George Harrison - The Apple Years Box Set (Pt4)

I listened to Dark Horse today, my first time ever. A few impressions:

Hari's On Tour is a neat instrumental, but nothing too special.
Simply Shady could be a better song if it wasn't so hard to hear what George was singing!
So Sad is alright, though I think Alvin Lee's version with George was better
Bye Bye Love wasn't too good...

geez, nothing so far has been bad, but it's not getting any particularly good marks so far...

Maya Love, now this I like. The music is really good, George's guitar work is tasteful but strong. Maybe things are gonna turn around? Let's hope for the best on side 2...

Ding Dong, Ding Dong I've known for years, from an early boot version. I liked that version, and hearing it all dolled up is even better! It's a fun little mantra of a song, and it sounds pretty "festive."
Dark Horse I've known for years. I love his voice on it. The hoarseness gives it such character. A great example of George's somewhat "dark" lyrics paired with very upbeat music. I was listening to George talk with Alan Freeman in 1974 radio special. George considers himself a "dark horse," but he's on a "dark race course," he's no worse than the world that he was born into. Pretty reflective, and a little bleak, I'd say, but certainly an interesting idea.
Far East Man I've known from the Ron Wood version. I loved George's playing on there, and the whole feeling is very similar here (he did use the same musicians.) His voice is not in the best shape, and he doesn't sound too different from old Ron Would (if you let him.)
It Is He - gotta love that wobble board. Well, it's an alright track

I Don't Care Anymore is a real throwaway in the best sense. It sounds like it took as long to make as it does to listen to.
The Dark Horse demo was good, but I thought the backing vocals sounded a bit out of place. The extra lead vocal was a nice treat though.

Overall, I liked the album quite a bit, especially the second half. At it's worst moments, the production can bog it down a bit. I do love George's hoarse voice, and even then, it's not as bad as some reviews made it out to be. The same can't be said for some live clips I've heard, but that's another thing altogether. I can understand why folks wouldn't get into this one, but maybe they'll enjoy Gone Troppo

but write it like this: George, By George!

 

So it's generally agreed the new LITMW is a distinct improvement sound-wise over the 2006? The packaging I saw at a local store looks quite nice.

 

Actually, I don't think there is a clear consensus on that one. The 2006 remaster was so well done that some think it hasn't been topped by the 2014. To me they sound VERY close -- I can't really pick between them.

 

There are a few soundtrack albums that stand on their own as complete experiences by themselves. They tend to be music composed to accompany a film and not to highlight specific timing cues in it. They have to fit the film, but not at the micro level. Wonderwall is such a soundtrack, IMO. George did a lot of intense composition and arranging work, but then checked it generally against the scenes in the film as well. The German electronic band Tangerine Dream produced a number of soundtracks that sound complete and self-contained in this fashion as well, when they were doing film work (as well as some others of the more fragmentary kind).

 

I'll let others debate the sound, but the deluxe 2006 really can't be beat for packaging. You get BOTH of the custom lp labels (1 on cd; 1 on DVD), plus George's comments on each track, lyric reproductions, more photos, etc.

 

I appreciate your comment, Sean. I have the 2006 and love it but the new one's reproduction of the original LP packaging is very appealing to me.

 

I've not spent quite enough time with the new LITMW to be able to state this with certainty but after a few listens, I'm currently leaning toward the 2014. the 2006 is just a bit too bright and natural sounding, particularly the top end, which comes across as nearly brittle. The 2014 doesn't suffer from these issues.

 

LITMW probably wins the award for least improved, because the previous edition was already pretty good, whereas the previous editions of the other titles were not.

 

after repeated listens, I still regard the 2010 ATMP as superior to the 2014.

 

I should have clarified, I meant CD editions.

 

Interesting. I do intend to listen to it again. It might just take a few plays to click with me.

 

My mistake. I got confused and thought he was mentioning Concert for George.

