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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Image Entertainment
Salesrank: 105954
Released: October 17, 2000 |
| Our Price: $19.95 |
| Used Price: $17.95 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In 1998, a host of internationally acclaimed artists performed a landmark concert celebrating Amnesty International and the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Songs: Get Up Stand Up (Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, Youssou N'Dour), Baba, Hand in My Pocket, Thank U (Alanis Morissette), Medley, Se Dam Bon Jou (Kassav), Black White, Buzzin', Free Satpal Ram (Asian Dub Foundation), Signal to Noise, In Your Eyes (Gabriel, N'Dour), New Beginnings, Fast Car, Baby Can I Hold You (Chapman), No Surrender, Born in the USA, Working on the Highway (Springsteen), When the World Was Young, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Gallows Pole, Rock & Roll (Jimmy Page & Robert Plant), You're Still the One, Black Eyes Blue Tears (Shania Twain), Karma Police, Bones, Paranoid Android (Radiohead), Shaking the Tree (N'Dour, Gabriel), 7 Seconds (N'Dour, Gabriel, Chapman, Jocelyn Beroard).
Description of The Paris Concert for Amnesty International - DTS:
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. --Sam Sutherland
The Paris Concert for Amnesty International - DTS Reviews:
terrible sound quality 
2009-06-20 - I bought this DVD must because of Tracy Chapman (who seems like never will record a live concert DVD). The sound is just terrible. Tracy Chapman's bass player is louder than everything, you can't hear her voice.
the other bands are a little better but the DVD is not worth - don't spend your money on this, I fully regret
My mistake! 
2009-05-08 - I don't particularly enjoy this production, but for reasons that are entirely my own fault. I saw the first Amnesty International concert in Zimbabwe, whenever it was - I think the late 80s or early 90s. It was hosted in Zimbabwe but aimed at a South African audience - but for political reasons (it was still the apartheid days) couldn't play in South Africa - in fact, South Africa was no doubt one of the targets of the Amnesty concert.
For those like myself who attended, one of the most infamous aspects of the concert was the eight hours it took standing in the broiling heat to get through the Zimbabwe border post. However, it was worth it: it was one of the most fantastic concerts I've ever been to - I'd never expected to see Bruce Springsteen live. I thought Sting and to a lesser degree Peter Gabriel were excellent, but they were totally blown away by Springsteen.
And this is what I thought I was buying. I never knew there was a second tour, and the price label blocked the concert date on the packaging. I couldn't remember many of the other artists, so didn't realise it was a different concert, and where I did see artists that I knew I hadn't seen - like Plant/Page - I thought maybe they'd attended Paris but not Zimbabwe. However, I fully realised my error when Springsteen came on and played his down-tone boring renditions compared to the feverish display he'd given in Zim.
It may be a great cause, but I've never brought myself to watch the whole show through, as most of the artists don't resonate with me, and the ones that do - well, I have far better concert performances by them to watch instead.
How many editions released?? 
2004-06-15 - I have read the other reviews and have been confused as to the discrepancy in quality of the DVD. From what I can gather, there have been multiple releases of this same concert on DVD so I'm wondering if everyone is watching the same edition. I believe I have come across a 1999, 2000, and 2003 editions which could explain such extreme opposite reviews. Can anyone verify or refute my findings? I'm hoping the later editions have the superior sound/video quality. Hoping this helps.
LESS THAN COMPELLING, BUT FOR THE DALAI LAMA 
2003-09-23 - This concert is basically a Peter Gabriel showcase that unfortunately casts Gabriel and a number of high profile "stars" in a less than flaterring light. It has all the overproduced lustre of an awards show, including noxious blabbering by some official from Amnesty, a few Gabriel influenced animations and a sense that this had the element of social contract obligation to it.
But it has its moments: Tracy Chapman is terrific and delivers the goods, as does Kassiv, a Latin group that is on fire from the start. However, Springsteen is in Tom Joad laconic low gear and while he presents well worn songs in a different light, he just never connects. This seems to be about him asserting his good intentions and rightful conscience. Youssou N'Dour gives it his best, but when Gabriel joins him, it is poorly choreographed, a bit too cliched, and in general deflating to the energy N'Dour seemed to be msutering. His "7 Seconds" at the end of the concert lays an egg, for a lot longer than 7 seconds. Mic problems abound and syncing the lips and the music never quite match up.
Gabriel is a disappointment throughout. Apart from previewing his song from UP, he just never seems to be that into the performance, and having been absent a good while by this time, it is a bit jarring to see how he seems to have let himself slip into beer-belly middle age. He reminds me of a computer consultant wondering where the cheapest pizza is. Kofi Annan makes his appearance, coincidentally not long after having visited Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. I have always found Annan a bit of a joke, and while I am sure he harbours righteous thoughts, his disconnect with reality has always struck me as subverting what he should be standing for.
In fact, the only real dynamic appearance on this tape comes from His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and he is absolutely un-self-absorbed, which in comparison to a number of other performances, stands out all the more clearly. He has a simple and direct message that connects with peole who have no real interest in anything other than the music. What I found humourous though is that, although in Paris, he addresses the crowd in English, as does the British woman who seems to fawn all over every celebrity.
All in all, it's entertaining, a bit of an infomercial, but Chapman and His Holiness give it a little something extra that basically redeem the effort.
Great Bruce, Gabriel/Youssou, Chapman, Radiohead, and Zep
2003-09-22 - The sound is quite good overall, camera work likewise. Well worth getting if you're a fan of one or more of the main acts.
Bruce plays alone, and does a great bottleneck guitar blues version of "Born."
OK, so Zep isn't a charter member of the PC rock club, but they showed up and really burned. Caveats: "Babe IGLY" was a bit bombastic, and Plant looked and sometimes sounded too old to be doing the Zep material. Given that their "Welcome to Clarksdale" album generally sucks, the first P&P tune, from that album, was damned good, with a blistering yet cerebral solo from Page.
