Cloud Nine (George Harrison album)

:This article is about George Harrison's album "Cloud Nine". For other uses, see Cloud Nine (disambiguation).

Related Topics:
George Harrison - Cloud Nine (disambiguation)

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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.

Related Topics:
1987 - Album - George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You

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Following the release of Gone Troppo in 1982 and Harrison's increasing frustrations in a musical climate that he could not relate to, he decided to halt his recording career for other interests, primarily as a film producer for 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.

Related Topics:
Gone Troppo - 1982 - Handmade Films

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By late 1986 - after a substantial break - Harrison felt the desire to make music again. Wanting to sound contemporary, but true to his roots, he asked former Electric Light Orchestra leader 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.

Related Topics:
1986 - Electric Light Orchestra - Jeff Lynne - Friar Park - Henley-on-Thames - 5 January

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Joining Harrison and Lynne in the studio were old friends such as Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr on drums, Eric Clapton on guitar, and on piano both Gary Wright and Elton John. It was clear that after a substantial break - in hindsight, what Harrison really needed - he felt refreshed and reinvigorated. For the first time in years he actually wanted to make an album. His enthusiasm to be musically productive again would, in no small way, have an enormous impact on the quality of the music produced for Cloud Nine.

Related Topics:
Jim Keltner - Ringo Starr - Eric Clapton - Gary Wright - Elton John

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Part of Harrison's strategy for his comeback was making himself seen. He appeared with Starr at the Prince's Trust Concert that June performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and was actively involved in promoting the upcoming album. In October, Harrison's unlikely cover of Rudy Clark's obscure early 1960s song "Got My Mind Set On You", accompanied by a humurous video, was released and stunned everyone by reaching #1 in the US and #2 in the UK - heights Harrison had not achieved in almost fifteen years. A few short weeks later, Cloud Nine was released with, unsurprisingly, very high anticipation and was promptly lauded by critics worldwide as Harrison's best album since All Things Must Pass in 1970, sending it into to #10 in the UK and #8 and platinum status in the US. His Beatles tribute "When We Was Fab" also proved a successful follow-up single, reaching the Top 30 in both the UK and US.

Related Topics:
June - October - Got My Mind Set On You - All Things Must Pass - 1970 - Beatles

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While the incredible 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), he certainly did embrace his good fortune and it inspired him to continue - but with a difference. 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 under the wonderfully named Traveling Wilburys.

Related Topics:
1974 - Dark Horse - 1988 - Bob Dylan - Tom Petty - Roy Orbison - Traveling Wilburys

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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 Records, adding two bonus tracks from the Shanghai Surprise film: "Shanghai Surprise" and "Zig Zag" (also released as "When We Was Fab"'s B-Side).

Related Topics:
2004 - The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 - Dark Horse Records - EMI Records - Shanghai Surprise

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