While you can put ten Deadheads in a room and end up with 12 opinions, there’s one thing most fans agree on: the 1987 tour the Grateful Dead did with Bob Dylan was not their best. The period presented somewhat of a low point—performance-wise—for each act. The Dead, however, were devoted Dylan followers dating back to their 60s roots, so who were they to deny their hero when he asked to join up with them for a stadium tour?
Sure, BobDylan may not have been in his best fighting shape, and it’s not like the Grateful Dead needed him to sell tickets, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a band that had already at that point played Woodstock, at the Great Pyramid of Giza, and would later that summer score their first Billboard Number 1 with the album “Touch of Grey”.
Yet, while many agree that the tour—later cataloged on the official live album, “Dylan & The Dead”, released in 1989—was not the strongest, those willing to do a little digging can find diamonds in the rough. With Jerry Garcia still relatively on the mend off his diabetic coma in 1986, the frontman was re-entering performances with fresh vigour as the band steadily moved toward what would prove to be a late-career peak through the end of the 1980s.
Though the 1987 joint tour may not be the most enjoyable to listen to, these concerts served as a catalyst for something great both from the Dead as well as Dylan, who would emerge in 1989 with possibly his best and most well-received album of the decade, “Oh Mercy”. That is why it was exciting to see a new Dylan and the Dead bootleg quietly uploaded to Bob’s YouTube channel this week, entitled “Honky Tonk Lagoon“.
A shared characteristic of both Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead is the massive amount of bootlegs in each others catalogue. From Dylan’s “The Basement Tapes” to the Grateful Dead’s “Dick’s Picks” series, there exist massive amounts of unofficial-official content. Though audience recordings of Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead’s July 17th, 1987 concert at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR have existed for years, the audio uploaded to Dylan’s YouTube page on October 15th represents a sizable improvement in quality as it was taken from a KLCC broadcast of the concert.
Since it was released through the Dylan channel, Honky Tonk Lagoonfeatures only performances of Bob’s originals with the Grateful Dead as his backing band. The Dead are tight on the uptempo blues of “Maggie’s Farm” that starts the collection while the singer is best described as someone doing a bad impression of Bob Dylan.
As is to be expected from shows on the 1987 joint tour, not every song is a winner. The Dead make the most of newer compositions like “Dead Man Dead Man”, which Jerry imbues with a bit of “West L.A. Fadeaway” energy, and Brent Mydland is given the space to shine on “Watching The River Flow”. The gems come as the Grateful Dead get to take on the Dylan songs they’ve co-opted into their own songbooks long ago, like “Ballad of a Thin Man”, “All Along The Watchtower”, “It’sAll Over Now, Baby Blue”, or the Jerry Garcia Band staple “Tangled Up In Blue”.
Though there aren’t any extensive jams, the result is a humbling documentation of a band prostrating itself before its almighty. The excesses of the Grateful Dead were poised to destroy the group by the mid-1980s, resulting in Jerry’s diabetic coma that forced him to have to relearn the guitar. Though they were the ones filling the stadiums, these shows relegated the Grateful Dead to simply being Bob Dylan’s backing band. An experience like that no doubt painted the bright lights of the stage in a different hue, and it’s likely no coincidence that the Dead went on to experience their most profound period of commercial and critical success while also playing their strongest shows of the entire decade soon thereafter.
Just as Dylan & The Dead is meant to be appreciated as a cultural antiquity rather than a document of peak performance, so too is Honky Tonk Lagoonmeant to be enjoyed for the effect it had on the Grateful Dead.
Although it might seem that they came from, and lived in, two very different worlds,Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash had plenty in common. They were, of course, both fiercely independent songwriters with instantly identifiable vocal styles. They ignored trends and conventions in favor of creating new ones. They both created memorable characters and told stories that stayed with you forever. They were admired by millions and influenced countless other artists.
Not surprisingly, they were fans of one another’s work. Dylan knew of Cash before the Man in Black knew of him. After Cash’s death Dylan recalled hearing “I Walk the Line” for the first time. “It was different than anything else you had ever heard. The record sounded like a voice from the middle of the Earth. It was so powerful and moving,” he said.
