Give Me Peace On Earth: Craft Reissues ‘Concert For George’ In Various Formats
George Harrison would have been 75 years old next month, and Craft Recordings is celebrating that milestone with the ultimate tribute to the former Beatle: a multi-format reissue of 2002’s Concert For George.
Available February 23, two days before Harrison’s birthday, Concert For George will bow in five different physical configurations – the most enormous of which is an online-only box set, limited only to 1,000 copies worldwide and featuring the star-studded tribute show on two CDs, two DVDs, two Blu-ray Discs and four 180-gram LPs. This 12″ x 12″ box set also features a 60-page hardcover book and an authentic, mounted piece of the original backdrop tapestry that hung at London’s Royal Albert Hall while the concert occurred. This gold, fabric-wrapped box features a die-cut mandala window to display the mounted fabric and a note from Olivia Harrison, George’s widow, explaining the story behind the tapestry.
For the more casual fan, Concert For George will be available as a standalone 2CD set, audiovisual sets featuring 2CD/2DVD and 2CD/2BD (the first time the music and films will be available in one package, and the first domestic release of the concert on Blu-ray) and the first-ever release of the concert on vinyl.
Performed on November 29, 2002, a year after Harrison’s passing, The Concert For George was a tribute to his life and career as only his best friends and most notable collaborators could do. Anoushka Shankar (daughter of renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar, George’s longtime friend and collaborator) first led a set of Indian music, in keeping with Harrison’s Hindu beliefs. From there, a brief set from surviving members of comedy troupe Monty Python (with a guest appearance from Tom Hanks) took place; then it was an all-star set of George’s great rock songs, performed by Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (Lynne and Petty were one of Harrison’s bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys), Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, British rocker Joe Brown, Klaus Voorman, Jools Holland, George’s son Dhani Harrison, and, of course, surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
A note on all formats: it appears nearly all of them have different track lists. The 2CD presentation is the same as what was originally released in 2003, and the video presentation offers both the complete concert and a shorter theatrical cut (sticking only to the rock portions of the show) as well as bonus features. (The Blu-ray offers a new featurette on the drummers of the concert.) The vinyl and digital versions, however, looks to be longer than either the CD or videos, including not only the Monty Python performances (which are on the DVD and Blu-ray) but a performance of “Horse to the Water” by Jools Holland and Sam Brown and only included in the theatrical version of the concert film. (The song, written by George and Dhani, first appeared on Holland’s Small World, Big Band in 2001, and was Harrison’s final performance on record.)
Concert For George is due February 23. Select Amazon links and full set information are below!
Concert For George (Craft Recordings, 2018)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (TBD)
2CD/2DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD)
2CD/2BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD)
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD)
- Sarve Shaam – Traditional Prayer
- Your Eyes (Sitar Solo) – Anoushka Shankar
- The Inner Light – Jeff Lynne & Anoushka Shankar
- Arpan – Conducted by Anoushka Shankar
- Sit On My Face – Monty Python (DVD/BD/LP only)
- The Lumberjack Song – Monty Python & Tom Hanks (DVD/BD/LP only)
- I Want to Tell You – Jeff Lynne
- If I Needed Someone – Eric Clapton
- Old Brown Shoe – Gary Brooker
- Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) – Jeff Lynne
- Beware of Darkness – Eric Clapton
- Here Comes the Sun – Joe Brown
- That’s the Way It Goes – Joe Brown
- Horse to the Water – Jools Holland & Sam Brown (LP/digital/DVD/BD – theatrical cut only)
- Taxman – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
- I Need You – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
- Handle with Care – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers with Jeff Lynne & Dhani Harrison
- Isn’t It a Pity – Billy Preston
- Photograph – Ringo Starr
- Honey Don’t – Ringo Starr
- For You Blue – Paul McCartney
- Something – Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton
- All Things Must Pass – Paul McCartney
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton
- My Sweet Lord – Billy Preston
- Wah Wah – Eric Clapton & Band
- I’ll See You In My Dreams – Joe Brown
Tracks 1-6 omitted from theatrical version
Video Bonus Features
- Ravi’s orchestra rehearsals
- Monty Python backstage
- George’s band rehearsals
- Interviews with musicians
- Photo gallery
- Drummers featurette (Blu-ray only)
CDs previously released as Warner Strategic Marketing R2 74546, 2003
DVDs previously released as Warner Strategic Marketing R2 970241, 2003
BDs previously released as Rhino 0349-79566-9 (EU), 2010
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I can confirm that the audio and visuals for this set have been remastered. There is a remastering credit in the booklet.