I pre-ordered this set, knowing that I was going to buy it regardless of the reviews that had not yet been posted. I got it locked in at $23.99, which was subsequently changed to $29.88 as of the day of this review. So there may be a lesson about the value of the pre-order, especially if you just know that you will indeed make the purchase.

Being a big George Harrison fan, and now knowing that all we can look forward to are the things that already exist, I was happy to see the expansion of his catalog in the modern age of sound engineering as well as the visual arena with this set.

The DVD made me go this route rather than the CD only, and at about nine or ten dollars for the less than 15 minute disc, I am not sure about the monetary value. I guess in the years to come, I will be happy that I spent up to the expanded set. This DVD does one thing for my expectations for the future. Both the previously issued "Dark Horse" DVD and this one have nicely rendered 5.1 videos from the 1991 Japan concerts, which must mean that there are videos from all of the songs on that double CD. I hope that we can see those songs on a concert DVD in the future. The DVD was a bit of a shock for me, because for years of listening to the CDs from that tour of Japan, I had assumed that the terrific slide work on "Give me love" was from George himself. It was surprising to watch both Harrison and Clapton strumming acoustics, while Andy Fairweather-Low replicated the slide sound in the Harrison style. Still, it was nice to see George playing in front of a crowd. The rest of the songs on the DVD were basically audio soundtracks with a montage of stills and non-related video that support the songs. The alternate take on "Sue me, sue you blues" was really stripped down and raw. It would have been nice to have that on the CD too.

The actual album is as nicely rendered as it has ever been. George's voice is strong and clear, while the band's musical playing comes through exactly where it needs to. The elements of the sounds are very nicely in balanced. The quality of the songs is a historical data point in George's post-Beatles career. He had a really strong album to be measured against with for this sophomore studio recording. My opinion is that he had such a deep catalog waiting to be put on "All things must pass", that he may have set the bar too high for any future endeavors. This is a very good album, but for me "All things must pass" was a better one, especially on first listen. I have played this new rendering of "Living in the material world" about 5 times now, and I am just beginning to get to the point of being able to "know" the songs. Still, this is a must have for anyone wishing to fill out their Harrison collection in a more modern media (my first LITMW was on 8 track!).

FWIW, my enjoyment of this album and indeed all of my George Harrison albums, including the Wilbury's, has been greatly enhanced by my purchase of the book, "While my guitar gently weeps, the music of George Harrison" (available on Amazon). It chronologically breaks down every era of George's music and offers nice details about the recording sessions for all of his work. For this album for example, there are 15 pages devoted to the band he used, who played on which songs and even a review of how the record was received by the fans and critics. For true fans of George's music, this book will make all of your albums more fun to listen to, and will open your eyes to parts of his thinking that you may not have known about.

Living in the Material World is the third album in a row that George Harrison released after the breakup of the Beatles that was very successful. All Things Must Pass (1970) was number one on the album charts for two months. The Concert For the Bangla Desh (1971) won the Grammy for album of the year. Living In the Material World followed suit by hitting number one when it was released in May of 1973. This album is currently out of print in the United States and that is a pity, because for the Exception of All Things Must Pass and Cloud Nine, this is the best George Harrison record to buy. This is also the last album that Harrison really seems to go all out on until Cloud Nine which didn't come out until 14 years after this one did. The songwriting on Living In the Material World is mostly good with only a couple of throwaway tracks. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) was the single the album's hit single and was number one for four weeks when it was released in 1973. But some other songs also deserve special mention. The song Living in the Material World is one of the very best that Harrison has written. The song also has a very good sitar section that fans of the Beatle days will enjoy. Sue Me, Sue You Blues is a bluesy acoustic rocker that finds Harrison in fine vocal and guitar form.

There have been many that have said that this record is too preachy in regards to Harrison's religious beliefs. There is something to this critism to be sure but Living in the Material world is not a first listen record. Living in the Material World is a record that grows on the listener after many listens. Living in the Material World is also at times a very dark and very personal record for those who are fans of the Beatles music only. There problably hasn't been a more personal statement released by any of the Beatles since their breakup for the exception of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. Whatever it's flaws, Living In the Material World remains a rewarding listen more than 25 years after it was first released.

