Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/04/1992
Run Time: 102:57
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 (
"Jumpin' Jack Flash"/
"Youngblood") 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.
~Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
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