The Concert For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Performer: Various Artists
Producer: Don DeVito
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Proceeds from THE CONCERT FOR THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME will benefit the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Museum. Recorded live at the Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio on September 2, 1995. Includes liner notes by David Wild. Booker T & The MG's' "Green Onions" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Al Green's "A Change Is Gonna Come" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. This two-disc set recapitulates the highlights of the seven-hour concert celebrating the 1996 opening of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Included are live performances from the Allman Brothers Band, James Brown, Johnny Cash, George Clinton, Melissa Etheridge, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Iggy Pop, Soul Asylum, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, the Pretenders, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan. ~ Jason Ankeny After a full decade of lying in limbo, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened its doors in the fall of 1995. To celebrate the event, a mammoth concert was staged at the Hall of Fame, featuring a head-spinning array of rock stars and musicians. Everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis and Al Green to Soul Asylum and Bruce Springsteen were there, as was everyone in between (Bob Dylan, Booker T. & the MG's, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, John Mellencamp, the Pretenders, Lou Reed, Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, the Allman Brothers, and Natalie Merchant, just for starters). Of course, any event of this size means one thing -- the actual result will be a big, big disappointment. And, in that respect, The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn't disappoint at all -- this double-disc set of highlights from the long concert is a crushing bore. Sure, there are a few fairly exciting moments -- particularly when Fogerty sings with the MG's, or when Al Green sings -- but most of the matchups simply don't catch fire. Notice how tame Iggy Pop and Soul Asylum sound together, how mannered Jackson Browne sounds, or how the promising team-up between Springsteen, the E Street Band, and Jerry Lee Lewis turns into something profoundly anticlimactic. Since nothing of this concert's size -- or nothing with this much hype -- can live up to expectations, it's not surprising that The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a dull listen, but the fact that the disc is crushingly boring is quite a letdown. For all the talent involved, it's nearly depressing that the album is this lifeless. Perhaps if the artists were captured in a different setting, the album would have been much more interesting. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine On Labor Day weekend of 1995, a gaggle of Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers joined with a group of younger artists to inaugurate the Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland. With Booker T and the MG's as the house band and a roster of some of the greatest performers in rock and roll history, it was an event that will be remembered forever, especially with the help of this 2-disc chronicle of the concert. Not surprisingly, the old timers make the biggest impact, with Jerry Lee Lewis exerting his rocking authority on "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," and Sam Moore of Sam & Dave dishing out some deep soul on "Hold On I'm Coming." Other highlights include Al Green's spine-tingling rendition of the Sam Cooke classic "A Change Is Gonna Come," and the understated cool of Booker T & the MG's as they step into the spotlight for a lowdown "Green Onions." As this 28-song document proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, rock and roll is here to stay.

Rolling Stone (9/5/96, p.62) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...a splendid souvenir....captures both the majesty and sweat of essential rock & roll at its tumultuous finest. There's a surprise or two, of course, but for the most part, the predictably great acts...are as spectacular as you'd hope they'd be..." Q (2/97, p.103) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Beyond the all-star games of generational tag, Bob Dylan delivers a creditably enunciated `All Along The Watchtower,' Al Green reveals himself to be a Time Lord...and John Fogerty makes brilliantly ferocious use of the evening's house band, Booker T. and his augmented MG's..."

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