Wiki
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Release Date
20 November 1970
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Length
29 tracks
All Things Must Pass is a triple album by English musician George Harrison. Released in November 1970, it 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 were turned down by Harrison's former band, the Beatles. The album reflects the influence of his musical activities outside the Beatles during 1968–70 – with Bob Dylan, the Band, Delaney & Bonnie, Billy Preston and others – and Harrison's growth as an artist beyond his supporting role to former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The album introduced Harrison's signature sound, the slide guitar, and the spiritual themes that would be implicit throughout his subsequent solo work. The original vinyl release consisted of two LPs of songs and a third disc of informal jams, titled Apple Jam. Commentators interpret Barry Feinstein's album cover photo, showing Harrison surrounded by four garden gnomes, as a statement on his independence from the Beatles.
Production began at London's Abbey Road Studios in May 1970, with extensive overdubbing and mixing continuing through October. Among the large cast of backing musicians were Eric Clapton and Delaney & Bonnie's Friends band – three of whom formed Derek and the Dominos with Clapton during the recording – as well as Ringo Starr, Gary Wright, Preston, Klaus Voormann, John Barham, Badfinger and Pete Drake. The sessions produced a double album's worth of extra material, most of which remains unreleased.
All Things Must Pass was critically acclaimed on release and, with long stays at number 1 on charts around the world, commercially successful. The album was co-produced by Phil Spector and employs the latter's Wall of Sound production technique to notable effect; Ben Gerson of Rolling Stone described the sound as "Wagnerian, Brucknerian, the music of mountain tops and vast horizons". Reflecting the general surprise at the assuredness of Harrison's post-Beatles debut, Melody Maker's Richard Williams likened the album to Greta Garbo's first role in a talking picture and declared: "Garbo talks! – Harrison is free!" Several critics consider All Things Must Pass to be the best of all the Beatles' solo albums.
In March 2001, following a successful reissue campaign coinciding with its 30th anniversary, the album was certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2012, Rolling Stone placed All Things Must Pass 433rd on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
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