An alternative studio version of "What Is Life" was one of the five bonus tracks included on the 2001 remaster of "All Things Must Pass". This version is a rough mix of the original backing track with different orchestration – in this case, piccolo trumpet and oboe. In the accompanying booklet, Harrison writes that this orchestral arrangement was discarded because he "didn't like the feel". Speaking to "Billboard" editor-in-chief Timothy White in December 2000, Harrison explained the reason for the lack of a guide vocal on this version: "I'm playing the fuzz guitar part that goes all through the song. So all I could do on the take was to give the band the cue line – the first line of each verse – and then go back to playing that riff. So that rough mix without the vocal – I'd forgot all about it …"