Welcome to a new series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we are going to pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For the first episode, I am going to do a review of George Harrison’s debut solo album ‘All Things Must Pass’. I reviewed it years ago for the site and thought it would be fun to do that one as my first episode for the new series. I hope you enjoy it…oh yeah…since the original series on YouTube is called ‘The Collection’…these reviews will only be albums in my collection…makes sense!
So go check it out as it is live now on August 8, 2024 at Noon.…because why not!! Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
Jeff Scott Soto has worked with some massive players so a hook up with David Ellefson, formerly of Megadeth, is no surprise. The two were working together back in March 2021 and had released a single which was a cover of Riot’s “Swords & Tequila” and I have to say it was pretty damn great. But two months later, Ellefson saw himself wrapped up on a major sex video scandal. The two decided to let things lie low for a long while and about a year later, they finally announced that a full album from the two would be coming soon. And finally on October 7, 2022, the album “Vacation in the Underworld” saw the light of day. But no “Swords & Tequila” sadly.
The two guys had a little help with Andy Martongelli on guitar. He is with the metal band Arthemis and he and David had been writing some songs together for a future project. David thought his long time friend, Jeff Scott Soto would be great for these songs. They needed a drummer so Paulo Caridi has played in Hollow Haze, The Bad Guy Experiment, and Cosmic Dead Ringers was brought in to complete the band. The sound of this band is heavy. It is a cross between Thrash, Metal and Melodic Rock. Jeff has a band that is for his metal side called Soto, but that band was missing the songs. Let me tell you, the songs are on here!!!
When this project was announced, I immediately went and pre-ordered the CD bundle which was signed by both David and Jeff as you can see from the top picture of this post. It also came with a 4×4 limited card, a couple stickers and a guitar pick as you can see below. And here is the thing. About 3 weeks before it’s release, I saw and ad for the album and I completely forgot I had ordered this already a few months earlier…so…I ordered it…AGAIN! Yes, I have two signed copies of the album. Man, I’m getting old. That was definitely a mistake on my part…but there is a mistake on the band’s part too. The back cover (above) shows 15 tracks…but there are only 14. Someone skipped track 12 and went from 11 to 13 on the track numbers…OOPS!! Enough, let’s get to the music.
The album opens with the title track, “Vacation in the Underworld”. The eerie, menacing guitar solo opens and when the drums hit, the power is even darker and more ominous. When the song kicks in, those double kick drums are so threatening and then Jeff finally comes in on vocals and all is right with the world or the underworld. The song is pure metal with a Power metal vibe to it. I love the heaviness and the power…it is a killer opener.
Alright…You Picked It! And this one wasn’t even close. The winner had the first vote and never looked back. The winner was George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass” which is now over 50 years old. Crazy! Here are the results.
George Harrison – ‘All Things Must Pass’ – 10 votes
Oasis – ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory’ – 5 votes
Bryan Adams – ‘So Happy It Hurts’ – 2 votes
Gnarls Barkley – ‘St. Elsewhere’ – 1 Vote
Harry Connick Jr. – ‘Blue Light, Red Light’ – Sadly, 0 votes
Thanks to all for participating. The May choices will be up on Saturday!
GEORGE HARRISON – ‘ALL THINGS MUST PASS’:
I like the Beatles, but as far as solo albums have gone, I haven’t really followed any of the Beatles outside of the Beatles. Yes, I know a lot of Paul’s and John’s stuff, but Ringo definitely no and George I was a little turned off his music due to the song “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You”. I was not a fan so I never went back to listen to his older stuff. I thought it was about time I did so I included it on the list. Now, if I would’ve known then that the album was actually 3 albums in one, I might not have picked it, but I am so glad I did and it won.
Recently, the 50th Anniversary Edition of the album was released and if I’m not mistaken, my brother-in-law, Ryan Williams, had a hand in putting it together as he does a lot of work with Dhani Harrison, George’s son. That alone was another reason I wanted to check out the album. He did say going through boxes and boxes of never before released tracks was rather incredible.
I had to use the CD back cover as that was the best picture I could find with all the songs that was legible. We are going in vinyl order on the review
2 Loud 2 Old Music 