George Harrison & Friends: The Concert For Bangla Desh

On August 1 1971, George Harrison and friends played two concerts at Madison Square Gardens, New York to raise public awareness for the plight of the new nation, Bangla Desh (formerly East Pakistan) then trapped in famine and the destruction of a civil war.

Ravi Shankar, Harrison's friend and musical guru, had originally come to George for help because Bengal, his homeland...was dying:

• at least 300,000 innocent people had been murdered by the West Pakistan government (the other half of Pakistan) in the space of a few months (possibly ten times that amount) &
• 10,000,000 people had fled into India  

Harrison quickly rang around and the line-up was settled at: 

• George Harrison
• Ringo Starr
• Billy Preston
• Bob Dylan
• Leon Russell
• Ravi Shankar

with

• Eric Clapton
• Klaus Voormann
• Jim Keltner &
• a multitude of acoustic guitars, horns & back-up singers

The whole event was captured on film for a movie...and tape for release as a triple album...with all proceeds to go directly to UNICEF for immediate East Pakistan famine relief*.

Thirty years on, the new, remastered Concert For Bangla Desh DVD looks and sounds brilliant, just about as good as being there, plus there's a bonus disc with 3 extra songs:

If Not For You                    Harrison & Dylan (from the rehearsal) 

Come On In My Kitchen      Harrison & Clapton (from the soundcheck)

Love Minus Zero/ No Limit  Dylan (from the afternoon performance)

+ contemporary interviews with the artists & more. 

And so to the music: 

Until the last minute, it was expected that John Lennon would show** and with Bob Dylan also apparently blowing hot and cold, Harrison was justifiably nervous. Nevertheless, when the lights went down, what you get is really just about the perfect George Harrison concert of 1971, then, the biggest-selling artist in the world, performing and sharing the stage with a few close friends.

First up is a 20 minute performance by Ravi Shankar. Whether sitar music is your bag or not, you can see it as:

• a short cultural  education or
• a pain in the ass

...either way, it's a little jolt to remind you of why the concert's really taking place. When Shankar leaves, George opens proceedings with three songs from his still then-monstrous, All Things Must Pass album...and right from the start, the band is surprisingly tight:

Wah Wah (pointedly, the McCartney put-down, opens the show)

Awaiting on You All &

My Sweet Lord (pre-litigation, considered Harrison's masterpiece) & then it's time to highlight the band. First up it's Billy Preston with

That's The Way God Planned It (title track from Preston's Harrison-produced Apple album) and then...

...Ringo, with his then-recent hit single (unofficially co-written by Harrison) It Don't Come Easy (Ringo fluffs the words, too)

Harrison steps back into the limelight with:

Beware Of Darkness (made pleasantly egalitarian through the unexpected sharing of vocals with Leon Russell) &

While My Guitar Gently Weeps  the first acknowledgement of his Beatle past with Eric Clapton shining on lead guitar  

...Then Russell steps into the limelight and completely changes the atmosphere from earnestness to then-contemporary rock'n'roll, with a:

Jumping Jack Flash/ Youngblood medley, which, at best is incongruous...and at worst, slightly bizarre. 

Next up, in a stunning piece of stagecraft, George restores er...dignity to the proceedings, through an entirely acoustic guitar version of Here Comes The Sun, and with the soothed audience in the palm of his hand, he introduces the evening's special guest, Bob Dylan, who (funny as it might now sound) drags the folky Sixties into the new decade, with:

A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall***

It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry

Blowin' In the Wind &

Just Like A Woman

...And that's the end of the concert. Of course George is called back for an encore and to rapturous applause he played what was considered the best song on Abbey Road:

Something

...and a heartfelt rendition of the song he'd written for the evening:

Bangla Desh...

"...My friend came to me
Sadness in his eyes
He told me that he wanted help
Before his country dies
And though I couldn't feel the pain
I knew I had to try
Now I'm asking all of you
To help us save some lives...

George Harrison

Bangla Desh 

...Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh
Where so many people are dying fast
And it sure looks like a mess
I've never seen such distress
Won't you lend a hand?
Try to understand
We've got to relieve
Bangla Desh..."

            Bangla Desh 

Shakespeare it ain't...but in the present era of:

• Justin Timberlake, who looks like a trainee accountant with problem hemmeroids, advising the world on "Sexy" &
• numerous new girl singers regularly appearing on my TV screen, seemingly, perpetually in heat

...while multinational corporations which we know bring ill-health to the nation (see my review of Supersize Me), pay them millions of dollars to prance like idiots in front of their corporate logos, the idea of:

• one man
• a guitar &
• some talented friends

...trying to right a terrible wrong through an unpretentious, simple song sounds f***ing wonderful to me! 

