George Harrison. Living in the Material World (1973)

Living in the Material World is an album by George Harrison and was released in 1973. As a follow-up to 1970's greatly-received All Things Must Pass and his mammoth charity project, The Concert for Bangladesh, Living in the Material World was among the most highly anticipated releases of 1973.

Due to the enormity of the Bangla Desh experience (one that left Harrison exhausted and frustrated), he was not able to record a new album until the latter part of 1972, which he undertook alone – without Phil Spector – at The Beatles' Apple Recording Studios in London. Once again, Harrison engaged the aid of his musician friends, including Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins, Gary Wright and Klaus Voormann. The backing track for "Try Some Buy Some" had been recorded with Phil Spector back in 1971 in Harrison's efforts to give Ronnie Spector a hit single. Liking the track, he decided to use the same music track for his own rendition. Orchestral arrangements for this track and the new recordings on the album were by John Barham.

Preceded by the uplifting acoustic number "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" – Harrison's second U.S. #1 hit, Living in the Material World appeared in June 1973 to brisk initial sales, reaching #2 in the UK and spending five weeks atop the US charts (having knocked off Paul McCartney and Wings' Red Rose Speedway in the process). But the critical reaction was less euphoric than what had greeted All Things Must Pass. More somber in tone, Living in the Material World was distinguished by Harrison's philosophical and religious ruminations - making it clear he was in distress with the state of the world and where it was headed. Subsequently, sales soon fell off, and the feeling was that Harrison had suddenly lost much of the enormous momentum he had going for him since The Beatles' 1970 break-up. In hindsight, most contemporary reviewers now consider Living in the Material World to be a very worthwhile Harrison album with many fine moments.

On September 26, 2006, Living in the Material World was reissued on CD and in a deluxe CD/DVD package by Capitol Records and EMI. The remastered album features two additional tracks, the B-side "Deep Blue" from the 1971 single "Bangla-Desh" and "Miss O'Dell," the B-side for "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)."

The DVD rounds up rare performance footage of "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" from Harrison's 1991 Japanese tour with Eric Clapton, behind-the-scenes film clips shot during the 1973 sessions for "Living in the Material World" and previously unreleased versions of "Miss O'Dell" and "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" set to archival film clips.

Track Listing

All songs written by George Harrison.

1. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" – 3:36
2. "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" – 4:48
3. "The Light That Has Lighted the World" – 3:31
4. "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" – 2:57
5. "Who Can See It" – 3:52
6. "Living in the Material World" – 5:31"
7. The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" – 4:34
8. "Be Here Now" – 4:09
9. "Try Some, Buy Some" – 4:08
10. "The Day the World Gets 'Round" – 2:53
11. "That Is All" – 3:43
12. "Deep Blue" (2006 remastered edition bonus track)
13. "Miss O'Dell" (2006 remastered edition bonus track)

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George Harrison. Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976)

Thirty Three & 1/3 (stylized as Thirty Three & 1/ॐ) is an album by George Harrison released in 1976. As his first release on his Dark Horse Records label, Thirty Three & 1/3's making was beset with misfortune, yet Harrison was able to prevail by delivering one of his most celebrated albums.

After satisfying his EMI contract with Extra Texture (Read All About It), Harrison signed immediately with Dark Horse, which was still under distribution with A&M Records. A part of their agreement was that Harrison was to deliver his new album by 25 June 1976. Unfortunately, Harrison was stricken with hepatitis and was only able to start recording the record in late May. Conscious of the fact that he was not going to rush his debut album on his own label, Harrison put off A&M, telling them the album would be ready when it was ready. But with Dark Horse's other artists no longer doing so well, and Harrison's star on the wane, A&M decided they wanted to offload the label and promptly sued Harrison for late delivery of Thirty Three & 1/3 in September. Within weeks, Harrison had moved both Dark Horse and himself over to Mo Ostin and Warner Bros. Records, who were more than pleased to have him, and Thirty Three & 1/3 and its lead-off single, "This Song", the upbeat and sardonic send-up of the "He's So Fine" vs. "My Sweet Lord" court case (which Harrison lost in 1976) were both released that November.

Named for the fact that he was thirty-three and a third years old during its recording (as well as being the speed at which the vinyl album would be played), Thirty Three & 1/3 gave Harrison his strongest reviews since All Things Must Pass, including many positive and uplifting songs. It was clear that despite his legal woes, Harrison would not let his bad luck get him down.

