George Fest: A Night to Celebrate the Music of George Harrison

Overview

George Fest: A Night to Celebrate George Harrison happened at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on September 28, 2014 and the whole shindig appeared in a variety of incarnations -- CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and downloads -- in February of 2016, a few days after what would've been the Beatle's 73rd birthday. His son Dhani directed the concert and, with the exception of Brian Wilson and Heart's Ann Wilson, he favored alt-rock stars of the 2000s: the Killers' Brandon Flowers, Nick Valensi from the Strokes, Spoon's Britt Daniel, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cold War Kids, and the Flaming Lips form the backbone of this tribute. Around this core orbit some names that seem suitable (Norah Jones, Ben Harper, Perry Farrell), some that seem odd (Ian Astbury, Karen Elson), and some that seem like ringers (Conan O'Brien, Weird Al Yankovic), but this group is united by an affection for George Harrison, a love that runs so deep that none of the crew even make feints toward possible reinterpretations of the tunes. Everybody plays the songs they love in the way they learned them, so the highlights fall along the spectrum of sensitivity to enthusiasm. Norah Jones excels on both "Something" and "Behind That Locked Door," Karen Elson treats "I'd Have You Anytime" as a torch song, and Daniel sways handsomely to "I Me Mine," while Dhani throws himself into "Let It Down" and the two nominal comedians, Conan and Weird Al, tear it up on "Old Brown Shoe" and "What Is Life," respectively. That's enough to provide a hook for this lengthy concert but the lasting impression of George Fest is not about the performances here but rather the depth and range of Harrison's work, which perhaps is how it should be. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/26/2016
Label:	Bmg
UPC:	0075597936964
Rank:	56242

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dhani Harrison   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Karen Elson   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Ann Wilson   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Ian Astbury   Primary Artist,Vocals
Brandon Flowers   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Wayne Coyne   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background),Guitar,Vocals
Perry Farrell   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Nick Valensi   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Britt Daniel   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club   Primary Artist
Ben Harper   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Weird Al Yankovic   Primary Artist,Vocals
Conan O'Brien   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Jonathan Bates   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
The Flaming Lips   Primary Artist
The Black Ryder   Primary Artist
Chase Cohl   Primary Artist,Vocals
Jamestown Revival   Primary Artist
Butch Walker   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Cold War Kids   Primary Artist
Brian Wilson   Primary Artist,Vocals
Heartless Bastards   Primary Artist
Norah Jones   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Scott VonRyper   Guitar,Vocals
Erika Wennerstrom   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Mark Nathan   Guitar
Nick Walusko   Vocals (Background)
Garrett Smith   Trombone
Chris Bautista   Trumpet
Robert Been   Guitar,Vocals
Aaron Embry   Keyboards
Mark Stoermer   Guitar (Bass)
Jimmy Vivino   Guitar,Harmonica
Josh Lattanzi   Guitar,Guitar (Bass)
Dann Gallucci   Guitar
Lisa Loeb   Vocals (Background)
Probyn Gregory   Vocals (Background)
Matt Sorum   Drums,Percussion
Nathan Willett   Vocals
Matt Pynn   Guitar,Mandolin
Greg Wieczorek   Drums,Percussion
Jason Roberts   Guitar
Matt Romano   Drums
Jonathan Clay   Guitar,Vocals
Peter Hayes   Vocals,Guitar (Bass)
Matthew Schwartz   Guitar,Vocals
Scott Bennett   Vocals (Background)
Stephen Perkins   Drums,Percussion
Steven Drozd   Keyboards
Ryan Miller   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Etty Farrell   Vocals (Background)
Mike Eyia   Saxophone
Leah Shapiro   Drums
Zach Chance   Vocals
Jillette Johnson   Vocals (Background)
Austin Scaggs   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Peter Remm   Organ
Eric Pulido   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Elvis Perkins   Vocals (Background)
David Sherman   Keyboards
Al Jardine   Vocals (Background)
Brian Bell   Guitar
Dan Rothchild   Vocals (Background)
Darian Sahanaja   Vocals (Background)
Holly Palmer   Vocals (Background)
Aimee Nash   Guitar,Vocals
Pat Sansone   Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Erica Canales   Vocals (Background)
Alex Levy   Guitar
Gingger Shankar   Violin,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Dhani Harrison   Producer
Roy Orbison   Composer
Reuben Cohen   Mastering Engineer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Fred Archambault   Recording
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering Engineer
George Harrison   Composer
Jeff Lynne   Composer
Ryan Williams   Mixing Engineer
Rudy Clark   Composer
Conan O'Brien   Composer
Ashley Wilson   Editing
Paul Hicks   Mixing Engineer
David Zonshine   Producer
Tom Petty   Composer