Various ‎- The Concert For Bangla Desh (1971)

"The Concert for Bangladesh" is a live triple album by George Harrison and celebrity friends, released in December 1971. The album followed the two concerts of the same name, held on 1 August 1971 at New York's Madison Square Garden featuring Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and Badfinger. The shows were a pioneering charity event, in aid of the homeless Bengali refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Co-produced by Phil Spector and featuring the latter's trademark Wall of Sound in a live setting, the fundraiser album was delayed for three months due to protracted negotiations between Harrison and two record companies keen to protect their business interests, Capitol and Columbia/CBS.  Among the many words of acclaim that have been written about it since its release, The Concert for Bangladesh has been described as an album to play "whenever your faith in the power of music begins to wane". Sales of the album continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. After being made aware of the gravity of the situation in what was then known as East Pakistan by friend and musician Ravi Shankar, George Harrison quickly organised two performances to aid the war-ravaged and disaster-stricken country. In the middle of these preparations, in order to call further attention to the Bengalis' cause, he composed the song "Bangla Desh" and rush-released it as a charity single four days before the New York shows. Riding high with the recent success of his All Things Must Pass solo set, Harrison then headlined the all-star UNICEF benefit concerts, backed by a 24-piece rock band, while equally noted were appearances by fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr and Bob Dylan, both of whom, like Harrison, had been mostly unavailable to concert-going audiences for several years. The two shows on Sunday, 1 August 1971 were highly successful, raising international awareness of the plight of the refugees, thought to number up to 10 million.

Side one

1. George Harrison & Ravi Shankar - George Harrison / Ravi Shankar Introduction  - 6:16  

2. Ravi Shankar - Bangla Dhun  (Shankar) - 16:19  

Side two

1.  George Harrison - Wah-Wah  (Harrison)  - 3:15  

2.  George Harrison - My Sweet Lord  (Harrison)  - 4:16  

3.  George Harrison - Awaiting On You All  (Harrison)   - 2:37  

4.  Billy Preston - That's The Way God Planned It  (Billy Preston)  - 4:05  

Side three

1.  Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy  (Richard Starkey)  - 2:38  

2.  George Harrison - Beware Of Darkness  (Harrison)  - 3:26  

3.  George Harrison - Introduction Of The Band   - 3:00  

4.  George Harrison - While My Guitar Gently Weeps  (Harrison'  - 4:39  

Side four

1.  Leon Russell - Jumpin' Jack Flash/Youngblood  (Jagger, Richards, Leiber, Soller, Pomus  -  9:11  

2.  George Harrison - Here Comes The Sun  (Harrison)  - 2:51  

Side five

1.  Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall  (Dylan) - 5:04  

2.  Bob Dylan - It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry  (Dylan) - 2:54  

3.  Bob Dylan - Blowin' In The Wind  (Dylan) - 3:34  

4.  Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man  (Dylan) - 4:06  

5.  Bob Dylan - Just Like A Woman  (Dylan) - 4:14  

Side six

1.  George Harrison - Something  (Harrison) - 3:05  

2.  George Harrison - Bangla Desh  (Harrison) - 4:14 

Released:  20 December 1971

Recorded at:  1 August 1971 Madison Square Garden, New York

Genre:  Rock, Hindustani, Folk, Gospel

Length:  99:32

Label:  Apple

Producer:  George Harrison, Phil Spector

Personnel

George Harrison - vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals

Ravi Shankar - sitar

Bob Dylan - vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica

Leon Russell - piano, vocals, bass, backing vocals

Ringo Starr - drums, vocals, tambourine

Billy Preston - organ, vocals

Eric Clapton - electric guitar

Ali Akbar Khan - sarod

Alla Rakha - tabla

Kamala Chakravarty - tambura

Jesse Ed Davis - electric guitar

Klaus Voormann - bass

Jim Keltner - drums

Pete Ham - acoustic guitar

Tom Evans - 12-string acoustic guitar

Joey Molland - acoustic guitar

Mike Gibbins - tambourine, maracas

Don Preston - electric guitar, vocals

Carl Radle - bass

Jim Horn - saxophones, horn arrangements

Chuck Findley - trumpet

Jackie Kelso - saxophones

Allan Beutler - saxophones

Lou McCreary - trombone

Ollie Mitchell - trumpet

The Backing Vocalists/Soul Choir - Claudia Linnear, Jo Green, Jeanie Greene, Marlin Greene, Dolores Hall, Don Nix, Don Preston