Cover artwork
Extra Texture (Read All About It) was issued in a textured orange sleeve bearing the title, George Harrison’s name and the ॐ Om symbol.Initial copies were die-cut around the title, through which the inner sleeve – with Henry Grossman photographs of Harrison on either side – could be seen. On one side of the inner sleeve, Harrison’s photo was captioned “OHNOTHIMAGEN”, a working title for the album, and a recognition that Harrison had fallen out of favour with critics and record buyers.
The record label showed an apple core, seen by many as a wry commentary on the demise of Apple Records.
In addition to the list of musician credits on the back cover, Harrison listed several people who had not participated:
Danny Kootch doesn’t appear on this record.Also not appearing on this record: Derek Taylor, Peter Sellers, Chuck Trammell, Dino Airall, Eric Idle, Dennis Killeen and Emil Richards
‘Ooh Baby (You Know That I Love You)’ is dedicated to Smokey Robinson
The title
The title Extra Texture (Read All About It) was a subversion of the “Extra! Extra!” call that newspaper sellers would shout to advertise late editions.
One of the guys who played bass on some of the tracks was just sitting with me as I was overdubbing something, and we were talking about something. And he said ‘texture’ and at the same time as I said ‘extra’, and that was it. It just became one of those… the flow, you know, the words ‘extra texture’, at the time it seemed funny. Extra Texture (Read All About It). It was going to be called OHNOTHIMAGEN, which is actually the subtitle.
Rockweek, BBC Radio 1
The release
Unusually, George Harrison chose to promote Extra Texture (Read All About It) by granting several media interviews.
On 6 September 1975, Melody Maker published an interview, making him the cover star under the headline “George bounces back!” He discussed the new album, and other subjects including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, California, the Bay City Rollers, Bob Marley, and the sitar.
That evening, the BBC Radio 1 show Rockweek broadcasted an interview in which Harrison discussed Extra Texture track by track with host Paul Gambaccini.
On 17 September Harrison gave an interview from his Los Angeles home to US radio DJ Dave Herman.
The single ‘You’ was released on 12 September 1975, with ‘World Of Stone’ on the b-side. It reached number nine in Canada, and was a top 20 hit in the USA and Sweden. In the United Kingdom it peaked at number 38.
‘You’ was David Hamilton’s Record of the Week on his BBC Radio 1 show from 8-12 September. On 12 September Harrison made a live appearance on Nicky Horne’s Capital Radio show Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It, although he was delayed by heavy London traffic. He returned to Los Angeles shortly after the interview.
Extra Texture (Read All About It) was released in the US on 22 September 1975, and in the UK on 3 October. It was a top ten hit in Japan, Norway, and the United States. In the UK it peaked at number 16.
A second single, ‘This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)’, followed on 8 December in the US, and on 6 February 1976 in the UK. Its b-side was the Dark Horse track ‘Māya Love’.
The single failed to chart on either of the three US singles charts, or the UK’s official top 50. It was Harrison’s first single to miss the Billboard Hot 100, and the first by a former Beatle to not chart in the US.
On 11 November 1975, Extra Texture received a gold disc from the RIAA, for sales of 500,000 units.
The album was remastered and reissued on compact disc in January 1992.
It was remastered again for the box set The Apple Years 1968–75, and also given a standalone release. The 2014 reissue included liner notes by Kevin Howlett, and a bonus track: a 1992 re-recording of ‘This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)’.
The latter was for Platinum Weird, a spoof band formed by Dave Stewart and Kara DioGuardi. Harrison donated his 1992 version, which was completed in 2006 with contributions from Stewart, DioGuardi, Dhani Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Mark Hudson.
