Customer Reviews

My Sweet Lord

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you loved George Harrison, obviously, the decision to buy this single is a no brainer. For anyone else, I'd suggest you buy it immediately! Not just because owning it is a fitting tribute to one of the most underrated musicians and people out there but because the other two tracks are amazing. All three songs are taken from the re-mixed and re-mastered All Things Must Pass (another must-have). "My Sweet Lord" never sounded better. "My Sweet Lord 2000" (featuring George's son Dhani on guitar and singer Sam Brown on backing vocals) is a really lovely remake of the original with a much more gospel feel and amazing slide guitar from Hari Georgeson himself. My personal fave track is the demo version of "Let It Down", one of the sexiest songs George ever wrote. This sparse version featuring just George and his guitar will just cut right through you.

Other musical fads come and go but some things are forever. That includes the music of George Harrison. I only wish I could say the same thing for him. Like so many others, I'm going to miss him more than words can say.

Capitol Records and Gnome Records have re-released the classic George Harrison song from 1970 "My Sweet Lord" in a special commemorative CD single. The CD single also features "Let It Down", a demo from the 2001 All Things Must Pass remaster. The third cut on the CD is the newly recorded "My Sweet Lord (2000)" from the 30th anniversary re-release of ATMP. All three songs come from the 2001 version of ATMP. All three songs are written by George Harrison and produced by Harrison and Phil Spector. The remastering is by Jon Astley who did a superb job in bringing out the clarity of the sound. The original engineers were Ken Scott and Phil McDonald "with thanks to Eddie Klein." Ken Scott re-engineered the 2000 re-release project. The sound quality is excellent. The guitars are up front as are the vocals. George Harrison's slide guitar work can be heard clearly and distinctly. On "My Sweet Lord (2000)", Harrison even plays a sitar at the beginning of the song. The slide work throughout that song is remarkable and original. George Harrison was one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time.But he was never flashy and never showboated. He relied on subtlety and melodic nuance. The CD single captures Harrison's guitar style perfectly. The slide playing on these songs is legendary. Once you hear his solos, you can never forget them, they are that original and powerful.

The cover artwork features a photograph taken by George Harrison himself which shows a greenish-blue flower. The CD itself is violet in color and features the same flower in the center. The back cover is a smaller version of the cover artwork featuring a violet flower. The packaging is very good. What is missing, however, is session information.Who, for instance, played the acoustic guitars in the original "My Sweet Lord"? Was it members of Badfinger? Who? Who is the drummer? Also, the full and complete lyrics should have been included.So the packaging is very sparse.

Overall, the sound quality is excellent. The CD reissue is a fitting tribute to George Harrison and to the song "My Sweet Lord", a classic no. 1 record from 1970-71. "My Sweet Lord" was a totally original and unique song when it came out, a personal song about religious redemption and discovery. Harrison was one of the key figures seeking religious understanding beginning with the meetings with the Maharishi in 1967 and the trip to India in 1968. "My Sweet Lord" is the culmination of this religious quest. The commemorative "My Sweet Lord" CD single is an excellent tribute to both Harrison and the song. For those who have never heard the song, it is a remarkable introduction. The proceeds from the sale of this single will go to the Material World Foundation, a charity.

I have read the reviews that characterize this release as an attempt to cash in on the recent death of George Harrison. I disagree.

Many times, when someone passes on, notices appear requesting that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to charity in the name of the deceased. The proceeds from the sale of this single go to charity. I see this as an attempt by the record company to facilitate such donations. It seems an appropriate gesture to me.

As for the music, it's George Harrison at the top of his game. Enough said.

Buy this even if you have the rereleased All Things Must Pass album from 2001 and already own all three tracks. Why? Because the cover photograph of an open lotus flower was taken by George Harrison and it is how his widow believes he would want to be remembered. All proceeds go to charity.

Difference between the two versions of "My Sweet Lord"? The 1970 version is digitally remastered, of course, so every acoustic guitar rings clearly in this mix, whatever the state of your old record's audio fidelity. On the 2001 version - titled "(2000)" because that is when it was rerecorded - the melody eludes any resemblance to "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons (1963) which caused George over twenty years of litigation problems until he finally bought the copyright of the old song. His guitar work on the rerecording is among his best slide playing anywhere. Judge for yourself.

"Let It Down", one of the more overlooked songs on All Things Must Pass, is not just a 1970 demo as another writer has stated. Harrison notes in his All Things Must Pass booklet that he worked on it in 2000, adding additional recordings to it. It is quite beautiful.

