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2.10pm
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1 May 2011
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It wouldn’t surprise me if the cover was as dull as George could get away with; he really wasnt impressed that WB turned down the album, demanding new tracks.
Ironically WB made the album worse by their tampering as the rejected songs are better than their replacements.
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2.16pm
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15 February 2015
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meanmistermustard snorkeled
It wouldn’t surprise me if the cover was as dull as George could get away with <snip>
I had that thought myself. It would be very in character.
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3.39pm
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29 August 2013
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Silly Girl said
Can anyone explain to me why they ditched this beautiful cover?
And of course having bought the album when it came out I kind of missed the original cover on the re-release.
I wish they had included the old cover as an insert in the CD case so I could swap them from time to time.
I printed one for myself 🙂
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6.27pm
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1 May 2011
Offline I thought so but wasnt sure. From wiki
Harrison’s rejected artwork was reinstated, replacing that used for the 1981 official release.
Thankfully.
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9.43am
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Am i just being stupid or was the album track listing tampered with with the 2004 reissue? It appears that the original mix of ‘Unconsciousness Rules’ has been reinstated to the album over the remix, the track lengths give it away as the original is 30 seconds longer.
The reissue featured the original mix of “Unconsciousness Rules” and, as a bonus track, Harrison’s demo of “Save the World”, recorded in 1980. In addition, Harrison’s rejected artwork was reinstated, replacing that used for the 1981 official release.
If this was a Beatles album, or an album (m)any cared about more may have been said louder.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
2.50pm
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Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Are there any documents that show that George was asked to remove ‘Flying Hour’, ‘Lay His Head’, ‘Sat Singing’ and ‘Teardrops’ specifically or was it more that Warner Brothers threw it back at George saying change [at least] 4 song and those were the ones he chose to be omitted?
I ask as those 4 are highly rated with fans (tho they more know the later remixes) and I can easily see a peeved George taking off the better material (even if it wasn’t the most upbeat), sticking on a new very dull album cover, and recording a track that attacks those who rejected the original album as a right ‘screw you all 
‘.
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4.18pm
Moderators
15 February 2015
Offline I’m revisiting this album. It’s not as bad as I remember (though ‘Flying Hour’, ‘Lay His Head’, and ‘Sat Singing’ would improve it greatly).
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2.51pm
18 April 2013
Offline Silly Girl said
I’m revisiting this album. It’s not as bad as I remember (though ‘Flying Hour’, ‘Lay His Head’, and ‘Sat Singing’ would improve it greatly).
I thought the same thing last time I heard it. Maybe your ears just learn to ignore the 80’s production and hear the songs?
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4.31pm
Reviewers
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1 May 2011
Offline meanmistermustard said
Are there any documents that show that George was asked to remove ‘Flying Hour’, ‘Lay His Head’, ‘Sat Singing’ and ‘Teardrops’ specifically or was it more that Warner Brothers threw it back at George saying change [at least] 4 song and those were the ones he chose to be omitted?I ask as those 4 are highly rated with fans (tho they more know the later remixes) and I can easily see a peeved George taking off the better material (even if it wasn’t the most upbeat), sticking on a new very dull album cover, and recording a track that attacks those who rejected the original album as a right ‘screw you all
I got one of the songs wrong in the above post. Should be ‘Tears Of The World’ instead of ‘Teardrops’. ‘Tears Of The World’ is a far better song.
[Image Can Not Be Found]
I asked this above and having listened to ‘Flying Hour’ a few times recently I hope someone with access can go thru the vaults and give us the reasons why the four were dropped. It’s an incredible song to have thrown out and George would have been rightly perplexed at the complete idiots in charge who made such a stupid call.
The lyrics are superb
All through my life I’ve been hearing
All about those good old days.
It makes no diff’rence,
What was or what may be.
The past it is gone,
The future may not be at all,
The present improve the flying hour.Some people look into the future,
They’re hoping that they’ll see better days.
It’s such a sweet thought,
It’s something that could be but
The past it is gone,
The future may not be at all,
The present improve the flying hour.What was and what may be,
Is not here, it is not clear to me.
Right now is the one thing
That I can feel, the one thing real to me,
Uh-uh – uh-uh.So as you sit back to remember
That which you cannot recall.
It makes no diff’rence,
What was or what may be.
The past it is gone,
The future may not be at all,
The present improve the flying hour.It makes no diff’rence,
What was or what may be.
The past it is gone,
The future may not be at all,
The present improve the flying hour, uh-uh, uh-uh.The past it is gone,
The future may not be at all,
The present improve the flying hour.
Probably didn’t like George not slavering for the good old Beatles days.
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3.22am
7 February 2021
Offline I’ve always loved this album and still do, I listened to it today and the first two tracks are entertaining, love the reference to Frank Zappa . Life itself I find deeply moving, one of George’s great spiritual tracks, All those Years ago is a great tribute to John. I hadn’t realised that both Baltimore Oriole and Hong Kong Blues were Hoagy Carmichael songs, they’re good too. There are no songs that I don’t like on the album and as with most of George’s albums it is recorded with care.
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sir walter raleigh, all things must pass1.31pm
26 January 2017
Offline Very well done album through and through. Filled with interesting changes and natural melodies to weave between that are so distinctive to George’s songwriting. Definitely a product if its era production wise, which is a good thing. A great period for George with high gloss nice textures.
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7.33pm
12 May 2015
Offline Some of this is just dreadful…..Those early 80s keyboards man……. It’s just way too glossy and safe.
7.44pm
9 December 2020
Offline Somewhere in England will always, I think, have the taint of “what could have been”, since the album that was infamously rejected by WB and subject to revisions. I know some people wanted it reissued with the original track listing, but the album was so profoundly affected by everything that happened while it was being made (most obviously the murder of John Lennon ), it would be ignoring history to revert to the first version. All that said, I do think all four deleted tracks should have been bonus tracks on the ’04 reissue.
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