Here's a review/update on LITMW. You have to get to the last sentence before they mention a possible overhaul next year. I'll wait.
Living in the Material World
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Living in the Material World
Living in the Material World is an album by George Harrison and was released in 1973. As a follow-up to 1970's greatly-received All Things Must Pass and his mammoth charity project The Concert For Bangla Desh, Living in the Material World was among the most highly anticipated releases of 1973.
Due to the enormity of the Bangla Desh experience (one that left Harrison exhausted and frustrated), he was not able to record a new album until the latter part of 1972, which he undertook alone - without Phil Spector - at The Beatles' Apple Recording Studios in London. Once again, Harrison engaged the aid of his musician friends, including Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins, Gary Wright and Klaus Voormann. "Try Some Buy Some"'s backing track had been recorded with Phil Spector back in 1971 in Harrison's efforts to give Ronnie Spector a hit single. Liking the track, he decided to use the same music track for his own rendition.
Preceeded by the uplifting acoustic number "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" - Harrison's second US #1 hit, Living in the Material World appeared in June 1973 to brisk initial sales, reaching #2 in the UK and spending five weeks atop the US charts (having knocked off Paul McCartney & Wings' Red Rose Speedway in the process). But the critical reaction was less euphoric than what had greeted All Things Must Pass. More somber in tone, Living in the Material World was distinguished by Harrison's philosophical and religious ruminations - making it clear he was in distress with the state of the world and where it was headed. Subsequently, sales soon fell off, and the feeling was that Harrison had suddenly lost much of the enormous momentum he had going for him since The Beatles' 1970 break-up. In hindsight, most contemporary reviewers now consider Living in the Material World to be a very worthwhile Harrison album with many fine moments.
In 1992, Living in the Material World was remastered for CD release, though it will likely see an upgrading sometime in 2006.