George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' 50th anniversary edition out now

Article Contributed by Big Hassle Media | Published on Friday, August 6, 2021

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Harrison’s monumental masterpiece, All Things Must Pass, the album has been completely mixed from the original tapes and expanded with 47 (42 previously unreleased) demos and outtakes, allowing listeners to enjoy and explore the album and the legendary recording sessions like never before. Decades in the making and lovingly crafted by the Harrison family, the album was remixed to fulfill 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), with the product produced by David Zonshine, the new mix transforms the album by sonically upgrading it - making it sound brighter, fuller and better than ever.
 
All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition is available in a variety of formats, including a limited edition Uber Deluxe Edition box set, an 8LP or 6-disc (5CD + Blu-ray) Super Deluxe Edition, or a 5LP or 3CD Deluxe Edition that pairs the main album with the outtakes and jams. The main album is also available on its own as 2CD, 3LP, or limited edition 3LP color vinyl. All versions are available now via Capitol/UMe.
 
Reviews for the 50th-anniversary editions have been nothing short of effusive:
10/10
– UNCUT

5/5
– MOJO
 
5/5
– AMERICAN SONGWRITER
 
“People used to argue whether this triple album should have been edited down to one or two records – but this edition makes you believe it should have been a quadruple album.”
– ROLLING STONE
 
“George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’ 50th Anniversary Edition Proves It’s the Best Beatles Solo LP”
– VARIETY
 
“The Beatles guitarist’s most enduring solo album—tweaked and repackaged with bonus material—sounds better than ever at 50-plus.”

“Spector’s fingerprints remain, but the album now sounds warmer, punchier and more energetic, and the surround-sound mix is seductively immersive.”
– WALL STREET JOURNAL
 
“Remixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks, the deluxe edition of ‘All Things Must Pass’ is chock-full of musical revelations. In Hicks' hands, the original album shimmers into life with the wider sonic palette made possible by technologies that would have been unimaginable five decades earlier.”
– SALON
 
“This new mix updates his finest work for today, in greater detail than ever before, while still managing to retain the atmosphere that binds these 106 minutes together.”
– UNCUT
 
“The original mix’s misty distance has gone, replaced with a clarity and definition that Harrison and Spector didn’t achieve (or seek) the first time around. Previously, one had to, like Spector during the playbacks, turn it up very loud to get the full effect. Not anymore. These mixes come to you.”
– MOJO
 
“These five-decade-old tapes sparkle with renewed life and a depth partially obscured by Spector’s heavy hand… it’s impossible to find fault with the obvious care and attention to detail dedicated to the end product.”

“All Things Must Pass is a landmark set; one that sounded timeless 50 years ago and will have the same effect 50 years from now. Even, perhaps especially, those who have lived with it for decades will enjoy this appropriately classy, beautifully crafted, refreshed/remixed, and likely definitive version.”
– AMERICAN SONGWRITER
 
“Epic, monumental”
– GUITAR WORLD
 
“Across 70 tracks, more than half of them previously unreleased, the album's evolution unspools via demos, outtakes and alternate versions, and it's a pretty remarkable journey.”
– ULTIMATE CLASSIC ROCK
 
“All Things Must Pass, the expanded 50th-anniversary reissue is nothing less than essential. It takes one of the greatest works in popular music history (forgive me if you think this is hyperbole but let’s at least admit that if so, it’s only slight), and expounds upon its genius by exposing its creation… Consider it the seminal reissue of a seminal original. You will find few done better.”
9/10
– UNDER THE RADAR
 
9/10
– FLOOD

To coincide with the release of the anniversary editions, the iconic cover of All Things Must Pass, depicting Harrison and his garden gnomes, has been recreated in larger-than-life fashion as a public, living art installation in London’s Duke Of York Square, King’s Road, Chelsea. The installation opens today and will be available to visit until August 20th. Designed by world-renown floral artist Ruth Davis, of All For Love London, the beautiful, interactive installation features gigantic versions of two gnomes that have been created out of flowers and foliage. The oversized gnomes, the largest measuring five meters, sit atop a large circle of turf, a meaningful, sacred shape, and are surrounded by the seasonal, impermanent beauty George embraced during his life. In the center are a wooden stool and an exaggerated pair of rubber gardening boots, similar to the ones seen on the cover, inviting people to take a seat, put their feet in the boots and create their version of the classic album photo while enjoying the garden.

Photos of the installation, including photos of Olivia Harrison at the opening, are available here

Hailed by Rolling Stone as “the War and Peace of rock and roll” and “an intensely personal statement and a grandiose gesture,” All Things Must Pass was met by unanimous critical acclaim and spectacular commercial success, spending seven weeks at #1 on Billboard’s “Top LPs” chart and eight weeks atop the UK’s official albums chart (though chart records until 2006 mistakenly stated that it had peaked at #4). Currently certified 6x platinum by the RIAA, All Things Must Pass later received a 1972 GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Album of the Year,” while “My Sweet Lord” earned a GRAMMY® nod for “Record of the Year.” “What Is Life,” the album’s second single, also became an international hit, reaching the top 10 in the US and Canada as well as #1 in Australia and Switzerland.
 
All Things Must Pass has only grown in influence and stature in the half-century 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.” Pitchfork declared it to have “changed the terms of what an album could be.”

For more information and other configurations go to GeorgeHarrison.com
 
50th ANNIVERSARY CREDITS
Executive Producer: Dhani Harrison
Product Producer: David Zonshine
2020 Re-Mixed & Produced in Stereo & Atmos by: Paul Hicks
Creative Director: Dhani Harrison
Book curated by: Olivia Harrison and Rachel Cooper
Art Direction: Darren Evans
Archive Research: Don Fleming, Richard Radford and Ryan Williams

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