Welcome to the Beatles Rarity Of The Week. The very first LP released on the Beatles’ own Apple label was also the first solo album by a Beatle. It was George Harrison’s Wonderwall Music, released in the U.K. on November 1, 1968, three weeks before The Beatles’ White Album.

Wonderwall Music served as the soundtrack to the 1960′s swinging’ London-style film Wonderwall, and not having ever put together a soundtrack before, George actually timed segments of the unfinished film in order to write the music to fit in appropriately. As he was becoming more enamored with Indian music at the time, he used the opportunity of the soundtrack to introduce more of this style into the mainstream. He wrote eleven Indian ragas and commissioned a host of 12 Indian musicians to play them in sessions he produced and recorded in Bombay during January 1968. At the same sessions, the backing track for his Indian flavored Beatles song “The Inner Light” was also recorded, which became the b-side to the next Beatles single, “Lady Madonna.”

During the previous month (December 1967), George put a band together to hash out eight rock flavored numbers for the LP. Participants included Eric Clapton (listed with an alias on the album credits as ‘Eddie Clayton’), Ringo Starr (listed with an alias on the album credits as ‘Richie Snare’) and Peter Tork (of The Monkees fame), playing a banjo he borrowed from Paul McCartney (Peter is not credited in the liner notes at all). Oddly enough, although George plays on the album, he is not listed in the musician credits, but only as producer and composer of all tracks. Both the Indian and rock tracks are instrumental, other than some spoken word parts.

At the time the album was released, mono was being phased out in favor of stereo. In the U.K., a mono pressing of the album was released, but only in very limited quantities. In the U.S., the mono mix of the album was not released at all. The same was true with the White Album – very few monos in the U.K., and none in the U.S. Over the next few months, mono albums became a thing of the past on both sides of the pond.

For this week’s BROW, I have pulled out my rare copy of the mono version of this album, to share with you a selection from the album titled “Party Seacombe.” This jangly guitar instrumental comes from the English sessions for the album. The mono mix differs somewhat from the stereo in that it has a shorter fade out and, to my ears, a greater prominence to the organ sounds (played by Tony Ashton) that blend with the wah-wah guitars of Eric Clapton and George Harrison. I’ll have to ask you to excuse the little bit of vinyl crackle apparent in the recording, as vinyl is the only source for this mix of the song.

Since I have addressed a few things in common between Wonderwall Music and the White Album, I should close with one more – Ringo, Eric Clapton and George also played together on the White Album track “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in sessions that took place at EMI (Abbey Road) Studios some 9 months later.

Taken with or without the film, Wonderwall Music is a great collection of varied Indian-rock fusion music that shows a unique side to George Harrison that many casual fans have not taken the time to explore. The album was the first solo Beatle album to be deleted from the EMI/Apple catalog, but was re-issued to CD in some countries in 1992.

George Harrison (photo from original Wonderwall LP insert, 1968)

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) Wonderwall Music – Japanese import of stereo mix of album on CD, including “Party Seacombe”.

2) Wonderwall Music – used vinyl copy of original out-of-print album (some in collectible or like new condition), including “Party Seacombe”.

3) Wonderwall: The Movie – DVD edition of original 1967 film, with alternate mono mixes of music featured on stereo or mono album.

4) Additional Amazon links for your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

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