George Harrison - Early Takes Volume 1

Released as a companion piece to 'Living in the Material World', the excellent documentary film by Martin Scorsese, this CD offers ten demos and early takes by George Harrison.

When a well documented hoard of recordings was discovered at Friar Park, Harrison's mansion, by his widow Olivia, the task of sorting through them and preparing them for release fell into the capable hands of Giles Martin, son of legendary producer, George. And a great job he has made of what is hoped will be a series of releases.

It is very interesting to hear some of these recordings before they were over produced on the officially released albums. The set kicks off with a version of 'My Sweet Lord' featuring Harrison on acoustic guitar backed by Klaus Voorman on bass and Ringo on drums. The following 'Run of the Mill' features George alone and is in my opinion far superior to the version that appeared on George's first album 'All Things Must Pass'.

I have in my collection a bootleg entitled 'Beware of ABKCO' which also features stripped down demos of many of George's early songs recorded at his home. I love this album as it is just George, occasionally augmented by one or two other musicians, trying out these new songs on acoustic guitar. In between the songs George can be heard coughing, clearing his throat or commenting upon the songs - for example mentioning that he hasn't completed all of the words. Listening to it is like having George playing in my living room. It is that intimate!

Hearing the songs in this format makes one realise just how good they actually are and it brings to mind the two totally different versions of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' that exist. The version we all know from the White Album and the acoustic demo eventually released on the 'Anthology' set. It is like hearing two totally different songs, each one wonderful in its own right.

This latest set is similar but most of the songs have reached the later stage of being recorded in the studio rather that in George's home. Among the songs included is a nice version of Dylan's 'Mama, You've Been On My Mind' and The Everly Brothers 'Let it be me' apparently recorded immediately after Harrison had seen The Everlys at their Royal Albert Hall reunion concert in 1983.

This is a nice album and a lovely reminder of what a great songwriter and performing artist George was. I look forward to more if this material being issued in the future.