The Concert for George (2003)

i just can't say enough good about this!!!!!!!!!
well here i go,....first of all this two DVD concert film looks and sounds beautiful!....it's visually stunning!.... and I'm not sure I've ever heard a concert film that sounds this great!....crisp, clear, separated and rich sound!.....the best best performances are by tom petty,..billy Preston and a heartfelt one by Eric Clapton,.. especially with [while my guitar gently sleeps],... as the song ends with Clapton looking sadly in-thought and alone.... George Harrison's son Dhani reaches over and touches him on the arm and mouths a thank you to him,....a touching moment.... and there's plenty of other fine performances to go around.... they all play George Harrison's songs so you also come away with a sense of what a great songwriter he was as well as a good person. this concert took place in the royal Albert hall in London and there was a huge orchestra including like 5 guitarist and 3 drummers and girl back up singers and percussionist, horn section, strings and etc ect..... great concert film....sadly billy Preston who gave such a great showing here has recently died.... and lastly i wonder why Eric Clapton didn't perform badge?....also the ray cooper guy was great,.. I've seen him around before and forever and never knew his name before this....

Amazing Show! (Could have done without the Monty Python Circus though!)
I know I'm in the minority here, with over 300 5-stars, but this DVD could have been a lot better. I gotta give it just 4 stars. I rate a DVD concert on how many times you have to use your re-mote, and this one forces you to use it quite a bit. Also, absolutely NO NEED for 2 discs, do not understand this concept, nothing new on the 2nd disc!

AWARD for most noticeable ommission: Bob Dylan---THANK YOU AWARD for not showing up, goes to: Bob Dylan

First, the good: Amazing production, sound quality is inferior to NONE! With only three weeks of re-hearsal, this "mind-boggling" project that Clapton pulled off, puts him in a category totally alone. Who better than to finalize this brilliant piece of work than EC himself! For the most part, the set list is great, except for nothing from "Cloud Nine." Not a whole lot of "audience shots." (Who wants to see rich snobs rattling their jewelry anyway?) EC is in his very highest form, doing his best friends's songs the finest justice. TP and the Heartbreakers gave a "dazzling" performance, singing a "blistering" "Taxman", a "hauntingly beautiful" "I Need You", and a "mesmerizing" closing "Handle With Care."

More good: I thought one of the highlights of the show was Billy Preston doing "Isn't It A Pity" and "My Sweet Lord", (although never a huge fan of either song), not only with his awesome vocals, but with his brilliant organ/piano on both songs! Very few can touch him on "sheer talent." Just ask Ringo and Paul, who hired him as what would become the "5th Beatle."

MORE GOOD: Who in the hell was that tall blonde chick back-up singer, she was virtually the ONLY good looking one on the stage!

The build up slowly moves towards the introduction of Ringo and Paul. (More about Ringo later). Paul did a superb job opening with "For You Blue", then goin' into a "terrific" "All Things Must Pass.", to close his portion of the show "banging out" an "electrifying" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the piano, sharing vocals with EC and the rest.

A SHOW HIGHLIGHT!: Paul on "Something" on the ukelei, leaves you wondering at first "What the hell is he doing?" Then the band and orchestra blast full speed ahead into the way the song was meant to be heard. That moment will knock you over!! Also, let's face it, where else are ya gonna see Paul and Ringo performing on stage together???? Hell that alone is worth the purchase price of $17.99 on here!

The show also has a very nice addition with GH's son "Dhani" playing back up guitar/backing vocals. (More later on Dhani). The massive production closes with the GH rocker "Wah-Wah", with Petty and the whole GH ensemble on stage.

MORE GOOD: EC made the show, but he didn't "hog" the show, like he could have, he's just so awesome, THE GREATEST!

NOW THE BAD: WHERE"S JULIAN LENNON??? ALSO---KEEP YOUR REMOTE HANDY! If you want "THE GOOD STUFF" fast-forward to track 9, where EC and the boys open up with "I Want To Tell You" and "If I Needed Someone." The first 8 tracks are taken up with GH's friends from India, playing all kinds Eastern "sitar dominated music" which I kinda liked, but got real tired of real quick. (Ya gotta admire their talent level though!) The good news is, it's worth at least watching Ravi Shankar's daughter play ONE of her solos and GH's "The Inner Light." BUT, after that find that remote. UNLESS you love the "Monty Python Circus." I thought they would never get done. I know GH loved them, but that does not mean we have to sit through them. (REMOTE?) Hell, we could have heard EC and Paul do 7-9 more great GH songs in place of the "Monty Circus" and the "New Dehli Symphony Orchestra" (who should have done one song and returned to a "back-up" role.) Hell, there was plenty of time to do the entire "CLOUD NINE" album, (his best effort by far!) Not one song from this masterpiece!

NOT SO GOOD: I think EC or anyone else would have done a better version of Here Comes The Sun than that Joe Brown guy. But it was alright i guess.

MORE BAD: Is it me or was there way too many people on the stage. Hell, there must have been 40 musicians up there! (Not counting the Indians and the other orchestra.) They couldn't even turn around up there, without bumping into each other. Maybe a bigger stage???

MORE BAD: They really should have got GH's son Dhanni to sing "lead" on at least one song. Hell you could not even hear his guitar or his back up vocals. Although, it looked like he was a "deer in the head-lights" up there with all those "legends", so i don't think he was ready to step out front this time, anyway. MORE BAD: That "Jules Holland" or whoever she was did not do much for me.

MORE GOOD: I liked the 3 drummers up there, (or maybe it was 6) inc. Ringo. More BAD: Ringo did not get up there soon enough, after doing his "Photograph" (which wasn't too bad, and the Carl Perkins' Honey Don't". (where's that remote???)

