Dark Horse Records releases ex-Beatle George Harrison‘s 11th solo album, Cloud Nine, featuring contributions from Ringo Starr, Elton John, and Jeff Lynne, among others. The first single, “Got My Mind Set On You”, is a major hit, putting Harrison (and Lynne as a producer) back on the map. 
Okay, I admit it, I got this album mainly because ELO’s Jeff Lynne produced it with Harrison, as well as helping out with songwriting duties. The collaboration was a rare spark that re-ignited Lynne’s post-ELO career, and bested all of Harrison’s previous album sales. There was obviously some wisdom in pairing an ex-Beatle with a Beatle afficionado who had grown up learning all the nuances of the Beatles sound. In many places, though, it does sound like ELO with Harrison singing lead (the title track in particular sounds like it was lifted right off of Balance Of Power), though the best songs on the album are those where Harrison’s ability to craft a bittersweet or nutty pop tune were perfectly married to Lynne’s ability to produce such a song crisply. “Someplace Else”, “Devil’s Radio”, “This Is Love” and “That’s What It Takes” have always appealed to me much more than the two singles everyone remembers, the Beatles tribute “When We Was Fab” and the boringly repetitive number one hit “I Got My Mind Set On You”.
- Cloud 9 (3:15)
- That’s What It Takes (4:01)
- Fish On The Sand (3:25)
- Just For Today (4:06)
- This Is Love (3:45)
- When We Was Fab (3:58)
- Devil’s Radio (3:53)
- Someplace Else (3:53)
- Wreck of the Hesperus (3:34)
- Breath Away From Heaven (3:36)
- Got My Mind Set On You (3:50)
Released by: Dark Horse
Release date: 1987
Total running time: 41:16
1992 music review by Earl Green