Note: this album needs remastered in the worst way because it sounds flat on CD. It might have gotten five stars by this reviewer if someone cared enough about Mr. Harrison's music to remaster as well as reissue it in the United States.

I was never able to find it in vinyl back in the days before CD, but then I lived in Puerto Rico at the time...however I found this American pressing of the CD, and fell in love with this album...it is not as long as All Things Must Pass...and it is much better than anything put out by McCartney at the time...sure there are preachy overtones to the songs, but the music is much better than many "inspirational" albums by mediocre Christian artists .."Give Me love" was a hit..."sue Me Sue You Blues" gives insight to the Beatle court complications...."Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" is catchy...the title track is mystical and the trademark sitar is in the background....."try Some , buy Some" is an overlooked gem......"Be Here Now"...is another beautiful song....the album is really exquisite, and does age well.....if George ever releases his own anthology it'll be interesting to hear outtakes and alternate versions of these wonderful songs....

This album is the more compact, less grandiose baby brother to "All Things Must Pass." Being the baby brother means, while many of the same characteristics are readily recognizable, that this record often gets overshadowed. The new reissue gives us the chance to hear this album fresh again and what a great listen it is. The production is sumptuous, George's voice is sympathetic and unforced, and the songs are authenticly heartfelt. The two drawbacks of this record are that the melodies have a sameness to them at first listen (repeated hearings help the listener better distinguish the intricate songs on this one)and the religious tone of the lyrics can get a little tedious at times. This is a laidback and supremely confident work from one of the few rock musicians who had anything substantial to say about faith. The arrangements and musical backing to these tunes give them the perfect context. The music insinuates itself into the consciousness of the hearer, making repeated listening a must. This is rock music well worth taking the time to get to know. This is a gorgeous record that has the potential to enfold you if not necessarily excite you.

Nice box, nice package.

The booklet could be better. (Mine has the booklet cover stapled onto the booklet upside down, but no big deal; too much trouble to ship it back for that.) But it could have better pix in it, imho. The lyrics in the booklet are nice to have and especially the comments on some of the songs, by George.

The sound qulaity? Well, it did not "knock me out". I listened to the original - in mp3 no less - recently, and frankly I don't think they did anything astounding with the remastering. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll have to compare it side by side. It does sound good, anyway.

The bonus disc in the "limited edition": The 5.1 of the Japanese concert performance is excellent. This is the best part of the bonus disc. I only wish they'd have included several more like this.

The Miss O'Dell here is better and I wish they'd have put this one on the main disc and the other one on the bonus disc, instead.

The Sue Me, Sue You version here is great, and this plus the 5.1 concert version of Give Me Love makes it worth buying the dvd version, for the hard core George fan.

Overall, the bonus disc is nice, but it could have been better. I think they were a little stingy with the material on the bonus disc. $9 extra for one real 5.1 live performance, and 2 extra songs (Sue Me Sue You and Miss O'Dell) with animation? Not exactly a great value. The "Material World" "video" is not a different version of the song, but rather, a music video which goes back and forth between the studio version of the song to a poor recording of it as the record pressing factory guy listens to it. Interesting idea, but not great for listening. Okay for watching once or twice...

Overall, I ALMOST wish I hadn't gotten the cd+dvd package. I expected it to be better. But being a George fan, I will try to burn the bonus tracks and copy them onto a new copy of the main disc with the bonus tracks included.

What I do wish is that they had just put the bonus tracks on the regular cd and given us a good cd package for the money. The dvd itself doesn't offer much. The live performance is quite good but it does not make it worth it, alone. If they'd have included, say, THREE songs from the concert, in 5.1, it would have made it worth it.

As to the album itself, it's a good album, and having good clean versions of Miss O'Dell and Deep Blue are worth buying it for.

I'm probably just being picky. It's a good package, overall. I just think the limited edition could have been a little more worthy of the extra money.

BOTTOM LINE: Great album by a great singer/songwriter.