George Harrison - The Concert For Bangla Desh - IMMACULATE MINT UK 1st Pressing

	£		54
	$		72

Artist & Title: George Harrison – The Concert For Bangla Desh

Genuine IMMACULATE MINT 1972 UK FIRST PRESSING Apple label 18-track triple LP box set with the original mint condition large format 64-page full colour book with photos from the concert. The set also features contributions by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Badfinger, Ravi Shankar, Leon Russell and Billy Preston amongst others.
The records are in ‘as new’ immaculate Mint condition and sound as wonderful as ever, while the box, book and inner sleeves would also merit a Mint grading except for a little fading and staining on the left edge of the box caused by 42 years of exposure to the air and light. I have therefore downgraded the box to Excellent condition. See pics. A superb collector’s copy of the album that records for posterity the crowning event of George Harrison's public life, and the very first of the big charity rock concerts.
Highly desirable for its first pressing matrices, and flawless Mint condition vinyl, and increasingly difficult to find in this kind of condition. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to add this essential rarity to your collection at an extremely advantageous price.

Catalogue Number: Apple Records ?– STCX 3385

Release date: 10 January 1972 (UK)

Overall Grade: Mint/Mint/EX (LPs/Book/Box)

Matrix (Runout): Side 1: STCX 1 3385 1  Side 2: STCX 2 3385 2 PORKY  Side 3: STCX 3 3385 3 PECKO  Side 4: STCX 4 3385 1  Side 5: STCX 5 3385 3  Side 6: STCX 6 3385 1

This historic triple LP from George Harrison and friends is hardly ever offered for sale in this condition – if ever.

“At the Concert for Bangladesh, George Harrison pulled it off. He came out from behind the shadow of Lennon/McCartney, proving himself as an artist to be reckoned with. He also proved himself to be a great humanitarian.”

This is the extremely rare real thing: a genuine IMMACULATE MINT CONDITION 1972 UK first pressing. The records, inner sleeves and insert are all in mint condition and the box is in excellent condition with no shelfwear, scuffs or rubbing. All items are free from any major defects. See pics. All items are the genuine originals bought together by me in 1972, not reprints or replacements. The LPs are the original 1972 UK stereo LPs, which were only played once or twice on top-end audiophile equipment and lovingly cared for.

“Harrison is in confident command, running through highlights from his recent triumphant All Things Must Pass album in fine voice, secure enough to revisit his Beatles legacy from Abbey Road and the White Album.”

The Concert for Bangladesh – originally titled The Concert for Bangla Desh – is a live triple album by George Harrison and celebrity friends, released on Apple Records in December 1971 in America and January 1972 in Britain. The album followed the two concerts of the same name, held on 1 August 1971 at New York's Madison Square Garden, featuring Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and Eric Clapton. The shows were a pioneering charity event, in aid of the homeless Bengali refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War, and set the model for future multi-artist rock benefits such as Live Aid (1985) and The Concert for New York City (2001).
Co-produced by Phil Spector and featuring the latter's signature Wall of Sound in a live setting, the fundraiser album was delayed for three months due to protracted negotiations between Harrison and two record companies keen to protect their business interests, Capitol and Columbia/CBS. Besides the main performers, the musicians and singers on the recording include Badfinger, Jim Horn, Klaus Voormann, Alla Rakha, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis and Claudia Linnear. The box set's original packaging included a 64-page book containing photos from the concerts; the album cover, designed by Tom Wilkes, consisted of an image of a malnourished child sitting beside an empty food bowl.
On release, The Concert for Bangladesh was a major critical and commercial success, topping albums charts around the world, and went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in March 1973. Together with the 1972 Apple concert film directed by Saul Swimmer, the album gained Indian classical music its largest Western audience up until that time.
Among the many words of acclaim that have been written about The Concert for Bangladesh since its release, author Tom Moon describes it as an album to play "whenever your faith in the power of music begins to wane". Sales of The Concert for Bangladesh continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, which raised $1.2 million for children in the Horn of Africa, in a 2011 campaign marking the album's 40th anniversary.

This may be your only ONCE IN A LIFETIME chance to own this rare piece of music history in this condition.

 “Concert for Bangladesh is rightly enshrined in rock history as the model for Band Aid, Live Aid, Live 8 and every other superstar benefit concert of the last three decades... In emphasizing the concert's idealism, however, it's easy to overlook what a musical gem this album is.”

Hands down, this epochal concert at New York's Madison Square Garden -- first issued on three LPs in a handsome orange-coloured box -- was the crowning event of George Harrison's public life, a gesture of great goodwill that captured the moment in history and, not incidentally, produced some rousing music as a permanent legacy. Having been moved by his friend Ravi Shankar's appeal to help the homeless Bengali refugees of the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Harrison leaped into action, organizing on short notice what became a bellwether for the spectacular rock & roll benefits of the 1980s and beyond. The large, almost unwieldy band was loaded with rock luminaries -- including Beatles alumnus Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Badfinger, and two who became stars as a result of their electric performances here, Leon Russell ("Jumpin' Jack Flash"/"Youngblood") and Billy Preston ("That's the Way God Planned It"). Yet Harrison is in confident command, running through highlights from his recent triumphant All Things Must Pass album in fine voice, secure enough to revisit his Beatles legacy from Abbey Road and the White Album. Though overlooked at the time by impatient rock fans eager to hear the hits, Shankar's opening raga, "Bangla Dhun," is a masterwork on its own terms; the sitar virtuoso is in dazzling form even by his standards and, in retrospect, Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, and Alla Rakha amount to an Indian supergroup themselves. The high point of the concert is the surprise appearance of Bob Dylan -- at this reclusive time in his life, every Dylan sighting made headlines -- and he read the tea leaves perfectly by performing five of his most powerful, meaningful songs from the '60s. Controversy swirled when the record was released; then-manager Alan Klein imposed a no-discount policy on this expensive set and there were questions as to whether all of the intended receipts reached the refugees. Also, in a deal to allow Dylan's participation, the set was released by Capitol on LP while Dylan's label Columbia handled the tape versions. Yet, in hindsight, the avarice pales beside the concert's magnanimous intentions, at a time when rock musicians truly thought they could help save the world.

A fantastic time warp example of this rarity in amazing condition, a true investment grade item - get it while you can!

AND IT MUST SELL IN THIS ONCE ONLY AUCTION

You can read more about this album HERE, George Harrison HERE and all over the web.

I pack my records professionally in stiff corrugated cruciform record boxes leaving the Vinyl (housed in anti-static bags) outside the Sleeve.

Postage discounts for multiple orders are available: £1 per additional LP, up to a maximum of 4, in the UK.
£4 per additional LP, up to a maximum of 4, in the Rest of the World.

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