With two of the four members of The Beatles declining to participate in what could have been a grand return for the Fab Four, The Concert for Bangladesh pushes on anyway. George Harrison, hellbent on providing aid and shedding light on the Bangladesh Liberation War. Aided by Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and a host of other familiar faces, this collaborative effort holds a similar sense of goodwill as Live Aid 1985. But here is a collection of finer tracks from artists whose glory days, at the time, were long behind them. They still hold value as wordsmiths and artists as evidenced by the pull of this release. This hour-and-a-half effort hears Harrison and company offer up a successful campaign of support, later mired by recording release prices.
Here it is though – and what an experience it is. A whole new range of relevance benefits the likes of Harrison’s My Sweet Lord and Dylan’s impressive Blowin’ in the Wind. In fact, the whole setlist presents artists whose works are of timeless quality – yet here they are provided with the specifics of a humanitarian crisis, and they benefit from their angle of fundraising. Strong form from Shankhar on opener Bangla Dun sets the scene neatly, a lengthy piece of instrumental quality followed up by some Harrison solo works. Wah-Wah settles in nicely, more power to it with the backing vocalists at work. It plays to the strength of My Sweet Lord too, heard here as a Harrison piece more than willing to give in to those extra vocalists. Poetic beauties from Billy Preston filter through on That’s the Way God Planned It, a track which is tailor-made for Dylan – though he has not touched it.
An appearance from Ringo Starr is not the worst piece of this Concert for Bangladesh, the ex-Beatles member has a flair for winning the crowd over and has some neat vocal work for his one lead track. Obvious highlights come through the latter half, a stunning collection of musicians for While My Guitar Gently Weeps continues the trend of ensemble performances that would later see Eric Clapton and Prince shine through as competent adapters of a world-beating song. Mr. Tambourine Man and the Dylan section is stunning – a fine turn from Dylan at the height of his powers. All the classics in fine display and a receptive crowd hoping to hear this hit or that. His selection is nothing short of classy and considerate of the event.
Such is the expectation of these tracks pieced together for The Concert for Bangladesh. Each musician plays their crucial part with ease and urgency. A performance of Just Like a Woman with Harrison in tow is a real highlight for this live album. One of the finest out there, get your grubby mitts on it at once. Worth it to hear musicians right in their prime, and though two of the big names were attached and omitted, the ramshackle experience of pulling together musicians for a last-minute display has its charms. The suddenness and adrenalin it forms give Harrison some weight as a masterful entertainer and a savvy creative behind the scenes. Handmade Films would benefit from this a few years later, and The Concert for Bangladesh sees Harrison use his exceptional influence to draft fine work from finer musicians.