Unfortunately, the damage that previously-perceived mediocre albums had inflicted proved irreversible, and while Thirty Three & 1/3 actually outsold both Dark Horse and Extra Texture (Read All About It) in the US, it reached a lower peak, cresting at #11 and going gold and selling about 800,oo copies. In the UK, it merely made it to #35. While US single Crackerbox Palace made the Top 20 (and "This Song" #25), no UK singles saw any chart action. In actuality, Harrison couldn't care less about his record sales at this point in time. Already a private person, he began retreating more from the music industry as the 1970's drew to a close and immersing himself into films and leisure activities.

Harrison's only major promotion for Thirty Three and 1/3 was an appearance with Paul Simon as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on 20 November 1976, and in some of the show's comedy sketches. The duo performed "Here Comes the Sun" and "Homeward Bound" together on the program. (The live Harrison-Simon performance of "Homeward Bound" was later included on the 1990 various artists' charity album, Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal and is also found on "The Essential Paul Simon" Paul Simon's greatest hits record released in 2007 on the bonus DVD disc.) A video of Crackerbox Palace, directed by Eric Idle, debuted on the same episode, featuring Harrison, various other celebrities, and a Pantomime Princess Margaret.

In 2004, Thirty Three & 1/3 was remastered and reissued both separately and as part of the deluxe box set The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 on Dark Horse with new distribution by EMI, adding the bonus track Tears Of The World, an outtake from the 1980 sessions for Somewhere in England.

Track Listing

All songs by George Harrison, except where noted.

1. "Woman Don't You Cry For Me" – 3:18
2. "Dear One" – 5:08
3. "Beautiful Girl" – 3:39
4. "This Song" – 4:13
5. "See Yourself" – 2:51
6. "It's What You Value" – 5:07
7. "True Love" (Cole Porter) – 2:45
8. "Pure Smokey" – 3:56
9. "Crackerbox Palace" – 3:57
10. "Learning How To Love You" – 4:13

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George Harrison. All Things Must Pass (1970)

All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison recorded and released after the break-up of The Beatles. The first triple album by a solo artist, the original vinyl release featured two records of rock songs, while the third, entitled "Apple Jam" was composed of informal jams led by Harrison with musician friends and other famous musicians.

Received as a masterpiece upon its 1970 unveiling, All Things Must Pass is widely considered to be the best album made by a Beatle as a solo artist. It is certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA, making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.

Track Listing

All songs by George Harrison, except where noted.

1. "I'd Have You Anytime" (George Harrison/Bob Dylan) – 2:56
2. "My Sweet Lord" – 4:38
3. "Wah-Wah" – 5:35
4. "Isn't It a Pity" (Version 1) – 7:09
5. "What Is Life" – 4:22
6. "If Not for You" (Bob Dylan) – 3:29
7. "Behind That Locked Door" – 3:05
8. "Let It Down" – 4:57
9. "Run of the Mill" – 2:49
10. "I Live for You" – 3:35
11. "Beware of Darkness" – 3:19
12. "Let It Down" – 3:54
13. "What Is Life" – 4:27
14. "My Sweet Lord (2000)" – 4:57

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Concert For George (2002). A George Harrison Tribute

Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 29 November 2002 – the first anniversary of Harrison's death – the performance features a wealth of talents who knew Harrison well. Eric Clapton, one of Harrison's closest friends, is not only a performer but the musical director of the show. Representing Indian music, an important influence on Harrison's sound, is Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar. Among Harrison's rock and roll cronies are Jeff Lynne, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston and Harrison's two former bandmates, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Concert for George was released in November 2003, marking the second anniversary of Harrison's death, and was warmly received by the public, reaching #97 in the US.

Track Listing

01. I Wanna To Tell You - Jeff Lynne
02. If I Needed Someone - Eric Clapton
03. Old Brown Shoes - Gary Brooker
04. Give Me Love - Jeff Lynne
05. Beware Of Darkness - Eric Clapton
06. Here Comes The Sun - Joe Brown
07. That's The Way It Goes - Joe Brown
08. Taxman - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
09. I Need You - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
10. Handle With Care - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Lynne & D. Harrison
11. Isn't It A Pity - Billy Preston
12. Photograph - Ringo Starr
13. Honey Don't - Ringo Starr
14. For You Blue - Paul McCartney
15. Something - Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton
16. All Things Must Pass - Paul McCartney
17. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton
18. My Sweet Lord - Billy Preston
19. Wah Wah - Eric Clapton and Band
20. I'll See You In My Dreams - Joe Brown

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