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George Harrison
Somewhere In England

Album US 2002 on The Home Entertainment Network label
Rock (Pop Rock, Classic Rock)

This is the The Home(r) Entertainment Network edition of the famous album with bonustracks. In the cd you can read "Carl Edmunnds", but is the real album with rare tracks. A COMPARISON OF TWO LPS CALLED SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND George Harrison's "Somewhere In England" album was originally completed and set for release October 29, 1980. However, at the last minute, the album was withdrawn and handed back to Harrison by Warner Bros., who requested that he "rework" it a bit. In the meantime, release plans were cancelled, despite the fact that the album had already been announced, pictured, and detailed in the company's November 1980 new release booklet. The revised album finally appeared in June 1981. Now, with this release, the original "Somewhere In England" album is available in compact disc from an excellent source tape, allowing fans the opportunity to compare the two versions of the album and decide for themselves which is better. The most obvious difference is of course the cover. The cover of the original featured a satellite photo of England which blends into a close-up profile photo of George. Warner Bros. reportedly disliked this cover even more than the album's recorded contents. Incidentally, the wrap around banner on the Japanese "Double Fantasy" LP also features this same front cover in the advertisement on the back noting other "new" Warner Bros. releases in Japan which were due at the same time. The original album was produced solely by Harrison. The 1981 version lists Ray Cooper as co-producer. Obviously, only the four "new" tracks of the 1981 album - "All Those Years Ago," Teardrops," "That Which I Have Lost" and "Blood From A Clone"- were actually produced by Ray Cooper. Of the ten songs, four did not appear on the revised LP. They are: "Flying Hour," "Lay His Head," "Sat Singing" and "Tears Of The World." "Flying Hour" is an uptempo number driven by a combination of acoustic and electric guitars. Undoubtedly the best song of the original line-up, it is unbelievable that this track would have been chosen as one of the songs to be dropped. "Lay His Head" and "Sat Singing" are both very slow paced tunes, the first being a love song to Harrison's wife and the second dealing primarily with Krishna. "Tears Of The World" is almost a straight musical re-working of "This Guitar" from "Extra Texture". Following Warner Bros.'s rejection, George began recording new material for a revised version of the LP. It was during these sessions that John Lennon was murdered. George took the opportunity to record a pair of tracks relating to Lennon's death ("All Those Years Ago" and "Teardrops"). These were added along with two other new tracks, "That Which I Have Lost" and "Blood From A Clone" (featuring a scathing set of lyrics which clearly portrays George's hurt and anger at having his original album nixed by Warners), to replace the four songs dropped from the line-up. The entire contents appear in different order on both sides, with the exception of "Save The World" which appears at the end of side two on both versions. Of interest also is that the "gong" at the beginning of "Hong Kong Blues" was to have signaled the start of the album, as this was originally the lead-off track. It's interesting to note that the advance sheet for the revised album in Warner's spring 1981 new release booklet did not list "Save The World" as being included on the album. Presumably the revised version would have only featured nine songs, but fortunately, this tenth track was reinstated prior to release. In retrospect, neither version of "Somewhere In England" could be considered to be among George's best work though the album(s) does feature many fine songs. In the end it's the album's unusual history that makes it interesting. Was Warner Bros. justified in rejecting the LP as originally submitted by George and, if so, was George's revised version an improvement? It's up to the listener to decide.

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George Harrison voc, g, 1943-2001 GB album by

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