I still remember it like it was yesterday. Even though it was nearly a quarter of a century ago. I had just broken up for the October half term and it was a dull, dreary and very grey Friday afternoon. There was a gentle tap on my bedroom door and my Dad popped his head around the door. 'This is for you' he said.
Opening the bag I stood speechless. He had been to a second hand record store and had found for me the holy of holies. A near mint, vinyl copy of George Harrison's masterpiece, All Things Must Pass. I believe I just stood there with sheer joy. To make the moment even more special he kindly swapped the stylus on my record player so that I'd have the best possible listening experience.
I don't think I've ever been happier in a single instant then I was as that thirteen year old girl. For me this was the pinnacle of my short life. I had what I had always dreamed of. And it was all mine. No more listening to it on a cassette tape that my Dad had made for me. I actually had a proper, brand spanking new copy.
My late Dad was my Beatle buddy. When he replaced his vinyl albums with the new fangled CD's, I got his old vinyl records. Though they jumped and hissed in places, I loved them and played them over and over. It was established when I was about eight when I pointed to George on the cover of Abbey Road that I announced "I'm gonna marry him ..."that he was a favourite of mine. When I grew a bit I fell head over heels with the songs he wrote. So for me, All Things Must Pass was the thing to have.
My opinions on George's first solo album have not changed at all from the moment I put that vinyl on the record player to when I hear it now. Today. I will admit that some of this is because it is George's album. But then only George could create a album as stunningly beautiful, tear inducing and calming as All Things Must Pass.
All Things Must Pass is as much an emotional journey as it is a album. It is a roller coaster of a ride. It takes you from the upbeat, happy, positivity of My Sweet Lord to the pleading, heartbreaking Behind That Locked Door to the thought provoking Beware of Darkness back round to the rip roaring and fun Apple Scruffs. For this is a album that I play when I'm nervous, worried or downright sad. It has the ability to calm me when I'm anxious, boost me when I'm struggling and it shares in life's joyous moments, too.
George released All Things Must Pass in 1970 and is his first solo album since the Beatles split up. It is made up of three albums (if purchased on vinyl). Though I really only consider this a double album as the third album in the set is a mere collection of junk songs and bits and pieces that I don't listen to. And I don't think I'm alone in that, either.
It's fair to say that the general Beatle rule of allowing George two, sometimes three songs per album meant that there was a excess of songs that George had written and didn't have the chance to record. All Thing Must Pass, the title track, had been put forward as a possible Beatle song and a rare version appears on the Anthology set. But in a situation not uncommon to George, many songs were rejected so he had a solid amount of material to work with.
The album was recorded between the familiar recording grounds of Abbey Road Studios and George's home recording studio in Friar Park. Legendary (and now infamous) producer Phil Spector co-produced and brought along with him his lavish wall of sound recording methods. Production began in May of 1970 and was completed in October of that year.
From the first note played on the first song to the last it's a stirring, epic masterpiece. It is lavish and indulgent yet at times is beautifully simple and understated. On My Sweet Lord it soars like a wave, on Run Of The Mill it's as still as a millpond. It is, at times, as contradictory as the man himself could be at times. It is Pisces personified. As if the creator is being pulled in two different directions, however still creating a fluid and beautifully sounding album.
The standout hit of the album is, naturally, My Sweet Lord. It is also the song that dragged George into a long period of litigation when he was accused of plagiarism. My Sweet Lord, they claimed, sounded too much like He's So Fine. But that is for another post maybe!
Putting legal squabbles aside My Sweet Lord is a love anthem. Not for Patti, but for God. The love that was taking over his life. He had dipped his toe in the waters of singing about God during the Beatles period, but in his solo career he was much freer to explore that deep and all encompassing love and that was born through My Sweet Lord.
What I feel is so charming about the album is that you see, perhaps for the first time, the sweetness of George's character. Much like some of the songs, he is stripped bare. His personality, not having to compete with three other superstars shines through and you get just a little peek into the world of George Harrison. His love for his friend, Bob Dylan is very evident in Behind That Locked Door and the love he had for the history of his house is perfectly summed up in Let It Roll (The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp).Even on the Apple Jam record (the third in the set) you get to hear a sweet rendition of It's Johnny's Birthday for his band mate, John Lennon.
