Track Listing

1. Cloud 9
2. That's What It Takes
3. Fish On The Sand
4. Just For Today
5. This Is Love
6. When We Was Fab
7. Devil's Radio
8. Someplace Else
9. Wreck Of The Hesperus
10. Breath Away From Heaven
11. Got My Mind Set On You
12. Shanghai Surprise
13. Zig Zag

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17771 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

CD Description
After a five-year hiatus from recording, during which time he worked with his film production company, George Harrisionreturned to the studio in 1987 and cut the Jeff Lynne-produced CLOUD NINE. Harrison and Lynne made for a perfect match,as this album proved to be a comeback for the reclusive ex-Beatle. Joined by an all-star band that included Eric Clapton, Elton John, and Ringo Starr, Harrison put together a collection that includes sitar-tinged reminiscences of his former musical life ("When We Were Fab"), slinky psychedelia (thetitle track), and an obscure R&B tune that Harrison took tothe top of the charts ("Got My Mind Set on You"). Although Harrison used the twangy irresistibility of "Devil's Radio" to take a swipe at gossip, he contrasted it with the bright-eyed optimism of "This Is Love". After deciding not to tour,George Harrison joined Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison in the Traveling Wilburys the following year.

Customer Reviews

Back In Print after far too long
Sometime shortly before George's passing, I read of plans to reissue the Dark Horse/Warner Brothers CDs that had astonishingly fallen out of print in the early '90's. Of those, this is my favorite. "Cloud Nine" found George Harrison generally dispensing with his often (to me, anyway) off-putting religious tangents and making a sharp, energetic pop album. Production by Jeff Lynne is excellent, not over-the-top as some critics (not me) found later ELO albums. Musicians also include Eric Clapton, Elton John, Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, and Ray Cooper.

For a while, in early 1988, I thought the pop world was making sense again, as "Got My Mind Set On You" matched the latest Whitney, Tiffany, and Rick Astley play for play on the radio (the hit stations, not just the Adult Contemporary ones)! "When We Was Fab" was a fine followup, with several '60's and Beatles references in the lyrics. Awesome video, too. In the U.S., at least, the record company dropped the ball by making the unexceptional "This Is Love" the third single instead of the edgier "Devil's Radio," but at this point it hardly matters. Anyone interested in Harrison but who finds his music too wispy and/or ethereal is strongly urged to purchase "Cloud Nine."

Hope this time, the booklet includes the lyrics. I hear there will be bonus tracks too. Fab!

A blast from the past
I was chuffed when I saw that this album had been re-released (and remastered). Contrary to what another reviewer has said, the album does NOT appear to be copy protected so you CAN listen to it on your PC without any problems.
As a Jeff Lynne fan, listening to it now I can hear his influence on this album far more than on George's final album Brainwashed. The standout track is "When we was Fab" which, to my ears, is as much an ironic tribute to ELO as it is to The Beatles and absolutely wonderful. "Got My Mind Set on You" is an excellent rocky number, and the title track is typical Harrison weirdness. The rest is sometimes variable and, as is often the case with George Harrison, sometimes a little dark.
Overall, a superb blast from the 80s. If you like this, get hold of the Traveling Wilburys, Roy Orbison's "Mystery Girl" and Tom Petty's "Full Moon Fever" and "Into the Great Wide Open".

Harrison, the solo artist, at his finest
To me this album confirms that George Harrison was a musical genius. It's not that he wasn't a genius when he was a Beatle, it's just that he was the youngest member of the band & found himself in the shadow of two older geniuses in Lennon & McCartney. As a solo artist he flourished with some excellent Harrison penned Beatles tracks behind him.

On Cloud Nine I find 'Got My Mind Set On You' a bit too much of a 1980s pop single for my liking but the rest of the album is definitely not reminiscent of the decade in which it was made (no bad thing in my opinion). The sound is quite Wilsbury-esque in many ways & the posthumously released Brainwashed has many of the same qualities. It's hard to believe that nearly a decade & a half separate the two albums!

Cloud Nine is quite a significant departure from All Things Must Pass - recorded nearly two decades earlier - but anyone who loves that album should also get to know Cloud Nine &, now, Brainwashed. Why Cloud Nine was deleted sometime in the 1990s is a mystery to me. Hopefully this re-release will also prompt a solution to whatever legal issues are preventing the re-release of the Traveling Wilburys back catalogue which, again, demonstrates the true genius of George Harrison.