Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	B–
Elsewhere
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Houston Chronicle
Los Angeles Times
Mojo
MusicHound	4/5
Rolling Stone
Uncut

Cloud Nine is the eleventh studio album by English musician George Harrison. The album was recorded and released in 1987 after Harrison had taken a five-year hiatus from his career as a solo artist. The hit single "Got My Mind Set on You" from this album re-established Harrison as a critically acclaimed and commercially significant recording artist. Cloud Nine was the last studio solo album of Harrison's released during his lifetime.

Frustrated with the changing musical climate, George Harrison suspended his recording career in the early 1980s. Instead of recording, he opted to pursue other interests, including film production with his own company, Handmade Films. The odd soundtrack or charity song would surface during this period, but otherwise, it was a musically silent period for Harrison.

By late 1986, after a substantial break, Harrison felt the desire to make music again. He asked former Electric Light Orchestra leader and fellow musician Jeff Lynne to co-produce a new album with him. After writing a round of new compositions (including the songs already contributed to the 1986 film Shanghai Surprise), Harrison entered his home studio Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames on 5 January 1987 to begin recording his first new commercial album in five years. Having recorded the backing tracks for seventeen songs between January and March, he completed the album's overdubs in August 1987.

Besides Harrison and Lynne, other artists involved in the sessions included Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr on drums, Eric Clapton on guitar and both Gary Wright and Elton John on piano. (John was recovering from his vocal surgery at the time.) With new-found enthusiasm, Harrison actively promoted the album, even appearing with Starr at the Prince's Trust Concert that June to perform "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

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Wikipedia