This song was the title track of Georges 1987’s superb album. Song starts off with Harrison and Clapton trading licks and George matches him with his slide guitar. George was not a virtuoso type of guitar player but he was one of the best slide guitarists in the business. Guitar players are still trying to get his tone.
George wasn’t a self-indulgent guitar player…he always played for the song and always gave the song what it needed.
I love the blues-tone that Jeff Lynne got out of this production. He emphasized the bass drum and the bass to make it sound grounded.
Although the album was titled Cloud Nine, Harrison decided to use the numeric “9” in the song’s title to avoid confusion with the Temptations’ 1968 hit song “Cloud Nine.”
The song wasn’t released as a single but it’s a great-sounding song. This album marked a huge comeback for George. This album peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, and #10 in the UK in 1988.
After this album, George formed the Travelin Wilburys.
Cloud 9
Have my love
It fits you like a glove
Join my dream, tell me yes
Bail out should there be a mess
The pieces you don’t need are mine
Take my time
I’ll show you cloud nine
Take my smile and my heart
They were yours from the start
The pieces to omit are mine
Have my love
Use it while it does you good
Share my highs but the times
That it hurts pay no mind
The pieces you don’t need are mine
I’ll see you there on cloud nine
Take my hope
Maybe even share a joke
If there’s good to be shown
You may make it all your own
And if you want to quit that’s fine
While you’re out looking for cloud nine
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Great album! Very true about his slide playing/guitar tone.
I liked this album, and of course, it led to one of the best collaborations in musical history.
I always enjoyed this album and was really happy for George that it marked a comeback for him. I agree with everything you noted about his guitar playing. It was much more about his great tone than virtuosity. And, as you noted, the album led to The Traveling Wilburys!
Great album and what a comeback for George!
I almost scored this one used a ways back when I seen some dude snatch it right before me!
Dang!
LOL… Yea I got this one and Keith Richards Talk Is Cheap, The Wilburys close to each other. I rotated all three for a while.
That’s a cool 3 pack
A good one, and an overdue return for George! I happened upon a clip of him with Paul Simon (I think it was an old SNL appearance) from the ’70s on some random tv channel that was playing a Paul simon special. Would have been nice to hear those two work together on a record.
I love that episode of SNL…it was a Thanksgiving episode…one of the best ones and their highest rated one back then.
I totally missed out on this album and this is the first time that I heard this song.
It’s up there with his best albums. It was a great comeback for him at the time and this lead to the Wilburys…it’s worth getting.
I think you nailed it: what made George a great guitarist was that he played for the song rather than the solo. “Cloud Nine” was a minor masterpiece.
I was so happy to hear from him at the time…his previous album “Gone Troppo” wasn’t the best to me.
As I recall, he was going through some things at the time….
You know how I feel about Geo and I like what you say about him and his playing here.
This really brought him back at that time…I was really happy as a Beatle fan.
I thought I smelled some Clapton in this. Love the dreamy guitar. The saxophone is a bit of a distraction, tho… What is that? A Baritone sax?
The dreamy guitar is George…they go back and forth…George matched him in this one.
Looks like they shared more than a woman. LOL!
LOL…all of those Brit rock stars were animals.