MUSIC HISTORY:
JAZZ / ROCK / BLUES / ETC.
Reviews, News, Commentaries
and Music Biographies by Randy
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
George Harrison.
News
(February 2004)
Long-Awaited George Harrison Back-Catalog Set For Re-Release
Six of George Harrison’s solo efforts have finally been slated for re-release on February 24, 2004. Each studio recording has been remastered, and will contain one bonus track.
Harrison -- who died of cancer in November of 2001 -- was working towards having his album catalog restored at the time of his death, during which time he was also attempting to complete what was to be his final work, the poignant Brainwashed (2002). The album was completed by producer Jeff Lynne and Harrison's son Dhani.
The first round of rereleases include what was one of Harrison's greatest critical and commercial triumphs, Thirty-Three and a Third (1976), as well as strong efforts like George Harrison (1979), and Somewhere In England (1981), which included "All Those Years Ago," Harrison's tribute to John Lennon, who was murdered in 1980. The song marked the first time Harrison conceded to work with fellow Beatle Paul McCartney (who sang harmony vocals on the track) since the band's demise in 1970.
The muted response to 1982's Gone Troppo (also set for re-release) prompted Harrison's five-year break from recording, until the issuing of Cloud Nine (1987), which contained the #1 single "Got My Mind Set on You," as well as other FM-radio and music-video channel favorites.
Live In Japan (1992), was recorded during a tour that Eric Clapton helped arrange. Offering himself as musical director -- as well as use of his band -- Clapton convinced Harrison to do a short tour of Japan in an effort to get him back on stage for the first time since 1974. Though this recording too has been remastered, it was previously only available as a Japanese import, and it is unclear as to whether it will be officially released in the U.S.
Harrison’s first three recordings after 1970’s All Thing Must Pass -- Living In The Material World (1973), Dark Horse (1974), and 1975's Extra Texture -- have apparently not yet been readied for re-issue.
Copyright © 2004 by Lark Publishing, Inc. (Randy). All rights reserved. Duplication prohibited.
George Harrison in 1971.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All written works contained herein are under the exclusive ownership of Lark Publishing, Inc.
(Randy). All rights reserved. Duplication prohibited. No text may be used in whole or in part without expressed written consent of Lark Publishing, Inc.
Have a question or suggestion? CONTACT