Concert For Bangladesh (1981)

Before We Are the World, before the Amnesty International concerts, before Live Aid, Live 8, 46664, and all the other charitable and/or political events that have used popular music as their principal draw, there was George Harrison's 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, a stirring affair released here in a fine two-disc set. The cause--raising money for the beleaguered people of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), who were ravaged by war, floods, and famine--was enough to attract the support of stars like the former Beatle, who had never fronted a band before, along with Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, both of whom had been out of the limelight for some years due to various personal problems and choices. Given the little time that Harrison, whose help had been solicited by sitar master Ravi Shankar, had to organize the affair, the results are very impressive indeed: the enormous band, which also features Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, and Billy Preston, is tight, the music (spotlighting tunes from Harrison's All Things Must Pass, along with a few Beatle numbers) inspired, the musicians at the top of their games. (Only Clapton is sub-par; looking out of it and playing weakly, he's a far cry from the guy who, some 30 years later, would spearhead the magnificent Concert for George.) For some, the opportunity to see Dylan onstage with Harrison, Starr, and Russell (playing bass) will be the big attraction. Others will thrill to the remastered DVD sound and restored picture. Still others will revel in an entire disc of bonus material, including three previously-unreleased performances and a documentary featuring new interviews with many of the participants. 1971 was a bleak period in rock history; the Beatles had broken up, Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison were dead, Woodstock was a distant memory. The Concert for Bangladesh shone like a beacon, a revelation of the better angels that reside within us all. And it still does. --Sam Graham Amazon.com

Forgotten lyrics. Production quality is dated.

The biggest disappointment was the forgotten lyrics on "It Don't Come Easy" and "Something". It's really embarrassing.

Also disappointing was the picture quality. There is lots of grain in the picture. The technology was lacking at the time, so this is probably as good as can be expected. You could save a good bit of money buying this on VHS and not lose much in the way of picture quality, but you wouldn't get the extras on the second disk.

There are also 3 rehearsal performances included, but they didn't bother to restore the film for those so you see lots of scratches on the film. I would have also preferred to watch these at the beginning of the movie. Instead you have to put in the second disk and select each of the 3 rehearsals individually.

The camera work was annoying at times especially on "Something", where the camera keeps zooming in and out and the picture is out of focus. Looks like someone let their kid use the camera for the first time.

Highlights:

While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Really enjoyed the dueling guitars between George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

Here Comes the Sun - Excellent acoustic version with George Harrison and Pete Ham.

My Sweet Lord - This version is predominantly George Harrison's acoustic guitar and Eric Clapton's electric guitar. You can really distinguish the guitars and the vocals as opposed to the album version.

Backup vocalist and Horn section - I thought they really added to the production value of the performances.

Low Points:

Indian Music - I found it really boring and fast forwarded through most of it.

Eric Clapton - He didn't perform any of his songs.

Bad Finger - They didn't perform any of their songs. October 11, 2008

Love it

I listened to this set as a child ALL THE TIME. to finally see the performances is such a treat. I love it. April 7, 2008

camerwork blows

The technology of the era really hurts this dvd. Great concert, but alas, it only rises to the technology of the era. Get it for historical reasons but not for concert viewing excellence. Some will like, some will not. We watched it once and not twice, a sure indication that something wasn't quite right. November 24, 2007

Alas a tad tedious...

Always have been curious about this gig, a curious mixture of characters on stage from Klaus Voorman, Billy Preston, Ringo, and of course Dylan. What stands out is how frankly mediocre a songwriter George Harrison was, the sentiments are in the right place but apart from Badfinger this give a good sniff of why Punk had to happen a few years later... Nice Dylan though. November 14, 2007

Too bad all things must pass

I have the LP version of this concert, but, until recently, had not viewed the video. I tried to watch a year or so ago on PBS and had a power outage after about twenty minutes. I finally got around to viewing it via Netflix. VERY ENJOYABLE. Many of the concerts I have watched thru Netflix have featured aging rock stars 30 years after they made their scene. It is nice to see some vintage film from days gone by.

Just about the only headliner at this concert that was not in top form was the comfortably numb Eric Clapton. Billy Preston tries (and somewhat does) to steal the show with just one tune and Leon Russell is terrific. The Bob Dylan set is by itself worth the price of admission. WOW! I almost forgot to mention Ringo! George and Ringo on stage together!

One of my high school annuals was titled "All Things Must Pass." That triple LP was one of my favorites in the early 1970s. Harrison does several of the hits off this LP plus a few of his Beatle tunes. Harrison is spot on. His playing, singing, and overall performance is just downright terrific.

If you are looking for a great blast from the not too distant past, you could do far worse than this wonderful concert.
October 22, 2007

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