The 50th anniversary reissue of George Harrison’s 1973 solo album, Living in the Material World, was released on November 15. The deluxe collection features a newly mixed version of the original album, and previously unreleased alternate takes from the sessions and other rarities.
Videos by American Songwriter
The limited-edition Living in the Material World Super Deluxe box set, meanwhile, includes a previously unreleased version of “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond),” a Harrison-penned tune that he contributed to former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr’s hit 1973 solo album, Ringo.
Coinciding with the Living in the Material World reissue’s release, a newly created animated music video for the rare version of “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)” premiered on Harrison’s YouTube channel and social media pages.
About the “Sunshine Life for Me” Video
The surreal and colorful clip begins depicting a rainy day in London, and shows an animated version of George Harrison in an apartment as he gathers some mementos and instruments that have fallen out of a wardrobe and throws them into a horse-drawn wagon. Harrison then begins riding the horse-drawn wagon past various U.K. sites, including Battersea Power Station and Stonehenge.
Harrison eventually places the items in a treasure chest with chains wrapped around it affixed with a lock. George then heads to sea with the chest on a small sailboat. The scene then shifts to a rural U.K. landscape, where several musicians are playing the Appalachian folk-influenced tune.
Harrison is then shown on the sailboat again, and somewhere on the ocean he throws the chest overboard. When it reaches the bottom of the sea, the chest opens slightly, and a ray of light shoots up into the sky, illuminating the sun.
Harrison, with a guitar strapped to his back, is then seen galloping on his horse through various landscapes. He eventually makes his way to the other musicians, and joins them in playing the song.
The “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)” video was design and animated by Daniel Cordero. Kelly Mahan served as creative director of the clip.
More About “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)”
Harrison recorded “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)” with four of The Band’s five members—Levon Helm on mandolin, Robbie Robertson on guitar, Rick Danko on fiddle, and Garth Hudson on accordion. Starr played drums on the track, while veteran folk/jazz artist David Bromberg played banjo and fiddle. The song also features longtime Beatles associate Klaus Voormann on standup bass.
Harrison wrote the song in 1971 while visiting folk-rock star Donovan in Ireland shortly after legal dissolution of The Beatles. The track was one of three tunes Harrison wrote or co-wrote that appears on the Ringo album.
The version of “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)” included on the Super Deluxe edition of the Living in the Material World reissue features Harrison’s original guide vocal for the track.
More About George Harrison’s Living in the Material World Reissues
The Living in the Material World Super Deluxe box set features two CDs, two LPs, a 7-inch vinyl single, and a Blu-ray audio disc. The package, which is limited to 5,000 copies globally, also will include a 60-page booklet.
The reissue project was produced by George’s widow and son, Olivia and Dhani Harrison.
The previously unheard version of “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)” appears on one of the two CDs, the vinyl single, and the Blu-ray disc. An instrumental version of the track also is featured on the vinyl single.
The Blu-ray features Dolby Atmos mixes of the entire Living in the Material Word album and the bonus tracks.
Other versions of the reissue include Deluxe two-CD and two-LP editions with select bonus tracks, and single CD and LP versions. A number of exclusive single-LP colored-vinyl variants also are available via various outlets.
About the Living in the Material World Album
Living in the Material World was Harrison’s second solo studio album released after The Beatles’ breakup, and his fourth overall. Released in May 1973, Living in the Material World topped the Billboard 200, sitting in the No. 1 spot for five weeks in June and July of that year.
It featured the chart-topping Billboard Hot 100 hit “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”
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