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The Essential Van Morrison

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What does it sound like?:

Background and listening context: I really didn’t know where to start, and I was somewhat daunted. On the back of the several impressive and enlightening threads about Van recently I have been investigating his work more, with the encouragement of several AW-ers (thanks.) I only really know ‘Astral Weeks’ and ‘Moondance’ and a smattering of other well-known tracks.

In my head, I distinguish between the more jaunty and Northern Soul-ish tracks (‘Jackie Wilson Said’, ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, ‘Moondance’, ‘Spanish Rose’) and the more spiritual songs of ‘Astral Weeks’ which is probably a false distinction. Van seems to have three phases. The discs are not strictly chronological (and each disc ends with live tracks), but the album broadly splits into: work with Them; earlier work beginning with ‘Spanish Rose’ up until ‘Fair Play’ in 1974 plus some live tracks; then Disc 2 starts with ‘Bright Side of the Road’ (1979) ending with ‘Playhouse’ (2006) and a live version of ‘Sweet Thing’ (2009).
Disjointed and random observations:

It struck me as I listened to one of my favourites (‘And it Stoned Me’) that the presence of water and water imagery throughout is very strong: rain, immersion, sea, rebirth.
I loved the emotion in ‘Tupelo Honey’: such yearning and so touching. It had me singing out loud down a sunny street. It was good to be reminded of the original of ‘Jackie Wilson Said. But how similar the Dexy’s version is – they didn’t really make it their own, did they? ‘The Way Young Lovers Do’: shuffles nicely- it’s pacey, tight, and tense.

‘Crazy Love’: he has such a great soul voice, it could be Smokey. He’s absolutely a soul/blues singer: in my head he was a folk singer, but this is obviously wrong: his voice is much more robust than folk which sounds like a criticism of folk, but isn’t. Given the number of references in the lyrics, the influence of soul/R&B is blatant and again my preconceptions are due to lack of familiarity.

Them: ‘Gloria’: I marginally prefer Patti Smith’s version but I like the restraint of the original. It builds with great anticipation. The opening chords are still thrilling, however many times you hear them.
‘Astral Weeks’ is a little underrepresented but I can see why. For me, it’s impossible to take individual tracks out of context (maybe apart from ‘Sweet Thing’, as it’s been covered so much) and as a consequence the title track to ‘Astral Weeks’ does feel a bit odd placed on here.

There are a couple of real clunkers for me. ‘Bright Side of the Road’ I have never liked- a bit ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ and some anodyne backing vocals. And of course there is the horror with Cliff which we should all just gloss over.

‘Fair Play’ is lovely and has a rather languid quality. It’s almost a Joni Mitchell song lyrically as well in terms of pace and musicality. ‘Into the Mystic’: as has been mentioned on previous threads, this really is a magnificent and moving track about a spiritual quest, and water is again symbolised as a means of transformation.

The live tracks sound amazingly clear, for want of a better word. There is a great version of ‘Caravan’ the backing singers merge beautifully and are not as intrusive as they can be on other tracks. ‘Cleaning Windows’ reminded me of what a powerful voice Van has/had, and how unlike anyone else he sings. The mid-period songs show real development in his voice since Them, where the cod-American accent was a bit grating (I don’t think it was his native Norn Iron but I may be wrong). He has a very flexible and multi-dimensional voice: rawer with Them, bluesy on ‘Warm Love’ and more languorous on ‘Fair Play’.

Another note on the production: have these tracks been remastered? The production is beautiful and so clear, with sparkling piano and strings. The brass really shines.

So, it’s an album of two halves for me. The religious references are more on point and explicit on Disc 2 and it’s less subtle lyrically (and musically less complex and interesting, too?)
I struggled a bit with Disc 2 and lost concentration at various points, during ‘Rough God Goes Riding’ especially. I’m sure the songs are more interesting than I’m giving him credit for but I don’t feel inclined to investigate further. The syrupy strings were too much for me, although ‘Real Gone’ is a high spot. The earlier work with Them has a much more garage feel; much more visceral and therefore more appealing than most things on Disc 2 and I will follow up on this earlier material.

In summary: it’s an excellent and largely comprehensive introduction for someone who doesn’t know Van at all, or a beginner like me.

What does it all *mean*?

The cyclical nature if life. Birth, death, rebirth. The symbolism of water: sea and rain as transmuting forces. It’s healing and soothing music, but also energising and hopeful. Credit goes to the other blogger who observed that Van makes you feel a connection to another world, and that there is something bigger than yourself.

Goes well with…

The cyclical nature if life. Birth, death, rebirth. The symbolism of water: sea and rain as transmuting forces. It’s healing and soothing music, but also energising and hopeful. Credit goes to the other blogger who observed that Van makes you feel a connection to another world, and that there is something bigger than yourself.

