The Concert For Bangladesh

Product Description:

Personnel: George Harrison (vocals, guitar); Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan (vocals, guitar); Billy Preston (vocals, organ); Leon Russell (vocals, keyboards); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums); Jesse Ed Davis, Joey Molland (guitar); Pete Ham (acoustic guitar); Ravi Shankar (sitar); Jim Horn (saxophone); Klaus Voormann, Tom Evans, Carl Radle (bass instrument); Jim Keltner, Mike Gibbins (drums); Don Preston (background vocals).

Recording information: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (08/01/1971).

This historical 1971 event set the template for every rock benefit concert that followed. A cast of all-star musicians, including Geroge Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan, converged on New York City's Madison Square Garden to play and sing their hearts out, while all the proceeds from the concert went to aid Bengali refugees. Shankar's 17-minute-plus raga "Bangla Dhun" opens the set, as though evoking the voice of a part of the globe too-often overlooked by Westerners. Backed by Ali Akbar Kahn and Alla Rakha, Shankar's exquisitely nuanced performance is one of the show's highlights.

Harrison, who organized the event, plays originals recorded with the Beatles ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Something"), and songs from his then-recent solo debut, ALL THINGS MUST PASS ("My Sweet Lord;" "Awaiting on You All"). There are dynamic solo turns by Leon Russell and Billy Preston, before Dylan emerges to steal the show with renditions of his classics ("Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Blowin' in the Wind"). Originally released as a three-LP set, CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH overflows with great music. At the time, it was an emblem for how popular music can raise consciousness about world issues and positively impact those situations. It remains such an emblem today.