All Things Must Pass by George Harrison

All Things Must Pass, George Harrison's third studio album, arrived in November 1970 as a triple album on Apple, his first solo work after the Beatles broke up that April. Harrison produced it with Phil Spector, starting at London's EMI Studios in May 1970 and overdubbing and mixing right through October, and Spector's Wall of Sound turns the whole thing into a cathedral. The cast is enormous: Eric Clapton, members of Delaney & Bonnie's Friends band (three of whom teamed up with Clapton as Derek and the Dominos during the sessions), Ringo Starr, Gary Wright, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, John Barham, Badfinger and Pete Drake.

The quiet Beatle had songs piling up, and here they pour out, among them "Isn't It a Pity" and the title track, both passed over for Beatles records. You can hear his time with Bob Dylan, the Band, Delaney & Bonnie and Preston in the loose, communal feel, and this is where his trademark slide guitar and the spiritual concerns that ran through his later work first come to the fore. "My Sweet Lord" glows like a hymn with a backbeat, "What Is Life" charges in on a brassy, joyous riff, "Wah-Wah" roars, and "Beware of Darkness" broods beautifully. The third disc, Apple Jam, is just the band blowing off steam.

Barry Feinstein's cover shot of Harrison sitting among four garden gnomes has often been read as a declaration of independence from the Beatles. The album spent long stretches at number one around the world, earned an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys, and after the 30th anniversary reissue he oversaw in the last year of his life, it has been certified seven-times platinum.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.