Cash wrote in his autobiography that he was obsessed with the album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” and once wrote the younger singer a fan letter. They met for the first time at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival and struck up a friendship. Five years later, the inevitable: they made music together. On February 17th and 18th, 1969, the pair recorded more than a dozen songs in Nashville. One, “Girl From the North Country,” was issued on Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline” album, released on April 9th. The other tracks found their way to bootlegs.
Several weeks later, on May 1st, 1969, Cash was at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium taping what would become the first episode of The Johnny Cash Show. One of his guests was Dylan. The visitor first performed two solo numbers before Cash joined him for a rendition of “Girl From the North Country.”
The program aired on June 7th, with the still largely unknown Joni Mitchell one of the other guests.
The Johnny Cash Show aired for nearly two years, 32 episodes in all. Other guests included Linda Ronstadt, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Lulu, the Monkees, Arlo Guthrie, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, the Guess Who, Eric Clapton, Cass Elliot, the Everly Brothers, Eric Andersen, Dusty Springfield, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Joe White, Judy Collins, Rick Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Gordon Lightfoot.
A new collection, Bob Dylan—1970, the first widely available pressing of a three-disc set of long-sought-after studio recordings many of which feature George Harrison, has been released by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings in the U.S. on February 26, 2021. (It’s U.K. release has been delayed until March 19th.) By ploughing through the roots of Bob Dylan’s storied legacy, Sony/Legacy’s official bootleg series has brought Dylan devotees the backstory of some of the most daring and dramatic episodes and interludes of the Bob’s 60-year career. While the outtakes and rarities have rarely been the equal of the official offerings, they’ve continued to provide a fascinating glimpse into the musical undertow that helped bring those milestones through to fruition.
The latest in that series (curiously, the “Bootleg Series” handle doesn’t appear on this set) retraces much of the music covered on earlier installment of the series, Another Self Portrait, sharing early incarnations of songs. The recordings on “Bob Dylan—1970″ were first released in a (very) limited edition as part of the Bob Dylan50th Anniversary Collection copyright extension series (which began in 2012). That first batch sold out instantly. The 3-CD set, includes previously unreleased outtakes from the sessions that produced “Self Portrait” and “New Morning”, as well as the complete May 1st, 1970, studio recordings with his future bandmate Harrison, which capture the pair performing together on nine tracks, including Dylan originals (“One Too Many Mornings,” “Gates of Eden,” “Mama,You Been On My Mind”), covers (including the Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox,” The Beatles’ “Yesterday”) and more.
Consequently, many of the tracks included in this three CD set consist of early takes of songs that would eventually emerge on the latter (multiple run-throughs of “Went To See the Gypsy,” “Time Passes Slowly,” “Sign on the Window” and “If Not for You” dominate these discs overall) and candidates for tracks that might have made it to the latter—Buffy Saint-Marie’s “Universal Soldier,” Eric Andersen’s “Thirsty Boots” and Tom Paxton’s “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound,” along with any number of traditional tunes.
Bob revisits a few of his own oldies as well—“I Don’t Believe You,” “One Too Man Mornings,” “Gates of Eden,” “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” “I Threw It All Away,” “Song To Woody,” and “If Not For You,” songs that span the breadth of his catalogue up until that point. Why he chose to retrace these tunes is a bit of a mystery, but one might assume they were intended as warm-up rehearsals for the players involved.
Two offerings in particular would seem of special interest, “Untitled 1970 Instrumental #1” and “Untitled 1970 Instrumental #2,” a pair of unfinished efforts that could have emerged as songs of significance had he chosen to complete them. The majority of these run-throughs come across as surprisingly complete and cohesive, with Dylan investing a full measure of sentiment and sensitivity. That’s especially evident on such songs as the aforementioned “Thirsty Boots” and “Universal Soldier.” There are off-handed moments as well, as heard on “Little Moses,” where his back-up singers mug their way while over-exaggerating their contribution.
Still, the biggest lure might be the inclusion of those fabled heretofore lost sessions with George Harrison which took place when Harrison came for a visit to Dylan’s Woodstock retreat. While Harrison’s presence will likely claim the lion’s share of attention, the tracks that find his participation are somewhat slight overall. His backing vocals and guitar contributions are somewhat negligible, even frivolous, as Harrison appears to defer to Dylan in each instance. (The exceptions lie in Harrison’s solo on “Mama You’ve Been On My Mind,” which is both expansive and expressive in equal measure, and Harrison’s heartfelt harmonies on “It AIn’t Me. Babe.”) Likewise, it’s somewhat strange that there’s no evidence of their collaboration on their co-credited “If Not For You.” Given the informal setting, those expecting some sort of regal revelation would best focus on the Traveling Wilburys recordings that arrived nearly two decades later. On the other hand, given the near mythical stature that these legendary Dylan-Harrison sessions have attained over the past five decades, compulsive collectors will find any inclusion welcome regardless.