 

No, it is not. It is a step down. Yes, the highs aren't as pumped up as on the 2006 one. But the boomy lows and mids result in too little definition and a much worse listening experience. Buy the box for all albums except this one.

 

Amazon.co.uk is selling the box set for £56.92:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

The cost without the VAT is £47.43 +£3.08 for postage and packaging to USA = £50.51 (USD$81.97)

 

Isn't that a good thing?

 

+1.

 

These remasters are a true revelation in terms of sound quality ET has finally gone from a brittle, harsh sounding disaster into a most listenable album with some actual low end. Stunning!

 

Totally agree. I was always very surprised that George got into synthesizers and MOR muzak so much.

Give me 'Wild Life' any day

 

Now I have a conundrum! I've been holding off buying this because I really can't afford it AND the upcoming Macca deluxes AND new New AND a birthday AND Christmas, but this really is a good offer...

Sway me.

[Edit: don't bother. I pulled the trigger ]

 

I'm always amazed when I compare the late 70s/early 80s George who hated loud music and dance music and all that evil going on in discos with the 50s/60s George who lived and breathed sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll. Of course, he's allowed to change and mellow with age but he really wasn't that old then. Seemed like he just became a hypocritical ranty curmudgeon just because he didn't like the new sound.

 

Booooooooo!!!

 

For someone who was SO into Dylan, I find it surprising that George never really tried to adopt Bob's modus operandi for recording, i.e. record live and quick and get the hell out! In fact, it seems as if George was totally opposite to that, making records that were overly slick and synthetic. But recordings like those on 'Early Takes' show just how much better a 'Dylan' approach could have worked for George, IMO.

 

Funny enough, George, Paul AND John all suffered from this to some degree during their solo careers. Plastic Ono Band is always hailed as John's solo masterpiece and it's almost like a live/demo album. Few overdubs and basically a 3 or 4 piece band. Imagine, while quite good, IS over-produced. Those needless string overdubs (done without John's supervision) don't help, IMO. Mind Games is even slicker. Walls & Bridges (my favorite John solo album) is also over-produced. I favor the stripped down mixes for these last albums , both officially released and b00t. Paul also has to share in the criticism of being slick and overly-produced. George is really no different than the others. We nutters often favor the stripped down nature of demos and studio takes over the released material. A good reason to desire more Early Takes volumes... or better yet, a clear, concise B00tleg Series. Ron

 

I am with you on this - some of these early 70s albums sound way too slick or over-produced. I was hoping Yoko would extend the "Stripped Down" treatment to other Lennon albums but that didn't happen. We do have some excellent stripped down versions from the Lennon Anthology but I would prefer hearing the master tapes in less polished form.

Same thing with George - ATMP itself could be presented for an excellent, alternate stripped down listening experience. I hope Dhani retains the current enthusiasm for his dad's music and now moves on to other more interesting projects. A 4-disc Apple Years follow-up covering demos, alternate takes, stripped down mixes and live performances from 1970-75 would be awesome!

 

I think it all derived from having George Martin as their early "teacher". The Beatles were not adverse to well-produced songs, and George Martin instilled in them the concept that their songs should be well produced. The only time that they tried to break the mold was during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions, and then they hedged the results by hiring Phil Spector to tidy up the "raw" tapes. So even though the 3 main Fabs all occasionally deviated from this method (as seen on Plastic One Band and Wild Life), they all pretty much adhered to maintaining a high level of production. Of course, with changing musical tastes and sounds through the 1970s and 1980s, the Beatles often resorted to over-production or slickness to try something new, to break the grind, or to possibly compensate for the drop in songwriting quality and lack of inspiration. The Beatles were also very accustomed to commercial success, so over-production or slickness may have seemed like the way to achieve that success. However, that wasn't always the case, and many of their attempts failed (Pipes Of Peace, Press, Mind Games, Extra Texture, etc.).

Arnie