V. A. - Music for Montserrat (1997)

On the evening of September 15, 1997, legendary British music producer George Martin (who had risen to prominence with the Beatles) held a benefit concert at London's Royal Albert Hall for the small Caribbean island of Montserrat, which had recently been devastated by a volcanic eruption. All of the invited superstars had recorded some of their biggest hits at Montserrat's Air Studios, which Martin had founded in 1970, and this shared history gives Music for Montserrat an added sense of enjoyment among friends. Despite a few vocal dropouts and forgivable mixing problems, this outstanding concert has been captured with impressive fidelity, and while each artist performs songs appropriate to the occasion, they share the stage (along with a house band, choir, and orchestra conducted by Martin) in brilliant combinations that bring out the best in everyone involved.

The show hits full stride with Mark Knopfler's exquisite "Brothers in Arms," which segues nicely into "Money for Nothing" with guest vocals by Sting, who then performs two hits from his Police years. And while Elton John and Eric Clapton form the centerpiece of the concert (especially Clapton and Knopfler's acoustic "Layla"), Paul McCartney anchors the show with a spectacular four-song conclusion. Phil Collins's expert drumming is matched throughout by legendary percussionist Ray Kooper, and McCartney's fully orchestrated "Golden Slumbers" is a genuine show-stopper, followed by a "Hey Jude" sing-along with everyone on stage. They all follow McCartney's lead for a rockin' rendition of "Kansas City" (which the Beatles had performed as early as 1960), by which time Music for Montserrat had given its royal audience a show they would never forget. –Jeff Shannon

Product Description

ERIC CLAPTON, PAUL McCARTNEY, PHIL COLLINS, MARK KNOPFLER, and STING all on one Royal stage for one night!!

On September 15, 1997 at Royal Albert Hall, Sir George Martin assembled an all-star cast to perform a benefit for the island of Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean that ws devastated by a volcanic explosion. The artists that appeared at this show had all recorded some of their biggest hits at Martin's recording studio on the island. Included in this group are PAUL McCARTNEY, STING, ELTON JOHN, JIMMY BUFFET, AND ONE OF THE FINAL APPEARANCES FROM CARL PERKINS.

Tracklist
Phil Collins - Take Me Home
Arrow & His Band - Hot, Hot, Hot
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede shoes
Jimmy buffet - Volcano
Mark Knopfler - Brother In Arms
Mark Knopfler - Money For Nothing (w/Sting, Eric Clapton)
Sting - Message In a Bottle
Sting - Magic
Elton John - Your Song
Elton John - Live Like Horses
Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
Eric Clapton - Layla (w/Mark Knopfler)
Eric Clapton - Same Old blues (w/Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins, Jools Holland, Ray Cooper)
Paul McCartney - Yesterday
Paul McCartney - Golden Slumbers (w/Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton)
Paul McCartney - Hey Jude (w/all the artists who appeared at the concert)
Paul McCartney - Kansas City (w/all the artists who appeared at the concert)


Review:

Cut at the Royal Albert Hall benefit concert September 15th, 1997, for the volcano ravaged island of Montserrat this concert brings out some of the hardest hitting rockers of the ages.

More than half of the concert lets Elton John, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney strut their highly polished artistry, we also get to enjoy, Phil Collins, Sting, Carl Perkins, Mark Knopfler (Money for Nothing), and Jimmy Buffet. The greatest thing about these concerts is that we get to see and hear some of the greatest masters performing rocks greatest hits …….

While some concert DVD's are lacking on the technical side this disc was perfectly mastered and the producers managed to let the enthusiastic audience add to the show ….. Both sound and video quality are top notch making this one of my favorite DVD's to enjoy both alone and with friends…

Review:

This concert was held to benefit the island of Montserrat after it was largely destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The show is good overall, and the sets by Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton are sublime. All performances are backed by such luminaries and Phil Collins and Phil Palmer and a full orchestra, which has never done better work than they do here on "Brothers in Arms."

The best performance of the show comes from Dire Straits founder Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits recorded the album "Brothers in Arms" in Montserrat, and here he performs the title track more perfectly than the on the original recording. He finishes his set with the help of Sting and good friend Eric Clapton with "Money For Nothing." Clapton returns the favor by having Mark sit in on "Layla" in what may be the definitive version of the song. These two master guitarists alone justify the purchase of this DVD.

I didn't really care for the Elton John or Paul McCartney sets. I don't know why the orchestra sat unused on "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", but it was not for the better. Likewise, McCartney is a great performer, but I have seen way too many singalong versions of "Hey Jude" at this point. McCartney's version of "Kansas City" though is one of the highlights of the show.

Everyone onstage does a competent job, but the performances of Knopfler and Clapton really do steal the show.

Full scans.