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The Main Players
George Harrison is the organizer of this event and the main star since he is a former Beatle. He assembled a virtual who’s who of classic rock and Indian legends for this show and here’s the rundown of who else played: Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jim Keltner, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Klaus Voorman, and Ravi Shankar. Amazingly, all of these musicians are still alive save for George Harrison and the recently departed Billy Preston.
The Setting
The concert took place on August 1st, 1971 at Madison Square Garden.
The Concert (1:38:57)
Before the actual concert plays, there is a brief introduction by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison about Bangla Desh and why George is helping out. A friend had asked him and he agreed. He goes on to say that the concert made $250,000, which wasn’t much, but the record sales is what really helped out.
So the concert begins and George comes out and says that they will begin with Indian music. He advises the crowd it is more serious and to settle down a bit to get into it. He then introduces the Indian musicians. Of course there is Ravi Shankar on the sitar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan on the sarod, Ustad Alla Rakha on the tabla and Kamala Chakravarty on the tamboura.
1) Bangla Dhun
Ravi says this music requires some concentration and to be patient before the other stars come out. He explains that they will play a Dhun, or melody. They start tuning their instruments and the crowd cheers so Ravi comments that if they enjoyed that, they will enjoy what is coming next. With that, they’re off. It’s a very long song (about 15 minutes) but it’s just such good music to mellow out to and sitting here listening to it was very peaceful. I liked the way they started off the show and Ravi is a master at the sitar. They finish to a thunderous ovation.
2) Wah Wah
What a way to get the people off their feet. The backing band is huge with many trumpeters, two drummers, a few keyboardists and a slew of guitar players. The Beatles never had more than 4 people on stage and considering they hadn’t toured since 1966, George sounded very good here. His voice was strong and they matched the feel of the record perfectly. Having Eric Clapton on solo guitar doesn’t help either. A great performance here and a sign of great things to come for sure. You never know how that many stars will react and play with each other but these musicians showed how familiar they were with each other and this intro by the band was superb. This song was off the All Things Must Pass album which was George’s first real solo album (he actually had about 2 experimental albums in the late 60’s) and he had such a backlog of songs from his time with the Fab Four he just let go and fans were treated to a triple-record set. This album is considered by many to be the best Beatles solo album.
3) My Sweet Lord
Continuing with the biggest hit of the All Things Must Pass album, George puts down his stratocaster and picks up the acoustic guitar for this song. Again, George performs it very close to the record and is another sterling performance for the band. Eric plays the slide part astonishingly close to what it sounds like on the album.
4) Awaiting On You All
This is another cut from the All Things Must Pass Album. It’s more high-tempo than My Sweet Lord. It isn’t one of my faves from the album to be honest but it’s another faithful representation from the album version. George’s playing is great on this cut, by the way.
5) That’s The Way God Planned It
George takes a breather from singing and lets one of his co-stars shine, as Billy Preston takes over for this song. I don’t know which album it came off of but it’s a very soulful song and changes the pace of the concert for a bit in a good way. It’s a nice gospel feel and Billy’s singing is great on here and his keyboard solo is impressive as well. Watch for the end when he gets up and starts dancing as the song’s tempo speeds up. I am not familiar with this song at all but it was very good.
6) It Don’t Come Easy
Up next is Ringo’s most well known song. George wrote it as well. As with the album, Ringo takes over the singing duties. He plays drums while he sings along with Jim Keltner backing him up. He gets a big ovation when he starts singing and I guess the moment had an effect on him since he forgot the words a couple of times. Oops! He would’ve been killed for that on American Idol. I don’t know who soloed during the song but it was damn good. Except for Ringo flubbing the lines, a good version of the song with fantastic backing music.
7) Beware of Darkness
We mellow down a bit with another track from All Things Must Pass and a highly under-rated cut from the album. It is a very deep song if you ever listen to the lyrics and the melody is beautiful. It’s one of my faves from this album and they give a stellar performance. Keyboardist Leon Russell sings one of the verses as well.
Following this song, George introduces the band noting that many cancelled gigs to be there even though they weren’t getting paid. Ringo is introduced first and as the fans cheer Leon plays a bit of Yellow Submarine. Klaus Voorman is the bassist. He knew the Beatles in Germany and took pics of them. There are other members in the band as well. Eric gets a huge hand and I believe this concert took place before Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs came out. There are also three acoustic guitar back-up players. You may have heard of them, it’s Badfinger. George almost forgets to acknowledge Billy Preston, which was funny.
8) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
It must’ve been a huge treat to hear this song next. It’s the first time I believe it was performed live. As you know, The Beatles stopped touring after 1966 so the band never performed any songs after Pepper live. It’s even better because on the album Eric played the lead guitar parts and here he is to play it again. The song actually was all right at best. It seemed to miss the magic spark that it had on the White Album. The best part of the song was Eric and George soloing with each other.
9) Jumpin’ Jack Flash / Young Blood Medley
Leon Russell gets some time to shine now in a lengthy Jumpin’ Jack Flash / Young Blood medley. It’s a rollicking good time and this is one of my favorite performances of the concert. The band seems to have a lot of fun playing and it’s a very free-flowin’ performance. I think most are familiar with Jumpin’ Jack Flash which is a rock number but Young Blood is a great bluesy number by Leon and one of the other guitarist gets a chance to shine here and plays well. Just awesome.
10) Here Comes The Sun
Speaking of awesome. This is basically George just by himself. It’s his moment and he shines. Who doesn’t know and love this song? It’s a song of hope in my opinion. Beautifully done and one of the highlights of the evening.
11) A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Then there’s the surprise guest. You may know him; it’s a fellow by the name of Bob Dylan. The show takes a slight momentum shift as Bob’s folk tunes don’t take too kindly to big band instrumentation. That’s not a knock on the performances in any way as these acoustic numbers are very good and emits an intimate feel for the concert. Yes, this is the intimate section of the concert.
12) It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry
Honestly, one of the slowest and most boring songs on the album. It’s basically just the Bob Dylan showcase at this point and though Bob’s greatest can’t be questioned, the momentum of the concert definitely slowed here and the performances weren’t as electrifying as before. You can have an electrifying performance on acoustic guitar; just look as Here Comes the Sun from a few minutes earlier.
13) Blowin’ In The Wind
I like this song better than the one before but again it’s the Bob Dylan highlight hour that detracts a bit from the concert. The rest of the players are shuffled in the background, which wasn’t the case in any other tracks besides Dylan’s.
14) Just Like A Woman
See the comments from the previous songs. Not a bad performance but too distracting from the overall feel of the show.
15) Something
The full band reunites again. This time George plays his only #1 song as a Beatle and the crowd reaction when they start puts a smile on his face. He even whips out a super-melodic solo that I liked better than on the album. This was what they ended with and the fans went crazy. It’s a great song to end the concert and a great performance. Of course, we’re not done though!
16) Bangla Desh
This is the only original song on the album and it’s titled appropriately. I’ve heard this song before and I love the feel of the song. It has such an incredible beat and it’s actually a good song. While they play the song they actually show some scenes from the distress in Bangla Desh. Not only is it a good song but also it really means something. George even cuts another solo on this track, too. It’s a fitting song to end on. Best part of the song? It’s when George takes off his guitar and leaves while everyone plays on. That’s awesome.
Concert Review
I didn’t know what to expect to be honest. I never heard any cuts from here except Bangla Desh and I know the Beatles weren’t well known for their concert chops so I didn’t know if it’d be any good or just a novelty benefit concert. All my fears of the album eroded after the first cut by the band. Wah Wah was energetic, close to the album version and, most importantly, very good. The momentum they built from that first song continued throughout (almost all) the show and honestly, I have never heard George play better than on here. He was always underrated as a lead guitarist and though Eric gets most of the solos, George shows just how good he is. I watched this show twice (once to let it sink in and another to review it) and it was extremely enjoyable both times. The only parts that get to me are the Dylan parts. He is a legend but the four songs he performed severely impacted the pace and feel of the show. Luckily, it was quickly restored with the last two tracks. Overall, the concert is a clear winner and it set the benchmark for what a benefit concert should be. Surprisingly, Eric Clapton was a bit of a non-entity on this show. He didn’t whip out any of his famous guitar solos, which was surprising. It doesn’t detract in any way from the concert, though; as it was George’s time to shine. ***1/2.
DVD Features
A) Extras
All the extras are included on Disc two.
1) Documentary (44:47)
This documentary is called Concert for Bangla Desh. They show a clip of fans waiting for tickets and its none other than Geraldo Rivera doing the reporting for Channel 7. It’s a history of the concert as told by old George Harrison interviews and in speaking with people associated with the concert who are still alive including Ravi Shankar, Jann Werner (from Rolling Stone), Lord Putnam (from UNICEF), Ringo Starr, Billy Preston (before he passed on), Leon Russell, Johnathan Taplan (production manager), Eric Clapton (who complained about the guitar he used on While My Guitar Gently Weeps), Neil Aspinall, etc. It was nice to see members of the band sharing their memories of the show. They even throw in some rare rehearsal footage! There are some funny anecdotes, like George waiting for a guitar player and the guy from Taj Mahal showing up to play in the show (which he did) and Eric finally showing up as well. Eric says he was in a different state of mind and he didn’t decide to play until rehearsals the day before. They didn’t know if Bob was going to show up and play but he did. Ringo says that he played songs differently each time with a different tempo, which threw him off a bit. The program ends with people talking about the effect of the concert and influencing all the other benefit concerts that came about because of this.
