Gone Troppo

Here is a bit about what I think of as a much overlooked album.......


Gone Troppo is an album by George Harrison recorded and released in 1982. It would prove to be Harrison's last studio album for five years, wherein he would largely take an extended leave of absence from his recording career, with only the occasional soundtrack recording surfacing.

By 1980, Harrison had been finding the current musical climate alienating. His commercial appeal had dwindled, with 1981's Somewhere in England failing to go gold (despite featuring the John Lennon tribute smash hit, "All Those Years Ago"). With one album left on his current recording contract, Harrison decided to get it over with and recorded Gone Troppo (an Australian slang expression meaning "gone mad/crazy") and released it without participating in any promotion, so disenchanted he was with the state of the music industry.

Gone Troppo - with its busy artwork by friend "Legs" Larry Smith (formerly of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) - was considered by most to be a flop, reaching a #108 in the US and never even touching the UK charts. It became the worst selling studio album Harrison released.

In 2004, Gone Troppo was remastered and reissued both separately and as part of the deluxe box set The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 on Dark Horse Records with new distribution by EMI, adding the bonus track demo version of "Mystical One".