Update (12/8/05)

Hi Steve,

The reason why they omitted the tracks (Jamrag, Scumbag and Au) are because there are some legal problems whether Frank Zappa alone or John&Yoko wrote them. I read an interview a couple of years ago with Frank Zappa, he claimed that John&Yoko released the record with the songs without consulting him about the rights, only one of the song, "Scumbag," he gave the credit to Zappa as a co-writer, but according to Zappa, John had nothing to do with Scumbag and the other songs should have been credited to Zappa. Since then, Zappa has released all the tracks on his own record.

Best regards,
Mats Bjureblad, Sweden

Hadn't seen this reported yet, but in addition to the revisions you've already mentioned, the new edition of "Some Time In New York City" has omitted 3 of the 4 tracks performed with Frank Zappa (Jamrag, Scumbag and Au). Keep up the great work!

Steve, Was thinking about the new CD issues of John's Walls & Bridges & STINYC and the fact that some tracks on these aren't remixed but only remastered. Could it be that the reason for this (and the fact that these two releases are the very last to be issued) is that Yoko has been unable to locate the multitrack tapes for the songs in question? I'll make no further comment on the missing tracks from STINYC and Yoko's picture on Walls & Bridges (a record she had no involvement in). It's just a shame Yoko/EMI never thought to mimic the original multi flap opening pictures on the Walls & Bridges reissue because I thought that would've been the first thing they would've changed from the original CD release which didn't have the cover right either. As always keep up the good work.

Update (11/21/05)

Got some info from Capitol that a syndicated radio special for the Concert for Bangladesh will be aired on participating stations on Thanksgiving Weekend. Visitors to your site should scan their local classic rock stations to see if they will carry it.

Hi Steve, Just bought the two new Lennon reissues yesterday. I must say it's somewhat dissapointing. While the first Lennon reissues, Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey and Imagine were a real treat, these have many faulty aspects.

First, I can't make out why they chose to change the cover to Walls And Bridges. I can understand that having John's face on the cover is more commercial, but that is not what he chose in 1974 as the cover. I don't think it is Yoko who wants to do some revisionism, even if it would be quite understandable, considering that she's John's widow and still cares a lot for him, I think it's a commercial problem. John's face appeals more to buyers than the drawing that was the original cover. But it's sad that the original album is thus not respected as if the original intents did not matter.

But, furthermore, the booklet is very dissapointing, while these of the first reissues were very good, it is simply a reprinting of the old ugly booklets only with some added infos about the remixes credits. Speaking of remixes, I think all tracks on Walls and Bridges and Sometime should have been remixed and remastered. I always thought that the original mixes did not do justice to John's music, especially on Sometime. But, anyone could tell me that that was the way John wanted it, true...The tracks that were only remastered are easily identified even without the booklet, it is especially clear with the bass sound.

I won't repeat the same remarks for Sometime In NYC, but I'd like to add that there really is a missed opportunity here. The packaging could have been much more daring considering what John had done with the original Walls and Bridges cover, I'm thinking about the glasses thing. I think Sometime would really have benefited from a kind of digipack to enhance the nice newspaper style cover.

If these reissues are to stand time as the authoritative edition of John's albums it's really sad because they do not do justice to the music. People who buy these cds should be made aware by the way they are presented, packaged, of the importance of these works.

Thanx
Jean Garello (France)

Hi Steve,

Yes there is a lot missing from Concert For Bangla Desh Film and CD.

• 1. Some one in the audience yelled before Awaiting on you all, thats gone
• 2. There is a drum sound before My Sweet Lord thats gone
• 3. Before Here Comes the Sun, on the original George said they would do a number on acoustic guitars, there was a brief tune up, that is all gone as well.
• 4. Before Leon Russell's set, the original has George saying "Now a couple of numbers from Leon" that has been excised too.

  Im surprised they didnt go so far as having Ringo re-record his vocal on "It Dont Come Easy"!

Hang on to those first issue CD copies of CFBD, that is the true representation of the event.

What are they thinking? That we would not want all this??

By the way.....Speaking of George. I went to a used CD shop and picked up a copy of Brianwashed in standard jewel case (not a digipak) for 5 bucks it didnt seem a bad idea as I havent seen the Jewel case version..Can anyone enlighten me on how many Jewel case versions there are?