The collection includes numerous takes of Dylan’s “If Not for You.” Several months after these sessions, Harrison recorded the song for his “All Things Must Pass” album, which was released at the end of the year. “Bob Dylan—1970″ comes housed in an eight-panel digipack featuring new cover art and liner notes by Michael Simmons. See the complete track listing and hear some other songs below the links.
Personnel: Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica George Harrison – guitar, vocals (Disc 1, Tracks 20 & 24 and Disc 2, Tracks 2-3, 6-7, 10-11, & 16) Bob Johnston – piano (Disc 1, Tracks 24-25 and Disc 2, Tracks 1-3) Charlie Daniels – bass Russ Kunkel – drums David Bromberg – guitar, dobro, mandolin Ron Cornelius – guitar Al Kooper – organ Charlie Daniels – bass, guitar Russ Kunkel – drums Buzzy Feiten – guitar
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have shared a new ensemble rendition of Bob Dylan‘s 1964 classic “The Times They Are A-Changin”. This new cover features contributions from Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Rosanne Cash, and The War and Treaty and serves as a fundraiser for Feeding America.
In the song, released via Bandcamp last week, NGDB leader Jeff Hanna bookends the track with the first and final verses. Between those two ends, each vocalist delivers a unique vocal performance that is able to make a song so iconic and familiar appear in a new light. From Earle’s gravely outlaw country drawl to Cash’s powerful ballad gusto, each singer is able to put their own mark on the song’s timeless lyrics.
Though the track, originally released on Dylan’s 1964 album of the same name, may seem older than time itself, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded just two years after the song’s release.
“I’ve been a fan of Bob Dylan’s since I was a teenager, living in California,” Hanna said. “I was fortunate enough to see him sing ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ in concert the year the song was released. It moved me deeply then and that hasn’t changed. The lyrics are as relevant today as they were when Dylan wrote it. Maybe even more so.”
Consider purchasing it via Bandcamp to help Feeding America. Each donation of $1 can provide up to 10 meals for children, families, and individuals facing hunger across the county.
Released February 5th, 2021 Original Composition by: Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s life and career are so encased in myth that it can be hard to untangle the romanticism from the reality. As much a symbol as he is a man, Dylan has spent most of his adulthood resisting being labelled the voice of his generation while slyly welcoming fans’ desire to dissect his every utterance, devoting much of the last couple decades opening up the vaults to release a series of official “bootleg” recordings associated with his most iconic albums and tours. He invites us to look deeper and listen harder, as if the answers can be gleaned from closer study.
Long before David Bowie, Tom Waits, Madonna or Lady Gaga dabbled in persona play, Robert Zimmerman made us ponder masks in popular music. He’s both there and not there, which can be frustrating and fascinating. Both sensations are on display in Rolling Thunder Revue, the oft-spectacular, sometimes shtick-y chronicle of Dylan’s 1975 Rolling Thunder tour. As is typical when depicting anything in the Dylan universe, this concert film/documentary simultaneously oversells its subject’s genius and provides overwhelming evidence of what a brilliant artist he is.
More layers of myth are applied while trying to present an honest account of a tour and a performer. At nearly two-and-a-half hours, Rolling Thunder Revue is overlong but also overpowering, inconclusive yet undeniably stirring. It left me exhausted, but I kinda want to see it again.
In 1975, in an America defined by both the self-mythologizing pomp of the upcoming bicentennial and ongoing socio-political turmoil, Bob Dylan and a band of troubadours—including luminaries such as Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, and Joni Mitchell—embarked on a now-legendary tour known as The Rolling Thunder Revue, a freewheeling variety show that was part traveling counterculture carnival, part spiritual pilgrimage. Director Martin Scorsese blends behind-the-scenes archival footage, interviews, and narrative mischief, with a magician’s sleight of hand, into a zeitgeist-defining cultural record that is as much a concert “documentary” as it is a slippery, chimerical investigation into memory, time, truth, and illusion. At the centre of it all is the magnetic Dylan, a sphinx-like philosopher-poet singing, with electrifying conviction, to the soul of an anxious nation.