Release Date:

Might suit people who like…

Soul and R&B of any kind. ‘Spiritual’ things. God. Neil Young. Paul Simon. Leonard Cohen. Nick Drake. Joni.

6

Comments

  1. Won’t let me edit and I’m having problems posting, so:
    Goes well with…

    Christmas – buy it as a stocking-filler for everyone you know with half an ear for music. They will thank you. Evenings- it felt odd listening during the day- I always associate Van with stoned evenings but that’s due to my past listening habits. It was accompanied by lots of tea in this case, lying on the sofa, but an alcoholic beverage of choice should work very well.
    It’s also fitting if you are having a bit of a time, in search of something more, or different, or the hope that there is more than just this.

  2. Great review Ruby – I just got a copy of this CD myself. Yes, there are a few clunkers here and there, especially on disc 2 (I’m looking at you, ‘Why Must I Always Explain’ – Van at his most charmless, I’ve always felt) but overall I think it’s a fair overview of his music, and one that should lead a lot of people to dig further. Once Sony Legacy get round to reissuing his back catalog so its available at reasonable prices once more, that is. I’ve already earmarked a few of his albums to buy once they come out (Hard Nose, Veedon, His Band, Wavelength, Period, Sense Of Wonder in case anybody is interested).
    The version of Caravan you refer to is from The Last Waltz, by the way, masterfully backed up by The Band. Here it is in all its transcendent glory (and look at his sequinned shirt!):

    PS – you’re wrong about ‘Bright Side Of The Road’ by the way…

  4. Now that’s what Bargepole calls a comprehensive review! Great reading, but agree that nothing from Inarticulate is a major minus point, esspecially given some of the songs that did make the cut.

  6. On the advice of one of the posters on another thread, I’ve been listening to Van’s 1987 Glastonbury set and oh my, it’s fantastic.

    Though his 80s albums are undoubtedly more mellow, they introduce an almost transcendental, meditative vibe. The Glastobury set is a fascinating mid-point between the testifying soul Van and the purveyor of grumpy R&B treading the boards today.

    You get two of his very best songs, In The Garden and The Healing Has Begun, and as ever, Van surrounds himself with some super-tight musicians.

    I guess that, after creating a 100-song proper best-of Van, investigating the live sets is the next way to go.

  7. Great review Ruby. Not having the disk, was Natalia on it? His pop rock stuff is fab on that album. Good analysis of his different moods and themes. I doubt “Snow in San Anselmo” was on it but check it out if not…Van in excelsis.

  8. For anyone interested here’s the track listing:

    Disc: 1
    1. Gloria (w. Them)
    2. Here Comes The Night (w. Them)
    3. Spanish Rose
    4. Brown Eyed Girl
    5. Astral Weeks
    6. The Way Young Lovers Do
    7. Moondance
    8. Crazy Love
    9. And It Stoned Me
    10. Into The Mystic
    11. Domino
    12. Wild Night
    13. Tupelo Honey
    14. Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)
    15. Warm Love
    16. Fair Play
    17. Caravan
    18. Hungry For Your Love
    19. Cleaning Windows (Live)
    Disc: 2
    1. Bright Side Of The Road
    2. And The Healing Has Begun
    3. Tore Down A La Rimbaud
    4. Someone Like You
    5. Irish Heartbeat (w. The Chieftains)
    6. Whenever God Shines His Light (w. Cliff Richard)
    7. Have I Told You Lately
    8. Real Real Gone
    9. Enlightenment
    10. Why Must I Always Explain?
    11. Days Like This
    12. That s Life
    13. Rough God Goes Riding
    14. Precious Time
    15. Once In A Blue Moon
    16. Magic Time
    17. Playhouse
    18. Sweet Thing (Live)

  9. Stiff Pilchard track but no Richard Cory or It’s All Over Now Baby Blue – bullshine

    Actually was talking to that fellow Pencilsqueezer earlier and remarked that my knowledge of Van is restricted to Them (ace) best of (similar) and not getting on with Astral Weeks (self indulgent wibble \ Jazz Club)

    Oh and that contractual obligation album where he makes up several songs with exactly the same tune

    Maybe the upcoming reissues will be my roadmap to picking my way around the corpses

  10. Probably a controversial view but he does a much better version of Gloria on Too Long in Exile. Great review but doubt I will buy this album – waiting for the reissues to come out physically.

