The Concert for Bangladesh

Disc 1
1	Introduction by George Harrison & Ravi Shankar 5:18
2	Bangla Dhun / Ali Akbar Khan 16:39
3	Wah-Wah 3:30
4	My Sweet Lord 4:35
5	Awaiting on You All 3:00
6	That's the Way God Planned It / Billy Preston 4:20
7	It Don't Come Easy / Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band 3:00
8	Beware of Darkness 3:35
9	Band Introduction 2:38
10	While My Guitar Gently Weeps 4:53
Disc 2
1	Medley: Jumpin' Jack Flash/Young Blood / Leon Russell 9:26
2	Here Comes the Sun 2:58
3	A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall / Bob Dylan 5:44
4	It's Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry / Bob Dylan 3:07
5	Blowin' in the Wind / Bob Dylan 4:06
6	Mr. Tambourine Man / Bob Dylan 4:44
7	Just Like a Woman / Bob Dylan 4:48
8	Something 3:42
9	Bangla Desh 5:01
10	Love Minus Zero/No Limit / Bob Dylan Bonus Track 4:19

Barnes & Noble

As a document of a show that was arguably the rock world's first large-scale attempt to use the music as a charitable tool, this sprawling collection has always been virtually unassailable -- and this revamped version is all the more appealing, thanks to a vivid remastering job and an added shot of Bob Dylan. Zimmy, just emerging from his reclusive period at the time of the concert's 1971 staging, contributes some of the set's highlights -- none more enticing than the "Live Minus Zero/No Limit" appended to the reissue -- but he's hardly the only shining star. Billy Preston, for instance, brought a churchly urgency when taking the spotlight for "That's the Way God Planned It," while Ravi Shankar gave the proceedings a needed sense of place with his sitar work on "Bangla Dhun." It's organizer George Harrison, though, who's the most valuable player, a status that's enhanced by the new mixing, which lends a crystalline quality to his playing on such songs as "Beware of Darkness" and a hush-inducing "Something." Countless other cause-oriented collections have come down the pike in the 30-odd years since these musicians focused their energies on the Indian Subcontinent, but few have matched the plainspoken pleas ingrained in these grooves. For those seeking multimedia gratification, there's also a newly turned out deluxe DVD version of the package, which is festooned with collectibles including ten different postcards, a reprint of the original concert poster, and a slew of Harrison's handwritten lyrics. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Hands down, this epochal concert at New York's Madison Square Garden -- first issued on three LPs in a handsome orange-colored box -- was the crowning event of George Harrison's public life, a gesture of great goodwill that captured the moment in history and, not incidentally, produced some rousing music as a permanent legacy. Having been moved by his friend Ravi Shankar's appeal to help the homeless Bengali refugees of the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Harrison leaped into action, organizing on short notice what became a bellwether for the spectacular rock & roll benefits of the 1980s and beyond. The large, almost unwieldy band was loaded with rock luminaries -- including Beatles alumnus Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Badfinger, and two who became stars as a result of their electric performances here, Leon Russell (the medley of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Young Blood") and Billy Preston ("That's the Way God Planned It"). Yet Harrison is in confident command, running through highlights from his recent triumphant All Things Must Pass album in fine voice, secure enough to revisit his Beatles legacy from Abbey Road and the White Album. Though overlooked at the time by impatient rock fans eager to hear the hits, Shankar's opening raga, "Bangla Dhun," is a masterwork on its own terms; the sitar virtuoso is in dazzling form even by his standards and, in retrospect, Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, and Alla Rakha amount to an Indian supergroup themselves. The high point of the concert is the surprise appearance of Bob Dylan -- at this reclusive time in his life, every Dylan sighting made headlines -- and he read the tea leaves perfectly by performing five of his most powerful, meaningful songs from the '60s. Controversy swirled when the record was released; then-manager Alan Klein imposed a no-discount policy on this expensive set and there were questions as to whether all of the intended receipts reached the refugees. Also, in a deal to allow Dylan's participation, the set was released by Capitol on LP while Dylan's label, Columbia, handled the tape versions. Yet, in hindsight, the avarice pales beside the concert's magnanimous intentions, at a time when rock musicians truly thought they could help save the world. [The Concert for Bangladesh was reissued as a deluxe edition in 2005. It was packaged in a small, CD-sized box bearing different artwork (a photograph of George from the concert) and containing an expanded booklet, good remastered sound, and a bonus track of Dylan performing "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" tacked onto the end.] Richard S. Ginell