BONUS FEATURES: DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
• New 4K digital transfer, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• New interviews with Scorsese, editor David Tedeschi, and writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman
• Restored footage of never-before-seen Rolling Thunder Revue performances of “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You” and “Romance in Durango,” and of a never-before-seen cut of “Tangled Up in Blue”.
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by novelist Dana Spiotta and writing from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour by author Sam Shepard and poets Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman
Genre – Documentary
Director – Martin Scorsese
Running Time – 142 minutes
Stephen Fain Earle (born January 17th, 1955) an American rock, country and folk singer-songwriter, record producer, author and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. He grew up near San Antonio, Texas, and began learning the guitar at age 11. His breakthrough album was the 1986 album “Guitar Town”. Since then Earle has released 16 other studio albums and received three Grammy awards. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Shawn Colvin and Emmylou Harris. He has appeared in film and television, and has written a novel, a play, and a book of short stories. These are the best interpretations we can find of Steve Earle singing Bob Dylan’s songs.
“Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)”
Steve Earle with Lucia Micarelli “One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)” possibily the best Bob Dylan cover ever, such passion and yearning in every line. When Dylan wrote ‘to the valley below’ it was deliberate, he took a prosaic sentence, one more cup of coffee before I go and changed it to a biblical epic with that line,
Steve Earle – guitar, vocal Lucia Micarelli – violin, vocal, From “Chimes of Freedom”: Songs of Bob Dylan Honouring 50 Years of Amnesty International –
“My Back Pages”
“It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”,
Fantastic end to the 1996 live MTV show called “To Hell and Back” of Steve Earle performing with the best Dukes line up and the awesome Custer on drums. With a song written by Bob Dylan that was originally released on his seminal album “Highway 61 Revisited”, and also included on the compilation album Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits 2 that was released in Europe.
“Masters of War” Musician Steve Earle sings Bob Dylan’s “Master’s of War.” Part of a reading from Voices of a People’s History of the United States (Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove,) Berkeley, California on November 11th, 2006.
Steve Earle: “Was Townes Van Zandt Better Than Bob Dylan?…I’m kinda famous for something I said…I was asked for a sticker for a Townes record that came out in the 80s, I said, Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy-boots and say that. It wasn’t that I thought that Townes was better than Bob Dylan. I just knew that Townes really needed the help more.”
Well, I love both Van Zandt and Dylan, and so does Steve Earle. He has done songs by both on several occasions, and he did an entire album with Townes Van Zandt songs. But Steve Earle is the perfect choice to sing any Dylan song.
“The Times They Are a-Changin’” is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in January 1964 by Columbia Records. Some critics and fans were not quite as taken with the album as a whole, relative to his previous work, for its lack of humour or musical diversity. Still, The Times They Are a-Changin’ entered the US chart at No20, eventually going gold, and belatedly reaching #4 in the UK in 1965. The title track is one of Dylan’s most famous; many feel that it captures the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s.
Produced by Tom Wilson, it is the singer-songwriter’s first collection to feature only original compositions. Whereas his previous albums Bob Dylan and The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan consisted of original material among cover songs, The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely-arranged ballads concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change. The title track is one of Dylan’s most famous; many felt that it captured the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s. The message isn’t in the words, …. I don’t do anything with a sort of message. I’m just transferring my thoughts into music. Nobody can give you a message like that. ~Bob Dylan (to Ray Coleman, May 1965)
Dylan’s third album reflects his mood in August-October 1963. It is also a product for his need to live up to and expand on the role he found himself in, topical poet, the restless young man with something to say, singing to and for a new generation. Dylan began work on his third album on August 6th, 1963, at Columbia’s Studio A in New York City. Once again, Tom Wilson was the producer for the entire album. Dylan had, by the time of recording, become a popular, influential cultural figure. Eight songs were recorded during that first session, but only one recording of “North Country Blues” was ultimately deemed usable and set aside as the master take. A master take of “Seven Curses” was also recorded, but it was left out of the final album sequence.
Another session at Studio A was held the following day, this time yielding master takes for four songs: “Ballad of Hollis Brown”, “With God on Our Side”, “Only a Pawn in Their Game”, and “Boots of Spanish Leather”, all of which were later included on the final album sequence.
A third session was held in Studio A on August 12th, but nothing from this session was deemed usable. However, three recordings are taken from the third session eventually saw official release: “master” takes of “Paths of Victory”, “Moonshine Blues” and “Only a Hobo” were all included on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 released in 1991. In 2013, “Eternal Circle” and “Hero Blues” were included in the 1963 entry of The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963.
Sessions did not resume for more than two months. During the interim, Dylan toured briefly with Joan Baez, performing a number of key concerts that raised his profile in the media. When Dylan returned to Studio A on October 23rd, he had six more original compositions ready for recording. Master takes for “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” and “When the Ship Comes In” were both culled from the October 23rd session. A master take for “Percy’s Song” was also recorded, but it was ultimately set aside and was not officially released until Biograph in 1985.
An alternate take on “Percy’s Song”, a “That’s All Right” (Arthur Crudup)/“Sally Free and Easy” (Cyril Tawney) medley and “East Laredo Blues” were released in 2013 on the 1963 entry of The 50th Anniversary Collection. Another session was held the following day, October 24th. Master takes of “The Times They Are a-Changin'” and “One Too Many Mornings” were recorded and later included in the final album sequence. A master take for “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” was also recorded, but ultimately left out of the final album; it was eventually released on Biograph. Two more outtakes, “Eternal Circle” and “Suze (The Cough Song)”, were later issued on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991. A final outtake, “New Orleans Rag”, was released in 2013 on “The 50th Anniversary Collection”.
The sixth and final session for The Times They Are a-Changin’ was held on October 31st, 1963. The entire session focused on one song—“Restless Farewell”—whose melody is taken from an Irish-Scots folk song, “The Parting Glass”, and it produced a master take that ultimately closed the album.
There were to be 6 recording sessions alltogether for The Times They Are a-Changin’.
If “The Times They Are a-Changin’” isn’t a marked step forward from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, even if it is his first collection of all originals, it’s nevertheless a fine collection all the same. It isn’t as rich as Freewheelin’, and Dylan has tempered his sense of humour considerably, choosing to concentrate on social protests in the style of “Blowin’ in the Wind.” With the title track, he wrote an anthem that nearly equaled that song, and “With God on Our Side” and “Only a Pawn in Their Game” are nearly as good, while “Ballad of Hollis Brown” and “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” are remarkably skilled re-castings of contemporary tales of injustice. His absurdity is missed, but he makes up for it with the wonderful “One Too Many Mornings” and “Boots of Spanish Leather,” two lovely classics.
On October 26th, 1963, three days after recording the final song for The Times They Are a-Changin‘, Dylan held a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall. That night, he performed eight songs from his forthcoming third album, as well as several outtakes from the same album sessions (including “Percy’s Song”, “Seven Curses”, and “Lay Down Your Weary Tune”). Columbia recorded the entire concert, but it was decades before a substantial portion of it was officially released (in fact to date the concert in its entirety has not been released). Nevertheless, the performance was well received by the press and audience alike
If there are a couple of songs that don’t achieve the level of the aforementioned songs, that speaks more to the quality of those songs than the weakness of the remainder of the record. And that’s also true of the album itself — yes, it pales next to its predecessor, but it’s terrific by any other standard.
In 1975, in an America defined by both the self-mythologizing pomp of the upcoming bicentennial and ongoing socio-political turmoil, BOB DYLAN and his band of troubadours—including luminaries such as JOAN BAEZ, ALLEN GINSBERG, and JONI MITCHELL—embarked on a now-legendary tour known as The Rolling Thunder Revue, a freewheeling variety show that was part traveling counterculture carnival, part spiritual pilgrimage. Director Martin Scorese blends behind-the-scenes archival footage, interviews, and narrative mischief, with a magician’s sleight of hand, into a zeitgeist-defining cultural record that is as much a concert “documentary” as it is a slippery, chimerical investigation into memory, time, truth, and illusion. At the centre of it all is the magnetic Dylan, a sphinx-like philosopher-poet singing, with electrifying conviction, to the soul of an anxious nation.
BONUS FEATURES: DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: • New 4K digital transfer, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack • New interviews with Scorsese, editor David Tedeschi, and writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman • Restored footage of never-before-seen Rolling Thunder Revue performances of “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You” and “Romance in Durango,” and of a never-before-seen cut of “Tangled Up in Blue”. • Trailer • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by novelist Dana Spiotta and writing from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour by author Sam Shepard and poets Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman.
