George Harrisson – All Things Must Pass (1970)

What can you say about George – the quiet, and actually quite awkward one (he walked out of the Let It Be sessions).  He was also a great guitarist and though slow to get started an excellent, and towards the end an equal, songwriter.   George was actually the first Beatle to release solo albums, two electronic efforts came out in the late 60s; they were not very good really.  The Beatles split in late 1969 when John eventually told the others but it was kept a secret until Paul announced the end a year later.  By then they were all embarking on solo careers.  Who would have guessed that the first to achieve number one records would be George with this, a triple album (although one disc was called Apple Jam and is pretty poor).  The album and single ‘My Sweet Lord’ went to number one everywhere.  Frustrated by only  being allowed two compositions on Beatles albums he had a stockpile of songs (the title track was a Beatles reject) and spent a few months recording them with Phil Spector brilliantly, with layers of sound, which actually worked this time.  My favourite songs are ‘I’d have You Anytime’, ‘isn’t it A Pity’ and ‘Wah-Wah’.  George went on to have a mixed solo career and died far too soon.