IDEA that would have energized the whole show!!!:: EC and the boys play BADGE!!!!!!!!!!(after all GH and EC wrote it together, probably the only thing they wrote together).

SUMMARY!: BUY THE DVD!!! MORE GOOD THAN BAD!! A great tribute that GH would have loved!! Stealing from a prior reviewer, i think GH would have used his remote and skipped the whole show EXCEPT for the parts i hated, like Monty and Tom Hanks, and the "way-long" eastern music stuff. The whole thing is a little long, you'll have to keep that remote nearby, (like GH), but well worth a look, over and over!! ENJOY!!!

Amazing Show! (Could have done without the Monty Python Circus though!)
I know I'm in the minority here, with over 300 5-stars, but this DVD could have been a lot better. I gotta give it just 4 stars. I rate a DVD concert on how many times you have to use your re-mote, and this one forces you to use it quite a bit. Also, absolutely NO NEED for 2 discs, do not understand this concept, nothing new on the 2nd disc!

AWARD for most noticeable ommission: Bob Dylan---THANK YOU AWARD for not showing up, goes to: Bob Dylan

First, the good: Amazing production, sound quality is inferior to NONE! With only three weeks of re-hearsal, this "mind-boggling" project that Clapton pulled off, puts him in a category totally alone. Who better than to finalize this brilliant piece of work than EC himself! For the most part, the set list is great, except for nothing from "Cloud Nine." Not a whole lot of "audience shots." (Who wants to see rich snobs rattling their jewelry anyway?) EC is in his very highest form, doing his best friends's songs the finest justice. TP and the Heartbreakers gave a "dazzling" performance, singing a "blistering" "Taxman", a "hauntingly beautiful" "I Need You", and a "mesmerizing" closing "Handle With Care."

More good: I thought one of the highlights of the show was Billy Preston doing "Isn't It A Pity" and "My Sweet Lord", (although never a huge fan of either song), not only with his awesome vocals, but with his brilliant organ/piano on both songs! Very few can touch him on "sheer talent." Just ask Ringo and Paul, who hired him as what would become the "5th Beatle."

MORE GOOD: Who in the hell was that tall blonde chick back-up singer, she was virtually the ONLY good looking one on the stage!

The build up slowly moves towards the introduction of Ringo and Paul. (More about Ringo later). Paul did a superb job opening with "For You Blue", then goin' into a "terrific" "All Things Must Pass.", to close his portion of the show "banging out" an "electrifying" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the piano, sharing vocals with EC and the rest.

A SHOW HIGHLIGHT!: Paul on "Something" on the ukelei, leaves you wondering at first "What the hell is he doing?" Then the band and orchestra blast full speed ahead into the way the song was meant to be heard. That moment will knock you over!! Also, let's face it, where else are ya gonna see Paul and Ringo performing on stage together???? Hell that alone is worth the purchase price of $17.99 on here!

The show also has a very nice addition with GH's son "Dhani" playing back up guitar/backing vocals. (More later on Dhani). The massive production closes with the GH rocker "Wah-Wah", with Petty and the whole GH ensemble on stage.

MORE GOOD: EC made the show, but he didn't "hog" the show, like he could have, he's just so awesome, THE GREATEST!

NOW THE BAD: WHERE"S JULIAN LENNON??? ALSO---KEEP YOUR REMOTE HANDY! If you want "THE GOOD STUFF" fast-forward to track 9, where EC and the boys open up with "I Want To Tell You" and "If I Needed Someone." The first 8 tracks are taken up with GH's friends from India, playing all kinds Eastern "sitar dominated music" which I kinda liked, but got real tired of real quick. (Ya gotta admire their talent level though!) The good news is, it's worth at least watching Ravi Shankar's daughter play ONE of her solos and GH's "The Inner Light." BUT, after that find that remote. UNLESS you love the "Monty Python Circus." I thought they would never get done. I know GH loved them, but that does not mean we have to sit through them. (REMOTE?) Hell, we could have heard EC and Paul do 7-9 more great GH songs in place of the "Monty Circus" and the "New Dehli Symphony Orchestra" (who should have done one song and returned to a "back-up" role.) Hell, there was plenty of time to do the entire "CLOUD NINE" album, (his best effort by far!) Not one song from this masterpiece!

NOT SO GOOD: I think EC or anyone else would have done a better version of Here Comes The Sun than that Joe Brown guy. But it was alright i guess.

MORE BAD: Is it me or was there way too many people on the stage. Hell, there must have been 40 musicians up there! (Not counting the Indians and the other orchestra.) They couldn't even turn around up there, without bumping into each other. Maybe a bigger stage???

MORE BAD: They really should have got GH's son Dhanni to sing "lead" on at least one song. Hell you could not even hear his guitar or his back up vocals. Although, it looked like he was a "deer in the head-lights" up there with all those "legends", so i don't think he was ready to step out front this time, anyway. MORE BAD: That "Jules Holland" or whoever she was did not do much for me.

MORE GOOD: I liked the 3 drummers up there, (or maybe it was 6) inc. Ringo. More BAD: Ringo did not get up there soon enough, after doing his "Photograph" (which wasn't too bad, and the Carl Perkins' Honey Don't". (where's that remote???)

IDEA that would have energized the whole show!!!:: EC and the boys play BADGE!!!!!!!!!!(after all GH and EC wrote it together, probably the only thing they wrote together).

SUMMARY!: BUY THE DVD!!! MORE GOOD THAN BAD!! A great tribute that GH would have loved!! Stealing from a prior reviewer, i think GH would have used his remote and skipped the whole show EXCEPT for the parts i hated, like Monty and Tom Hanks, and the "way-long" eastern music stuff. The whole thing is a little long, you'll have to keep that remote nearby, (like GH), but well worth a look, over and over!! ENJOY!!!