Rock and solidarity: “The Concert for Bangladesh” streaming

Fresh off the breakup of the Beatles, George Harrison organized for theAugust 1, 1971in a very short time and inspired by the sitarist Ravi Shankar, a musical event to raise funds, but above all to raise awareness in the world about the tragedy of the famine in Bangladesh. Scoring another career-defining moment in the 1970s that cemented him as a major figure in rock music, Harrison gathered a host of musicians at New York’s Madison Square Garden for an event that has gone down in history as the first occasion in which rock put itself at the service of solidarity.

The concert was divided into two performancesone in the afternoon and one in the evening, almost identical. The event, from which a triple album and a film were made, was attended, together with Harrison, by another Beatle (Ringo Starr), Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russelli Bad Finger And Ravi Shankar. Although the production of an official live album began the day after the concerts, the audio recording of the benefit concert organized by George Harrison was released several months later: the album “The Concert for Bangladesh” (full story here) did not hit American stores until December 20, 1971, in triple format, and in Britain it was delayed until January 10, 1972. The making of the concert film It turned out to be a bumpy ride and its release was delayed by a few months until March 1972 in U.S. theaters.

The album, which achieved great commercial success at the time of its release and won the 1973 Grammy as “Album of the Year”, is now finally available for the first time on major streaming services. As with the 1971 event, proceeds from the purchase or streaming of the album will go to the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF at the US Fund for UNICEF. To mark the streaming debut of “The Concert for Bangladesh”, a short trailer for the film was shared, featuring Harrison singing his final song of the evening, “bangladesh“, whose studio version is included on the album as a bonus trackalso showcasing the artists who joined him.

At the moment there has been no announcement about a possible return in a restored version and perhaps in 4K of the concert film.

You can listen to the album here:

Here is the tracklist of “The Concert for Bangladesh”:

1. George Harrison & Ravi Shankar, “Introduction by George Harrison & Ravi Shankar”
2. Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan & Ali Rakha & Kamala Chakravarti, “Bangla Dhun”
3. George Harrison, “Wah-Wah”
4. George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord”
5. George Harrison, “Awaiting on You All”
6. Billy Preston, “That’s The Way God Planned It”
7. Ringo Starr, “It Don’t Come Easy”
8.

George Harrison & Leon Russell, “Beware of Darkness”.
9. George Harrison, “Band Introduction”
10. George Harrison, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
11. Leon Russell, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash / Young Blood”
12. George Harrison, “Here Comes THE Sun”
13. Bob Dylan, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”
14. Bob Dylan, “It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry”
15. Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ in the Wind”
16. Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
17. Bob Dylan, “Just Like a Woman”
18. George Harrison, “Something”
19. George Harrison, “Bangla Desh”
20. Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero / No Limit”
21. George Harrison, “Bangla Desh” (studio version)