George Harrison 33 1/3 song by song!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ohnothimagen, May 28, 2018.

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  1. George was right- "Learning How To Love You" is right up there with "Something" & "Your Love Is Forever"!!

    Like with the poppier "Pure Smokey" Harrison mines a Soul/Jazz styling that is up there with similar explorations from Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Becker-Fagan of Steely Dan.

    Simply an absolutely gorgeous ballad & a perfectly amazing album closer to a truly amazing masterpiece of an album!!
     
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  2. revolution_vanderbilt

    revolution_vanderbilt Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    It has some rewarding songs. About half of the titles. It's that the other half are just too uninspired and down. With 33 1/3, I think it's all good, even if some of it still veers a bit left of my taste. I prefer the self-titled album but I think it and 33 make a great pair!
     
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  3. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!" Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    "Learning How To Love You" musically reminds me of Aja; "Pure Smokey" has more of a Gaucho sound to it.
     
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  4. Blue Cactus

    Blue Cactus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    Learning How To Love You is my favorite track from 33 1/3.

    A perfect late night tune and a beautiful album closer. Would also have fit perfectly on The White Album too, me thinks.
     
  5. I just picked up the cd last night. I like the positive vibe and George’s guitar playing is always a pleasure. The only song I was familiar with was Crackerjack Palace (from The Dark Horse best of). Is the bonus track going to be discussed? Where was it taken from?
     
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  6. JFSebastion

    JFSebastion Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maricopa Arizona
    Although its origins may have started much sooner. The original spot for "Tears of the World" was to be on the original Somewhere in England album. Unfortunately the powers to be at the time thought the album in its first form wasn't going to provide a hit song and was out of step with the times. So George, maybe with a hint of malice, pulled four songs from the list, which were: Tears of the World, Sat Singing, Lay His Head and Flying Hour. Replacing four superior songs with: Teardrops, All those Years Ago, and Blood From A Clone. Blood from A Clone was a not so veiled response to the record company's position about his album's supposed short comings. Sarcastically funny, it was propelled by a strange reggae beat all the while lambasting music executives who hated good music, and only followed the trends of the day.
    Tears of the World and the other three superior songs were first issued on CD called Songs by George Harrison and was only available with the purchase of The leather bound short print of the book I Me Mine. Thus insuring only a select few people heard the songs, until they were pirated soon thereafter. Lay His Head was finally issued as the B-Side of Got My Mind Set On You single in 1987. Sat Singing and Flying Hour have yet to be issued on anything official record since. The original Somewhere in England song list was superior to the released version. Had it not been for Lennon's murder and George releasing All Those Years Ago as the lead single from the album. It might have shared the fate that his next album Gone Troppo went through. Sinking without a trace from the charts.
     
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  7. JFSebastion

    JFSebastion Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maricopa Arizona
    33 1/3 was so much more upbeat. The germ of the album does have a connection to Extra Texture. But for me, that's where it ends. Extra texture sounds like an artist mailing one into the record company to fulfill his contract ( it was the last standard LP release by any of the Beatles on Apple, not counting best of's ). Sadly all the best guitar parts were played by Jesse Ed Davis. Of all the Beatles I am biggest on George's solo career. Having said that, I don't own a copy of Extra Texture. I bought it back in the day at a chain record store ( Musicland) for 4.87. It sat in my collection for years played only once through and scant song skipping thereafter. Traded it in on a new copy of George Harrison s/t that I had worn out.
     
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  8. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    "Flying Hour" was included as an iTunes bonus track on Somewhere In England -- although in remixed form, not the version/mix that was deleted from the album.
     
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  9. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!" Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    Nah...one day I may do a Somewhere In England discussion, we'll discuss "Tears Of The World" there since it was one of the four tracks cut from the original Somewhere In England LP.
     
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  10. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    why the hell hasn't somewhere in england been re-released the way George originally intended it?
     
  11. kahlveen

    kahlveen Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I experienced distortion as well, but only on a specific system and with the bloated CDP 7243 5 94086 2 0 2004 remaster. With the original mastering from 1991 CD, 9 26612-2, I have never had a problem. Leads me to believe that the recording itself is okay. Mind mentioning on which mastering/release you're finding the distortion?
     
  12. harifan

    harifan New Member

    Great thread! I'm new to this forum, but I've been reading it for a while. George is not just my favorite Beatle but my favorite artist. I first got into George in elementary school in 1987 with Cloud 9 and then the Wilburys, but the first album of his I owned (and the first CD I ever bought) was Best of Dark Horse and Cracker box Palace was my favorite song then. love to read other fans views of his work! And I also have to say I love Pure Smokey...that guitar solo is
     
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  13. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!" Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    Good question. Maybe someday, but I doubt it...lashing together George's original Somewhere In England would have been a nice bonus for that Harrison vinyl box set they did a year or so ago.
     
