Living in The Material World - Production

Production

As acclaimed as All Things Must Pass' "Wagnerian" production had been, Harrison was keen to find a more understated sound this time around, to "liberate" the songs. Phil Spector was slated to co-produce again, although his "erratic attendance" ensured that, once sessions were under way in October 1972, Harrison had decided to be the project's sole producer. (Spector would receive a credit for "Try Some, Buy Some", however, recorded in early '71 as part of Ronnie Spector's intended solo album.) A release date was planned for January or February 1973, with the album title rumoured to be The Light That Has Lighted the World. Within a month, though, the title would be announced as The Magic Is Here Again, with a report in Rolling Stone magazine claiming that Eric Clapton was co-producing and that the album was set for release on 20 December 1972.

In another contrast with his 1970 triple set, Harrison engaged a small core group of musicians to support him. Gary Wright and Klaus Voormann returned, on keyboards and bass, respectively, and John Barham would again provide orchestral arrangements. They were joined by Jim Keltner, who had impressed at the Madison Square Garden concerts, and Nicky Hopkins, whose musical link to Harrison went back to the 1968 Jackie Lomax Apple single "Sour Milk Sea". Ringo Starr would also contribute to the album, when his burgeoning film career allowed, and Jim Horn, another Bangladesh recruit, supplied horns and flutes. In addition, Badfinger's Pete Ham and Tom Evans are said to have augmented the basic line-up on 4 and 11 October, although their playing would not find its way onto the released album.

In fact, all the rhythm and lead guitar parts would be the work of Harrison alone − the ex-Beatle stepping out from the "looming shadow" of Clapton for the first time, Simon Leng has noted. Most of the backing tracks were recorded with Harrison on acoustic guitar; only "Living in the Material World", "Who Can See It" and "That Is All" featured electric rhythm parts, those for the latter two songs adopting the same Leslie-toned sound found throughout The Beatles' Abbey Road.

The sessions took place partly at Apple Studio in London, but mostly at Friar Park, according to Voormann. The German bassist vividly recalls recording his part for "Be Here Now" in a toilet there, and footage included in Martin Scorsese's 2011 Harrison documentary shows the musicians playing at Friar Park. Apple Studio, together with its Savile Row, London W1 address, would receive a prominent credit on the Living in the Material World record sleeve, though − a further sign of Harrison's championing of the Beatles-owned recording venue. At the weekends during these autumn months, Hopkins' own solo album, The Tin Man Was a Dreamer, was recorded at Apple, with contributions from Harrison, Voormann and Horn.

The Material World sessions continued into December, at which point Hopkins left for Jamaica to work on The Rolling Stones' new album. It was during this month that Harrison apparently rediscovered the song "Sue Me, Sue You Blues", originally given to Jesse Ed Davis in 1971, and he also co-produced a new live album for Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, the highly regarded In Concert 1972. It is also thought that Harrison produced a preliminary session for his and Starr's co-written song "Photograph" sometime before Christmas.

Recording resumed in January, at Apple, at which point it was clear that an early '73 release date was impossible. For the rest of January and through February, extensive overdubs were carried out − comprising vocals, percussion, Harrison's famed slide guitar parts and Jim Horn's contributions. "Living in the Material World" received significant attention during this last phase of the album production, with sitar, flute and Zakir Hussein's tabla being added to fill the song's two "spiritual sky" sections; as revealed on the Living in the Alternate World bootleg, these sections had been left empty originally, awaiting the requisite musical colouring. John Barham's orchestra and choir were the final items to be recorded, on "The Day the World Gets 'Round", "Who Can See It" and "That Is All", in early March. With production on the album completed, Harrison decamped to Los Angeles for Beatles-related business meetings and to begin work on Shankar and Starr's respective albums, Shankar Family & Friends and Ringo.