George Harrison - The Apple Years Box Set (Pt5)

...Olivia even said earlier this month that she's afraid the tapes will start deteriorating soon and it would be a shame if the world at large didn't get to hear the archival material. Yet, Dhani said recently that HE needs a break from archival duties to concentrate on his own career. And HE should do just that... but allow Giles Martin et al to go through the archives, one damn tape at a time, and issue a box set or various volumes of B00tleg CDs or downloads. That snippet sounds gorgeous and yet it languishes in the vaults. Hopefully the Harrison's will figure out exactly what to do in the near future. It would surely be a shame if we never get to hear more demos and unreleased performances. Ron

PS A 4 CD boxset would be most welcomed. It could be somewhat themed as well:

CD 1 Early Takes Volume 2. Home demos, posh studio demos, early versions of songs.

CD 2 Cover Songs. Such as Fear Of Flying, the many Bob Dylan covers, standards by Hoagy Carmichael etc... Wouldn't hurt to include some of the infamous Friar Park jams with his friends Paul, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Jon Lord, etc...

CD 3 Unreleased/Rare Studio. Including the first mixes of Flying Hour, Sat Singing, Lay His Head, Tears Of The World. The 45 mix of I Don't Want To Do It, Abandoned Love, Poor Little Girl, Cockamamie Business, Hottest Gong In Town, Valentine, etc...

CD 4 Songs Given Away. Any guide vocals or early versions of songs George wrote for others featuring his lead vocals. Including the many songs given to Ringo, Clapton, Billy Preston and many others.

 

That was great! Thanks for the tip and the link!

Too bad it isn't complete. It really makes you wonder how many other things like that
are sitting around (unbooted).

 

YES.

And then have someone archive it all and make a book or something just detailing everything that's out there.

 

I kept pressing "like" so many times in response to this, I think I broke my phone.

 

Yes! Amazing, all of these things, c'mon Olivia throw us a bone... or a box set.

 

The entire interview is fascinating, and may actually be one of the most substantial peeks into George's private recordings since the 1999 Timothy White interview. [Who else would now welcome a "George's Jukebox" CD?] Not only did we get a bit of George's "Fear Of Flying" demo, but Olivia referenced a few more songs or recordings -- and actually made it seem like the vault discovery process is an ongoing, every day thing. Here are my transcriptions of her most informative quotes:

Olivia: "Somewhere in the vault is a tape of them [George and Billy Preston], probably early hours of the morning, singing to each other 'When you Wish Upon A Star.' And it's just the sweetest thing."

Olivia: "He was always recording, always writing, so there were lots of unfinished songs, unfortunately. Maybe someday someone will finish them."

Olivia: "But one of the things I found was George covering a version of your very own Charlie Dore's -- English singer/songwriter -- 'Fear Of Flying.' She was, um … We had lots of mutual friends, and someone brought her over one day, and George loved the song, and he just did a version. It's a demo, it's not embellished, it's just him, George, on an acoustic guitar. I don't know how he'd feel about it being played, but I think it's really sweet."

Olivia: "Yeah, he was inspired [by random things]. I remember saying something, 'Ah, I've been saying that 'til I'm blue in the face!' And he was like, 'Blue in the face, that's good.' And the other day I found lyrics to a song called 'Blue In The Face'!"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04ksnqm

I'm sure Dhani is a little burnt out on his Dad's projects right now, and I completely respect his need to do his own thing, but Olivia consistently (here, and in previous interviews) seems eager to get more of George's music to the public. If I was turned loose in the Friar Park vaults, I have no doubt I could put together at least a dozen releases that would expand and deepen George's legacy. As Ron said above, Olivia just needs to take the step of hiring someone they both trust to curate it. There's no need for Dhani to feel obligated to do the heavy lifting; a knowledgeable curator who understands and loves George's music could just present a CDR of a proposed release, and Olivia would probably know immediately if George would have approved of it. Mix it, master it, and release it! Once a year around George's birthday until we're all old and gray...

 

I've really been disappointed with the lack of more "new" material from George. EARLY TAKES VOL. 1 seems so long ago now. I'm glad to get the feeling that Olivia seems to want to release more of it, but I'm not quite sure how Dhani fits into it. I mean, if Dhani feels he needs a break, can't Olivia still take care of it? Is this a situation where both parties must approve?

 

AIUI, someone IS going through all his tapes as they haven't all been checked yet. Don't think I've heard a name, though.

 

I think the main reason is that George didn t like to scrape the bottom of a barrel.

 

It's a matter of perspective. Seems like most here on this thread would disagree with George and say, "Bottom? The barrel has barely even been opened!"

 

But you know, I think demos and stuff like this really gives the truest glimpse of George through his music that we could ever possibly get now. You've got his work with the Beatles which isn't really a true glimpse of George, then you've got his solo work, and then you've got his demos which are simply him strumming a guitar in front of a tape recorder. It doesn't get much better than that in my opinion.

 

Well I just uploaded the demo of "Fear of Flying" on YouTube.



It's a really great demo so I can't wait to hear the full version. I'm guessing it was recorded in 1979/1980 because the album that the original version of the song was released on came out in 1979. It also fits perfectly with the album "George Harrison".