It started with a plea from one friend to another. George Harrison had been close to the legendary Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar since the mid-’60s, when the Beatle first sought an expert to teach him to play the multi-stringed Indian sitar. RaviShankar, older than Harrison by some 22 years and the acknowledged world master of the instrument, was from Bangladesh (previously known as East Pakistan) in the South Asian region of Bengal. At the time, in 1971, Harrison’s website states, “The country was ravaged by floods, famine and civil war, which left 10 million people mostly women and children fleeing their homes.” Feeling distraught and wanting to help, Shankar met with Harrison and asked if he might be able to draw attention to the crisis, and possibly use his fame to do something to raise some funds for aid. “Yes,” Harrison told him, “I think I’ll be able to do something.”
In April of 1971, Harrison went to work recruiting friends for a one-time-only concert; by June he had already received commitments from several of the biggest names on rock. He also arranged for a film and recording to be made of the event, the proceeds of which would go toward the cause. The concert date was set for August 1st, 1971, two shows .The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00pm(afternoon and evening) to take place at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Not only would The Concert for Bangladesh be Harrison’s first major live appearance since the Beatles quit touring five years earlier, it would go down as one of the greatest evenings of classic rock in history. The event was the first-ever benefit of such a magnitude, and featured a supergroup of performers that included Harrison, fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger. In addition, Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan – both of whom had ancestral roots in Bangladesh – performed an opening set of Indian classical music. The concerts were attended by a total of 40,000 people, and the initial gate receipts raised close to $250,000 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. After collecting the musicians easily, Harrison found it extremely difficult to get the recording industry to release the rights for performers to share the stage, and millions of dollars raised from the album and film were tied up in IRS tax escrow accounts for years, but the Concert for Bangladesh is recognised as a highly successful and influential humanitarian aid project.
Shankar’s original hope was to raise $25,000 through a benefit concert of his own, With Harrison’s commitment, and the record and film outlets available to him through the Beatles’ Apple Corps organisation, the idea soon grew to become a star-studded musical event, mixing Western rock with Indian classical music.
According to Chris O’Dell, a music-business administrator and former Apple employee, Harrison got off the phone with Shankar once the concept had been finalised, and started enthusing with his wife, Pattie Boyd, and herself about possible performers. Ringo Starr, Lennon, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Voormann, Billy Preston and Badfinger were all mentioned during this initial brainstorming. The Concert For Bangladesh happened because of my relationship with Ravi … I said, “If you want me to be involved, I think I’d better be really involved,” so I started recruiting all these people. O’Dell set about contacting local musicians from the Harrisons’ rented house in Nichols Canyon, as Harrison took the long-distance calls, hoping more than anything to secure Bob Dylan’s participation
Almost all of Harrison’s first-choice names signed on immediately, while a day spent boating with Memphis musician Don Nix resulted in the latter agreeing to organise a group of backing singers. The Sunday, was the only day that Madison Square Garden was available at such short notice. By the first week of July Harrison was in a Los Angeles studio recording his purpose-written song, “Bangla Desh”, with co-producer Phil Spector. The song’s opening verse documents Shankar’s plea to Harrison for assistance, and the lyrics “My friend came to me with sadness in his eyes / Told me that he wanted help before his country dies”
Harrison then met with Apple signed band Badfinger in London to explain that he would have to abandon work on “Straight Up” , before flying to New York on 13 July to see Lennon. During the middle of July also, once back in Los Angeles, Harrison produced Shankar’s Bangladesh benefit record, an EP titled Joi Bangla. As with Harrison’s “Bangla Desh”, all profits from this recording would go to the newly established George Harrison–Ravi Shankar Special Emergency Relief Fund, to be distributed by UNICEF.
