This is a first pressing handed down from my step-father. The box has a little wear and tear (probably from being stored/pulled in and out from shelf with no protective cover), but the spine is coming away now 🙁 The records themselves are in good condition with only a few very minor scratches (not noticeable upon listening).
I’ve never really given this whole album a chance. Probably because it is quite a mammoth 23 songs spread over 3 records!
George Harrison was a self-confessed blues/country fan and a lot of that comes through on this album. Some of which, unfortunately, isn’t my cup of tea.
However, there are some truly excellent tracks here, such as My Sweet Lord (probably the most famous track here), What Is Life, and Isn’t It A Pity.
The last record (out of three) is kind of a mishmash of stuff that feels like outtakes. Listenable stuff though.
Sound quality is pretty damn good on this pressing (as I would expect from a first pressing). There are some limitations to the sound, but I believe that is more to do with the mastering itself.
Phil Spector produced this (along with Harrison) and his ‘Wall of Sound’ comes through on here. For the most part, it’s a great sounding album, but sometimes loses depth due to Spector’s treatment. Sometimes there’s just too much damn noise in there! Examples of this, for me, is Let It Down on Side 2 and Wah Wah on Side 1. It does, however, work wonders for My Sweet Lord! That reminds me, I need to have a listen to Harrison’s remastered/remade 2000 version.
I’d really love to hear a ‘de-Spector-ized’ treatment of this album, just like ‘Let It Be… Naked’.
