GET UP! STAND UP!

Various (Eagle/Shock)

Amnesty International staged a series of awareness raising events around the globe between 1986 and 1998 that were known as the Human Rights Concerts. This DVD brings together highlights from four events A Conspiracy Of Hope (New Jersey 1986), Human Rights Now! (Argentina 1988), An Embrace Of Hope (Chile 1990) and The Struggle Continues (Paris 1990).

The tapes look like they’ve been transferred from a source a slight notch above VHS. The performance, thirty songs in all, are largely full of grand gestures built for stadiums (i.e. Bono with lots of flaying hair, Sting with his shirt off). From an historical point of view, it’s a worthy investment. The bulk of this material isn’t widely available and it’s worth checking out to see many of these artists as they were, back in the day, when they ruled the airwaves.

Artists to feature include U2, The Police, Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band, Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Tracy Chapman, Lou Reed, Bryan Adams and many more. A fascinating document and a worthy cause, it’s well worth a look, but it’s a essentially a ‘highlights’ package of 6 DVD set which is also out there. You’ll also find that this DVD comes as a CD in some quarters.

[rating: 3/5]

Mitchell Peters