Recording
With little time to begin rehearsing for the New York shows, the "Bangla Desh" single was rush-recorded in Los Angeles. Sources differ over the venue and date: the Record Plant West seems the most likely studio, with sessions taking place on 4−5 July and horn overdubs perhaps on 10 July. Phil Spector again co-produced, but as with the recording details for the sessions, the exact line-up of musicians is a matter of conjecture. According to Simon Leng, who consulted Klaus Voormann and Jim Horn for his book While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the line-up comprised Harrison, Leon Russell (piano), Horn (saxophones), Voormann (bass), Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner (both on drums) and Billy Preston (organ). Preston's involvement seems unlikely, however, given his distinctive playing style and the fact that an organ-like keyboard appears only during the alap-style introduction; Horn's recollection is that only Harrison, Russell, Voormann and Keltner were present. The extra keyboards during this introduction could well be harmonium, joined later by Moog synthesizer − both favoured instruments of Harrison's around this time. Leng and Beatles author Bruce Spizer credit a "horn section" led by Jim Horn, which could include regular partner Chuck Findley and even the rest of the six-piece section, christened "The Hollywood Horns", that would go on to perform in New York on 1 August.
The recording begins with Harrison's emotive introduction backed by a "rolling piano figure" from Russell. Following the words "help us save some lives", the piano sets up the song's "driving groove" as the rhythm section and Harrison's electric guitar join in, creating the same blend of "gospel-flavored rock" that Harrison had adopted on much of All Things Must Pass the previous year. The track retains an "urgent 'live' mood", Leng notes, yet it's possible that Starr's contribution was overdubbed after the main session, due to his filming schedule for the Western Blindman, in Spain. The song features solos traded between Russell, Horn (on tenor sax) and Harrison (slide guitar), and fades out with the ensemble " into rushing feverishness" by playing in double time, incorporating the "fast gat" (or drut) used in Hindustani classical music.
"Bangla Desh" marked the first occasion that Harrison worked with Horn, who would go on to become a regular collaborator ("Living in the Material World", "You", "Got My Mind Set on You" and the Traveling Wilburys' "Wilbury Twist" being later examples of their work together). Already a veteran of the LA music scene by 1971, Horn recalls his "jaded" mindset before meeting Harrison, but describes the session as a "real turning point" in his career, "because we were doing something for a cause". It was also the first time that Keltner played on a George Harrison session, the two musicians having met while guesting on John Lennon's Imagine album; the "Bangla Desh" session was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, the two remaining "as brothers", Keltner would tell Peter Lavezzoli, until Harrison's death in 2001. Together with Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Bob Dylan and the group Badfinger, all these musicians joined Harrison and Shankar on stage at Madison Square Garden.
Ravi Shankar cut a benefit disc of his own at this time, the Harrison-produced Joi Bangla EP. The A-side featured two vocal compositions − the title track and "Oh Bhaugowan" − while on the reverse was a six-minute recital of "Raga Mishra Jhinjoti", featuring Shankar, sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and Shankar's regular tabla player, Alla Rakha.
Read more about this topic: Bangla Desh (song)
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