2) Previously Unseen Performances
---A) If Not For You (2:57)
This is just Bob Dylan and George playing and singing this song off of All Things Must Pass. I think these are just rehearsals since the sound dude came by. The performance isn’t too good either as George and Bob are constantly singing out of tune with each other.
---B) Come On In My Kitchen (2:46)
This is another rehearsal and this time Leon takes over the vocals. This was a decent, if not un-interesting, performance. George actually does the guitar solo on this song, too.
---C) Love Minus Zero / No Limit (4:14)
This is Bob Dylan with the backing band and is from the concert. Again, it’s a rather boring performance from Bob and friends. I’m glad these three performances remained unseen for so long!
3) Mini Features
---A) The Making of the Film (7:56)
Not only was it a great concert, it was released on film in theaters to raise money for disaster in Bangla Desh. The cameraman all started at the same time and thus it was all ended at the same time and they could only film about 15 minutes so a lot of stuff they couldn’t cover. Luckily, George knew what performances from which shows to use. They talk about the wall of sound. Another task they had to perform was blowing up 16mm to 70mm for the movie! They even mention a little hidden message on the end of side 2 of record 3 that was is in reverse!
---B) The Making of the Album (4:25)
One of the big issues with releasing the album was Capital, the distributor, since they were upset they weren’t making enough money. George said it was all going to the refugees so they weren’t getting any money. Of course, George publicly complained about this on the Dick Cavett, which expedited its release. It even won the Grammy for record of the year and Ringo Starr accepted the award and carried off all 15 or so Grammy’s there (no joke)!
---C) The Original Artwork (4:09)
The original photographers talk about taking the pictures that made the photo booklet and the front and back covers of the album.
---D) Recollections of August 1971 (3:40)
Many of the participants give their recollections of the evening. Included are: Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Klaus Voorman and others.
---E) Photo Gallery (3:35)
This is a photo gallery that shows photos from the shows with the sounds of Beware to Darkness playing in the background.
---F) Take A Bow (1:46)
This is a brief look at the performers who were in the show. Here Comes the Sun plays over the clips of the main performers.
---G) Credits (1:30)
These are the credits.
B) Audio/Video
You have three options for the audio, DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital Surround. Both times I watched the concert it was in DTS 5.1 and it sounded beautifully. They cleaned up the audio fantastically for this set. The concert itself is presented in full-screen. There were some grainy parts (the video is almost 40 years old now) and can be dark at times but it’s the best that can be expected and I sure it was cleaned up a great deal for the DVD.
C) Liner Notes
Since I am a crazy collector, I got the special edition. Included with the double disc set are 10 postcards, an Apple decal, a George Harrison for Unicef flyer, the written lyrics to Bangla Desh, a full sized poster for the show, and a 60 page booklet! The booklet itself contains a page written by Ravi Shankar, a two-page background about the crisis in Bangla Desh and a page written by Charles Lyons, the president of the US Fund of Unicef. The rest are all photos. There were only 100,000 of these made and I am the lucky owner of # 055,540.
D) Easter Eggs
None.
Overall Review
Well, I am a huge George Harrison fan so please excuse any personal bias. Never mind the fact that this is landmark concert in and of itself. It really set the stage for all benefit concerts to come and was the first of its kind to be performed on a level like this. That would be enough for a recommendation. Looking past the monumental importance of the show, it really is a fantastic concert. I didn’t really care for the Bob Dylan parts but the first half of the show is amazing and the closing songs were fantastic as well. This concert was not available for a long time, long being out of print on CD and VHS, but the time it took for them to clean it up was well worth it. They even included a whole second DVD of extras. The documentary was the best of the features but the mini-features were enjoyable as well. I like the fact they put the unseen performances on there, though honestly, I didn’t care for them. In the end, this is George at his finest moment. He is leading a band of all-stars but never once did his star dim. He was the star of the show and everyone knew it. That this concert is preserved on DVD now for the rest of time is appropriate. His music is timeless, his message is eternal and this DVD showcases both perfectly. This is the best concert DVD I have ever seen.
Overall Rating
10.0
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
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