Matt

Update (11/16/05)

during IT TAKES A LOT TO LAUGH - there's a part where dylan adjusts his harmonica rack - and stops strumming his acoustic - but on the DVD - the acoustic somehow keeps playing - also - i believe Dylan " popped his P's " during the original HARD RAIN - ( beside a dead Pony ) - this too is gone

The use of the STINYC label on 'Walls and Bridges' isn't the only aspect of the latest re-releases to cause a few raised eyebrows. Take a listen to 'Born In A Prison' on STINYC and you might just find that John's harmonies/backing vocals have been all but removed from the mix. Strange days indeed. ..

Update (11/14/05)

I got the U.K. version and yes, the cover's been changed. Also, the CD label is the one originally used for SOMETIME IN NYC -- the one where John morphs into Yoko. Weird considering they weren't together when WALLS & BRIDGES was made. Revisionism? Yes.

Update (11/9/05)

Hi Steve, Finally had some free time to watch the "The Concert for Bangla Desh" DVD's via the "Deluxe Edition". Like some of you this was my first viewing since the theatrical release in, I believe, 1972. It brought back some fond memories, and a few odd random thoughts:

The picture quality is very, very good, considering that the film was blown up from the original (believe it or not!) 16 mm masters, to 70 mm. The sound, particularly in the DTS mode is very bright, and has a authentic surround sound concert feel.

George, man, he was on that night. He sang great, and by the way, it was a treat to see him play lead and back-up guitar, sans his later career slide mode.

Dylan, who on any given night is at best a 50-50 shot at being great or just weird, was truly on. How many remember that he could actually sing in the earlier part of his career? The outtake of GH and Zimmie of "In Not For You" is alone worth the price of admission; even with the distraction of the sound techie checking the guitar mikes during the rehearsal.

Yes Ringo did screw-up the words on "It Don"t Come Easy", as a contributor to Steve M.'s Abbeyrd site pointed out last week. Yeah I know that we've all listened to the LP/CD a trazillion times, but like the recent abbeyrd post said, it was still disconcerting to hear him muff-up a song he has sang on numerous occasions But of course, this was 1971, and like GH, his last real full blown concert appearance (the Let It Be roof top session not counting) was 1966 at Candlestick Park. So TCFBD was most likely the 1st live performance of IDCE.

Well we've heard it all again and again on the CD, but it is still a hoot that GH can't remember Leon Russell's last name, and introduces him as just "Leon".

Somewhat like a few flash in the pan stars in the USA for Africa video, Leon happened to be hot at the time (and also was hanging with GH), so he ended up in the show. Kinda like Huey Lewis or Kim Carnes did in "We Are The World". When your hot your hot............. Speaking of Leon, it was a hoot to see him in the "Recollections" extra DVD, snow white hair and beard, and like many of us, having put on a few extra pounds. Eric Clapton: Ain't it amazing how conspicuous his drug use is upon review in 2005. It didn't even register to me in 1972...........but then again, I was most likely under the influence of some lesser chemical experiment at the time. In the bonus DVD, EC refers his "troubles" at the time in a wink-wink code. But if you didn't already know the story you might be a smidge confused....that is until the replay of his stumble and his very glazed expression. By the way, the GH story on the bonus DVD of Jesse Ed Davis hanging around the hotel lobby, and George finally "hiring" him to play guitar because EC missed "flight after flight.....and we weren't sure he was going to make it" is the stuff of rock and roll legend.

Any doubts that GH was one of the truly great guitar players will be laid to rest as you watch and listen to his acoustic version of "Here Comes the Sun". A few moist eyes in the house for this one!

Dylan Being Dylan: The bonus DVD details GH's anxiety as to whether BD would actually show up or not. GH describes his play list taped on his guitar and BD not in the house......."I looked up and there was this guy walking on the stage....so I hurriedly introduced a good friend of us all.... Mr. Bob Dylan."

Wouldn't you love to have a copy of that play list? I wonder what the "filler" songs were in case Dylan was a no-show?