  14. Atmospheric

    Atmospheric Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene
    I think my problem is really with Cracker Box Palace. I took a good listen to the entire record and a lot of it is recorded very well. But to my ears Cracker Box Palace just seems is if everything is recorded too hot. It has this boxy wooly right-on-the-verge-of-breakup going on. Curious because I think that song would benefit from crisper cleaner sonics.
     
  15. kahlveen

    kahlveen Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Interesting. I'm not around any of my normal equipment right now otherwise I'd give a good listen and comment on that track specifically. You said "record", am I to understand you're listening to a vinyl LP and not a CD/digital release?
     
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  16. Atmospheric

    Atmospheric Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene
    No. CD.
     
  17. JFSebastion

    JFSebastion Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maricopa Arizona
    Lol. Sorry I am old school. I don't consider digital downloads. Physically released formats only IMO. Lol
     
  18. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    I prefer physical formats myself, but an official release is an official release. "Flying Hour" HAS been released, albeit in a compromised way. (Same thing with the much coveted January 1969 "Isn't It A Pity" demo...)
     
  19. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    An excellent question, and one that should have been prevented in 2004 when Olivia and Dhani assembled the Dark Horse remasters. As much as I support both of their efforts with George's catalog, they really botched what should have been a no-brainer -- releasing the SIE remaster with ALL FOUR cut songs as bonus tracks. Putting "Sat Singing" on the 33-1/3 remaster made no sense, and "Lay His Head" can still only be found (in remixed form) on the "Got My Mind Set On You" single. A real head-scratcher, that one... they restore George's original cover, but not the songs he wanted under it!
     
  20. postscripum

    postscripum Forum Resident

    Location:
    Liverpool
    I love 33 1/3 most because it's so joyous. It's such a delight to hear that in his voice all the way through.
     
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  21. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    yeah, I don't get it. release the original version, and put the other 4 songs on an e.p. packaged with it. would've been great. strange how different "somewhere... " is from 33 1/3 and the self-titled album. the original set of "somewhere..." is a very introspective set of songs.
     
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  22. Tom Daniels

    Tom Daniels Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona
    Learning How to Love You is just a beautiful song. And the solo is a treat, a more mature, grown-up version of the solo on ‘Til There Was You.

    George was understated in a decade that was not. The music has aged well for me.
     
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  23. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Well, I have no problem with them sticking to the original released track list -- since that is how it was released -- but they really muddied up the whole "story" of this album. They went back to the 1980 cover, but retained the 1981 track list -- BUT used some of the 1980 mixes (like "Unconsciousness Rules") that weren't on the 1981 album! On top of all that, they decline to right one of the great wrongs of George's solo career, and leave all the "lost four" songs off the 2004 remaster! Just baffling...
     
  24. revolution_vanderbilt

    revolution_vanderbilt Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Well, as far as Unconsciousness Rules, it was just an edit on the album, and the 2004 CD just used the longer version. Other songs, however, have actual mixing differences: Baltimore Oriole, Hong Kong Blues, and Life Itself.

    The four rejected tracks have all been released: all four were on the combined Songs By George Harrison discs from Genesis. They were all in remixed* form. Lay His Head, in that same remix, was also a b-side to Got My Mind Set On You previously. The remixed Flying Hour was later used on the digital download of Somewhere In England. The original mix of Tears Of The World was (inexplicably) included here on 33 1/3.

    Flying Hour was started during the George Harrison sessions. The original mix remains unreleased. Lay His Head in it's original mix remains unreleased. *Sat Singing's original mix sounds virtually the same as the remix.

    I agree that the bonus tracks were not chosen well at all. There were easily two discs worth of non-album tracks for George at that point, and on top of that they were releasing some unheard demos and mixes.

    They also chose to put that rough demo of Here Comes The Moon on George Harrison, rather than that much better sounding Blow Away demo that did eventually come out as an additional iTunes bonus track.
     
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  25. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Which was my point -- they reverted to "George's" cover, but not "George's" version of the album. They should have done one thing or the other -- 1980 tracklist with 1980 cover, or 1981 tracklist with 1981 cover. In the latter case, the four removed songs would have been the natural bonus tracks -- along with (arguably) the Greenpeace version of "Save The World."
    Sure, yes -- but nearly 30 years ago in exorbitantly expensive packages that 99% of Harrifans couldn't afford then, and certainly can't afford now. Let's put it this way -- only two of the four SIE songs are currently IN PRINT and legally available to buy. "Tears Of The World" and "Lay His Head" are out of print, and that (imo) is a damn shame.
    Another strange turn in the decision-making chain at Harrison Inc. For a guy who was very guarded about his music and preferred even his demos to be "posh," they sure put some dodgy-sounding cassette demos on the remasters. Not to mention that some of them ("Mystical One," "Here Comes The Moon") are pretty boring -- and this is from an avowed Harrison worshipper! There's so much great stuff in the FPSHOT vaults -- and that's just what WE know about... I keep reminding myself that we didn't get the massive Lennon CD archive dig until 1998 -- 18 years after his death -- so maybe it's not so crazy that we haven't gotten a big George rarities box yet. But 2019 is going to be here and gone before we know it...
     
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