DVD Review - "Concert For Bangladesh"

In 1971, when George Harrison was approached by his friend, Indian musician Ravi Shankar, for help for flood- and war-ravaged Bangladesh, the concept of the superstar concert benefit didn't exist. But Harrison wanted to help, and he had more than a few superstar friends he could call. The result, the Concert For Bangladesh, not only focused worldwide attention on the plight of the small south Asian nation, it became the model for the large scale, big name benefits that are common today.

It took someone of Harrison's stature to put together a lineup that included fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell and Billy Preston. Shankar, the only sitar player in history to get worldwide mainstream exposure, also performed.

Harrison was known as "the quiet Beatle." He may have also been the most shy. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to fill a large venue. He hadn't performed a full live concert in five years. He wasn't sure it would be a good idea to film the concert.

In the end, the concert did come off, in two parts, on the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971 in Madison Square Garden. And as a result, as Shankar told Rolling Stone, "Within hours of the show, Bangladesh was known all over the world."

Because of Harrison's concern about filming the concert, the decision was made to shoot it on 16mm film -- the kind used to record news events in the days before videotape -- rather than the higher quality 35mm film used to shoot movies. The theory was that the smaller, quieter 16mm cameras would be less intrusive on the audience.

Even so, the concert was initially released in move theaters then, in later years, in a home video version on VHS tape. The version on the newly released DVD benefits greatly from digital enhancement of both audio and video.

The DVDs also contain previously unreleased footage from rehearsals, sound checks, and from the portion of the concert that was staged in the afternoon. There are also mini-documentaries on the making of the film and album that came out of the concert.

If anyone was more nervous than Harrison about performing that night, it was Bob Dylan. He was still recovering from a near-fatal motorcycle accident. He, too, hadn't performed live in several years. He was so upset backstage, there was serious doubt about whether he would perform. In the end, he did. His performance with Harrison on If Not For You is stunning.

When Harrison and Clapton alternate guitar licks on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, it's hard to stifle the impulse to immediately replay the performance to be sure you heard what you heard and saw what you saw.

There were plans and rehearsals, but there was an unstructured looseness that is appealing -- a few impromptu dance steps from Billy Preston; the disembodied voice of Leon Russell, who was well into a song before the camera found him.

Prior to his death in 2001, Harrison had begun working on this project. One of his final wishes was that it be completed. That it was is a testament to how seriously Harrison took the project.

Concert For Bangladesh established the model for the many Live Aid, Live 8, and hurricane relief superstar benefit shows that followed over the next 30 years. It is doubtful, however, that any will ever achieve the spontaneity, and sincerity, of these historic performances.