As if yesterday's announcement of Paul McCartney's reissue plans for Ram wasn't enough...

Martin Scorsese's documentary Living in the Material World, exploring the life and legacy of George Harrison, premiered in October 2011, broadcast in the United States on HBO.  Roger Ebert wrote of the film, "Scorsese has accomplished the best documentary that is probably possible," noting that the film is a "more objective, less personal documentary than Scorsese usually makes."  Todd McCarthy in The Hollywood Reporter praised its deeply personal look at the artist: "[Here] is the man himself, reticent, cagey but open to life, his mind occupied with many things, and his music and friends as well, all up on the screen. It's not a film one particularly expected to be made but it's a vastly welcome one."

Just one week after its American television debut, the U.K. arm of Lionsgate Home Entertainment released Living in the Material World in three home video editions: DVD, Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack and a deluxe Blu-Ray/DVD/CD edition.  No U.S. video release was announced at the time, and no soundtrack was issued, either.  (In comparison, Scorsese's 2005 Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home spawned a comprehensive 2-CD soundtrack as part of the artist's Bootleg Series.)  The CD included in the Blu-Ray/DVD Deluxe Edition, containing ten unreleased demos and early takes performed by Harrison, was only available as part of the pricey box set.  Now, on the heels of its announcement of a May 1 DVD and Blu-Ray release for the documentary in America, UMe/Hip-o Records will issue on the same day Early Takes Volume 1, the 10-track CD previously only available in that import box set.  If you held out these past months from purchasing the U.K. set , you're finally in luck!

Hit the jump for details, including the track listing, for this new collection of Harrisongs!

Early Takes Volume 1 offers all unreleased material, some of which is likely familiar to longtime Harrison collectors. You'll find many All Things Must Pass-vintage demos and early takes: "My Sweet Lord," "All Things Must Pass," "Behind That Locked Door," "Awaiting On You All," "Run of the Mill" and the Bob Dylan co-write "I'd Have You Any Time." You'll also find a performance of Dylan's "Mama, You've Been On My Mind" and an early attempt at "Woman, Don't You Cry For Me" from Thirty Three and 1/3. The demo of "The Light That Has Lighted the World" led to the finished track on the original album Living in the Material World, and finally there's a Harrison version of the Gilbert Becaud standard "Let It Be Me."  Though there has been no confirmation as of yet, the "Volume 1" in the title just might indicate that more Harrison vault treasures are on the way.

The ten tracks on Early Takes will be available on both CD and vinyl.  Various retailers including Vintage Vinyl Records and Music Direct are already accepting orders for the LP, and Amazon's CD pre-order link can be found below.  This welcome mini-archive of Harrison demos and ephemera arrives from UMe on May 1!

George Harrison, Early Takes Volume One (Hip-o Records/UMe, 2012)

1. My Sweet Lord (demo) 3:33
2. Run Of The Mill (demo) 1:56
3. I'd Have You Any Time (early take) 3:06
4. Mama You've Been On My Mind (demo) 3:04
5. Let It Be Me (demo) 2:56
6. Woman Don't You Cry For Me (early take) 2:44
7. Awaiting On You All (early take) 2:40
8. Behind That Locked Door (demo) 3:29
9. All Things Must Pass (demo) 4:38
10. The Light That Has Lighted The World (demo) 2:23