Coinciding with the DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison: Living In The Material World, which premiered on HBO in October 2011, the 10-track CD, Early Takes, Vol. 1 features previously unreleased outtakes and oddball tracks from the George Harrison archive. Cited as a companion piece to Scorsese’s documentary, much of the music is indeed weaved into various scenes of the piece, arousing even more curiosity.
There are rare takes of “I’d Have You Anytime” and “Awaiting On You All,” plus demo versions of “Behind That Locked Door,” “All Things Must Pass,” “Run of the Mill” and “My Sweet Lord” – all of which made the cut on Harrison’s sprawling three-record set, 1970’s All Things Must Pass. Other unreleased tracks include demos of “The Light That Has Lighted the World,” “Let It Be Me,” Bob Dylan’s “Mama You’ve Been on My Mind,” and an early take of “Woman Don’t You Cry For Me.”
At a tad over 30 minutes, Beatle-budget contrarians and other likeminded snifflers have already pitched fits far and wide over the Internet – in an age where a CD typically clocks in at over an hour. What’s more, Phil Spector in the Living In The Material World documentary said Harrison had hours upon hours of songs stashed away in his Friar Park mansion. And if you can’t believe Phil Spector, well…never mind. The point is there is an underground where these recordings exist, along with bootlegs like Beware Of ABKCO! and Acetates And Alternates. So, if you have the means and the time to dig, by all means, good luck. The best thing, however, you can do is simply enjoy Early Takes, Vol. 1, and hope and pray a Early Takes, Vol. 2 is on its way.
~ Shawn Perry
