Vinyl Record
George Harrison - Somewhere in England
George Harrison - Somewhere in England on LP vinyl. A 1981 record available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel, Ireland.
LP ยท 1981
Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.
Buyer notes: 1981 LP, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection vinyl shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel or ship within Ireland for EUR 5.50.
Somewhere in England is one of George Harrison's strangest early-1980s albums because it sounds like a gentle man arguing with the age around him. Originally released in 1981, it carries traces of several Harrisons at once: the sardonic observer, the devotional writer, the pop craftsman, the lover of older song forms, and the grieving friend suddenly forced to address a world changed by John Lennon's death. Blood From A Clone opens with a sharper bite than its soft surfaces might suggest, taking aim at the machinery that wanted him to be easier to package. Unconsciousness Rules and Teardrops move toward a polished period sound, while Life Itself and Writing's On The Wall return to spiritual and moral reflection. The album's emotional centre is All Those Years Ago, Harrison's tribute to Lennon, lifted by the sense of old bonds briefly gathering around a new absence. The covers of Baltimore Oriole and Hong Kong Blues reveal another side of his taste: affection for pre-rock songwriting, sly melody and lightly theatrical phrasing. Save The World closes the album with weary ecological and political concern rather than neat comfort. The result is not a simple comeback or a clean break. Somewhere in England is a record of negotiation: with the industry, with changing pop textures, with memory, and with the question of how to remain sincere without becoming solemn all the time.
Somewhere in England matters because it catches Harrison at a difficult hinge point. The album shows him responding to the early 1980s without fully surrendering to them, and All Those Years Ago gives it a permanent place in the post-Beatles story. Its mixture of protest, grief, humour and old-song affection makes it more revealing than its reputation sometimes suggests.
This is a catalogue-deepening record rather than a starter title. Collectors should value it for context: it links Harrison's late-1970s warmth to the more uneven 1980s, while preserving one of his most historically resonant singles. It is especially interesting for listeners who enjoy albums where the tensions are visible instead of smoothed away.
Early-1980s soft rock and polished pop with spiritual ballads, wry social commentary, vintage songbook touches and Harrison's familiar melodic guitar voice.
Recommended for: George Harrison collectors exploring the early-1980s chapter; Listeners interested in All Those Years Ago and post-Beatles history; Fans who like Harrison's mix of sincerity, wit and older songwriting influences.
What year was Somewhere in England released? Somewhere in England was originally released in 1981. What is the best-known song on the album? All Those Years Ago is the best-known track and is widely heard as Harrison's tribute to John Lennon. Is the album typical of Harrison's 1970s sound? Not entirely. It keeps his spiritual and melodic fingerprints but places them inside a cleaner early-1980s production setting.