Cloud Nine (George Harrison Album) - History

History

Frustrated with the changing musical climate, George Harrison suspended his recording career in the early 1980s. He opted to pursue his other interests, such as film production with his own company, Handmade Films. The odd soundtrack or charity song would surface during this period, but otherwise it was a musically silent period for Harrison.

By late 1986 — after a substantial break — Harrison felt the desire to make music again. He asked former Electric Light Orchestra leader and fellow musician Jeff Lynne to co-produce the album with him. After having written a round of new compositions (including the songs already contributed to the 1986 film Shanghai Surprise), Harrison entered his home studio, Friar Park, in Henley-on-Thames on 5 January 1987 to begin recording his first new commercial album in five years. Besides Harrison and Lynne, other artists involved in the recording sessions included Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr on drums, Eric Clapton on guitar, and on piano both Gary Wright and Elton John (who was recovering from his vocal surgery at the time). With new-found enthusiasm, Harrison actively promoted the album, even appearing with Starr at the Prince's Trust Concert that June to perform "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

Harrison's cover of Rudy Clark's obscure song "Got My Mind Set on You" quickly reached #1 in the United States and #2 in the United Kingdom. It was a surprising hit for the former Beatle, who had not enjoyed a mainstream #1 hit in nearly 15 years. A few weeks later, Cloud Nine was released to very high anticipation, and it was promptly lauded by many critics as Harrison's best work since All Things Must Pass. The album went to #10 in the UK; it also achieved #8 and platinum status in the US. The success of the single "Got My Mind Set on You" and its accompanying video re-introduced George Harrison to the mainstream.

The Beatles tribute song "When We Was Fab" also proved a successful follow-up single, reaching the Top 25 in both the UK and US. The next single, "This Is Love", was a minor hit in the UK.

While the success of Cloud Nine was not enough to spur Harrison into a tour, it inspired him to continue making music. In the spring of 1988, along with Lynne, he would call up friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison and begin recording a project ultimately released as the Traveling Wilburys.

In 2004, Cloud Nine was remastered and reissued both separately and as part of the deluxe box set The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 on Dark Horse Records with new distribution by EMI, adding the bonus tracks "Shanghai Surprise" and "Zig Zag" (also released as "When We Was Fab"'s B-Side) from the film Shanghai Surprise.

• The cover features George's first American made guitar, a 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet that he purchased from a sailor for £75 in Liverpool in 1961. George called it his old black Gretsch. George gave the guitar to longtime friend, Klaus Voormann who kept it for 20 years. The guitar had been left in Los Angeles and had been modified. George had the guitar restored and used it for the cover shoot.