The whole shebang was produced by Harrison with “Wall of Sound” maestro Phil Spector (eerily, that murderers’ row included two future convicted murderers: Spector and drummer Jim Gordon). (He’d continue that streak after this album’s release, writing and producing the great singles “It Don’t Come Easy” for Ringo Starr and “Try Some, Buy Some” for Ronnie Spector.) He was invited to Woodstock to visit the Band in 1968 and ended up hanging out with Bob Dylan, with whom he co-wrote “I’d Have You Anytime,” the opening track here.Īll that preparation and pent-up inspiration came to fruition on this remarkable album, which was originally released as two vinyl LPs, along with a bonus disc of blazing instrumental jams by the murderers’ row of musicians Harrison assembled: In addition to Clapton, Starr and Preston were guitarists Dave Mason and Peter Frampton, bassist Klaus Voorman, keyboardists Gary Wright and Gary Brooker, drummer Alan White, all of Badfinger, and the three musicians who would join Clapton in Derek and the Dominos and would record their own masterpiece, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,” a few weeks after working on this album. He wrote, co-wrote, produced and/or played on songs or albums by Cream, Billy Preston, singers Doris Troy and Jackie Lomax and others dabbled in Indian and electronic music and even joined his best friend Eric Clapton for a brief barnstorming tour with American combo Delaney & Bonnie. The eternally underrated Harrison was by far the most extracurricularly prolific Beatle. Yet it’s also the reason why “All Things Must Pass” is such a masterpiece: He’d been working toward it for his entire career. Thus, he had a huge backlog of material, and his deep frustration at trying to break the John Lennon-Paul McCartney songwriting stranglehold was one of many factors in the group’s dissolution. Since he first landed a composition on a Beatles album with “Don’t Bother Me” in 1963, Harrison had battled, largely unsuccessfully, to place his songs on the group’s records, eventually securing one per LP and finally one per vinyl side. Released in November 1970, just seven months after the group’s breakup was belatedly confirmed, it has become synonymous with the concept of suppressed brilliance. Most fans have a favorite Beatle, but there’s not much debate about which Beatles solo album is the best: George Harrison’s epic “All Things Must Pass.” George Harrison All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition (1970/2021)
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