Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producers: George Harrison, Phil Spector
Engineers: Phil McDonald, John Leckie
Wednesday 10 June 1970 was the tenth recording session for George Harrison’s third solo album All Things Must Pass.
Three songs were worked on during this session: ‘All Things Must Pass’, ‘I Live For You’, and ‘Art Of Dying’.
‘All Things Must Pass’ went through various iterations as 18 takes were recorded, with changes in tempo and instrumentation. Between takes 5 and 6 Harrison asked the other musicians: “What’s the timing? It tends to be, like, a bit not relaxed enough. Seems to be going slow and fast, not just easy.”
Take 18, the final attempt, was deemed the best and was released on the album.
Harrison had recorded 16 takes of ‘I Live For You’ on the previous day. Thirty-two more takes were recorded on this day. The last of those was marked best, and became a contender for All Things Must Pass, although it was ultimately shelved until a 2001 reissue which retained only the lead vocals and Pete Drake’s pedal steel guitar.
Coming back to it, I fixed the drums up very simply. But the main thing about it for me is the Pete Drake solo on pedal steel guitar. He died [in 1988], and I often thought if his family is still around, then suddenly they’ll be hearing him playing this thing that they’ve never heard before. I really loved his pedal steel guitar – the bagpipes of country & western music.
The final song to be tackled was ‘Art Of Dying’, nine takes of which had been recorded on 29 May. One more attempt, take 10, was taped on this day, but again it was considered unsatisfactory and the song was re-recorded yet again on 1 July.