Like George himself the album is richly textured and multi layered. Some say he never bettered himself through his solo career and there could be some truth in that. I certainly don't think he reached the pinnacle that he reached with All Things Must Pass, but unknowingly he set himself a very high standard. He raised the bar so high that he was forever being compared to himself. But he made the music that he loved. And if we so happened to love it too, all the better.
One of my favourite tracks on the album is the very simple Run Of The Mill. A glorious song which I take to reflect George's dismay at the crumbling relationships he had with his fellow Beatles and the dismay at the emotional ending of their working and private relationships. It's opening line '.. everyone has choice, when to and not to raise their voices ...' is almost like a mantra to me. Sometimes, when in certain circumstances I feel I was losing control of my temper, I used to sing it in my head. To calm me down and to make me feel rational. It is a precautionary tale about how we all have to be in control of ourselves.
To be fair and even and levelled I have tried to think of a single song on this album that I don't like. But it's totally impossible. So all I can say in the negative is that I don't like the Apple Jam record. The two main records however, I cannot fault. I know them all so well, like they are friends. They are reliable, and something I can rely on when times can get tough.
Perhaps one of the most startling things about the album is it's front cover. It's pure and simple, a black and white portrait of George sat amongst some garden gnomes in his Friar Park estate - perhaps the place he is happiest after the breakdown of the Beatles. It's one of the most effective album covers. It's stunningly beautiful.
All Things Must Pass, I believe, leaves the major Beatles solo albums in it's shade. Johns Plastic Ono Band was good, but could not compare. Nor could McCartney. When John Lennon made his acidic comment 'it's okay but it goes on too long ...' about George's venture into solo work it was said with more then a hint of jealously. I expect that neither Paul nor John expected George to create something like All Things Must Pass. And if they were shocked at his actual ability, they probably were shocked at the over all positive reviews the album gained. This was little George. I doubt they thought he had much in him.
As I said earlier, George did not better All Things Must Pass during his solo career. He wrote some fabulous albums, Cloud Nine and Brainwashed being two but he never quite reached the level of success. But this was a monumental effort. A staggering piece of art that came from the quiet Beatle. The Beatle that everyone assumed would fade into history after the Beatles split. His quiet Beatle persona led people to drastically underestimate his ability - perhaps making this album a even bigger surprise.
When the Beatles were splitting a lot of publicity centred around the feud between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The stories of John throwing rocks through Paul's window and Paul and Linda writing acidic letters to John and Yoko. George and Ringo, it seemed, slipped out of the back door, staying out of the controversy and getting to work on their solo projects.
Hidden away between the walls of Abbey Road and Friar Park George got to work on a album that was praised and well received. A body of work that he should of been proud of. I know his philosophy in life was living in the now, that yesterday has been done and should be forgotten. That the only important album was the one he was currently working on. But I hope he appreciated what he had produced for us, his fans.
All Things Must Pass is perhaps the one album that has made the biggest impression on me. From the minute I heard it as a teenager it struck a chord and touched my heart in a way that no other album has ever seemed to have done. I am thankful I am a Beatle fan, if I wasn't I'd never of heard it. I first heard All Things Must Pass over twenty years after it's initial release. And I'm sure my feelings were no different to anyone who first heard it on it's initial release.
George himself released a updated version in the 2000's, but for me the original release is all your really need. It is a album so beautifully pure, so positive and so wonderful that if you heard it, it would never leave you. It has never left me.
Once heard it leaves a mark so deep you'll never shake it off.
All Things Must Pass makes you feel. Whether it's extreme happiness or sadness. It makes you think about the love that comes along with friendship and it warns you about the perils of modern life. You think about the pure love that you can feel for God (if that way inclined) and how important it is to take responsibility for your own actions.
I know I'd be a different Laura had I not heard this album. I know I've not been quite the same since.
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