• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Dec 05, 2024 Web Exclusive By Lee Campbell

George Harrison’s fourth solo album, the deeply spiritual Living in the Material World, straddles hope and the realities of our bloated needs and wants. Curated and produced by his son Dhani and George’s wife Olivia, the half-century edition is a stunning piece of work, delivered with the love and care you would expect.

Limited to 5,000 copies, the Super Deluxe Edition box-set features the album on two LPs and two CDs, including a bonus disc with 12 previously unreleased renditions of every original album song. As well as some Blu-ray and Dolby Atmos bells and whistles there is an exclusive 7-inch single of the never-before-heard recording of “Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond),” featuring Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Rick Danko from The Band, alongside Ringo Starr. The set also boasts a beautiful 60-page hardcover book with unseen imagery and lyric notes from the era.

We all saw The Beatles recent Get Back documentary, including the dismissive tone towards Harrison from Lennon and McCartney during rehearsals. Harrison’s redemptive and forgiving “Who Can See It” is a reminder of how much that stung him at the time and his journey to make peace with it. “That is All” and “The Day the World Gets ’Round” are beautifully raw and emotional appeals to mankind to look after one another and respect the planet that we’re part of.
It may feel that Harrison had lived multiple lifetimes by 1973, but he was only 30 years old. Fresh from his passionate fund-raising efforts for the Bangladesh crisis, including those iconic shows at Madison Square Garden, Living in the Material World is a true self-portrait of an artist who was wise beyond his years, making sense of his own life, and the complex, wider world beyond him. I wonder what impact he would have on the world today if he were still with us in physical form. To get a glimpse, a listen to this record is a must. (www.georgeharrison.com)

Author rating: 9/10