The Concert for Bangladesh is now available on DVD and, with all the interest in repackaged all-star events of the like (The Last Waltz, Live Aid, etc), it’s surprising that it’s taken so long to get it out. Some of the delay can likely be attributed to the 2001 passing of the concert’s organizer and anchor, George Harrison, who was also involved with the project’s re-release.
Packaged in a double disc set complete with an abundance of liner notes and photos, the 1971 Madison Square Garden event assembled to aid the victims of Bangladesh’s refugee crisis and subsequent floods documents a wide breadth of firsts. For one, it was the first superstar concert put together to aid a Third World nation, sparking successors like Live Aid and We Are the World in its wake. Secondly, it was the first live performances of ex-Beatles Harrison and Ringo Starr following the Fab Four’s unceremonious 1970 split.
Though hardly a deterrent, the effects of both live downtime and post break-up re-adjustment weighed on Harrison’s performance. Fresh off his first solo release, All Things Must Pass, Harrison was obviously nervous about taking then-new album tracks like “My Sweet Lord” to the stage. Backed by a large band, including keyboardist Billy Preston, Lennon bassist Klaus Voorman, Eric Clapton, and Apple band Badfinger (appearing as an acoustic guitar quartet), Harrison was nonetheless in fine shape, particularly when presenting the trippy “Beware of Darkness” in a duet with its writer, Leon Russell.
Another first was the appearance of Bob Dylan, who’d recently emerged from his post-motorcycle accident hibernation. In traditional flighty Dylan fashion, his last-minute decision to appear kept Harrison and band on their toes. Upon taking the stage, Dylan wrangles his own non-soundchecked backing band of Harrison, drummers Ringo and Jim Keltner and Russell, who appears near hesitant to accompany his idol on bass rather than piano, his signature instrument.
Dylan was the crowd favorite, performing, for the first time in years, staples like “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” to momentous applause. However, the show’s most spirited performance arrives much earlier on with Preston’s soulful rendition of “That’s the Way God Planned It.” The song moves him in such a way that Preston leaps forth from the piano riser and cuts a rug all around the Garden’s tightly manned stage.
The set’s bonus disc brings a few pleasant surprises, in particular three unreleased performances, which include a funky, Russell-led rehearsal of Robert Johnson’s “Come On In My Kitchen” and a playful “If Not for You,” with vocals shared between Harrison and Dylan. A requisite “Making Of” doc and a glut of then/now interviews round out the bonuses, but the main attraction remains the show itself.
Presented in shadowy earth tones and complete with crystal clear sound, it’s a shuttle ride back to when longhaired, socially-conscious rockers reckoned their music could change the world for the better even though the futures of participants like Clapton and Dylan were then in limbo, wracked by drug addiction, artistic detours, and a wealth of other personal tangles.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