Also around the middle of July, the upcoming concert by “George Harrison and Friends” was announced via a small ad buried in the back pages of the New York Times”, Tickets sold out in no time, leading to the announcement of a second show. Towards the end of the month, when all parties were due to meet in New York for rehearsals, Harrison had the commitment of a backing band comprising: Preston, on keyboards; the four members of Badfinger, on acoustic rhythm guitars and tambourine; Voormann and Keltner, on bass and drums, respectively; and saxophonist Jim Horn’s so-called “Hollywood Horns”, which included Chuck Findley, Jackie Kelso and Lou McCreary. Of the established stars, Leon Russell had committed also, but on the proviso that he be supported by members of his tour band. Eric Clapton insisted that he too would be there, even if O’Dell and other insiders, knowing of the guitarist’s incapacity due to his severe heroin addiction, were surprised that Harrison had considered him for the occasion. Among Harrison’s former bandmates, John Lennon initially agreed to take part in the concert without his wife and musical partner Yoko Ono, as Harrison had apparently stipulated. Lennon then allegedly had an argument with Ono as a result of this agreement and left New York in a rage two days before the concerts The line up was staggering: First, there was Ringo Starr. As if half of the Beatles wasn’t enough of an enticement to fans,
As well as the songs he would go on to perform Harrison’s list included his own compositions “All Things Must Pass” with Leon Russell, apparently “Art of Dying” and the just-recorded B-side “Deep Blue” Eric Clapton’s song “Let It Rain” appeared also, while the suggestions for Dylan’s set were “If Not for You”, “Watching the River Flow” (his recent, Leon Russell-produced single) and “Blowin’ in the Wind”. Only Harrison, Voormann, the six-piece horn section, and Badfinger’s Pete Ham, Joey Molland, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins were at Nola Studios on that first day of rehearsals, and subsequent rehearsals were similarly carried out in “dribs and drabs”, as Harrison put it.
Only the final run-through, on the night before the concert, resembled a complete band rehearsal. On Tuesday, 27th July, Harrison and Shankar, accompanied by a pipe-smoking Allen Klein, held a press conference to promote the two shows notoriously performance-shy, Harrison said “Just thinking about it makes me shake. The “Bangla Desh” charity single was issued in America with a UK release following two days later. Ringo Starr arrived on the Thursday, and by Friday, 30th July, Russell was in town, interrupting his US tour. Leon Russell’s band members Claudia Linnear and Don Preston were added to Don Nix’s choir of backing singers. Billy Preston would switch to lead guitar for Russell’s solo spot during the shows, just as bassist Carl Radle would replace Voormann temporarily. At this point, Clapton’s participation was gravely in doubt, and Harrison had drafted in Jesse Ed Davis as a probable replacement. The ex-Taj Mahal guitarist received last-minute coaching from Voormann, who was more than familiar with Harrison’s songs, as well as those by Billy Preston and Starr.
The final rehearsal, the first for some of the participants, was combined with the concert soundcheck, at Madison Square Garden, late on 31 July. Both Dylan and Clapton finally appeared at the soundcheck that night.Even then, Clapton was in the early stages of heroin withdrawal – only a cameraman supplying him with some methadone would result in the English guitarist taking the stage the following day, after his young girlfriend had been unsuccessful in purchasing uncut heroin for him on the street. To Harrison’s frustration, Dylan was having severe doubts about performing in such a big-event atmosphere and still would not commit to playing. “Look, it’s not my scene, either,” Harrison countered. “At least you’ve played on your own in front of a crowd before. I’ve never done that.” Stephen Stills having proceeded to sell out Madison Square Garden two days before the concert on 30th July, in support of his album, “Stephen Stills 2”, allowed Harrison to use his stage, sound, lighting system and production manager but was upset when Harrison “neglected to invite him to perform, mention his name, or say thank you”. Stills then spent the show drunk in Ringo Starr’s dressing room, “barking at everyone”.
The shows began with sets by Shankar and his musicians, followed by Harrison and his entourage, performing material both from his emerging solo career. Harrison began the concert with “Wah-Wah”, followed by his Beatles hit song’ “Something” and the gospel-rocker “Awaiting on You All”. Harrison then handed the spotlight over to Preston, who performed his only sizeable hit “That’s the Way God Planned It”, followed by Ringo Starr, whose song “It Don’t Come Easy” had recently established the drummer as a solo artist. Next up was Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness”, with guest vocals on the third verse by Russell, who covered the song on his concurrent album, Leon Russell and the Shelter People. After pausing to introduce the band, Harrison followed this with one of the best-received moments in both the shows – a charging version of the White Album track “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, featuring him and Clapton “duelling” on lead guitar during the long instrumental playout.
