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Concert for George
Warner Music // PG-13 // November 18, 2003
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE MOVIE
On November 29th, 2002 at Royal Albert Hall in London, some of George Harrison's closest friends – and some of the greatest living musicians in the world – got together for the Concert For George, an evening of tribute to the former Beatle, featuring some of his best songs, as well as some of his favorites from others.
Now, about a year after that event (and following the theatrical release of the concert film earlier this year), we get the 2-DVD version of Concert For George, a must-own for any fan of Harrison, The Beatles or even The Traveling Wilburys.
The first DVD in this set is the complete, unedited concert – which I actually preferred to the concert film (on disc two), since it gives us a better feeling of what the event was really like. The concert film is on disc two, and it mixes up the chronological events of the concert for a better overall aesthetic feel that also proves quite entertaining. For those who aren't really into Harrison's Eastern influences, the concert film trims down much of the first part of the Albert Hall concert – which was completely dedicated to this kind of music, and conducted by Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of Ravi Shankar - a man who was very much a father figure to Harrison, and influenced a lot of his work.
But the Concert For George really kicks in when Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Joe Brown, Jools Holland and Harrison's own son, Dhani (who is a splitting image of his father) all join forces on the stage for some great tunes, including Clapton's version of "If I Needed Someone" and Lynne's great rendition of "Give Me Love".
There's also time for levity, as Monty Python makes a surprise appearance singing "Sit On My Face" followed by "The Lumberjack Song". Later in the concert, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show up to croon "Taxman", "I Need You" and "Handle With Care".
But the high-point of Concert For George is undoubtedly toward the end when ex-Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney join the others on-stage. Ringo comes out first and does a rendition of "Photograph", a song that he and George wrote together, followed by Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't". Then, McCartney comes out, Ringo heads for the drums, and we get to hear "For You Blue" and an incredibly moving version of "Something", which is probably the high-point of the entire concert. Clapton also gives us his version of what is arguably Harrison's best song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
THE DVD
Video:
The video quality on both disc one and disc two is virtually the same, and both are presented 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The quality of the video isn't pristine, but it's about what you'd expect for a concert video. The behind the scenes material, interviews and backstage stuff show a lot more grain than does the actual concert footage, and the concert itself appears to have been either shot on film, or on video with a lower per-second frame rate (as you sometimes see on TV awards shows), to give it a film-like feel to it.
Audio:
Concert films on DVD mark one of those rare occasions where it's more important that the audio be better than the video…and viewers won't be let down here. The DVDs provide the option of listening to either a DTS or 5.1 Dolby version, and both are top-notch and sound fantastic. There's even a 2.0 Dolby option for those who would prefer to listen to the concert that way.
Extras:
The biggest extra here is, of course, the fact that disc one contains the complete and unedited concert. Disc two also contains a number of nice extras in addition to the film version. Viewers can watch Four Featurettes that show us "George's Band" (Clapton, Lynne, Dhani and the others) in pre-show rehearsals; the Monty Python gang preparing for their part of the concert; Ravi Shankar rehearsing his orchestra; plus a featurette that includes interview footage with many of the musicians involved in the concert.
And while I've never been one to include inserts in my DVD reviews, you get an awfully nice one here – a 30-Page Booklet that includes information about the concert, a list of all the songs performed on disc one and disc two, plus photographs and quotes from many of the concert's participants.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Fans of George Harrison and his music won't want to keep this one from their DVD shelves. It's one of the better concert films I've seen, and a great tribute to a man who helped shape our world through his words and music.
On November 29th, 2002 at Royal Albert Hall in London, some of George Harrison's closest friends – and some of the greatest living musicians in the world – got together for the Concert For George, an evening of tribute to the former Beatle, featuring some of his best songs, as well as some of his favorites from others.
Now, about a year after that event (and following the theatrical release of the concert film earlier this year), we get the 2-DVD version of Concert For George, a must-own for any fan of Harrison, The Beatles or even The Traveling Wilburys.
The first DVD in this set is the complete, unedited concert – which I actually preferred to the concert film (on disc two), since it gives us a better feeling of what the event was really like. The concert film is on disc two, and it mixes up the chronological events of the concert for a better overall aesthetic feel that also proves quite entertaining. For those who aren't really into Harrison's Eastern influences, the concert film trims down much of the first part of the Albert Hall concert – which was completely dedicated to this kind of music, and conducted by Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of Ravi Shankar - a man who was very much a father figure to Harrison, and influenced a lot of his work.
But the Concert For George really kicks in when Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Joe Brown, Jools Holland and Harrison's own son, Dhani (who is a splitting image of his father) all join forces on the stage for some great tunes, including Clapton's version of "If I Needed Someone" and Lynne's great rendition of "Give Me Love".
There's also time for levity, as Monty Python makes a surprise appearance singing "Sit On My Face" followed by "The Lumberjack Song". Later in the concert, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show up to croon "Taxman", "I Need You" and "Handle With Care".
But the high-point of Concert For George is undoubtedly toward the end when ex-Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney join the others on-stage. Ringo comes out first and does a rendition of "Photograph", a song that he and George wrote together, followed by Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't". Then, McCartney comes out, Ringo heads for the drums, and we get to hear "For You Blue" and an incredibly moving version of "Something", which is probably the high-point of the entire concert. Clapton also gives us his version of what is arguably Harrison's best song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
THE DVD
Video:
The video quality on both disc one and disc two is virtually the same, and both are presented 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The quality of the video isn't pristine, but it's about what you'd expect for a concert video. The behind the scenes material, interviews and backstage stuff show a lot more grain than does the actual concert footage, and the concert itself appears to have been either shot on film, or on video with a lower per-second frame rate (as you sometimes see on TV awards shows), to give it a film-like feel to it.
Audio:
Concert films on DVD mark one of those rare occasions where it's more important that the audio be better than the video…and viewers won't be let down here. The DVDs provide the option of listening to either a DTS or 5.1 Dolby version, and both are top-notch and sound fantastic. There's even a 2.0 Dolby option for those who would prefer to listen to the concert that way.
Extras:
The biggest extra here is, of course, the fact that disc one contains the complete and unedited concert. Disc two also contains a number of nice extras in addition to the film version. Viewers can watch Four Featurettes that show us "George's Band" (Clapton, Lynne, Dhani and the others) in pre-show rehearsals; the Monty Python gang preparing for their part of the concert; Ravi Shankar rehearsing his orchestra; plus a featurette that includes interview footage with many of the musicians involved in the concert.
And while I've never been one to include inserts in my DVD reviews, you get an awfully nice one here – a 30-Page Booklet that includes information about the concert, a list of all the songs performed on disc one and disc two, plus photographs and quotes from many of the concert's participants.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Fans of George Harrison and his music won't want to keep this one from their DVD shelves. It's one of the better concert films I've seen, and a great tribute to a man who helped shape our world through his words and music.
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