Concert for George
Live album by
various artists
Released17 November 2003
Recorded29 November 2002
Royal Albert Hall, London
GenreDisc 1: Indian classical music
Disc 2: Rock
Length116:50
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerJeff Lynne
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Hot Press7/10[2]
Record Collector[3]
Uncut[4]

Concert for George is a live tribute soundtrack album in honour of George Harrison, recorded on the first anniversary of his death, and issued in 2003 in conjunction with the simultaneous DVD release of the same name. Featuring performances of many of Harrison's best-known songs, played by his closest musician friends, Concert for George is considered a fitting and heartfelt celebration of Harrison's considerable career.

Tribute concert

Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002—the first anniversary of Harrison's death—the performance features a wealth of talents who knew Harrison well. Eric Clapton, one of Harrison's closest friends, served as the musical director of the show, which was advertised as the Concert for George. Representing Indian music, an important influence on Harrison's life, is Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar. Among Harrison's rock and roll cohorts are Jeff Lynne, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston and Jim Keltner, together with Harrison's former Beatles bandmates Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, and his son Dhani.

Before the Indian portion that opened the concert, Ravi Shankar said to the audience: "I strongly feel that George is here tonight. I mean, how can he not be here, when all of us who loved him so much have assembled here to sing for him and play music for him? I'm sure he's here."[5]

Release and reception

Concert for George was issued on 17 November 2003 in Britain, with a US release following on 18 November.[6] A double album, it peaked at number 97 on America's Billboard chart.

Uncut magazine's reviewer wrote: "Concerts like these are usually long on sentiment and short on worthwhile content. But under the directorship of Eric Clapton, the concert for George Harrison at the Albert Hall in November 2002 was an exception. The event exudes a powerful atmosphere and genuine musicality…"[7] Writing in The Word, Paul Du Noyer described the posthumous tribute to Harrison as "the grandest send-off that he could possibly have wished for". Du Noyer said of the live album, "Its sins are only those of omission", and recommended the accompanying DVD release, before concluding: "In either format, however, [Joe Brown's] show-closing 'I’ll See You In My Dreams' is an exquisitely poignant note to end upon".[8]

In 2005, the Concert for George DVD won the Best Long Form Video Grammy. Directed by David Leland, it contains material not found on the album, including "Sit on My Face" and "The Lumberjack Song" by Monty Python, and "Horse to the Water", featuring Jools Holland with vocals by Sam Brown.

iTunes released Concert for George in 2008 with "Horse to the Water" added to the album.

In 2018, Concert for George was released in several packages and formats, including 180-gram vinyl LP records, to celebrate Harrison's 75th birthday.[9] The new vinyl and digital edition included additional tracks not present on both the original and 2018 reissue CD editions: "Sit on My Face" and "The Lumberjack Song" by Monty Python, and "Horse to the Water" by Sam Brown.

Track listing

All songs written by George Harrison, except where noted.

Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Sarve Shaam"traditional 3:18
2."Your Eyes (Sitar Solo)"Ravi ShankarAnoushka Shankar8:23
3."The Inner Light" Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison and Anoushka Shankar3:02
4."Arpan"Ravi ShankarAnoushka Shankar23:02
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."I Want to Tell You" Jeff Lynne2:53
2."If I Needed Someone" Eric Clapton2:29
3."Old Brown Shoe" Gary Brooker3:48
4."Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" Jeff Lynne3:29
5."Beware of Darkness" Eric Clapton4:01
6."Here Comes the Sun" Joe Brown3:09
7."That's the Way It Goes" Joe Brown3:40
8."Taxman" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers3:11
9."I Need You" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers3:00
10."Handle with Care"Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy OrbisonTom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison3:27
11."Isn't It a Pity" Eric Clapton and Billy Preston6:58
12."Photograph"Harrison, Richard StarkeyRingo Starr3:57
13."Honey Don't"Carl PerkinsRingo Starr3:04
14."For You Blue" Paul McCartney3:05
15."Something" Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton4:26
16."All Things Must Pass" Paul McCartney3:33
17."While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney5:57
18."My Sweet Lord" Billy Preston5:03
19."Wah-Wah" Eric Clapton and Band6:06
20."I'll See You in My Dreams"Isham Jones, Gus KahnJoe Brown4:02

Personnel

From Warner Strategic Marketing's 2003 CD release R2 74546

Eric Clapton - musical director

Featuring: Joe Brown, Eric Clapton, Jools Holland and Sam Brown, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr and...

The Heartbreakers:

Arpan

Performed by:

Boys' and Girls' Choir
English Chamber Choir
London Metropolitan Orchestra
Strings conducted and arranged by Michael Kamen

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Original Soundtrack Concert for George". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ^ Hayden, Jackie (27 November 2003). "Concert For George". Hot Press. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  3. ^ Staunton, Terry (July 2011). "George Harrison – Concert for George". Record Collector. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  4. ^ Watts, Peter (2018). "Live and Compilations". Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: George Harrison. London: TI Media. pp. 114–15.
  5. ^ Wright, Helen (17 November 2003). "Various – Concert for George". musicOMH. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Concert For George Album Out Today in UK". georgeharrison.com. 17 November 2003. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  7. ^ Staff (December 2003). "Various Artists – The Concert For George". Uncut. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  8. ^ Du Noyer, Paul (January 2004). "Concert For George". The Word. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  9. ^ Kreps, Daniel (17 January 2018). "All-Star George Harrison Tribute Concert Gets Massive Vinyl Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
Categories