The Concert For Bangla Desh DVD

"...I was amazed to find the music sounding as great today as it did that night almost 36 years ago. I was home from college in DC for the summer and bought tickets for the evening show through the mail!...This DVD captures the mood of the evening perfectly. The performances were as good as they appear. It was a good cause. The audience was friendly, mellow, and adoring. It was a magical evening..." Amazon reviewer M.M. Barker

"...It took a while for this classic concert to be released on DVD but it was well worth it! Rhino gives this concert the royal treatment on 2 DVD's! Disc 1 has the classic The Concert For Bangladesh and Disc 2 has the extras! Great sound too! Also includes a nice booklet! Two thumbs up! Five stars! A+..." Amazon reviewer Jason Pumphrey

"...I remember when the original Concert For Bangladesh came out on 3 LP discs (vinyl record albums for the young 'uns). I played them over & over again...except side 1. I just couldn't appreciate the music of Ravi Shankar (It just sounded like a lot of noise to me back then). I don't know if it had to do with the aging process, or watching the performance but the Shankar part is one of the most fascinating parts of the concert. At one point, it almost looks like a duel between Shankar (on sitar), and the sarod player and the tabla player is excellent. Had I not SEEN it, I never would have appreciated it..." Amazon reviewer bobtec

"...I wanted to pluck out each and every one of these guys and feed them a sandwich- they were so skinny- How refreshing - and Leon Russell's pale arms with no tattoos - and the long silver hair. Wow. how about all of the chain-smoking on stage - I do believe that Eric Clapton had a cigarette holder on his guitar fret- wow again. How times have changed..." Amazon reviewer kooky kid "Bookgirl1818"

"...Some year, 1971. The year of the bad rock-star beard. George Harrison had one. Leon Russell had one too, not to mention miles of split ends. Leon! What were you thinking?... I remember one summer the movie played at the local drive-in and I went with a bunch of buddies, crowded into a lime-green Volkswagen Beetle. When Bob Dylan came on, everyone honked their horns and flashed their lights. It was a cool moment. Of course, one of my cynical friends had to complain. "Look at Dylan! He's a has-been! He's OLD!" What was he, like thirty? I guess that was old back then, wasn't it?  

...At the Concert For Bangladesh, George Harrison pulled it off. He came out from behind the shadow of Lennon/McCartney, proving himself as an artist to be reckoned with. He also proved himself to be a great humanitarian.

1971 may have been the year of the bad rock-star beard, but it was a good one for the world..." Amazon reviewer Ed Kaz

The Concert For Bangla Desh soundtrack

"... A fantastic document of the 70s: The greatest music stars, all together. Good music in pure state..." Amazon reviewer Miguel E. Burruezo 

"...The remastered sound quality is out of this world. The first thing I noticed was being able to clearly hear acoustic guitars and some keyboards clearer then ever. The vocal clarity is like night and day compared to the original release..." Amazon reviewer Anthony Accordino

"...The intricate guitar work of both George and Eric Clapton, the majestic Hammond B-3 of Billy Preston, that seemed to get muddled on the original recording...is really brought out with a new clarity...and really adds a new vitality and excitement to this recording. But nowhere is the sonic difference more apparent than on the Dylan tracks, where the intimate quartet of George, Ringo, Leon and Bob played some soul stirring versions of some Dylan nuggets..." Amazon reviewer bob "frankendino"

"...This is...one of the best LIVE recordings of Bob Dylan available, whether legit or bootleg. His voice is crystal clear -I believe I once read that he had quit smoking temporarily a few months before this recording -he sounds young and sings with a mellow intensity that isn't paralled on other LIVE recordings..." Amazon reviewer ingonyama

"...I am...a Bengali and a high school teacher in the US. I use the concert in my classes to show examples of human kindness and a willingness of Westerners to give back to the poor. The cover of the DVD speaks volumes and really makes an impact on anyone who looks at it. I was (saddened) and heart-broken that when George Harrison died the Bangladeshi government did not send a letter of condolence to George Harrison's family or that there were no steps taken to honor the fantastic work done by George Harrison for the Bangladeshi people. So on behalf of a grateful nation and Bengalis everywhere, thank you George for the fantastic concert, music and your love for a nation of people who needed it..."  Amazon reviewer K. Mahmud "H15torian"

For more info, see:

• wikipedia The Concert For Bangla Desh
• George Harrison honored by Madison Square Gardens + Olivia Harrison

Dick Cavett Rock Icons

Dick Cavett's Rock Icons interviews include chats with:

• George Harrison in 1971 discussing his problems with getting the Concert For Bangla Desh album out
• Paul Simon
• Sly Stone
• Jefferson Airplane
• David Crosby
• Steven Stills
• Joni Mitchell
• Janis Joplin
•  Sly Stone
• The Rolling Stones &
•  David Bowie

"...The title of this collection is a little misleading. "THE DICK CAVETT SHOW Featuring POP MUSIC ICONS" is a bit more accurate, because what is seen here are nine complete - whenever possible - Dick Cavett shows from 1969-1974.

In retrospect, from the evidence here Cavett was a viable, witty, and intermittently provocative alternative to late-night king Johnny Carson. If you are expecting wall-to-wall rock music, you'll be disappointed. However, if you want to get a snapshot of pop culture in the immediate post-Woodstock era, Cavett was unusually adept at reaching out to the younger generation and doing so in a manner that avoided the condescending attitudes of others in the entertainment world..." Amazon reviewer J.Lund "jazzbrat"

"...I catch myself falling into that trap of mythologizing Them Olden Days. As if the talk shows of yesterday were somehow more meaningful than the talk you hear today. Back then, it was okay to be intelligent on TV, okay for two adults to sit down and have a serious conversation but let's be honest, that's not what this was all about. Dick Cavett was working as hard at trying to be hip and entertaining as Jay Leno and others of today's lowest-common denominator class...It's not great entertainment, but somehow I couldn't stop watching..." Amazon reviewer My Uncle Stu

*      about $15 million dollars (probably the equivalent of, what, $50m now?) were raised through the album and the film...but the funds were unfortunately held up by the U.S. Internal Revenue for many years.

**    For the full story, see The Lives Of John Lennon

***  You must see the video to Bryan Ferry's outrageous interpretation of A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall on his 1973 album, These Foolish Things