Both the band introduction and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” are among the few selections from the afternoon show that were included on the album and in the film. Another one was Leon Russell’s medley of the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the Coasters’ “Young Blood”, which was also a highlight of Russell’s live shows at the time. With Don Preston crossing the stage to play lead guitar with Harrison, there were now temporarily four electric guitarists in the line-up. Don Preston, Harrison and Claudia Linnear supplied supporting vocals behind Russell. In an effective change of pace, Harrison picked up his acoustic guitar, now alone on the stage save for Pete Ham on a second acoustic, and Don Nix’s gospel choir, off to stage-left. The ensuing “Here Comes the Sun” – the first live performance of the song, as for Harrison’s other Beatle compositions played that day was also warmly received. At this point, Harrison switched back to his white Fender Stratocaster electric guitar he looked down at the setlist taped to the body of the guitar and saw the word “Bob” followed by a question mark. “And I looked around,” Harrison recalled of Bob Dylan’s entrance, “and he was so nervous – he had his guitar on and his shades. It was only at that moment that I knew for sure he was going to do it.” Among the audience, there was “total astonishment” at this new arrival. As Harrison had envisaged, Dylan’s mini-set was the crowning glory of the Concert for Bangladesh for many observers. Backed by just Harrison, Russell (now playing Voormann’s Fender Precision bass) and Starr on tambourine, Dylan played five of his decade-defining songs from the 1960s.
The moment that put the Concert for Bangladesh over the top as one for the ages was when Bob Dylan walked out onstage. Like Harrison, he had not performed in public much recently, since a 1966 motorcycle accident that caused him to reassess his life and career. Dylan, who was reportedly nervous about playing to such a large audience, arrived onstage for the first show accompanied by Harrison, Russell (on bass) and Starr (playing tambourine) and performed five of his greatest compositions: “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,” “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” and “Just Like a Woman,” before Harrison and the band closed out the show. The evening show followed a similar trajectory, with both Harrison and Dylan making a handful of changes to their set lists: Dylan, notably, added “Mr. Tambourine Man” in place of “Love Minus Zero.”
Harrison and the band then returned to perform a final segment, consisting of his recent international number one hit, “My Sweet Lord”, followed by the song of the moment – “Bangla Desh”.
The Concert for Bangladesh recording, featuring highlights from the two shows, was released on December 20th, 1971, also winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. The film, Following the Bangladesh concerts, some controversy ensued over the allocation of the funds but an estimated $12 million ultimately found its way to aid in the relief efforts over the next decade and a half. And in the world of rock music, the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh is viewed as a landmark event, the first true large-scale benefit concert of its type; it would serve as the model for Live Aid and is seen as the prototype for many other such charitable events even today.
As of August 2020, neither the album nor DVD was in print. Perhaps for its 50th anniversary in 2021we get an updated version along with a full set of the songs performed each night.
Bob Dylan will release a new compilation, Bob Dylan – 1970 (50th Anniversary Collection), featuring studio performances with George Harrison and more. The set will arrive on February 26th, 2021 via Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings.
Recordings from the three-disc set were released in a limited edition on December 4th as part of the Bob Dylan – 50th Anniversary Collection copyright extension series. The buzz around the recordings, especially those with George Harrison, garnered the recordings a wider release.
Still, arguably the most notable material on the three-disc collection is the complete May 1st, 1970 studio recordings alongside George Harrison. They performed a total of nine tracks together, including Dylan originals, cover songs and even a rendition of the Beatles classic “Yesterday.” Dylan and Harrison sat down in the studio and performed Dylan originals including “One Too Many Mornings,” “Gates of Eden” and “Mama, You Been On My Mind” along with covers like the Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox” and more. The set also features outtakes from the sessions around Dylan’s Self Portrait and New Morning albums, which feature frequent Dylan collaborators like drummer Russ Kunkel and Al Kooper on organ along with renowned session guitarist and singer-songwriter David Bromberg.
The material has never seen wide public release, but this isn’t the first time it has seen the light of day. These songs were earlier put on sale in a very limited edition in the U.K. to circumvent a European law stipulating that recordings enter the public domain 50 years after their creation if they aren’t officially released by their copyright holder. The collection sold out in seconds, as Dylan continues issuing archival material in order to avoid the legal distribution of third-party bootleg.
A 50th anniversary collection of recordings by Bob Dylan is scheduled for release on February 26th.
The Fat Angel Sings 
