George Harrison - Somewhere in England (LP)
- LP
- 1 piece(s)
- 1981
- 12 tracks
- 48 min
Somewhere in EnglandCheapest atstore.acousticsounds.com
Whether you're just starting your vinyl collection or have been spinning for years, the right turntable makes all the difference. We've selected the best options for every budget.
Discover our selection of turntables
4.2
Average of 10 reviews
6
1
2
1
0
Whether a review is positive, negative, or neutral, we always publish it. However, we screen every review to ensure it is authentic and free of profanity. These checks happen automatically, though a human occasionally steps in. We never pay for reviews.
The initial track list was way way way superior to what got released, there's no contest. The 4 songs the suits axed were head and shoulders above what ended up on the final album, it's just baffling. George should've stood his ground on the tracks and album art. Grab this!
Somewhere in England by George Harrison faced a bumpy start, as the initial version submitted in November 1980 was turned down by Warner Bros. They argued that four tracks—"Flying Hour," "Lay His Head," "Sat Singing," and "Tears of the World" (once found on the unauthorized "Ohnothimagen")—weren't up to par. Harrison had to return to the studio to record four new songs, including a sharp critique of his label in "Blood from a Clone" (which they did release), a tribute to John Lennon in "All Those Years Ago" (originally intended for Ringo Starr), along with "Teardrops" and "That Which I Have Lost." This makes the struggle between the artist and the executives a key part of the album's story. But how do the original four tracks compare to the replacements? The omitted songs are fairly consistent in quality and sound, though "Tears of the World" stands out as a bold critique that likely ruffled the most feathers. Interestingly, the six tracks Warner Bros. kept might have been better candidates for removal, especially the odd choices of covering Hoagy Carmichael's "Baltimore Oriole" and "Hong Kong Blues." Overall, the new tracks are stronger and more diverse, packing more punch. The lively "All Those Years Ago" is a standout, offering the most heartfelt moment on the album and a virtual Beatles reunion (with Starr on drums and Paul and Linda McCartney adding backing vocals), and it deservedly reached number two on the singles chart. The official version still holds up better than the bootlegs of the original.
I've been a huge fan of Harrison's since, well, forever, and I must say that I'm quite let down by the re-release of Somewhere In England. I always thought that once the album was re-released, the four fantastic missing songs that the Brothers Warner thought weren't commercial enough - "Tears of the World," "Sat Singing," "Lay His Head," and (especially) the amazing "Flying Hour" - would finally be included. So it's odd to have the original album cover (a play on words: "Some-HAIR in England - get it?) but not the original tracks that were supposed to go with that album! "TOTW" is now on the remastered 33 1/3, which is even more bizarre, because it has nothing to do with that album (a better bonus track on 33 1/3 would've been George's duet with Paul Simon on "Saturday Night Live" in 1976 - "Here Comes The Sun" + "Homeward Bound".) Following EMI/Capitol's always-confusing corporate logic, if "Lay His Head" was the b-side of "When We Was Fab," why isn't that track on the remastered "Cloud Nine"?But getting back to what is: I've always loved "That Which I Have Lost" - the lyrics are a bit wordy, but the melody is unique and exquisite, so original and so Harrisonian. For me, the best part is that absolutely spectacular slide guitar solo, absolutely incredible. "Life Itself" and "Writing's On The Wall" remain rewarding listening pleasures, the sonic textures as evocative as the words. And "Blood From A Clone" remains an effective, hook-laden critique of the conformity of commercial radio. But issues remain: George's once-beautiful voice never recovered from the hoarseness caused by his 1974 Dark Horse tour, and he simply didn't have the range to cover the two Hoagy Carmichel tunes he sings here. "Save The World" was a most annoying closing track in 1981, and now, followed by a demo version of the quasi-Pythonesque number, it's doubly annoying now. (Harrison did another, much better version of "STW" for a Greenpeace compilation - why isn't that on here?) I do hate to say that I've always found "All Those Years Ago" awkward - George Martin's string arrangement is great, as is George's sweet guitar solo, but the lyrics aren't George's most poetic, and they just don't fit the music. But George had said he knew what John would've liked, and who are we to doubt that? In many ways George was, with the obvious exception of Yoko, psychically closer to John than any other human being on the face of the Earth - think of the "dental experience" as just one example.Speaking of Yoko, the friendship that finally developed between her and George blossomed around the time of the "Anthology" project. They're both Pisces after all. I suspect she was reaching out to George by giving him (not Paul or Ringo) the demo tapes for "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love," since George seemingly felt so devastated after John grew closer to her and less close to George even before the Beatles break-up. For all its flaws, "All Those Years Ago" remains Somewhere In England's signature track, and the sense of loss that Harrison felt about losing his childhood friend Lennon here sounds heartbreaking and real, and is echoed elswhere on the album. Not as sublime a collection as his previous eponymous album but what's good here is very, very good and certainly worth possessing.Somewhere in England had a troubled birth, for when Harrison originally submitted it for release in November 1980, Warner Bros. rejected it, claiming that four songs -- "Flying Hour," "Lay His Head," "Sat Singing," and "Tears of the World" (once available on the bootleg "Ohnothimagen") -- were not worthy of being issued. Harrison was forced to go back into the studio to cut four new tunes, delivering a bitterly barbed thrust at his record label in "Blood from a Clone" (which they did release) and a tune originally meant for Ringo Starr but rewritten as a remembrance after John Lennon's assassination ("All Those Years Ago"), as well as "Teardrops" and "That Which I Have Lost." As a result, the most compelling issue of this album is the contest of wills between the artist and the suits. Now how do the four deleted tunes stack up against the ones that replaced them? The four missing tunes are of generally even quality, even similar in sound, although "Tears of the World" is a strident attack against corporate and political masters that probably unnerved the executives the most. Actually, the six tunes that Warner Bros. spared should have been more likely candidates for the hook, including the curious covers of two Hoagy Carmichael songs, "Baltimore Oriole" and "Hong Kong Blues." Yet in general, the new ones are indeed superior and more varied, with more of a punch than the ones they replaced. The bouncy "All Those Years Ago" is a definite gain, being the most heartfelt song on the record as well as a de facto Beatles reunion (Starr plays drums and Paul and Linda McCartney overdubbed backing vocals), and it was justly rewarded with a number two showing on the singles charts. The official release is slightly preferable over the bootlegs of the original.
While not Harrison's top-tier work, "Life Itself" and "That Which I Have Lost" stand out as two of my all-time favorites in his solo discography. The audio quality on this remastered version is impressive, offering a wide range and a pleasant, clear sound. My brand-new copy plays smoothly and quietly, with no detectable surface noise.
I'm absolutely in love with this album! It's George's finest work yet, featuring amazing tracks like “Blood From A Clone”, “All Those Years Ago”, and so many others that are just as fantastic!
See exactly which store has this album in stock and where you can get the best deal. Compare prices below and order your LP directly.
| Date | Lowest price | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2025 | $4.99 | €5.49 |
| Apr 14, 2025 | $4.99 | €4.99 |
| Jun 26, 2025 | $26.98 | €26.98 |
| Jul 31, 2025 | $26.98 | €26.98 |
| Aug 30, 2025 | $26.98 | €27.32 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | $26.98 | €27.32 |
| Oct 31, 2025 | $26.98 | €27.32 |
| Nov 30, 2025 | $26.98 | €27.98 |
| Dec 31, 2025 | $26.98 | €31.73 |
| Jan 31, 2026 | $26.98 | €29.98 |
| Feb 28, 2026 | $26.98 | €32.48 |
| Mar 7, 2026 | $26.98 | €33.98 |