BBC Review
It's a masterclass in how to do this stuff...
Chris Jones 2005-11-02
That Bob Geldof; he'd currently be residing in the 'where are they now?' file if it weren't for George Harrison. The quiet Beatle invented the idea of the superstar charidee bash, and, like nearly all good ideas, it worked best the first time around.
Alerted to the plight of starving millions by Ravi Shankar in 1971, George assembled a heap of groovy musicians and translated talent into bread. Unlike Geldof, he didn't fling a huge day's worth of stuff at the crowd hoping that at least some of it would stick. The evening is tastefully divided between Shankar's exquisite classical ragas (they wouldn't try that at Live8), Harrison and pals, and a final set by the (then) appearance shy Bob Dylan.
Highlights are plentiful. The crowd applauding Shankar tuning up; Billy Preston's joyous dancing; Leon Russell's raucous version of ''Jumping Jack Flash''. Harrison is at once humble and masterful. And Bob, being Bob, veers between genius and parody, often in the space of one song. Even Ringo is ace. It's a masterclass in how to do this stuff...
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