This is from the I sometimes think or see very weird stuff collection: Anyone notice GH's teeth? He obviously gave up on the National Health Board dental care system, and went to a proper dental reconstruction specialist. Check out the picture on the "Let It Be" cover as a comparison.

Weird Stuff Collection II: Hey, what do you say that we all chip in and buy Neil Aspinall a new hat? How long is he going to wear that silly snoopy-dog-ear cap? See the bonus DVD for details.

Finally, I want to nominate Olivia Harrison and/or Yoko One for the producers of all future Beatle/Apple related CD/DVD's. "The Concert for Bangla Desh" is a rich, high quality well thought out collection with tons of extra goodies. It compares favorably to "The Dark Horse Years" and "The Lennon Anthology". Very unlike the cheaply packaged, low fidelity crude from Apple 'Corpse" (kudus to Terry Ott), "Let It Be...Naked" and "The Capitol Years I".

Hare Krishna everyone, Steve Crosby

Hi, I'm a Brazilian Beatles fan who checks your news website nearly every day, and in one of the latest updates, you mention that, according to a source, the remastered 'Walls And Bridges' CD has been postponed to November 22nd. However, I purchased the officially-released Brazilian version of that CD in a record store last Thursday (November 3rd). The first batch was of 1,000 units, according to the record shop owner, who also said he had just received it that very day. By the way, the front cover is different: it's a previously unreleased picture of Lennon smiling with 5 pairs of glasses over his face. And inside the booklet, there's another new picture from the same photo session. However, the picture from the back of the original LP (Lennon with 5 glasses, lips closed) is missing from the new CD.

Update (11/1/05)

Update (10/27/05)

Update (10/26/05)

Hi, Steve.

Rhino has put on line three FULL-LENGTH streamimg videos from the new "Concert For Bangladesh" DVD. You can see Dylan's "Just Like A Woman," George's "Bangladesh" and Billy Preston's "That's The Way God Planned It."

Go to: http://www.rhino.com/retrovid/index.lasso There's a menu of streaming-video selections that includes "Concert For Bangladesh."

Hi Steve,
Just a heads up.. I picked up the new Bangladesh DVD at Costco (Sunday) and it is spectacular. They were early, of course, but I don't think anyone there knows or cares!

Thanks,
Tony Culotta

Hi Steve,

Musictap is reporting today that Capitol will re-release Some..in NYC and Walls and Bridges on November 8th. Also they are referring to "...a new special LP version of Revolver....". Unfortunately, no release date or other info. Best wishes, Steve crosby

Morning Steve.

Just a few lines to mention that I saw the remastered Concert For Bangladesh last night. Here are my thoughts.

The remastered Concert For Bangladesh is an overwhelming triumph. From the beefed up sound, the better definition pictures and George¹s masterly performance, this is undoubtedly a major tour de force. George¹s crystal-clear vocals are a great response to those who questioned his singing talents. He is right at the top of his game. And you can feel the love the audience had for him. And the rest of the supporting cast, including, Ravi Dylan, Clapton, Ringo etc, are clearly out to make it a night to remember. The extras disc is equally impressive with an audio commentary from George and on-screen reminiscences from Ringo, Eric and Leon Russell. Overall, it¹s a fantastic package and thanks are due to all those, especially Olivia and Dhani, who worked so hard to make this available. It¹s 10 out of 10. All the best Steve.

Dear Steve,

for impatient fans German BEAT*** information portal has now already a goody: The Trailer to the DVD "Concert For Bangladesh" of Warner Music and Apple of film. This "Appetizer" takes 3 minutes and 46 seconds - in Quicktime and Real Audio format, see http://www.germanbeat.info/sh_cfb_dvd.html

Cheers,
Sven.

George Harrison and Friends: The Concert for Bangladesh Exhibit to Open at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum 10.3.05

Groundbreaking Benefit Concert Examined by Rock Hall

CLEVELAND (October 3, 2005) – The Concert for Bangladesh was the first major benefit concert of its kind and paved the way for Live Aid, Farm Aid, Live 8 and the other rock aid events that came later. The Concert for Bangladesh brought together an extraordinary group of major artists collaborating for a common humanitarian cause. Organized by George Harrison, the event sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City, generated millions of dollars for UNICEF and raised awareness for the organization around the world. The concert also resulted in a Grammy-winning triple-album box set and feature film.

