Concert for George

We've had a Beatle Fest for the past few weeks at our house - watched much of the Anthology, Ed Sullivan, A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Let It Be, and saved the Concert for George for the finale.

With all that in recent memory, I think George would have really enjoyed the concert. The Indian music was wonderful and a good start to the evening. Set the right tone.

The choices did showcase George's talent and his optimism, faith, and humor.

A few things in response to what I've read/not read here: Understanding why the Lennon sons were not invited - makes sense when limiting the stage to collaborators.

With that in mind, Dylan being 'on tour' is just not an OK reason for him not to have attended. He was a Wilbury, the Beatles always gave him a lot of credit for influencing them, the concert was planned nearly from the time George died the year before. No tour date could have been more important. Dylan's still being Howard Hughes.

Ringo's words at the beginning of his set were just right. Good attitude of I Loved George and George Loved Me. Thanks for the jelly babies was especially poignant after watching 1964 footage. His choice of 'Honey Don't' got slammed a bit in the reviews - can't understand why. George used the stage name 'Carl Harrison' in the early 60's because he liked Carl Perkins so much. It's just that touch of an old friend knowing what George liked. Added to the diversity - Indian music, country music, his criticism of high taxes, profession of faith. I thought that was a brilliant touch.

McCartney can't seem to be forgiven for some non-specific slight. According to the reviews he either tries to hog the limelight or doesn't join in enough. Something was either great or horrible. That kind of thing. I thought he was just right - a hug and a kiss for Dhani and a funny quote from Olivia. He seemed to be very emotional, but controlled. The uke is always a nod to John Lennon, whose mother taught them a few chords on it. George loved it and Paul played that for George when he and Ringo visited him right before his death. Crowd reaction is a guide of how people felt when they saw these two pay their tribute to their friend.

Clapton looks a bit irritated and frazzled during some of the show, especially at the beginning - maybe having him as a performer, rather than with the additional duty of musical director would have helped.

Everyone was top flight and the production values were astounding. Great class and dignity - both of which Harrison deserved. Still, I can't second-guess any of the choices made by Paul and Ringo. They knew him the best, the longest, through thick and thin. Makes me sad - there will have to be tributes to them. None of us, no one, shares that story from the inside out and I thank them all for giving us moments like this.

This is a concert, not in the traditional sense and what comes out of it far exceeds the output of your standard "concert". This is a group of close friends holding a delayed wake for a dearly loved lost friend, not a stop on some tour. The songs are familiar, yet new. The mixture of emotion that comes with the concert does soften the sound of the music a bit, but does not dampen the spirit of the concert. Who'd a' thought that someone could pick up a Ukuele and produce a beautiful rendition of I'll See You in My Dreams as did Joe Brown? If on some other far away plain, George Harrison was watching I'd bet he was pleased! It would be difficult to produce a better tribute to George Harrison than was this Concert!

The Concert For George feels like an update to The Concert For Bangla Desh. The two could be watched back-to-back for interesting evening of rock. Unlike many tribute concerts where they get anyone who happens to be on the charts at the time to come and do a song (ie. John Lennon and Bob Dylan), The Concert For George is limited almost exclusively to George's friends and colleagues, most of whom have been putting out great records since the sixties. Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison lead the assembled band through Harrison's best known songs and they are joined by Billy Preston, Tom Petty, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney & Ravi Shankar (who wrote a beautiful indian piece for George). Even the gang from Monty Python, George's favorite comedy troupe, turn up to do a couple of sketches. The performances are mostly good and there are a few magical moments (The long coda to "Isn't It A Pity", Clapton's solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", McCartney's rendition of "All Things Must Pass" and the moment when McCartney's ukelele rendition of "Something" suddenly turns into a full band rendition). Every flower petal in England falls from the ceiling during the finale. It's also a little strange seeing Dhani Harrison on stage, as he resembles his father greatly.

My only complaint is that they sometimes interrupted a good song (like "Handle With Care") to go to an interview. All in all, great for George's fans or fans of good music in general.

I just saw this last night after seeing two great concerts ( R.E.M. and Bruce Springsteen )and still after being "concerted -out" I feel that this is one of the best concert movies I've ever seen! It's right up there with "Last Waltz." I just wonder if any one else will see it? Eric Clapton was the music director and all of Georges friends were there including the surviving Beatles and some of the members of Monty Python ( plus Tom Hanks !?! ). Also Georges son Dhoni and his wife Olivia host the event. The whole thing looks and sounds great! The fact that it takes place at the Royal Albert Hall is lovely in itself. Paul and Ringo do their thing well, but it is Eric Clapton and Billy Preston that really stand out ( musically ). But ultimately the spirit of George Harrison is what it's really all about and the movie pays tribute to him in a very special way. I really do hope that this movie finds an audience because it is in a word, wonderful!

I had the opportunity to see a little bit of my friend's copy of Concert for George a while back and I liked what I saw so I went out and bought it. I was not disappointed.

All of the songs are solid and most of them are great. The concert is divided into three sections. The first section is Indian music, the second section is Monty Python, and the third section is George Harrison's music. All three sections are worth watching but it is the third section that excels with musicians such as Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Billy Preston, and various others.

Some of my favorites are "Here Comes the Sun", "Photograph", "All Things Must Pass", "Wah Wah", and "Handle With Care". However, my absolute favorite is a toss-up between "Something" (performed brilliantly by Clapton and McCartney) and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (a song in which Clapton displays his musical ability and his vocal vulnerability).

A great, great concert.

9 out of 10