While "Horse To The Water" will remain the last recorded track (October 2, 2001) until his last album, Portrait of a Leg End, is released next year, this charity single remains the last statement. More beautiful too now to hear the Hare Krishna chanting knowing that George maintained his discipline for 30+ years until his deathbed.

this CD Single will be a very special addition to my George Harrison Solo Collection. This is sure to be the ultimate collectors item... For those that miss George as much as I do will play this disc and remember the quiet one with smiles and tears...

my Sweet Lord 2000 shows George Harrison trying to sing the song that broke him out of the Beatles shadow once and for all. He sounds frial, but he does his best under the circumstances. Let it Down is not one of my favorite songs, but the original of My Sweet Lord and the remake of it, are reasons enough to own it.

RIP George Harrison... I love you and Miss you.....

Harrison's legacy-lives on in many of the curent trends found in Spanish rock at the moment-just listen to groups like Zurdok now...that said, I'm happy to see "My Sweet Lord" re-released as a single..too bad I can't hear it on US radio that often...i actually have to go to another country to hear decent radio nowadays....i first heard this song whilst growing up in puerto rico and fell in love with it upon first listening...it's a song that i can listen to time and time again....my wife loves it and she's not even a harrison fan....the b-sides of this particular single are nice....they were bonus tracks found on the All Things Must Pass re-issue...of particular interest is the My Sweet Lord remake, which has a laid back feel and some exquisite guitar work that will have you playing it over and over...Harrison's voice is not in peak form fo this particular track, but upon listening to his last song "Horse to the water" recorded after this, he shows that he can still kick up some dust...i hope to see more re-releases of harrison's catalogue soon...specially "cloud nine".....

Like everyone who was a fan of George's Music, i too felt empty for weeks! Even now I think of him... but that is not what I think he would have wanted. We must move on! George was a very
under-rated writer and guitarist (highly respected by his peers) He always hated the limelight - and quietly developed a unique and, to this day, a remarkable guitar style that was truly his own! And was really responsible for bringing the sitar and eastern music to the western pop culture... and through all of that he was a Beatle! I had all of his albums in LP format - and now, sadly too late they will undoubtedly release all of his albums on CD ( some of which have been criminally unavailable). This Single was originally released as part of the ATMP re-release, and it is a fitting start to the tribute of this pop legend. If you really take a look back at George's legacy you'll be really surprised at the songs he wrote (that many thought were penned by John and Paul) and just what he accomplished... the first Beatle (Solo) to achieve a #1 single - the only Beatle to achieve a Grammy (i believe) - Bangladesh. He will be sadly missed!

Must have albums: George Harrison (Cover with his face peering through the Trees); Cloud Nine; All things must Pass, 33 1/3, Living in the Material World.

How can anyone describe "My Sweet Lord"? "Epic" is one word. "Classic" is another. "Beautiful."...the list can go on forever.

But, the best way, I believe, is to simply describe it in one simple word. "George."

George was such a beautiful, amazing person...someone who reached my soul. And when he passed, like all things must do, a part of me died, too.

Today, My Sweet Lord is re-released...with a demo version of "Let It Down," and the 2000 remake of My Sweet Lord with Sam Brown. All the money goes to George's Material World Charitable Foundation, which goes to poor children.

George has given us all so much...to me, it's immesureable. So, I think it's time we give back to him by donating to his charity, and ensuring that our Sweet George has one final #1.

George Harrison (1943-Forever) All Things Must Pass.

George without a doubt was my favourite beatle.Here he is with my personal favourite of his solo songs.The song is very spiritual with the really catchy chant going right through it.The songs origins are from the early 70's about the time George was doing concerts for flood victims in Bangladesh.So the song has a real sub-continent flavor to it.Geogre did so much good for so many people throughout his life.I'm sure the proceeds of this track will end up going to some worthy cause-so I urge you for the simple price to help people and also get a great song into the bargain!

The music on this single cannot be faulted given that it is two versions of My Sweet Lord and in that sense it is certainly five star quality.

Clearly for some fans it is a good thing to have this especially if you never got beyond the vinyl album purchase.

It is however, a shameless way to make money out of Harrison's tragic premature death. Just looking [around] on the day it happened all of George's stuff including "Gone Troppo" suddenly was in demand. I understand moves are afoot to bring a box set of Harrison's recordings to the buying public shortly before the anniversary of his death this year but in the meantime most of his catalog material remains unavailable.

My point is threefold:

1. If you are going to do a tribute to George make it a worthwhile effort.
2. Why not reissue, at mid-price the stuff that is not available.
3. There is so much bootleg material right now being copied ruthlessly onto CD-R and sold for [money] each that the unreleased product could be made available legitimately and some of the profits go to George's charities.

I bought this to remember him by. Hopefully the record companies will not dishonour him with their planned releases.