The Universal Thump, named after an obscure line from the allegorical Melville masterpiece Moby Dick, is a collaboration of over 20 performers, songwriters and composers all from their own individual bands, who, under the leadership of musicians Greta Getler and Adam Gold, first started working six months ago to cover the classic George Harrison solo album, "All Things Must Pass" in its entirety. ATMP remains as true to a Harrison masterpiece today as it was when first released in 1970 as his first post-Beatles release. The Nov. 29th show at the Bell House marked nine years to the day since Harrison died, and the performance was both a tribute to his music, his spirit and the fund that bears his name at UNICEF.
So, what did that look like? First, nothing but a stage full of wires, amps, mic stands and more. Then, a stage full of people - as many as 20 at one time, and no fewer than five or six at any given point - playing before rear-projected Harrison black and whites to an intimate crowd. The album was done cover-to-cover, beginning with the bang-up hits "I'd Have You Anytime," "My Sweet Lord," "Wah-Wah," and "Isn't it a Pity," in arrangements complete with a string and horn section, two drummers, several keyboard and guitar players, upright and electric basses and, of course, the pedal steel guitar. Arrangements of many of the complicated tunes were done with such dexterity that you'd wonder if these guys had been practicing for a lifetime, and, in a way, they probably have been. The program given out before the show - which was an impressive directory of talent - sums it up best:
In a year when band after aging band filed into America's Halls and Plazas of music to perform their "classic" albums in their entirety, to remind us all of a time when their albums were important, or when albums were important, it seemed a natural [idea]. "Why don't we pay tribute to a true classic? An album we all love?" And then, what would this band even look like on stage?... Most everyone seemed thrilled by the idea... Nine years to the day of George's death, and just days after the 40th anniversary of the three discs' original release. This was to be a tribute indeed, and an ambitious one.What was the show like? It was like being at the tribute concert of your life, but, somehow, only a couple hundred people were were there alongside you. One performer after another came out, joining and re-joining those on stage, performing each piece with creativity and, more than anything else, reverence for the songs, their complexity, their underlying spirituality, their writer, and their legacy. John Wesley Harding stole the show with "Wah-Wah," but Carol Lipnik's "My Sweet Lord" was the be-all-end-all performance. Perfection. If you saw it live, you'd beg for a recording or video.
Performers included:
Corrina AlbrightAmy Allison
Oren Bloedow
Zach Brock
Amy Correia
Therese Cox
Robert DiPietro
Lee Feldman
Pete Galub
Greta Gertler
Adam Gold
John Wesley Harding
J. Walter Hawkes
Art Hayes
Missy Higgins
Byron Isaacs
Courtney Kaiser
Dayna Kurtz
Gary Langol
Carol Lipnik
Jonathan Maron
Barney McAll
Rick Moody
Chris Moore
David Nagler
Rozz Nash
Clinton Newman
Phil Rodriguez
Sean Sonderegger
Leigh Sutart
PT Walkley
Shara Worden
Lines in the Street
On Your Fork