  11. Thanks all- having technical problems so posting off-site but I’ll respond more when back up to speed. 🙂

    I’ll be tacking one of the reissues soon. I now haveoads of Van to be getting on with so I have a Van project for the autumn. Then on to Dylan, although not in as impressive way as @minibreakfast

  12. After the gig I reviewed earlier in August (talk about water imagery…Van the Rain Man?) and the recommendations I got in the comments I decided to buy a Van album or two to see if it could be for me, and due to a lack of much choice I ended up with Astral Weeks.
    I must say I’m with DogFacedBoy on this one…rambling never-ending tracks that all sound more or less the same and just go on and on. His excellent singing voice doesn’t get to do much, it’s a style of songs that feels more like talking over music than singing, especially after hearing a few tracks and everything starts to blend together. Dull, and slightly annoying as well (IMO).
    I obviously bought the wrong album…

    • “…rambling never-ending tracks that all sound more or less the same and just go on and on? Dull, and slightly annoying as well…”

      Did someone call? 🙂

        • Funnily enough, I’ve never consciously heard Astral Weeks, though I daresay I’ve heard most of it playing here or there in the background or on the radio over the years.

          Like Ruby, though, I do like ‘And It Stoned Me’. Can’t remember what album it’s from. Masybe I – yes, even I – will investigate one or two of those early 70s albums when the reissues appear.

            • Speaking of which, I don’t know if you’ve seen this before @colin-h but the liner notes for the original album release (written by Janet Planet!) are a delight to read. Can you guess who she is writing about?

              “Once upon a time, there lived a very young man who was, as they say, gifted. His gifts were diverse, and as he gave of them to others (for gifts are for giving) he found that they were most readily accepted and much desired. He began to regard his gifts rather tangibly after a short while, and soon the courtesans of a nearby palace were teaching him how to measure and label them, and how to mathematically compute their value.

              After a short time it occurred to the young man that instead of giving his gifts, he might sell them. This idea better fit in with the new way in which he regarded himself. Soon his gifts were offered for sale all over the land.

              Regularly, men would come to him or send for him, exchanging bags of silver coins that they had collected in order to obtain the young man’s gifts. Now and then a tattered man would appear, begging to be able to obtain the young man’s gifts for no silver at all, but the young man now only scorned these men, and sent them away with nothing but the memory of his bitter smile. Bitter it had become, for lately his sleep was being regularly disturbed by a terrible nightmare, so clear and real that he had become obsessed by it. It involved thieves coming in the night to rob his storehouses of all his silver and gold, leaving him with nothing. Nightly he would awaken, screaming with rage, “How dare they!!… To rob me of what is mine!!…Rightfully mine!!…Payment for my gifts!!” And so the young man set sixteen vested soldiers to guard his storehouse…horrible and cruel they looked with huge loaded guns that surely would have frightened away the devil himself. So frightening were the young man’s soldiers that all of the townspeople never ventured near his home, often taking long detours to avoid passing, in order that they might not be mistaken for robbers and chased by the sixteen grotesque soldiers.

              And in the town itself there came a new polite attentiveness to the young man whenever he went to the shops for fresh bread and milk. It was not the feeling of the many similar mornings of the past, when people called greetings to him glowing from the joy of receiving his gifts, eyes glittering with love, the young girls blushing and running away, soft laughing mouths singing in his praise – all this was now over-shadowed with fear – the people feared his soldiers. They seemed, to the townspeople, to be the materialization of the very opposite of all the various feelings they had felt for the young man, “their” young man, whom they so loved, and just as the loving parents of a young one who deceives himself but refuses their anxious concern are agonized, so were the people of the town agonized that the young man had seemingly forgotten their never-faltering love, and thus…the deepest source of his gifts.

              Clouds began to cluster over the town until the sun and sky could not be seen. They hung motionless for days, letting in neither sun nor moonshine, yet it did not rain and the wind would not come to move them. The grayness of the days made everything look solemn, or in the case of the sixteen soldiers’ visages, more horrifying than ever.

              Soon the young man found that his lover had become ill, and lay in her bed unable to speak or smile or eat or sleep. The young man went to her in great concern, for she had adopted the still pallor of the skies. He offered medications and curatives to her, but to no avail. She remained almost motionless in her bed. On the seventh day of her illness the young man realized that the one thing that he had not tried was the one most obvious cure. His gifts! Surely they had cured everyone in the land of one thing or another.

              He went to his lover in her chamber and commanded that no one disturb their communion for the afternoon. The servants were used to this order, although had they suspected that he intended to give his ailing beloved of his gifts, they most surely would have listened in at the keyhole.

              The young man gave to her every facet, every subtlety and strength of his great gifts on that afternoon, and they seemed (in his own judgment) never to have been more radiant.

              After the presentation, the beloved sighed deeply, got up out of her bed and walked, unsmiling, out of the chamber into an adjoining room.

