear a Pedal Steel, you think country, don't you? Yeah, as exactly. The song Let It Down as well. Really these soft,
00:30:06
Speaker
intimate verses with these kind of explosive, more heavy rock choruses, which just, you know, again, dynamics in this album, such a big part because you sat there and you need you need low dynamics in songs like, you know, My Sweet Lord.
00:30:21
Speaker
But then when the dynamics are brought up for songs like Wawa, it just shows you that, you know, this album is not ah a monotone journey. It's not all peace and Hare Krishna and religion. There are ups and downs in terms of dynamics and as well as the lyrics.
00:30:35
Speaker
Well, he's really happy with religion, criticising others for religion, really happy that Paul and the Beatles gave him his fame, upset that they didn't take his songs. You know, it's a massive journey. um And the other final one i wanted to mention is Apple Scruffs, which really is just Bob Dylan-esque.
00:30:50
Speaker
Just the country acoustic guitar, very simple, very folky. And when you compare it to some of the songs that have this such rich layer of instrumentation, Apple Scruffs is nice and back. Do you know who are the Apple Scruffs? No.
00:31:02
Speaker
those ah words That's the way they call the fans that would stay ah outside the the Apple Corps' building. ah just waiting for the Beatles to like get in and or out of the beat the building. like they they don Literally the fans that were there all day, yeah not only outside Apple's building, but like Abbey Road Studios, everywhere they used to go. So that's like a way of him to say thank you. And he invited some of those fans to get into...
00:31:29
Speaker
ah the studio to listen to the final mix of that song so wow oh nice a man of the people is george's yeah um cool i mean that's all i've got in terms of the music and lyric side of it did you have anything else or should we move on to the next part well uh let me see man got so many notes you know and know it never ends we're trying to get for for viewers and listeners we're trying to get through this we might be a bit quick because we want to keep it to an hour you know we've heard your feedback we know that anything over an hour becomes a bit of a You know, you might have to listen to it over two days, over two journeys to work. So we're trying to keep it under our our normal hour length.
00:32:00
Speaker
But at the same time, there's so much to get in. So forgive us if we're moving quickly. but We're just trying to fit in all the points. OK, I know one thing I need to say. So the the the influence of Bob Dylan is is yes it's remarkable in a way. Because I'd have you any time, the first song.
00:32:15
Speaker
let me Let me segue into our next section, which will be collaborations. So there you go. So go on, you kick us off. Right. So, then yeah. So ah first collaboration in the album is I'd Have You Anytime written with Bob Dylan.
00:32:30
Speaker
so It's a you know typical Bob Dylan kind of song. and so Sorry, isn't that also a statement? Starting your album with a co-written song. Yeah. Again, just another example someone saying, I just want you to hear my music. I don't care if it's been co-written. I just you to hear it.
00:32:45
Speaker
Yeah, and it's not like ah ah because i'm not I'm no longer a member of a band, it doesn't mean I don't collaborate with people. does it mean so It's not entirely about himself. The collaborations are like a huge part of the album.
00:32:58
Speaker
yeah And when you said like, well, maybe if this song was recorded by the Beatles, you know, I'm glad they were not recorded by the Beatles because he i managed to bring such an amazing group of musicians that brought those songs to life in a way that I think no one else could have done it, not even the Beatles.
00:33:14
Speaker
We'll let's go through them in a second. be yeah karing will yeah so So I'd Have Any Time is a song written with Bob Dylan. There's a Bob Dylan song as well in the album, isn't it? um If Not For You, yeah i think that's that's actually Bob Dylan. I might be wrong.
00:33:29
Speaker
And behind that locked door is a message to Bob Dylan. mate ah George says it's like um acknowledging Bob Dylan's shyness. And it's just saying like, you know, because I think at some point Dylan wasn't self-confident enough to perform live and and didn't believe people would like what he was doing.
00:33:48
Speaker
So that's a message to him. You know, we've just talked about the song, but it's it's a message to Bob Dylan. So it's interesting to have that. But now collaborations, right? Who you want to talk about? Because we've got Ringo, we've got Alan White, we've got ah Peter Frampton, we've got Clapton, everyone is in there.
00:34:04
Speaker
Yeah, let's start with Clapton. I mean, he's again, and this is another thing, another thing I wanted to say about this. I'll say a bit more in my monologue at the end, but A,
00:34:15
Speaker
to have people of this level and magnitude want to be on your album. But, you know, we know Clapton is an admirer of other musicians. He he was so desperate to be in the band, Eric Clapton. He was so desperate to play with... band? The band. The band is called The Band. We make the joke every time, but in case you didn't know, there the band is called The Band.
