Green fields, in Luxembourg.
George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass is the ideal soundtrack to an electric car with low autonomy. It perfectly responds to the needs of minimising consumption by preferring a slow driving style, that allows to enjoy the vast expanses of Luxembourgish farmland. After all, you cannot go very far with an electric car, right? Luxembourg seems the perfect country to drive green.But, All Things Must Pass is also suitable for a medium to a long wait when charging your vehicle, with its 2 hours and 5 minutes of music.
George Harrison reclaiming his space through his third solo album
This is George Harrison’s third solo album from November 1970, a few months away from The Beatles’ official end date. It first came out as a triple album: 2 LPs of songs, and 1 LP of jam sessions. George had been preparing his solo act for a while now, while keeping his full-time position as The Beatles’ lead guitarist. This is the time for the so-called quiet Beatle to fully step out of the toxic Lennon-McCartney power game, and feel free to be a songwriter too.
On the other hand, George Harrison’s third solo release certainly tells about the closeness of George and Ringo. Ringo Starr in fact played the drums and the tambourine in two thirds of it. Ringo will also be the only Beatle to play at George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s 1971 The Concert for Bangladesh.
A ploughed field along the road, in Luxembourg.
Secular and sacred love throughout the West and the East
As you plug in and you find out what is the charging time, you soon get to listen to I’d Have You Anytime. This intimate track invites you to indulge in the arms of your beloved one. It is that place where you can return and always feel welcome: “Let me in here, I know I've been here.” The song is co-authored by Bob Dylan, who is also behind the love declaration If Not for You you will find later in the album.
The very successful single My Sweet Lord is next. It is a joyful and devoted hymn that brings together the Western with the Eastern spiritual realms — culturally located herein as the Christian and the Hindu religion. It is a moment of longing, looking forward to rejoining the sacred. The monotheist tradition intersects the polytheist one: the hymn ceases when the mantra gently emerges and perfectly integrates with it.
Ploughed soil, in Luxembourg.
Disc 2 and the title track which was not included in Let It Be
The title track comes only with the Disc 2 as the battery of your vehicle is gradually being recharged. The song did not make it to The Beatles’ latest album. It in fact dates back to 1969, at the time of the recording of Let It Be. And, it was eventually first released as All Things (Must) Pass as part of Billy Preston’s 1970 record Encouraging Words, from Apple Records.
This is a reminder that things that we thought of as settled can also end, giving way to a new start. It cannot stay grey for too long. Sunset, as such, represents only a transitory state — so is sunrise. The balance between the darkness of the night time and daylight is soon re-established. We have the power to choose to clear up the sky, deciding eventually to move on and make space for something new.
A ploughed field with cloudy sky, in Luxembourg.
Apple Jam: All Things Must Pass' bonus disc
You decide to make the wait worth it, and look up what All Things Must Pass looked like as a triple album. Well, the third LP was titled Apple Jam. Your battery has finally reached the 95% threshold — it is time to plug out and go back to driving. You cannot wait any longer. 4 instrumental jams kick in to form a bonus disc that accompanies your relentless need to start the engine and proceed on the highway at a self-imposed maximum speed of 109km/h.