An exhibit dedicated to this event will open in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Circular Gallery on October 20 and will run through March 26, 2006. The Rock Hall will unveil the new exhibit at a special Members preview on October 20, 2005.

"In an era where the all-star benefit concert is a staple in the entertainment business, it’s important to look back and see where it all started," said Jim Henke, chief curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "George Harrison was the first rock star to be able to use his fame to not only bring fellow artists together for a cause but create an awareness about an issue that might have otherwise passed the world by."

Special Members Only Event:
An intimate reception for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum members will take place on October 20 at 7:00 p.m. Olivia Harrison, George Harrison’s widow, will be present at the event. The night will include a special screening of “The Concert For Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison and Friends” documentary followed by an exhibit tour and reception.

Tickets are $5 per person and there is a 2-ticket limit for each member. Call 216.515.8427 starting October 3 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Space is limited and is on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The exhibit coincides with the October 25, 2005, release of “The Concert For Bangladesh – George Harrison & friends” on CD and DVD. The 2-DVD and 2-CD sets will both be released by Apple Corps/Rhino. The DVD includes the original 99-minute film restored and remixed in 5.1, as well as 72-minutes of extras. The extras feature a 45-minute documentary “The Concert For Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison & friends,” about the background to the two shows with exclusive interviews and contributions from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sir Bob Geldof. There is also previously unseen footage: “If Not For you,” featuring Harrison and Bob Dylan from rehearsals, “Come On In My Kitchen” featuring Harrison, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell at the sound check and a Bob Dylan performance from the afternoon show of “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” not included in the original film.

The album of the concert has been remixed and repackaged and will contain an additional track – the Bob Dylan performances of Love Minus Zero/No Limit.”

About the Concert for Bangladesh:
The concerts – there were actually two concerts, both on August 1, 1971 – came about after Indian musician Ravi Shankar approached Harrison about the crisis in Bangladesh, where a brutal civil war had killed thousands of people and forced even more people into exile. In the end, Harrison assembled an all-star lineup that, in addition to himself and Ravi Shankar, included Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner, Carl Radle, the members of Badfinger and others. Artifacts in this exhibit include George Harrison’s original lyrics to the song “Bangla Desh,” Ravi Shankar’s sitar, a vest worn by Ringo Starr and a suit worn by Harrison at the concert, the original album art and more.

About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exists to educate its visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and significance of rock and roll music. The Museum carries out this mission through its efforts to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret this art form.

The Museum is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays the Museum is open until 9:00 p.m. Museum admission is $20.00 for adults, $14.00 for seniors (60+), $11 for children (9-12) and children under 8 and Museum members are free.

Update (9/24/05)

Update (9/19/05)

I watched the new DVD of "The Concert for Bangla Desh" last night, and I'm here to tell you the news is all good. They've done a magnificent restoration job on it. It's so bright and clear, it looks as if it could have been shot last month. Apparently the film was shot on 16mm in 1971 and "blown up," which is why it was alwats so murky and grainy - frankly, I always thought it was difficult to sit through. This new one is pristine - you can see everyone and everything (for example, I was finally able to spot Tommy, Pete, Joey & Mike sitting in the background; never saw them before). The stereo is breathtaking. All in all, it's a very worthy companion to the "Concert for George" DVD - the quality is that good.

The bonus material includes "Making of the Film" and "Making of the Album" mini-docs, a lengthy documentary on the event itself (everyone from Ringo to Clapton to Klaus Voormann to Neil Aspinall to Bhaskar Menon is interviewed), there are scenes from the press conference, Geraldo Rivera's local-news coverage of the fans buying tickets, and shots of the NYC film premiere (we briefly see JWO Lennon going in !)

The "new" clips are "If Not For You" with George & Bob (rehearsal, but it's very good), Leon Russell & George harmonizing on "Come On In My Kitchen" (rehearsal, also very good) and Dylan's live tune "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" with G, R and Leon.

This masterful restoration and classy menu give me great hope for "Let it Be," when and if...