00:34:34
Speaker
Clapton was desperate to be with them. And, you know, just to see all these people turn up and do their part for George, again, it's a testament to George. But... there's None of the songs, can't remember, what album is it we did a few a few episodes ago where um the collaborations really stood out because of these people in there, it was Alice Cooper, yeah um where, you know, and you obviously heard this pi guitarist, you obviously heard this vocalist. These guys, despite their level of fame and notoriety at this point, they're still just background musicians and, or session musicians, you know what I mean? And they do their job perfectly. So Clapton's guitar work, i mean, wah-wah,
00:35:14
Speaker
proper distinctive fiery crisp guitar tone uh beautifully fits into the wall of sound um if not for you again it's subtle his guitar contributions in this one because it's a subtle kind of song but it really helps helped shape the kind of the folk around it you know we know what clapton did with cream um influencing these blues these little folk bits here and there um which really complemented harrison's slide guitar i thought in that song Yeah, I think um there's something about ah Clapton's participation, which is he wasn't credited at first.
00:35:48
Speaker
I think he wasn't credited all on all the songs he played because of, you know, contract bullshit, basically. A label wouldn't allow an artist to participate on another label's album.
00:36:00
Speaker
So I don't think he got the credit at first. But then George later said that Clapton pretty much played in every song. Oh, wow. Really? Not every song, most of them. He says he plays the very first note in the whole album.
00:36:14
Speaker
Yeah. At the beginning of the first song. So he's like, he was there from the beginning and he collaborated with every song in any way or in any way or another. um And most of the time when Clapton wasn't available, he would have picked the Frampton. So like,
00:36:29
Speaker
Come on, man. That's your second choice, right? So I've seen an interview with Peter Frampton talking about that because he was that was before his success as as as as a solo artist. He was playing a band called the Humble Pie.
00:36:43
Speaker
i George was a fan of of of his guitar playing, but he didn't know about it. So he had a friend in common with George and this guy, I think it was George's assistant, personal assistant or whatever, he worked with George.
00:36:54
Speaker
and it said And they were walking in um down Ward Street, very close to to to a place where I used to live a couple of years ago. And was... it was Basically, he said, do you want to come and see George? So George, who is George?
00:37:07
Speaker
George Harrison. Say, well, what do you mean? Yeah, he's tried in studios like, you know, just go there, just talk to him. I say, yeah, of course, I'm a big fan of the Beatles. So he went there and when he walked into the room, George said, hi, Pete. And he's like,
00:37:20
Speaker
You're talking to me. Like, you didn't know who yeah do you know I am? And then the conversation just went naturally into, you know, and I wanted to play on my next album. And it was like, seriously, you want me in the episode? Okay. So I'm going to, so they started jamming and was like, and he's playing rhythm guitar. And then, and then George does, you know, I wanted to play lead.
00:37:42
Speaker
And it's like, but you're a lead guitar player, George. No, no, it's like, s's not about me. You know, I'm going to play the rhythm. You play the lead. And then Peter Frampton was super happy to be part of it. I think one of the big things of collaboration is like, if you have the money, which any form of Beatle would have, you can hire anyone.
00:38:01
Speaker
But there are people who are actually, they really want to be part of it. So Clapton and Frampton and Billy Preston, all those guys wanted to be there.
00:38:13
Speaker
So it's not like they oh it's not like a job. You go there, record your part, and and and and then you leave the room. They wanted to be part of it. I think there's a lot of ah lot of passion in everyone's playing on the album, and it's a lot of people.
00:38:26
Speaker
Well, there is. I mean, let you mentioned it. Let's talk about Billy Preston, um yeah the you know known as the Fifth Beatle because of his contributions to um with the piano and organ playing in their last few albums, or in the last two albums. Yeah, I'll be road and let it be. yeah Yeah. And George brought him into the band. So it was George's idea to have him with. them And it's the same thing here. His organ playing just influences this gospel sound. It plays such a huge part.
00:38:52
Speaker
He plays in My Sweet Lord and Let It Down. um And it's just... As you said, he brought someone in because he knew that they knew how to do the job. And what Billy Preston does all the time is adding texture, adding depth, um adding character.
00:39:09
Speaker
Because how you why would you get a classical pianist to come in and play an organ sound when you need character behind it? as much as the love I have for classical music, you know, and maybe the listeners know that I love it. But what classical musicians do is they play what is on the sheet written. If they need to play expressively, the sheet will tell them to play expressively.
00:39:29
Speaker
With songs like this, you need someone to vibe and to groove with the song. And Billy Preston does exactly that. Um, Should we talk about Ringo? Well, as you're talking about um keyboard players, I've got to mention um Gary Brooker, isn't um Who plays... I just need to find the exact song.
00:39:50
Speaker
Yeah, that was... Which one is it? cause i oh Because there's a song that I love, the the the intro. I just don't want to get the the name wrong. Oh yeah, Let It Down.
00:40:02
Speaker
ah because There's a heavy start on the song. that There's a heavy riff right at the beginning and it just becomes so soft and it's led by the piano. So that's Gary Bruker who who played with a band called Proko Haram.
00:40:15
Speaker
ah If you're not familiar with them, the most famous song is Whiter Shade of Pale. Can you find that last? I'll add it in, yeah, sure. So he's an iconic like British keyboard player.
00:40:27
Speaker
um And again, he's someone who's got a name and has got a reputation in the business and also wanted to be part of the album. And his contribution on piano is just it's just this song, when you listen to the piano,
00:40:45
Speaker
It's so one part that I had to stop and and and and start the song again because I wasn't paying attention to the lyrics anymore because the piano is just so beautiful. Amazing. Yeah. And also for... Yeah, sorry. Go on.
00:40:57
Speaker
Did you want to say something about keyboards? No, apart from him and Pete Drake playing steel guitars, I've mentioned, well, so many musicians. I'm going to mention some of my favourites were the Ringo on drums in lot of songs.
00:41:12
Speaker
i was just just like yeah Alan White, who played with John Lennon, and yes. yeah you know So I was going to this section. We could call this section drummers. Because we've got Ringo Starr, Alan White, and Ginger Baker as well.
00:41:23
Speaker
yeah. He's on the jam at the end, right? He is, yeah. So Ginger Baker played on i Remember Jeep, along with John Lennon and Yoko. But that song was the one that was recorded in 68 something. That was the one that was recorded before this recording session.
00:41:37
Speaker
But even so, Ringo Starr, And Alan White, I mean, i I didn't know until you told me Alan White was on it, but in terms of Ringo's drumming, I mean, he does what he does so well and he gets so much shit, well, he did get so much shit from from fans well, fans and non-fans of the Beatles, because he's just an ordinary drummer.
00:41:56
Speaker
And the Beatles are moving on. I'm being sarcastic for anyone who can't tell. ah The Beatles are moving on. you know They're playing more intricate stuff, but Ringo's still there just doing his beat. But that was Ringo's job. That's what he did. And because he did it so well, that's why he's one of the best rock drummers to have done it.
00:42:11
Speaker
Maybe not technically, maybe not skill-wise, maybe not the fills he could play, but doing his job. And he does the same here. He plays on it Isn't It a Pity with just steady, expressive drumming that just really gives the song the power and the emotional weight that it needs.
00:42:25
Speaker
My Sweet Lord as well, his rhythm just works as like almost um almost an anchor, just giving the song groove, providing a foundation for it. And once you have that foundation of drums, the vocal layers and the harmonies and the instrumentation all builds on that. And with a song like My Sweet Lord, having that foundation there, like a lot of gospel music is just so important.
00:42:47
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. and and And Ringo, like he had that swing and that groove that you can't find in any other drummer. So yeah ah to the point that he said he finally acknowledged his own quality as a drummer when he went to America met some of the best drummers in the world.
00:43:05
Speaker
And they all said to him, the producers would ask them to play like Ringo. So every all the best drummers in the world would go to a studio to record and the producer, can you do this like Ringo? Can you play a Ringo drum fill? Can you play a Ringo groove?
00:43:19
Speaker
And Ringo said, wait a minute, maybe I'm doing something right. Yeah, if everyone wants to sound like me. Yeah, exactly. so So then when I have George doing his first solo album, there's no way he he would let Ringo out of it.
00:43:30
Speaker
Yeah, course. do you want to talk about Alan White but what song did he tell? Alan White, well isn't it oh I need to check now because it goes on most of the songs is not I think we have there's more drummers in the album but Alan White I think he plays the very first one I might be wrong about it but ah What's the first one? I'd have you any time because it's like ah brushes.
00:43:54
Speaker
So there's a lot of brushes rather than sticks and a few songs. Most of them are played by Alan White. And so he's famous for his his work with Yes, but he also did like stuff with John Lennon and George Harrison before he joined Yes, because he was like doing studio work.
00:44:10
Speaker
I would have to check the list to tell you exactly which ones he played. um Wait a minute. I think... yeah the Did you find it? Yeah, well, plays on a few. Wawa, My Sweet Lord, Isn't It a Pity, Behind That Locked Door, Ballad of Sir Frankie Chris, The Waiting on You All.
00:44:29
Speaker
um but yes as It's interesting because like loads of the the the soft stuff is him on drums, and he's got quite a heavy touch when he plays with Yes. an oh he He could do anything like... ah He's phenomenal drummer. I think it's like one of the most underrated drummers in in rock history. People don't think he is... Well, a lot of people don't even mention him when they talk about the best drummers out there. But I think Alan White has the same sort of personality as as as ah George. he didn't didn't He wasn't doing anything to be recognized.
00:44:59
Speaker
So imagine that he played... ah Imagine that he is the guy who played the Imagine... um which is so he did he did a lot of great stuff with John and George so an an important ah name ah in the Beatles history and the post Beatles era well also you have other contributions Badfinger you have the guitarists Pete Hamm and Tom Evans playing on that one I think they played on My Sweet Lord, Wawa and Awaiting You All and there's also talk that the drummer or percussionist Mike Gibbons could no I think he's the bad finger drummer Mike Gibbons but possibly contributed percussion but it's not very well documented in terms of that I think the thing to take away from this is that you know what did George Harrison go and do after this he went and did the Travelling Wilburys
00:45:51
Speaker
And I wonder if this was like a precursor to the supergroup idea. Because, so chats you know, songs like, right, Art of Dying, Clapton's Guitar, Ringo Starr's Drumming, just really bought this this ensemble and this chemistry of how to make, right, of how to make multiple famous musicians contribute well to a song without needing to show off.
00:46:20
Speaker
Yeah, I think. And I don't think George Harrison's thinking that. That's what i'm thinking I'm thinking. Isn't it amazing when the music is much bigger than the musicians? Yeah, I think that happens all through this album.
00:46:31
Speaker
Even, um you know, Beware of Darkness. I don't know which of these specific guests was on that song, but just showing that you can play a song with restraint and it doesn't have to be complex.
00:46:45
Speaker
You can be sensitive. just playing for the song is what matters most. And I wonder if sort of Harrison saw this and saw his experience doing this album and thought, my God, well, if if Clapton can come here and play on nearly every song and Ringo's coming and do this and Alan White's here and Billy's doing this, why can't I make a super group? If I want to play with, um oh God, I forgot his name, Tom Petty. And I want to play with these guys, why can't i just make a super group?
00:47:10
Speaker
Yeah, there's something about, I think, you know what that makes me think? That when he was playing with the Beatles, He admired them. but he didn't feel like they admired him.
00:47:22
Speaker
That's a great point, man. And in this album, he brought a lot of musicians into the studio who he really admired. Yeah. And all of them are big fans of his music.
00:47:34
Speaker
but So it's like that's that's now a two-way thing, isn't it? It's not only, you know, I'm working with people that I i really admire and respect, but they don't give me the same amount of of respect in return. And now with All Things Must Pass,
00:47:50
Speaker
it's it's clearly yeah mut mutual 100% let's move on to the final part where we'll talk about the cultural and historic impact of the album I mean the first thing I think here that's important is the is the mainstreaming of the spiritualness now that's what this album is mainly famous for I think I think forget this a triple album and forget this George Harrison's first one after the Beatles I think people always look at this and think about the religion and you've got songs that we've said, awaiting you all, my sweet Lord, all things must pass that just bring this Eastern spirituality into the mainstream Western music. And that's why it's significant because you don't normally hear this Eastern spirituality mixed with this stuff.
00:48:28
Speaker
the harry krishna mantra alongside the gospel lyrics um directly referencing the chanting and awaiting on you all uh but blending rock music with prayer and and message messages of devotion and religion it's just not normal is it also i think you can see those things nowadays you can see the influence of eastern culture into our culture nowadays more clearly yeah but he was one of the uh the guys who started it in a way yeah exactly that's such a famous like a character 100%. Critically, ah the critical success. I mean, the album was such a huge success. It reached number one on charts worldwide. Like, literally, I think I saw the list of where it reached in the charts.
00:49:06
Speaker
And rather than me telling you went number one in these countries, I'll tell you that it only didn't go number one in two countries, where it went fourth and tenth, I think. um I will go down and find them for you. Yeah, so in in Japan and Germany, it didn't go to number one.
00:49:21
Speaker
Everywhere else it did, which is kind of significant as well. um stayed there for weeks as well, app proving Harrison's strength, post-Beatles, again, providing this evidence that he is more.
00:49:32
Speaker
i mean, man, sorry, I'm going off topic here. How good do you think it must have felt to have been George at this time and to see the success of the album and being like, my God, I've been validated? i think Yeah, I think it's a relief for him as an artist. not the I don't think he was the kind of guy who was looking for...
00:49:50
Speaker
ah fame, more or more fame and more recognition, but just the fact that he could put out the ah the feelings he he he was so desperately ah trying to express, and put those feelings out in form of music with loads of his true friends collaborating with him.
00:50:08
Speaker
I think but it must have been a ah ah surprise to have the album doing so well in the charts. He mentioned ah later that he didn't care about the charts or all that kind of stuff. I think it's clear. When you're at point in your life, when you don't need the money or the fame anymore, you've got to do what you want to do, right? you got to do So he didn't he didn't need to prove anything.
00:50:31
Speaker
Right. You're a Beatle. You don't need to prove anything for the rest of your life. So he was doing that because he wanted to say those things. He wanted people to connect with that side of him. And he wanted to bring to all of us all over the world a message of peace and love.
00:50:47
Speaker
It sounds like a cliche. It sounds like the most cheesy thing you can put in in a song lyric. But it's basically saying, you know, you know let's let's talk about love. Let's talk about knowing yourself yourself.
00:50:59
Speaker
and finding your spiritual your spiritual truth and being kind to people. So like there's absolutely nothing negative about his message. And I think it's it's such um an amazing thing that he's done this album.
00:51:12
Speaker
as I would say, like you know it might be an exaggeration, but it's like such a gift to humankind. like I agree. i think I think it's an album of proper peace and everlasting love.
00:51:24
Speaker
And a time, you know, peace was going on around the world at this time. It was the 70s, wasn't it? The hippie movement was well and truly, you know, happened and it was still going on. and Yeah, I don't know. I feel like it's just a different album because of that Eastern influence, because it's saying, listen to peace, listen to love.
00:51:43
Speaker
But look how these guys do it as well. They have this religion over here that is more about just praising God. It's about enjoying nature and the world around you, you know? Yeah. But yeah, anyway, and the the enduring legacy of the album, I mean, the influence of this album, i you can't even measure it, can you? I mean...
00:51:57
Speaker
you know, what is life continues even today. You hear it all the time to be celebrated for the infectious energy it brings, the production. ah The albums had numerous reissues and tributes played to it.
00:52:09
Speaker
um I mean, influence on artists. Again, how i don't think any i don't think with any Beatles or post-Beatles solo album, you could really limit the ramifications of how how it influenced someone else. I mean, My Sweet Lord became the first number one solo by a former Beatle, which again, as we've just said, just goes to validate Harrison's place in the world without John and Paul with him. yeah Anyway, my God, yeah, we've done this, but coming up to 53 minutes, bro, I was so scared about this album. I thought we'd overrun. I thought we wouldn't be able to say what we needed to say, but we've done it and we've still got a few minutes to spare.
00:52:48
Speaker
I've got my monologue to do, but is there anything else you wanted to finish off on? what I want to say is, it is probably, see if you agree with me, probably the best solo album by a Beatle. I think most of the fans agree with that. Yeah.
00:53:00
Speaker
And ah one thing I want to say is... so the artwork I've got here. Yeah, yeah. The one you have on yours. So basically, Lars has got the ah the original album cover.
00:53:10
Speaker
So this is a a property that he bought, I think, in the late 60s or early 70s. He bought this this house. And that's like that's like his garden, right? He was really into gardening.
00:53:24
Speaker
And he had those gnomes in the garden. Some people say it's a reference to the Beatles. There's four of them. um ah But anyway, I think they they came with the property when he bought it or he found them later, but they used to belong to the guy who lived at that property, who is mentioned in one of the songs, by the way. It's the name of the song again. I'll find it here.
00:53:43
Speaker
Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp. That's the guy who owned the property before him right or many years before. And um So in 2000 or 2001, don't remember when they reissued the album, he decided to do this cover here that I've got on my background. As as a joke, ah that's the same picture, but he added some buildings and stuff to say, oh, that's the the way the world is going. I was like destroying nature and building stuff.
