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All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Editions
9 Aug 21
George Harrison’s masterpiece, ‘All Things Must Pass’, is celebrated with a suite of new 50th anniversary editions. The album features Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and a host of other musicians.
Decades in the making and lovingly crafted by the Harrison family, All Things Must Pass has now been completely remixed from the original tapes for this stunning release that fulfills Harrison’s longtime desire. Executive produced by Dhani Harrison and mixed by triple Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon), the new mix transforms the album by sonically upgrading it – making it sound brighter, fuller and better than ever before. Formats contain various ephemera, including a scrapbook curated by Olivia Harrison, replica gnomes, original album poster and much more.
In the more than 50 years since George Harrison entered the studio with Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and a who’s who of backing musicians, All Things Must Pass has only grown in influence and stature since its initial release, including induction in the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame and inclusion on The Times of London’s “The 100 Best Albums of All Time” and Rolling Stone’s 2020 listing of “The Top 500 Albums of All Time.” It is undoubtedly the finest of all the Beatles’ solo albums.
George’s initial sessions for the album began at Abbey Road Studios just weeks after the April 1970 announcement of The Beatle’s breakup with Ringo Starr and longtime friend and bassist Klaus Voormann. The sessions, overdubs and mixing would continue through to mid-October with producer Phil Spector. The large number of backing musicians include Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle (who formed Derek and the Dominos during this time) plus Billy Preston, Pete Drake, Gary Wright, members of Badfinger, and John Barham. A young Phil Collins was recruited to play bongos on one session, but his contribution did not make the final album mix.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Dhani Harrison recalled that while investigating the stories behind the songs, including the album opener, “I’d Have You Any Time,” he learned that EC struggled at times to play his father’s notes. “It was incredible to hear Eric say how hard it was because that’s a guy that doesn’t find playing guitar very hard.”
The ATMP 50th Anniversary recordings are available in a wide variety of editions: a limited Uber Deluxe Edition, the Super Deluxe Edition LP, Super Deluxe 5 CD + Blu-ray Box Set, Deluxe 5 LP, Deluxe 3 CD, Standard 3 LP, eCommerce Excluxive 3LP Color Vinyl, Standard 2 CD, stream and digital download.
The album includes the hit singles “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life”, as well as songs such as “Isn’t It a Pity” and the title track that had been overlooked for inclusion on releases by the Beatles. Alternate takes in the 50th anniversary release are markedly different from the known versions such as a downtempo version of Isn’t It a Pity” with pianist Nicky Hopkins and the 36th take of “Run of the Mill,” featuring twin guitars. The deluxe versions include 42 unreleased demo recordings, session outtakes, and studio jams.