Living in the Material World
Pulled out my vinyl copy today and gave it a listen. I also perused the cover and inserts and had some flashbacks to the summer of '73.
This was the last time George would have a #1 album. Coming off the heels of two huge sellers (both triple albums), All Things Must Pass and Concert for Bangla Desh, it flew off the shelves. But after this one, he never cracked that #1 spot again and people sort of lost interest in him.
Some of my favorite memories include the fact that Ringo plays on it, which gives the album a Beatlesque sound. And I love the fact that on the title track he mentions that he met 'John and Paul in the material world' and found 'Richie', too.
The back cover parodies Paul's Red Rose Speedway which had a blurb to join the 'Wings Fun Club'. George has a similar blurb to join the 'Jim Keltner Fan Club' (complete with wings bookending Jim's name) and to send a 'self addressed elephant' to the Apple office.
Red Rose had only come out about six weeks earlier, and I remember thinking at the time that it was funny, but also kind of petty considering George's message of love and karma, etc. But I guess he was sending a message to Paul that they weren't playing to teeny boppers anymore, and the idea of a 'fan club' was a bit silly. And with Paul being surrounded by sycophants, who else could tell him?
Good but not a great album, it was his last gasp at the big time. People bought it on the reputation of All Things Must Pass. But like Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, he could never top that first effort.
This was the last time George would have a #1 album. Coming off the heels of two huge sellers (both triple albums), All Things Must Pass and Concert for Bangla Desh, it flew off the shelves. But after this one, he never cracked that #1 spot again and people sort of lost interest in him.
Some of my favorite memories include the fact that Ringo plays on it, which gives the album a Beatlesque sound. And I love the fact that on the title track he mentions that he met 'John and Paul in the material world' and found 'Richie', too.
The back cover parodies Paul's Red Rose Speedway which had a blurb to join the 'Wings Fun Club'. George has a similar blurb to join the 'Jim Keltner Fan Club' (complete with wings bookending Jim's name) and to send a 'self addressed elephant' to the Apple office.
Red Rose had only come out about six weeks earlier, and I remember thinking at the time that it was funny, but also kind of petty considering George's message of love and karma, etc. But I guess he was sending a message to Paul that they weren't playing to teeny boppers anymore, and the idea of a 'fan club' was a bit silly. And with Paul being surrounded by sycophants, who else could tell him?
Good but not a great album, it was his last gasp at the big time. People bought it on the reputation of All Things Must Pass. But like Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, he could never top that first effort.
posted by John Goins at 7:38 PM
1 Comments:
Enjoying reading your blog...sayin' hey.
Post a Comment
<< Home