Bill DeYoung
Entertainment editor
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers

August 1, 2005

APPLE CORPS TO RELEASE “THE CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH - GEORGE HARRISON AND FRIENDS” ON DVD

LANDMARK BENEFIT CONCERT FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY GEORGE HARRISON, RAVI SHANKAR, BOB DYLAN, ERIC CLAPTON & RINGO STARR

Apple Corps is proud to announce the Autumn 2005 release of “The Concert For Bangladesh – George Harrison & friends” on DVD and CD.

The Concert for Bangladesh was the first benefit concert of its kind in that it brought together an extraordinary assemblage of major artists collaborating for a common humanitarian cause – setting the precedent that music could be used to serve a higher cause. The concert sold out Madison Square Garden and along with the Grammy ® Award-winning triple-album boxset, and the feature film, has generated millions of dollars for UNICEF and raised awareness for the organization around the world, as well as among other musicians and their fans. It is therefore acknowledged as the inspiration and forerunner to the major global fundraising events of recent years. To quote the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, “George and his friends were pioneers.”

Besides George himself the concert features some of his friends, including: Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell and Billy Preston. Performances include ‘Here Comes The Sun’, ‘Something’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘My Sweet Lord’, ‘Just Like A Woman’, ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ and ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’.

During the struggle for independence from Pakistan millions of refugees fled to neighboring India to escape hunger, disease and bloodshed. The crisis was deepened when massive floods hit the region. Alerted to the scale of the suffering by his friend Ravi Shankar, George Harrison organized The Concert For Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden on August 1st, 1971 with the proceeds going to UNICEF.

The DVD will be released by WMG (Warner Music Group) on October 25th, 2005, as a 2-disc package, including the original 99-minute film restored and remixed in 5.1, as well as 72-minutes of extras. The extras feature a 45-minute documentary “The Concert For Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison & friends”, about the background to the two shows with exclusive interviews and contributions from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sir Bob Geldof. There is also previously unseen footage: “If Not For You”, featuring George and Bob Dylan from rehearsals, “Come On In My Kitchen” featuring George, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell at the sound check and a Bob Dylan performance from the afternoon show of “Love Minus Zero/No Limit”, not included in the original film.

Apple Corps/WMG, will also simultaneously release a special deluxe version (limited to 50,000 copies worldwide) that will feature a 64-page book and other collectibles.

The album of the concert has been remixed and repackaged as a 2-disc set, and is released on October 25th, 2005 by Capitol Records. This will contain an additional track – the Bob Dylan performance of “Love Minus Zero/No Limit”. All artists’ royalties from the sales of the DVD and the CD will continue to go to UNICEF.

 

Title
 The Concert For Bangladesh 
George Harrison and friends 
Release Date
 24th October 2005
 
Certificate
 Exempt
 
Format
 DVD Retail
 
Contents
 DISC ONE    The Concert For Bangladesh 1971
 

· Bangla Dhun

· Wah-Wah

· My Sweet Lord

· Awaiting On You All

· That’s The Way God Planned It

· It Don’t Come Easy

·Beware Of Darkness

· While My Guitar Gently Weeps

· Jumpin’ Jack Flash

· Youngblood

· Here Comes The Sun

· A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

· It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry

· Blowin’ In The Wind

· Just Like A Woman

· Something

· Bangla Desh

 
DISC TWO   The Concert For Bangladesh 2005
 

Documentary

· The Concert For Bangladesh Revisited 

      with George Harrison and friends 

 

Previously Unseen Performances

· If Not For You

· Come On In My Kitchen

· Love Minus Zero/No Limit

 

Mini Features

· The Making Of The Film

· The Making Of The Album

· The Original Artwork

· Recollections – August 1st 1971

· Photo Gallery

· Take A Bow

 
 
Picture
 Full Frame, 4:3 PAL, Colour 
 
DVD Sound
 Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby 5.1 Surround, DTS
 
DVD Region Code
 2,3,4,5
 
DVD Disc Format
 2 x DVD-9
 
Running Time
 2 hours 51 minutes approximately
 
Catalogue Number
 0349-70480-2 (UK info) 
 
UPC Number
 0603497048021 (UK Info - US info coming)
 
Price
 £24.99

(6/11/05) We have several bits of news to tell you, so here goes. Anyone who uses this information must credit Abbeyrd's Beatles Page: