The events leading up to the concert having been established, we now shift our emphasis to an analysis of the performance itself. It must be recognized, of course, that aside from being the first all-star rock benefit, the Concert for Bangla Desh contains some truly wonderful music. The film and album of the event are a testament to that. The music that was recorded has a sustained undercurrent of passion and professionalism that many subsequent rock benefits have lacked. The line-up for the event included Ringo Starr and session drummer Jim Keltner on the drums, Leon Russell on the piano, and Billy Preston, who played the electric piano solo on “Get Back,” on the organ. On guitars were former Taj Mahal band member Jesse Ed Davis, Eric Clapton, and Harrison himself. On bass was Carl Radle, who played with Derek and the Dominoes, and Klaus Voormann, who played bass on the early John Lennon and George Harrison solo records. Rounding out the band was the band Badfinger, the Hollywood Horns, and several backup singers.
 Ravi Shankar opens the film and record with a twenty minute Indian music set, playing with several Indian musicians. After the Indian music section, Harrison and friends kick off the rock music section with a high-energy version of “Wah-Wah,” a song off of “All Things Must Pass” that Harrison wrote about Paul McCartney during the tension-filled “Let It Be” sessions with the Beatles. “Wah Wah/ You’ve given me a wah wah/ And I’m thinking ‘bout you/ All the things that we used to do” sings Harrison, as Starr and Keltner hammer out a steady beat, and the horns blare in the background. The melodic rocker, one of Harrison’s best, chugs along, with the large ensemble sounding as if they’d been playing together for months, not days. As the song ends, Harrison, dressed in a white suit with an orange shirt, turns in his electric guitar for an acoustic, and leads the band through his monster-sized hit, “My Sweet Lord.” The song, which features exquisite slide guitar work by Clapton, and lyrics that read “I really want to see you/ I really want to be with you/ I really want to see you Lord, but it takes so long, my Lord,” was all over the airwaves in the summer of 1971, and there is none of the controversy which would eventually surround it (Harrison was tangled up in a lawsuit throughout the mid-1970s over plagiarizing the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine.”) Yet another song from “All Things Must Pass,” which provided the bulk of Harrison’s material for the event, is next, the funky-yet-spiritual “Awaiting On You All.” The song is the only one in
Harrison’s entire catalogue that has an almost Motown sound to it, and after finishing the number, Harrison announces, “I’d like to continue with a song from a member of the band, old friend of mine, Billy Preston.”
 Preston injects a good deal of spirit into the precedings, playing his minor hit “That’s the Way God Planned It” (in perfect keeping with the spiritual tone of the previous song), and getting up and dancing at the front of the stage like a wildman during the fast-paced instrumental-boogie ending. From Preston, the spotlight moves over to Starr, who sings his recent hit, “It Don’t Come Easy.” The original studio recording, featuring Clapton, Harrison, Starr, and Stephen Stills, was stiff and lifeless, but in concert, it is a fast-paced rocker that easily outdistances anything Ringo had sung in a Beatles show. There is a marvelous moment on the film showing Ringo flubbing his last line (“Nah-naaaaaah-na na, and it’s growing all the time, and you know it don’t come easy”), flashing a grin to Keltner, and receiving a warm round of applause. Harrison steps back to the microphone for “Beware of Darkness,” a slow, haunting song that he duets with Leon Russell on. At the song’s conclusion, Harrison extends his thanks to the musicians for their services, and calls out the names of each band member. After receiving the biggest round of applause during the band introductions, it is Eric Clapton’s chance to shine. Although he does not sing a note during the concert, the next song is “While My guitar Gently Weeps,” off of the White Album. Clapton played the guitar solo on the studio version, and now in concert, he and Harrison trade licks back and forth in an extended version. For many in attendance that night, just seeing George Harrison and Eric Clapton playing together at the height of their powers was thrilling enough, and now, thirty years later, the sight of the two musicians playing off
each other takes on added poignancy.

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