00:54:13
Speaker
ah Those things are not actually there. yeah But again, it's a reflection of all things must pass. Even that album cover, even the feelings and the stuff he was representing at the time, all of this is going to pass.
00:54:25
Speaker
And hopefully when everything, when all things are passing away, we still have a lot of George Harrison's music to listen to. we will forever. We will forever.
00:54:36
Speaker
Cool. Right. I will finish off with my monologue um and then we'll say oh goodbyes. Bro, so I'm so happy we've done this episode. like Honestly, and for viewers and listeners, I was really nervous. something How do we say we need say about a triple album? There's no way to... I don't know. Yeah.
00:54:53
Speaker
ah the not yeah talk about this album properly you know so that's the best we can do we've done i'm really glad i had the uh the opportunity to listen to this album again and listen to it like uh it's just it's just it makes your day better you know if you don't have the time to listen the whole album listen to the first four or five songs and then 100 and it's it's going to make your day better for sure 100 right right time for my monologue
00:55:21
Speaker
George Harrison's All Things Must Pass is a seemingly special album for several reasons. The album seems to beautifully reflect the artistic freedom of an individual who for so long waited in the creative shadows of his peers in the Beatles.
00:55:35
Speaker
Their breakup for millions of people was a sad day, but for George, it seemed to open the floodgates to explore his own creativity, spirituality, relationships and music. The rock elements initially experimented within his Beatles work, now seamlessly intertwined with spiritual depth, folk melodies and unorthodox chord progressions, resulting in a triple album of monumental quality and marking the moment that George Harrison became a force unto himself.
00:56:02
Speaker
The lyrical themes seemed to almost foreshadow a period of reflection and a deeper connection to his inner self, the world around him, religion and love. turning the album into an almost spiritual journey without him or us fully grasping its long-term impact at the time of release.
00:56:17
Speaker
His voice, often layered and executed with a gentle sincerity, carried these messages of hope, acceptance, and the transient nature of earth. Couple this with the rich, densely layered production of the album, it creates a really immersive and contemplative experience.
00:56:32
Speaker
You don't have to be religious to feel the profound sense of searching and understanding that the music beautifully executes. This is George Harrison's definitive statement as a solo artist and shows his full, quick growth after years with a legendary but ultimately restrictive band format.
00:56:49
Speaker
Although the collaborations are great and each guest plays their part, the album unapologetically and unashamedly is George's success and his statement to the world. There's an argument that the album has a bigger impact because it came after the Beatles.
00:57:02
Speaker
Would it have had the same attention and renown had it been someone else's album other than George's? Even if the answer is no, it still stands as a fantastic, peaceful piece of work that I don't think can help but put a smile on everyone's face when they listen, be them religious, spiritual or none of the above.
00:57:18
Speaker
It's an album that every music fan knows exists and deserves to be so.
00:57:24
Speaker
Wow.
00:57:27
Speaker
Yeah, man. I could have written five more paragraphs about the instrumentation, the lyrics, the chord progressions, the songs, but it doesn't need it, man. It's just a peaceful album. The message is the most important thing this album. exactly.
00:57:40
Speaker
Oh, well. Brilliant. Nice. Well done. Guys, thank you for joining us for another episode of the Long Live Rock and Roll podcast. We really hope you've enjoyed it. As I said at the start, a few little terms and conditions that we'd ask of you. If you're listening to us on Apple or Spotify or Amazon, please go down and give us a little review. Just hit the five stars, write us sentence,
00:57:59
Speaker
And it's going to make a world of difference for us because every time you post a review, we get seen by more and more people. The algorithms change. We fly up the charts. and we're going to be seen and heard by more people. And if you're watching us on YouTube, make sure to share this episode with any Beatles fan or George Harrison fan you know.
00:58:14
Speaker
Make sure you and they like and subscribe to stay up to date with our content. Thank you for joining us. Yeah, thanks for being with us again, guys. Yeah, give the album a spin or two and enjoy the music. That'll take a few days.
00:58:27
Speaker
Yeah, that'll take a few days. Yeah, it's a long one. It's worth though. If you don't know the album, you won't be disappointed. If you know a couple of songs, listen to the rest of it. It's great. Thanks for being with us.
00:58:39
Speaker
Keep on rocking, everyone, and don't do anything i wouldn't do. As usual, guys, take care and long live rock roll.