50 Years Ago: All Things Must Pass
Today in 1970, George Harrison released his first post-Beatles solo album
In some sense, all music after the Beatles was about the Beatles, but this was particularly true of music released by former Beatles.
Soon after the group announced its breakup in April 1970, all four members were onto new solo projects. Ringo somehow beat everyone to the punch, dropping Sentimental Journey (no symbolism there) a month before the band even officially broke up.
A couple weeks later, Paul released his own solo debut, McCartney, where he found himself in a liminal state on the hit single “Maybe I’m Amazed”:
Maybe I’m a man and maybe I’m a lonely man
Who’s in the middle of something
That he doesn't really understand
Paul would soon sprout a band called Wings (no symbolism there) and spar with John over the cultural value of silly love songs.
John, meanwhile, slammed Paul’s album as “Engelbert Humperdinck music” in a Rolling Stone interview while promoting his own project, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, an album inspired by primal scream therapy. On the song “God” he screams, primally:
I don’t believe in Beatles!
I just believe in me.
Well then. That brings us to George Harrison, who 50 years ago today released All Things Must Pass (no symbolism there), the title track of which begins:
Sunrise doesn’t last all morning
A cloudburst doesn’t last all day
So level-headed!
Easily the best solo debut of the bunch, All Things Must Pass is a neither mournful nor regretful nor nostalgic. It is simply a beautiful, plainspoken reflection on time and memory and loss. Unlike his bandmates, George seemed pretty chill with the past, which makes for the perfect Black Friday playlist:
“All Things Must Pass”- He couldn’t possibly be talking about the demise of the most important rock group in history, could he?
“What Is Life” - An unexpected Motown-inspired hit that became a movie soundtrack favorite.
“Isn’t It a Pity” - Probably about a girl, but it sure sounds like a band eulogy.
“I’d Have You Anytime” - Co-written by Bob Dylan, you can almost — very briefly — hear what it might have sounded like if Dylan were a Beatle.
“My Sweet Lord” - A surprising blend of gospel, that signature weepy guitar, and Phil Spector’s production.
MORE ANNIVERSARIES
30 Years Ago Today: John Major was elected to succeed Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of England.
80 Years Ago Today: Bruce Lee was born.
100 Years Ago Today: The Mask of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks debuted. Often called the first American superhero film, it became a crucial element in DC Comics lore, because Bruce Wayne saw his parents murdered in front of him at a screening of the film in Gotham City in 1920. The experience led him to don a mask and become Batman.
110 Years Ago Today: Penn Station opened in New York City.
125 Years Ago Today: Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Prize.