Two weeks ahead of the UK release date, "Melody Maker" published a full-page "exclusive preview" of "Material World" by its New York correspondent, Michael Watts. The latter wrote that "the most strikingly immediate impression left by the album" concerned its lyrics, which, although "solemn and pious" at times, were "more interesting" thematically than those on "All Things Must Pass", such that "Material World" was "as personal, in its own way, as anything that Lennon has done". While describing the pared-down production as "good artistic judgement in view of the nature of the lyrics", Watts concluded: "Harrison has always struck me before as simply a writer of very classy pop songs; now he stands as something more than an entertainer. Now he's being honest." This was particularly so in Britain, where by summer 1973, author Bob Woffinden later wrote, "the Beatle bubble had undoubtedly burst" and for each of the former bandmates, his individual "pedestal" was now "an exposed, rather than a comfortable, place to be".