Tuesday, December 27, 2005
CLA got me the "The Concert for Bangladesh" dvd for Christmas, and although I haven't had the chance to see all of it yet, I have to say that after wearing out my vinyl copy years ago, the visual element makes the whole thing fresh. The Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan opener, for example, which was dorm room trance music back in the day, turns out to be a smokin' jam when you can watch the interaction between the players. And Billy Preston comes out from behind the keyboard and dances during the break in "That's the Way God Planned It" which makes the whole thing much more enjoyable than it ever was as a purely aural experience. It is also fun to note that it's George playing most, if not all of the lead, and Clapton chiming in on slide-- in a few years George would be all about a distictive slide sound that really became his signature, but here we have a chance to see what he was really capable of doing. He was good enough, in other words, to use Eric Clapton in a supporting role.
Gosh, I loved those songs in 1972, but now I have to admit that I have no idea what
"Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
While weeping atlas cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow"
is supposed to mean. What the hell is a weeping atlas cedar? Even so, when Leon Russell takes a turn at the vocal on "Beware of Darkness" it's pretty cool. Ol' Leon, he can yowl with the best of them.
I was obliged to leave off just after the introduction of the band. ("There's somebody on bass who many people have heard about, but they've never actually seen him, Klaus Voormann.") Tonight I'll finish the set off.
Gosh, I loved those songs in 1972, but now I have to admit that I have no idea what
"Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
While weeping atlas cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow"
is supposed to mean. What the hell is a weeping atlas cedar? Even so, when Leon Russell takes a turn at the vocal on "Beware of Darkness" it's pretty cool. Ol' Leon, he can yowl with the best of them.
I was obliged to leave off just after the introduction of the band. ("There's somebody on bass who many people have heard about, but they've never actually seen him, Klaus Voormann.") Tonight I'll finish the set off.
// posted by Bill @ 12:13 PM 
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