George Harrison: Archive Release Speculation

First of all, I am not interested in Harrison again taking a back seat to Lennon/McCartney/Ringo.
ATMP first and foremost needs to soon see the light of day. Concert for Bangladesh could be released in early 2022, which would be 50 years after original film was released. I believe the album came out the last week of 1971, so maybe that also comes out in the first quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, a wildcard George release could be 40th anniversary set of Somewhere In England (on rebooted Dark Horse Records). The original album (including Flying Hour, etc.) would be centerpiece, with bonus tracks including four replacement songs. Who knows, maybe they can remix All Those Years Ago to bring backing vocals of Wings into prominence. I for one would buy such a release on Day 1.

 

Yes, the Dylan performances either land on a deluxe reissue or face the relative obscurity of a Copyright Collection.

 

Umm . . . i think George has taken the ultimate back seat, hasn’t he?

 

Of course, because at SHF it’s all about Paul McCartney!

 

He's sat in a garden in the sky, playing his ukulele.

 

I don't think he is.

Plastic Ono Band was originally released before All Things Must Pass, and the book was released on date while the boxed set that is identified in that book was delayed. It has to be announced soon, since the exact configuration is out – not the track list – and they do not want to delay too long.
Especially as we are having weekly Spotify six-packs coming which will either cover too much of the set or harm the possibility of future set promotion.

All Things Must Pass was likely planned either for the release on the anniversary or for an announcement on its 50th and release on George's birthday — but then came the pandemic and delayed everything.
The release of "All Things Must Pass" digitally indicates work has been done, but they are not going to rush to promote it now while Olivia is in hospital. Once things look better, it will come… and it will come before Get Back and Let it Be:50, since those need additional time.

McCartney III was an unexpected surprise in the middle of it, but it's not a deluxe set at all… it's simply a new album.
Paul released Egypt Station in 2018 near The Beatles:50 and the Wild Life, Red Rose Speedway and Wings 1971-1973 sets with little impact.
Where the biggest impact may be is the amount of coloured vinyls released to get to #1, but part of the thinking may have been that the delay of the others into later in the year (February at least) gives time for the accounts to balance back.
The next release will no doubt come much closer to Get Back and Let it Be:50, as he tends to release that way, while the Archive series has demonstrated success whenever it's released and therefore can wait until the others are out.
Especially given that Concert for Bangladesh is the only 1971/1972 release that's likely to be imminent afterwards.
Some Time In New York City may be released in the fall of 2022 with little competition.

As for Ringo, Ringo's single was an unexpected surprise but note that it's only four tracks — it's not likely a competitor for any of the other products.
And holding it would be wrong.

The Beatles are no longer competing against each other; if anything, I'm finding the releases coming as they are are giving us ample Beatles product to choose at our leisure and evaluate each Beatle individually.
George is taking longer, but his catalogue was absolutely in worse shape than John and Paul. Once they get going, I suspect his will be as regular as the other two.
But not Ringo. Poor Ringo, always left behind. Maybe they'll throw him a banana? Or some grapes?

 

Might not be a problem as long as Columbia still has the rights to release the 8-track.

 

Let’s just hope that A) The ATMP set happens at all (you can never be certain with the Harrison estate) and that B)They don’t continue to disregard his solo career outside of ATMP

 

Great, when reading revolution_vanderbilt's post 'Went To See The Gypsy' came into my mind.

 

All Things Must Pass was originally released before Plastic Ono Band. It came out on November 27, 1970 in the US followed by POB on Dec 11, 1970.

 

POB is the perfect heartwarming record for the Christmas season!

 

Yeah, but that's what we were all saying about 2020, too... Until mid March..

 

Phil spector is dead

 

True. We definitely have a Ringo EP though!

 

I would be flabbergasted if an EP from Ringo rides roughshod over deluxe anniversary box sets. Whether it be POB or ATMP, one of them should be released soon. If Paul can release two archive editions at the same time (as he has done several times), why can't we have POB and ATMP released within a few weeks of each other.

 

Yeah! No need to worry.

 

He was not going to be sent a copy of the deluxe set, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway...

 

He wasn't likely to run off and disappear with it either...

 

Let's face it: when asked in 2015 where you'd be in 5 years, you got the answer wrong. 2020 is a gut punch to everyone – including the music industry. I am just glad that the industry has started to realize they can keep producing and selling records without the touring, and so things are starting to move in that direction.

It won't ride roughshod: Ringo's EP is nowhere an expense that will prevent you from buying either set. What Paul did when releasing two Archives at once was look to see who his competition was — and there wasn't any, other than The Beatles:50, which had the six week difference. I agree that, by the same logic, there is very little reason for Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass to not be released within a few weeks of each other unless there are other competitors in the way from the same label that the label will try and balance out (a very rare occasion) or there are major production problems.

Perhaps that's why we haven't had a date for either yet: they are waiting for a clear sign of normalcy approaching, and then looking to Universal for confirmation on release dates before making the announcement. From what I've seen, it looks like Plastic Ono Band has been ready for an announcement for a while. Then again, Get Back was supposed to be done by last August (remember when it was scheduled then?) and the film isn't done yet either, so who knows?

 

I still think the POB and ATMP deluxe releases will be released at least a few months from each other, most likely because I could see the super deluxe versions of each being just as expensive (if not more) as the Wings 1971-73 box set. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if each had a $400+ version ala the super deluxe version of the Tom Petty Wildflowers reissue.

 

What makes you think POB and/or ATMP are getting that kind of set?

 

Or an Apple..?

I think an Apple Years box could be terrific. I’d probably buy it.

 

It’s just been the trend lately when it comes to these big album anniversary reissues; include various editions of it, capping off with a super-duper ultra limited deluxe version that includes replica memorabilia, lyric sheets, photo prints, deluxe books, patches, etc. I don’t know for sure if that’s happening or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case.

 

The only thing in the Beatle camp to get that expensive of a Deluxe edition is Flaming Pie and Paul’s Archive Editions have always followed a different format than the Beatles or Lennon deluxe edition formats. Certainly don’t see a ultra limited edition release of either. POB most likely will follow Imagine in price and format and ATMP most likely will mimic the White Album.

 

Pretty sure that POB will follow the same format as Imagine and Gimme Some Truth and at the same quite reasonable price point. A deluxe book has already appeared.

All Things Must Pass may be slightly more. It is a triple album and originally had a more exotic format than a standard album so it is possible that the price may be a little higher. There has also been a photo book that covered that period so, unless a Genesis publication variant appeared, which I think we would know about by now, I suspect a classy production but not one that goes over the top.

Other than McCartney, I do not think that any of the ex-Beatles has been unreasonable with their deluxe campaigns. I really hope that a line is put under the wasteful and distasteful marketing ploys. I don't think it does the artist any favours and alienates a lot of people. There are a lot more important issues in play at the moment that are far more deserving of our attention than these that have nothing to do with music.

Stay safe everyone, and here is to a little joy in 2021 and less heartache.