All Things Must Pass

Though George Harrison's solo albums for most of the 1970s and early '80s were uneven, often slapdash affairs, 1970's ALL THINGS MUST PASS is a brilliant piece of work. Produced by Phil Spector, whose expansive, majestic arrangements and sonic flourishes suit Harrison's songs perfectly, ALL THINGS MUST PASS eclipses everything the other Beatles recorded at the time (excepting John Lennon's PLASTIC ONO BAND). This sprawling double record gives the impression of Harrison being uncorked and pouring forth all of the songs and ideas edged out by Lennon and McCartney during the Beatles years. plus...

The title and the melancholic black and white cover photo match the mood of the music, which brims with an armchair wisdom, and the weary, disillusioned air that permeated the early '70s in the counter-cultural wake. Yet the album also boasts an abiding sense of spirituality and tenacious optimism, as on the lullaby-like hit single "My Sweet Lord" and "Isn't It a Pity", a compassionate study of human suffering. "What Is Life" and "Awaiting on You All" continue these themes, but Spector's bright pop polish lends a counterweight, making the record feel light and deeply personal at once. Despite some lengthy, formless jams, as on the 11-minute-plus "Out of the Blue", ALL THINGS MUST PASS stands among the great records of the early '70s.

Mojo (1/02, p.69)
- Included in Mojo's "Best Reissues of 2001".

Rolling Stone (1/7/71, pg.46)
- "..an intensely personal statement and a grandiose gesture, a triumph...an album of striking honesty and force.."

Rolling Stone (10/12/00, p.94)
- 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...An album that is simultaneously modest and bold...[it] has stood up well to the passing of time....a bracing air of creative liberation..."

Entertainment Weekly (1/26/01, p.103)
- "...Brighter, remastered sonics....Harrison and Phil Spector's Wall of Krishna Sound is still majestically congested, and the songs are so strong that Harrison would never top them. Even the jams feel refreshing in their looseness..." - Rating: A-

Q (3/01, pp.122-3)
- 5 stars out of 5 - "...Rock and religion have rarely, if ever, been so happily conjoined....it remains the single most satisfying collection of any solo Beatle, maybe sounding even fresher for being sidelined so long..."

Mojo (3/01, pp.86-7)
- "...This remains the best Beatles solo album....oozing both the goggle-eyed joy of creative emancipation and the sense of someone pushing himself to the limit..."

Alternative Press (5/01, p.96)
- "...His best and most accomplished work..."