Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

145: George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970)

August 06, 2024  /  Amanda Rodgers

“But then I listen to the radio and I hear George’s stuff coming over, well then it’s pretty bloody good.”

–John Lennon

George Harrison was heading toward his creative peak in the late 1960s, but famously had a difficult time getting the other Beatles interested in recording his songs. So when they broke up in 1970, George got a massive group of musicians together and recorded his entire backlog to release all at once. All Things Must Pass was the first ever triple album by a single artist, and (apart from Apple Jam) is a tightly focused, intense, cathartic listening experience unmatched in popular music. In this episode, Amanda, Ben, and Mike do their best to dissect this extremely dense album and prove that George Harrison was a brilliant musician and deserves the highest respect.

Miscellany

  • As promised, here are our sources for this episode! Complete with Amazon affiliate links so you can buy them if you want.

  • The teaser comes from George’s hilarious appearance on Rutland Weekend Television, in which all he wanted was to play a pirate. 

  • We mentioned that Paul was being a little annoying to George during the Let It Be sessions, so it’s only fair to note that George behaved horribly to Paul for years during and after the breakup. 

  • The 2001 re-release of All Things Must Pass came with colorized cover art, and on the booklet there’s a superimposed highway overpass and lots of air pollution. 

  • A very young Phil Collins played congas on an early take of “Art of Dying,” but he doesn’t appear on the final version. 

  • Speaking of which, records for these sessions weren’t very thorough, especially for the percussionists, so in some cases it’s just everybody’s best guess who’s playing what.

  • We mentioned Derek and the Dominoes; that band actually formed out of the sessions for All Things Must Pass, when those guys realized how much they enjoyed playing together. 

  • “Run of the Mill” is another song that sounds very much like The Band could have done it. Just imagine Rick Danko’s voice and Levon Helm playing drums. 

  • Badfinger’s excellent album Straight Up was largely produced by George Harrison, but when he had to go do the Concert for Bangladesh, production was finished up by Todd Rundgren. 

  • If you are the guy who played “All Things Must Pass” at Beatlefest in 1996, or if you know that guy, please email discordpod@gmail.com.  

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • Amanda Rodgers (host)

  • Ben Marlin (moderator)

  • Mike DeFabio 

All Things Must Pass tracklist 

Disc 1: 

  1. I’d Have You Anytime

  2. My Sweet Lord

  3. Wah-Wah

  4. Isn’t It a Pity (Version One)

  5. What Is Life

  6. If Not For You

  7. Behind That Locked Door

  8. Let It Down

  9. Run of the Mill

  10. I Live For You [Bonus]

Disc 2: 

  1. Beware of Darkness

  2. Apple Scruffs

  3. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)

  4. Awaiting On You All

  5. All Things Must Pass

  6. I Dig Love

  7. Art of Dying

  8. Isn’t It a Pity (Version Two)

  9. Hear Me Lord

Disc 3:

  1. Out of the Blue

  2. It’s Johnny’s Birthday

  3. Plug Me In

  4. I Remember Jeep

  5. Thanks For the Pepperoni 

Other clips used 

George Harrison:

  • The Pirate Song

  • Not Guilty

  • No Time or Space

  • Here Comes the Moon

  • Any Road 

Others:

  • The Beatles - You Know What To Do

  • The Beatles - Don’t Bother Me

  • The Beatles - Within You Without You

  • The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Oh Happy Day

  • Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord

  • Roy Wood - Songs of Praise

  • The Chiffons - He’s So Fine

  • Delaney & Bonnie - Comin’ Home (Live)

  • Def Leppard - Animal

  • Spiritualized - So Long You Pretty Thing

  • Weird Al Yankovic - What Is Life

  • Bob Dylan - If Not For You

  • Bob Dylan - If Not For You (Alternate Take)

  • Spiritualized - Cop Shoot Cop (Royal Albert Hall 1997)

  • Dion - Abraham, Martin and John

  • Hexx - Beware the Darkness

  • Delaney & Bonnie - Groupie (Superstar)

  • The Beatles - All Things Must Pass (Anthology 3)

  • The Beatles - On the Day Shift Now/All Things Must Pass

  • Donovan - I Love My Shirt

  • Badfinger - Take it All

  • Badfinger - Day After Day

Band/album personnel 

  • George Harrison – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, Dobro, harmonica, Moog synthesizer, harmonium, backing vocals; bass guitar (2001 reissue only)

  • Eric Clapton – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals (on "Awaiting On You All", "Isn't It A Pity", "Run Of The Mill", "Wah-Wah", "What Is Life")

  • Gary Wright – piano, organ, electric piano

  • Bobby Whitlock – organ, harmonium, piano, tubular bells, backing vocals

  • Klaus Voormann – bass guitar, electric guitar on "Out of the Blue"

  • Jim Gordon – drums

  • Carl Radle – bass guitar

  • Ringo Starr – drums, percussion

  • Billy Preston – organ, piano

  • Jim Price – trumpet, trombone

  • Bobby Keys – saxophones

  • Alan White – drums, vibraphone

  • Pete Drake – pedal steel

  • John Barham – orchestral arrangements, choral arrangement, harmonium, vibraphone

  • Pete Ham – acoustic guitar

  • Tom Evans – acoustic guitar

  • Joey Molland – acoustic guitar

  • Mike Gibbins – percussion

  • Peter Frampton – acoustic guitar

  • Dave Mason – electric and acoustic guitars

  • Tony Ashton – piano

  • Gary Brooker – piano

  • Mal Evans – percussion, vocal on "It's Johnny's Birthday", "tea and sympathy"

  • Ginger Baker – drums on "I Remember Jeep"

  • John Lennon – handclaps on "I Remember Jeep"

  • Yoko Ono – handclaps on "I Remember Jeep"

  • Al Aronowitz – unspecified contribution on "Out of the Blue"

  • Eddie Klein – vocal on "It's Johnny's Birthday"

  • Dhani Harrison – acoustic guitar, electric piano, backing vocals (2001 reissue only)

  • Sam Brown – vocals, backing vocals (2001 reissue only)

  • Ray Cooper – percussion, synthesizer (2001 reissue only) 

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • George Harrison - Wah-Wah (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream All Things Must Pass and other albums by George Harrison at https://www.georgeharrison.com/, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

tags / Amanda Rodgers

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