Cloud Nine

Cloud Nine
Studio album by George Harrison
Released	November 2, 1987 (1987-11-02)
Recorded	5 January - late March 1987 at Friar Park, England
Genre	Rock
Length	41:25 (LP) 49:24 (CD)
Label	Dark Horse/Warner Bros.
Producer	Jeff Lynne and George Harrison
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender Magazine link Mojo Robert Christgau (B−) link Rolling Stone (favorable) link Uncut
George Harrison chronology
Gone Troppo (1982) Cloud Nine (1987) Brainwashed (2002)
Singles from Cloud Nine
"Got My Mind Set on You" Released: October 1987 "When We Was Fab" Released: January 25 1988 "This Is Love" Released: June 13 1988

Cloud Nine is the successful 1987 comeback album by George Harrison, recorded and released after a five year hiatus from his recording career. As home to the smash hit "Got My Mind Set on You", Cloud Nine re-established Harrison as a critically-acclaimed and commercially-significant recording artist. It was to be George Harrison's final solo studio album released during his lifetime.

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 composed a round of new songs, 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. 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" --- which Harrison had wanted to record with the Beatles in the 1960s^{[citation needed]} --- quickly reach #1 in the US and #2 in the UK. It was a surprising hit for the former Beatle, who hadn't enjoyed a mainstream #1 hit in nearly fifteen 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, 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 30 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 (the ill-fated 1974 Dark Horse jaunt in North America was still fresh in his mind^{[citation needed]}), 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.

Track listing

All songs by George Harrison, except where noted.

1. "Cloud 9" – 3:15
2. "That's What It Takes" (George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Gary Wright) – 3:59
3. "Fish on the Sand" – 3:22
4. "Just for Today" – 4:06
5. "This Is Love" (George Harrison, Jeff Lynne) – 3:48
6. "When We Was Fab" – (George Harrison, Jeff Lynne) - 3:57
   • A celebration of The Beatles and the 1960s.
7. "Devil's Radio" – 3:52
   • Masters of Reality recorded their version of the song for "Songs from the Material World: a Tribute to George Harrison" album
8. "Someplace Else" – 3:51
   • An earlier version of this song appeared in the 1986 film Shanghai Surprise.
9. "Wreck of the Hesperus" – 3:31
10. "Breath Away from Heaven" – 3:36
    • An earlier version of this song appeared in the 1986 film Shanghai Surprise.
11. "Got My Mind Set on You" (Rudy Clark) – 3:52

Cloud Nine was remastered and reissued in 2004 with two bonus tracks from the soundtrack for the Handmade film Shanghai Surprise:

12. "Shanghai Surprise" – 5:09
    • features vocals by Vicki Brown.
13. "Zig Zag" – 2:45
    • previously released on a single in 1988 as the B-Side to "When We Was Fab".

Personnel

The following personnel was credited in the liner notes.^[1]

• George Harrison – Vocals, guitars, keyboards, sitar
• Jeff Lynne – Guitars, bass, vocals, keyboards
• Eric Clapton – Guitar
• Elton John – Piano
• Gary Wright – Piano
• Ringo Starr – Drums
• Jim Keltner – Drums
• Ray Cooper – Percussion, drums
• Jim Horn – Baritone and tenor sax
• Bobby Kok – Cello
• Vicki Brown – Vocals on "Shanghai Surprise"

Chart positions

Shipments and sales

References