George Harrison - Through Many Years

Label: Vigotone, VT-181

"George rarities continue to pop up and this set has 'em. The track listing will include some previously unheard All Things Must Pass outtakes taken from dubs made by the late Abbey Road engineer John Barrett and other surprises as well as some bonus material from Ringo. All tracks from tape sources."

George Harrison
All Things Must Pass Outtakes
1 I Live For You 3:41
2 Dehra Dun 3:30
3 Gopala Krishna 2:27
4 Going Down To Golders Green 2:27
5 Get Back 2:52
6 Pete Drake's Talking Steel Guitar 5:12
George's Solo Demos
7 Old Brown Shoe 3:08
8 All Things Must Pass 3:06
9 Something
Non-LP B-sides
10 Deep Blue 3:47
11 Miss O'Dell 2:20
12 I Don't Care Anymore 2:40
Ringo Starr
Alternate Version for George Martin TV special
13 Octopus's Garden 2:52
Sentimental Journey Outtake
14 Stormy Weather 2:54
Beaucoup Of Blues Outtakes
15 The Wishing Book 1:17
16 Whispering Book 3:09

Featuring unreleased and rare performances by "the other two" Beatles, Through Many Years is a tribute to the talents of George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The tracks included here have been taken from the finest sources available, including dubs made by late Abbey Road studio engineer John Barrett.


Introduction

Welcome to a collection of rare and unreleased tracks by "the other two" Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The recordings George and Ringo made in the early 70's bested those of their two more esteemed colleagues both aesthetically and critically (as well as on the charts!) many times, and the music featured here does nothing to challenge that fact.

Many of the tracks on this set owe their appearance on this set to the Abbey Road vault search the late John Barrett undertook in 1982. The reference cassettes he made while doing said research (see our other fine compilation Turn Me On Dead Man: The John Barrett Tapes for more details) are the primary source used for most of the tunes on Through Many Years. Other songs have come from the finest sources yet, so sit back and enjoy some down-to-earth music from the quiet one with a little help from his friend Ringo.

Gerard O'Brian
June 1999


1. I Live For You
This and the next five tracks were recorded during the All Things Must Pass sessions at Abbey Road between May and October of 1970. "I Live For You", an otherwise unreleased Harrison composition, has previously appeared on other releases from an acetate source, but this is a beautiful sounding take from the Barrett dubs.

2. Dehra Dun
A real surprise find, "Dehra Dun", another unissued Harrisong, was first heard by most fans in 1995 in a short informal rendition played by George on ukulele in The Beatles Anthology. George, Paul and Ringo are sitting on George's Henley-On-Thames grounds talking about songs the Beatles wrote in India in 1968, and this tune was one of them. Here's a 1970 studio version, obviously unfinished, but still exciting to hear.

3. Gopala Krishna
Not one of George's more comprehensible lyrics, but still a pleasant enough tune which seems to be a remnant of his Radha Krishna Temple work.

4. Going Down To Golders Green
A jam session in all but name, George is making this one up as he goes along, but does a good job of it. This happens to be the area in London where Badfinger lived, though whether that had anything to do with his name-checking the area is doubtful.

5. Get Back
This is a prize; George taking the piss out of a song he certainly got tired of performing during the interminable Get Back/Let It Be sessions, with hilarious results.

6. Pete Drake's Talking Steel Guitar
Ever wondered what "Danny Boy" or "Bridge Over Troubled Water" would sound like if performed vocally through a steel guitar? Well, you're about to find out, as the late, great Pete Drake showed George and Co. how it was done in this All Things Must Pass session tape extract.

7. Old Brown Shoe
8. All Things Must Pass
9. Something
These demos were recorded on February 25, 1969, George's 26th birthday. All three were done as "one man band" productions, and also appeared in somewhat inferior 1996 mixes on Anthology 3. Included here are John Barrett's 1982 mixes of the first two tracks, with "Something" coming from an original acetate just for completeness and authenticity's sake.

10. Deep Blue
11. Miss O'Dell
12. I Don't Care Anymore
The three heretofore-uncollected-on-LP-or-CD George Harrison B-sides, have all been painstakingly remastered from the finest sources available. Just to refresh your memory: "Deep Blue" was the B-side to "Bangla Desh" issued in July 1971; "Miss O'Dell" backed "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" in May of 1973; and "I Don't Care Anymore" was the flip side of the US "Dark Horse" 45, released in November of 1974, and the UK "Ding Dong Ding Dong" single in December of the same year.

13. Octopus's Garden
A fascinating version of Ringo's second and last authored Beatles track recorded for a George Martin IBA Network special broadcast on Christmas Eve 1969. Most of the Beatles basic tracks for the song recorded for the Abbey Road LP remained, but the bass, piano and lead guitar were removed in a remix done on December 2, 1969 at Abbey Road. This was due to the need to make the track different from the record because of Musician's Union lip-syncing rules. On December 8, these parts were re-recorded by other musicians, and Ringo redid his lead vocal, but all other elements of the Beatles' recording are present.

14. Stormy Weather
The one and only unreleased recording from Ringo's first solo effort, the "standards" LP, Sentimental Journey. Recorded November 6, 1969, produced by George Martin at Abbey Road, and unheard until now.

15. The Wishing Book
16. Nashville Freakout
Two unissued items from sessions for the second Nose LP, the countrified Beaucoups Of Blues. "The Wishing Book" (must be a short read) and the instrumental "Nashville Freakout" were recorded in late June of 1970 at Music City Recorders in Nashville, during sessions produced by Pete Drake. A different edit and mix of "Freakout" was titled "Nashville Jam" on the BOB CD reissue.