 

^^^Whenever it is from, George's voice is in fine shape. Arnie

 

Perhaps this is just nasty chatter on the Devil's Radio, but wasn't there something else going on behind the scenes on that tour that may or may not have affected the looseness of the performances?

 

I presume you mean:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...got-revenge--little-help-George-Harrison.html

Arnie

 

That could be a load of Goss-ip, Goss-ip. Didn't George actually send Eric his blessing, in a way, when he got Patti? It never seemed that George harbored any resentment, but who knows.

 

I think he'd be happy to release these things if he knew how many people wanted to hear them. As the RAH gig showed, he had spent much of his life genuinely believing no one liked him or was interested in what he had to offer:

“Unreleased Material? I’ve got more stuff than Jim Reeves ever dreamed of. It’s all lying there in the attic. It’s all stuff no one ever wanted because it wasn’t commercial or it said things no one wanted to hear… But anyway, I’ve got loads of it.” (1988)

"Fifty Years Adrift" Press Conference w/ Derek Taylor (1984):

QUESTION: Will you perform live again?

GEORGE: What do you think this is? This is a day’s work. You mean musically, I don’t know. I doubt it, it’s too much trouble. Besides, I’m not sure anybody wants to see me.

--

"In the Studio" Radio interview (1992):

GEORGE: The last time I played in England was with The Beatles in 1965.

INT.: That’s hard to believe.

GEORGE: ‘65 or 4 - but I did do two tunes on the uh, Prince’s Trust, and I did the Carl Perkins TV special, but right - I never performed, uh…

INT.: That’s remarkable and not that well-known. Not that many people realise that.

GEORGE: I don’t think many people care. Who cares?

INT.: Noo. How were you received? Somebody must’ve cared.

GEORGE: Well they loved it - that’s the -

INT.: Well then someone cares.

GEORGE: That was the best thing for me was that - for a number of years, the British press can be pretty nasty. Not just to me, to everybody, particularly people who are British. They don’t seem to like their own people, or they, you know…they build you up, and then they knock you down. And for years I always had the press always being bitchy and nasty, and I’d built up this impression that the British don’t like me and my music, and I thought well that’s alright by me. I can live here quietly, you know? *laughs* And uh, that showed me - when I stepped on the Royal Albert Hall - it - it was unbelievable. I couldn’t control - the audience were just so happy. It was the most incredible buzz. It was like a love-in! *laughs* I mean, it was -

INT.: It sounds like it was overwhelming.

GEORGE: It was like one of them things that I coulda just stood on my head and done anything, and they just loved it. So maybe that’s because absence makes the heart grow fonder…

 

Well, for what it's worth, Clapton didn't imply anything like that went on in his autobiography, and given how honest he was about other instances of cheating, I would think that's something he'd bring up (if he knew about it). AFAIK Del Santo is a pretty sketchy person (especially since she went to the DailyFail) but if something did happen, I highly doubt it was anything to do with getting "revenge".

 

IMO, With all the discussion going on here, it seems although hiring someone to go over all the recordings GH has would be logical, but it seems Olivia and Dhani would be cautious to just have hire anyone, who would just be willing to immerse themselves in finding the ideal recordings to release. Also, the two (Dhani and Olivia) may also differ in opinion as to what should be released. Hearing demos certainly would be interesting, but I honestly believe George was not about demos. He could have easily released an acoustic album of songs (new or old) but he did not, I have to think that says something about GH. The hard core fans would certainly want to hear everything, but they want to protect his legacy as well, and if there are things he made that he did not want released, I think they should respect his wishes.
Giles Martin would be an ideal candidate to peruse the GH archive, but he may have other things on his plate.

 

I could've sworn I saw a quote once where George said he'd like to do an acoustic album, but I'm not sure if I'm getting him confused with someone else. I can't tell how exactly he felt about demos. Sometimes he implied he wanted them left alone and not made "too posh" but other times he said the opposite.

 

Well, in fairness to Dhani, there are those of us who are still waiting for him to get one of his father's projects

Aside from some wishful (and admittedly fanciful) thinking, I don't think anyone has seriously suggested "a fan" trawl through the FPSHOT vaults. Giles Martin, Ken Scott, Paul Hicks - these are names which have seriously been bandied about for that project. Either here or in other threads, it was simply stated that it would be wise for them to consult a select group of fans/experts who might point out some things that they seem to have missed prior to final release - because Krishna knows, every damned one of these Harrison Estate projects have missed something major...

 

Your account sounds accurate of George, he may have been interested in doing something acoustic, but always seem to not go through with it. And just because he felt a demo sounded fantastic to him doesn't necessarily imply he wanted it to be released as commercial product.

 

Sorry about the unfinished thought at the start - was from a reply started and then abandoned last week!

 

Regardless how much unreleased George Harrison material is in the Friar Park archive, one thing is clear: the window to release that material to an appreciative audience is rapidly fading. I'm near 60 and am very interested. My son, 30 years old, hasn't the slightest interest. My generation won't live forever, so it's pretty much issue it now (or soon) or never. And that would be a shame if this stuff never saw the light of day.

Another point on the Apple set: I was really unsure about hearing the second version of This Guitar on ET, somehow fearing it might be a cheap shot to add new overdubs to an old track after Harrison's death. But it works and I like it.