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Paris
Concert for Amnesty International (1998) |
One of rock's nobler dividends has been a legacy of ambitious
fund-raising concerts that carry on the social consciousness
that first entered the music in the '60s as a byproduct of that
decade's urban folk music. Even after much of the music retreated
to safer, less partisan themes, the right crusade has been able
to mobilize artists to raise funds and awareness, and Amnesty
International has proven among the most reliable of these missions:
from The Secret Policeman's Ball shows produced in England,
to more recent tour packages helmed by '80s superstars such
as Peter Gabriel and U2, the human rights organization has inspired
bold concerts.
This production, mounted December 10, 1998, commemorates the
50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
a milestone underscored with between-songs informational segments
that succinctly promote the beneficiary's themes of tolerance
and social responsibility. Filmed and live cameos mix celebrities
with sage comments from the Dalai Lama (whose impish "thumbs
up" to the crowd elevates the entire affair) and UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan. An underlying fervor also sparks much of
the music, particularly from Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour,
Tracy Chapman, and a solo Bruce Springsteen, whose songs all
allude to the human rights agenda. Alanis Morissette's brief
set likewise takes on a spiritual glow consistent with both
her second solo album and the context at hand, while jubilant
sets from Kassav and the Asian Dub Foundation serve as potent
multicultural celebrations.
The show isn't without its rough spots: an opening rendition
of Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" by Chapman, Gabriel, N'Dour,
and Springsteen is more awkward than transcendent (especially
in Springsteen's wooden delivery), and Gabriel's subsequent
duet with N'Dour starts out shakily. Two Led Zeppelin classics
from Jimmy Page and Robert Plant incite Zep fans but seem nearly
irrelevant here, as does Shania Twain's slick but shallow stint.
But Radiohead's three-song set restores the two-hour concert's
generally thoughtful and thought-provoking substance.
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