VARIOUS ARTISTS
Live Aid Box Set DVD
Rhino/WMG 200
www.rhino.com

Sample it here

What’s the 4-1-1?
Four DVD set that highlights the July 13, 1985 concert that set out to feed the 30 million starving people of Africa. The brain child of Boomtown Rat’s frontman Bob Geldof, Live Aid was held in Philadelphia, PA as well as London, England and raised over 80 million dollars. Over 60 of the most popular musicians from The States and overseas took the stage for this 16 hour event that was broadcast around the World on numerous television and radio stations.

Genre
Most genes represented

The Good
I wanted to start off by telling you that these DVDs run over ten hours, so you better have some spare time on your hand. You won’t be disappointed. What can really be said about the performances? They used the best of the best for this collection. Although there were feedback issues for some artists (Judas Priest, Duran Duran), it doesn’t damper the over all presentation.

All of the superstars of music (from 1985) are here, plus a lot of others we have never heard from again. On all of the discs you get the option of searching by artist, so you can go right to your favorite. Anther cool option is that you can pick to watch just the Wembley Stadium performances or just the JFK Stadium performances (with the exception of disc four).

Disc 1 does an excellent job of setting the stage (no pun intended) for the huge event. Be sure to watch the ‘prequel’ feature. It includes all the events that led up to the Live Aid concert. Various news clips are shown that describes what exactly was happening in Africa. The footage is followed by Band Aid’s video for “Do They Know It’s Christmas” which was created to raise money for Africa. Next up is the Untied States contribution to the cause, the video for “We Are The World” by USA for Africa.

After this, it’s on to the big event that kicks off in England with Prince Charles and Princess Diana in attendance. The disc is headlined by U2 performing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” and “Bad”. You also get performances by Bryan Adams, Elvis Costello, Sting, Phil Collins, Howard Jones, Paul Young, The Boomtown Rats, and many others. Phil Collins also begins his journey from England to Philadelphia to be the only artist to play both continents.

Disc 2 is all about Queen. They steal the show with their high-energy, emotionally-charged performances of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Radio Gaga”, “Hammer to Fall”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “We Will Rock You”, and “We Are the Champions”. Another British favorite, David Bowie, woos the crowd with four songs of his own. Sting returns to collaborate with Dire Straits on “Money For Nothing”.

That’s not the only collaboration though; the disc’s headliner Elton John brings out Kiki Dee for “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and George Michael for “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me Now”. There are also performances by Simple Minds, the Pretenders, The Who, Kenny Loggins, and more. I was surprised to see that Jack Nicholson was the host of the Philadelphia show.

Disc 3 has Phil Collins arriving in the U.S. for a rousing performance of “In The Air Tonight”. Phil shows us that musicians make mistakes too when he hits a bad note and reacts to it. This disc is headlined by Patti Labelle, but has much bigger artist on it as well. Madonna chimes in with a few hits, and so does Eric Clapton. Freddy Mercury and Brian May return for “Is This the World We Created?”

The Wembley show signs off with all of the artists that played that day getting together for a choppy version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The metal-heads are represented by Judas Priest and Black Sabbath featuring Ozzy Osbourne. Performances by Neil Young, The Cars, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash are also highlighted.

Disc 4 raps up the performances in the U.S. with soulful performances by Hall & Oates. The group brings out some rhythm and blues legends to help bolster their set. Mick Jagger takes the stage for two solo songs and a duet with Tina Turner. The other members of the Rolling Stones team up with Bob Dylan on “Blowing in the Wind”. The Philly show end with another choppy finale of “We Are the World”. It’s kind of funny watching people fight for time on the three microphones.

This disc also houses the bonus features. You get two performances of INXS from Australia which was hosting OS for Africa. A broadcast of B.B. King from a Jazz Festival is included as well. Various overseas artists gather for a charity relief song about Africa, which is thoughtful, but when translated seems a little mean. Run DMC and Ashford & Simpson’s performances are here too. The oddest inclusion by far is the video for “Dancing in the Streets” by Mick Jagger and David Bowie. Why?

The Bad
There’s six hours of footage that wasn’t included.

The Verdict
An unbelievable, ground-breaking event for a good cause. Even the sales of the DVD go toward the effort in Africa. An event that will never be duplicated.

Did You Know?
Rhino Home Entertainment has recently released a single DVD version that features highlights of the event.

Rating: out of 5

--George Dionne