All Things Must Pass 2020 Remix

[westen44]

The 50th anniversary edition of the album came out a few months ago, although the remixing had actually occurred in 2020.  This ended up being much more controversial than I had expected.  Because several people were really disappointed by the results.  I didn't actually buy this until not long ago.  So I was forming my impressions mostly by what I had seen on You Tube videos.

For some reason, Bobby Whitlock wasn't consulted at all on anything that they did.  And when he finally got to listen to the remix itself, he was very critical.  I know this because I watched his video before it was taken down.  He didn't get too specific, but he must have used the word "awful" at least ten times.  He said the remix sounded like it had been done by some high school students in a garage. 

Other critics, just regular people on You Tube, agreed with what Bobby Whitlock had said.  Their main concern seemed to be with both the vocals and bass being too loud.  I didn't know what to think before I got a chance to listen.  To me having prominent vocals and bass seems like a good thing.  When I finally got to listen to the album, I was very pleased.  They made an attempt to at least lessen Phil Spector's wall of sound.  The vocals are clearer and i like that.  I also like the bass being more prominent this time.  Overall, this version of ATMP seems to have a sonic clarity that other versions lacked, IMO.  But like I said, all of this is controversial.  There are many opinions going around.  But this is mine.  BTW, the album comes in many formats.  I got the 3 CD version.  The last CD consists of studio outtakes, etc.  But it comes even in a super deluxe version that is 1K.  That's the one the George Harrison estate sent Bobby Whitlock.  He said the only thing he liked about it were the gnomes and that's the only reason he kept it.  Mine cost a little less than $30.  It was worth it.  After reading all the negative comments, I guess I ended up liking the album more than I was expecting.  Because I had an open mind going into this, but let, of course, my ears decide. 

[uwe]

I'm sitting on the fence. I have the 30th Anniv. Remaster, where Harrison writes in the liner notes he was "very tempted to remix because there is too much echo", but decided against it for historical accuracy. And I have this 50th Anniv. Remaster & Remix now. I've listened to them both side by side. Yes, George's voice is more prominent on the new mix (but I'm not really a fan of vocals pushed forward in the mix, devalues the music in my ears) and whenever you take reverb and echo away, it benefits the bass. But to my ears, the new mix sounds a bit like demos to the original version; Spector's work - like it or not (and I'm certainly no fan) - sounded more 'produced'. That billowing sound which can give you headaches if you listen to all of All Things Must Pass in one go  , is also an intrinsic part of the album's charm/mystique.

Hear for yourself:

30th Anniv. Remaster



50th Anniv. Remix



I think for a song longing for a closeness to God, the new version just doesn't sound as 'spherical' (in the sense of sphere as an otherworldly region) or ethereal to me, that grand Phil Spector halo (not really a "wall of sound", more a "shroud" or "haze of sound") around voice and instrumentation is missing, George sounds more forlorn and yearning to me on the original mix. And I seriously doubt whether humble George Harrison of all people would have liked his voice that upfront had he been alive to oversee this (of course, these days he's regarded as a deity himself, so reverence might have played a role in the mix or maybe Dhani Harrison just wanted to hear his dad real loud and intimate). But for a generation listening to music mostly with earbuds and accustomed to how vocals have become progressively louder in pop music, it's perhaps perfectly right. Or if you want the illusion of George Harrison singing My Sweet Lord to you in the privacy of your living room. All that said, the 50th Anniv. Remix is not bad, just very different, maybe I just need to get used to it.

I will in any case keep both versions. All Things Must Pass is certainly good enough to have it twice. But Harrison's milestone of an album without the Spector element - a difficult man whose production methods were always divisive and who fell from grace through his own doing and ended as a sentenced murderer - isn't quite the same for me.

And for completeness' sake, here is Harrison's 2000 rerecording of it (with Sam Brown*** being the female voice towards the end, her parents were neighbors of George's Henley-on-Thames mansion, she tragically lost her singing voice in 2007 for unknown reasons and can no longer hold a note). Even in that rerecording which he still oversaw, his voice isn't as prominent as in the 50th Anniv. Remix above (I was gonna write "overbearing" rather than prominent, but can you really use that description with a voice as gentle as George's?)



I only realize now that he didn't even make it to 60 - so sad. And btw: He was always the most handsome Beatle to me (my wife thinks so too!).

***That Sam Brown here, 80ies oversinging, true, but it was the times ...

[westen44]

I'm definitely keeping both versions, too, the 30th anniversary and 50th anniversary versions.  But with the 50th I think my expectations were so low that I was very surprised when I heard it.  Because some of those people criticizing it so harshly were people I like and they were very convincing, too.  I do like hearing George's vocals more clearly on the 2020 version.  I've always thought his voice was underrated.  To me it just feels nice to hear some of the vocal nuances that were missing in earlier versions.  But I still highly value the 30th anniversary version. 

It wasn't just Bobby Whitlock's opinion that I was thinking about.  There were several other people whose videos I was taking very seriously before I got a chance to listen to the new version.  One was from a Canadian You Tuber whose videos are always very well done.  He has done several reviews of Golden Earring albums which I think are outstanding reviews.  He was completely siding with Bobby Whitlock.  I like Whitlock, too.  But I couldn't decide in advance about the album and, of course, had to listen to it myself. 

The Phil Spector factor is also something to be considered.  Anything which tries to get rid of his influence is something good.  But I think it was Dhani Harrison who said that if they had got rid of too much the album would have ended up sounding like a big demo.  There is only so much that can be done.  Also, unlike many others, I can't really say that ATMP is my favorite George Harrison album.  I agree with Gary Wright that "Living in the Material World" is the best.  That's, of course, a very minority opinion, but some people, including myself, have it. 

[westen44]

Here is Sam Brown singing "Horse to the Water" from the Concert for George.  This is audio only.  There is a video of it, too, of her singing it, but it's very short and just a snippet. 



George's version is the last song he ever recorded.  (It is found on a Jools Holland album).