ALL THINGS MUST PASS  -  GEORGE HARRISON

YEAR:  1970
LABEL:  Apple
TRACK LISTING:  I'd Have You Anytime,  My Sweet Lord,  Wah-Wah,  Isn't It A Pity,  What Is Life,  If Not For You,  Behind That Locked Door,  Let It Down,  Run of the Mill,  Beware of Darkness,  Apple Scruffs,  Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll),  Awaiting On You All,  All Things Must Pass,  I Dig Love,  Art of Dying,  Isn't It A Pity (Version Two),  Hear Me Lord,  Out of the Blue,  It's Johnny's Birthday,  Plug Me In,  I Remember Jeep,  Thanks For the Pepperoni
BONUS TRACKS:  I Live For You,  Beware of Darkness (acoustic demo),  Let It Down (alternate version),  What Is Life (backing track/alternate mix),  My Sweet Lord (2000)
IMPRESSIONS:  After initially being content with having John Lennon & Paul McCartney write all the Beatles songs, George Harrison slowly came into his own as a songwriter; tentatively at first but with rapidly increasing strength.  However, there was only so much room on a Beatles album and George only could get one or two songs per.  Come the break-up, Harrison had a huge backlog of material dating all the way back to 1966 and he produced a solo debut album that was the first 3-record LP by a single rock artist (the Woodstock concert album came first about 6 months earlier but it's by multiple artists).  For such a huge album, the material is remarkably strong. . .although your patience might be tested a little by the "Apple Jam" portion of the album (the third LP) which consists solely of instrumental jams by Harrison and his all-star friends.  "I didn't have many tunes on Beatles records," Harrison has said, "so doing an album like ALL THINGS MUST PASS was like going to the bathroom and letting it out".  Far from a pile of poo, George Harrison's debut album is my favourite first solo record by any Beatle -- and that's some accomplishment.   
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  I'd Have You Anytime,  My Sweet Lord,  Wah-Wah,  Isn't It A Pity,  What Is Life,  If Not For You,  Behind That Locked Door,  Let It Down,  Beware of Darkness,  Awaiting On You All,  All Things Must Pass,  I Dig Love,  Art of Dying,  It's Johnny's Birthday,  Thanks For the Pepperoni,  Out of the Blue,  I Live For You
GUEST ARTISTS:  Eric Clapton (electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals),  Gary Wright (piano, organ, electric piano), Klaus Voormann (bass, electric guitar),  Ringo Starr (drums, percussion),  Billy Preston (organ, piano),  Dave Mason (electric and acoustic guitars),  Phil Collins (congas on "Art of Dying"),  Ginger Baker (drums),  Bobby Whitlock (piano, organ, backing vocals),  Carl Radle (bass),  Jim Gordon (drums)
FACT SHEET:  ALL THINGS MUST PASS is George Harrison's first album.  The double single "My Sweet Lord/Isn't It A Pity" went to number one as did the album which has been certified 6x platinum.  "I'd Have You Anytime" was co-written by George Harrison and Bob Dylan.  "If Not For You" was written by Bob Dylan.  The album was co-produced by Phil Spector.  Arising out of this recording session, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle would team-up with Eric Clapton to form Derek and the Dominos.  The actual line-up of guest artists is still up for debate.  Future YES drummer Alan White, who played on this album, states that John Lennon "may have" played on "If Not For You" while it's also rumoured that Maurice Gibb of the BEE GEES may have played keyboards on "Isn't It A Pity" and PINK FLOYD's Richard Wright may have also played organ on the album.  The black-and-white cover photo of George Harrison surrounded by garden gnomes was taken by Barry Feinstein on the main lawn of Friar Park and is thought to represent Harrison's removal from the Beatles (there are 4 gnomes) and his possible superiority over them; John Lennon is said to have been particularly annoyed by the cover.  For the 30th anniversary remastered cd of the album released in 2001, George Harrison re-sequenced the "Apple Jam" portion of the album so that the song order is changed to "It's Johnny's Birthday", "Plug Me In", "I Remember Jeep", "Thanks For the Pepperoni" and "Out of the Blue".