Short answers, pulled from the story.
Recording sessions began at his home studio Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames on the 5th of January 1987. This marked his first commercial album release in five years after he stopped making music in the early 1980s.
Jeff Lynne co-produced the project while Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr shared drumming duties throughout the process. Eric Clapton contributed electric guitar parts to several tracks including Cloud 9 and Wreck of the Hesperus, and Gary Wright played piano on Just for Today.
The album cover features Harrison holding his 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet guitar during the photo shoot. He had purchased this instrument in Liverpool back in 1961 before giving it to Klaus Voormann who returned it after its restoration.
The single reached number one in the United States and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom. It became Harrison's first chart-topping single in the US since Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) in 1973.
Dark Horse Records remastered Cloud Nine in 2004 with distribution handled by EMI. Bonus tracks included Shanghai Surprise and Zig Zag from the 1986 film Shanghai Surprise which had previously been released as the B-side of When We Was Fab.