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The power of popular music has been harnessed numerous times on behalf of various causes. But few of those efforts have been as powerful as 46664, an extraordinary program that is at once both entertaining and edifying, both sobering and uplifting. Named after the number worn during his 18-year imprisonment by Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and the inspiration for this global initiative, 46664 was created to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. The main event, organized by Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, was a November 2003 concert in Cape Town, and it's quite a show, preserved here by more than four hours of performance footage spread out over two discs. An impressive international cast is on hand, including several veterans of rock charity events (Bob Geldof, Peter Gabriel, U2's Bono and the Edge). But there's a lot of younger blood here as well (Beyonce, the Corrs, Anastacia, DJ Paul Oakenfold), as well as Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), Italian star Zucchero, reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff, and, appropriately, many African performers, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Youssou N'Dour. Some fine music and very cool collaborations result (Queen, Zucchero and Sharon Corr? Sounds weird, but it works). Most important, the reason for all of this is never overlooked, as both live performers and various taped celebrities deliver messages about the HIV/AIDS crisis (26 million people are afflicted in sub-Saharan Africa alone) designed to inform, encourage, and admonish. Most of the two-plus hours of special features are pretty standard: a "making of" documentary, interviews, photos, etc. But "A Minute of Art," a collection of 12 brief (about a minute each) films by a host of international visual artists, is quite wonderful, as is "Spirit of Africa," a beautifully shot film that movingly personalizes the AIDS catastrophe on that continent. --Sam Graham
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