The Concert for Bangladesh

They called him the quiet Beatle, but George Harrison made quite a noise back in August 1971 with Concert for Bangladesh, the event generally credited with ushering in the rock-for-charity era. By his own admission, the erstwhile Fab knew little about the plight of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan)—whose people were ravaged by war, floods, famine, and other catastrophes—before being filled in by Ravi Shankar, the sitar master who was his friend and teacher. But given a cause that was righteous and reasonably untainted by political posturing, Harrison stepped up and put together a genuinely memorable event, preserved here on two discs with remastered DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and restored picture. The concert itself occupies the first disc, and features Harrison and a gigantic backing band (with two drummers, including Ringo Starr, and a legion of guitarists, horns, backup singers, etc.) performing a variety of Beatles tunes ("Here Comes the Sun," "Something," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps") and songs from his own All Things Must Pass, as well as solo turns by some of the stellar musicians involved, including Billy Preston and Leon Russell (Eric Clapton was also there, but he looks and sounds weak, apparently due to substance abuse problems). Harrison even managed to coax Bob Dylan out of self-imposed exile, and Dylan's four-song set, with George, Ringo, and Russell joining in, is certainly a highlight. The second disc features new interviews with many of the surviving participants, as well as three previously-unseen performances (taken from sound checks, rehearsals, and a matinee performance held on the same day) and featurettes about the making of the film and LP. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)