              The young man was knocked senseless with shock. She, still gray and unsmiling, had LEFT him in the face of the greatest of his gifts! Suddenly a ghastly unreal wave of uncertainty and fear overcame him. If he had not moved his beloved, if she had not been eased or even CHEERED by his most brilliant efforts, then had his gifts LEFT him? Was he mad? Or was it she? Was she trying to torture him…was her sickness all a sham to lure him into buying her some new bauble she fancied?

              The young man writhed in the agonies of his misgivings, his fears, his anger. As if driven by demons tearing at his flesh, he stormed into the room where his lover stood looking out the window. Choked with emotion, he demanded an explanation for her cold, impersonal, seemingly unfeeling demeanor.

              She seemed so calm, he thought, and new misgivings began to blend into his now thorough confusion. Also, he noticed, it was not really she who was gray, but simply the grayness of the day reflected on her face. This made him wonder anew if she had ever really been ill at all. His apprehension increased with each heartbeat, for his love for her never seemed so desperately important, nor her approval so necessary for his mind to be once again at peace. His very life seemed to depend upon the words that were forming on her lips.

              He felt suddenly exhausted, weakened, chilled, burning. His doubts and passions, raging unchecked, had disfigured and banished the once gleaming image that he had come to regard as himself, and now he felt only an overwhelming, light-headed emptiness, vague yet dizzying. He sank wholly into listening to her then, and this is what she said: “I have watched you learning an alien tongue, and I have listened to you measure the qualities of the rose and of other men, and of yourself. In the sighs of our love making I have heard the analization of our gifts to each other, and because you had forsaken the act of giving, you cannot respect or desire me knowing that I am foolish enough to still believe in giving after you have told me that it is imprudent.

              “I was sick at heart because of this, my beloved, and the clouds have come to the town because I am not alone in my sickness. For all people of your village feel just as I have – they cannot really understand why you ask them to buy gifts that were lovingly given to them not so long ago, and that the silver that they have paid you is guarded from only them by your grotesque soldiers. Yes, we have all felt the same sickness, my beloved, and the sky could not defy us, for we have keen sincere in our grief.

              “And, YES, my beloved, you have cured my sickness by giving.”

              The young man was jolted afresh by the simultaneousness of his lover’s smile and the sunlight breaking through the clouds.

              “But you did not react to my gifts, you did not show delight or even approval,” the young man protested.

              “It is not my nature to regard your gifts the same way I would a bouquet of roses, for the roses are a gift from your reasoning mind, and I in turn can exclaim in delight about their perfectness and aroma, where the other is a gift from your soul and beyond – your essence, the pure flow of your Spirit – which, because my love for you is so great, I can neither accept nor reject, enjoy nor disapprove of. Your gifts reach so deeply into the silences of my heart that a word, an expression, a smile, a tear…none of these things could ever begin to describe their effect upon me; they would only seek to categorize what is not a wave but the sea itself.

              “What can I say, what expression can my face adopt that can ever truly express how your beauty touches me? It is my unbearable burden that I may never be able to tell you of the stirring you have caused in my soul, of the feeling of movement there after centuries of stillness. But above all else I shall never allow myself to limit the expression of my love by names or superficial praise. I could never praise you, but I could contemplate you as a hymn of all-creation for all-Eternity. Do you see now, my love, that you have given your gifts to me and I am well. But what of the people in the town who still suffer? And what of the longings in your own heart? I am really a very small part of you, and need little protection, for I dwell in the armor of love, which knows no dangers of death or poverty or disfigurement.

              “But you have a harder path to tread than I, my love. Who will quiet the aching in YOUR heart, the ache which you have quieted in mine? Who possesses the gift to free YOUR soul, just as you are in the possession of the gifts that free the people of your village? Who can help you, beloved, and what will be the nature of his gifts? And what will be the price that HE will ask of YOU?”

              The young man remained quiet for a very long while. His hands and breath were quiet, his eyes lowered in deep contemplation. Then, as the sun began to set, he and his beloved went out into the garden to await the coming of the moon.”

    • I’ve said it here before, I’ll say it again – St Dominic’s Preview is the answer to your problem. The album where he most successfully blends the soul funk singer and the introspective mystic sides of his music.

    • Well, I’d say it’s one of the four absolute highlights of the Last Waltz, the other three being:

      – Muddy Waters doing “Mannish Boy”
      – The Band and the Staples Singers doing “The Weight”
      – Rick Danko singing an impassioned “It Makes No Difference” (this is my absolute favourite)

      • Oh – I’ve just thought of a fifth highlight of “The Last Waltz”:

        – Eric Clapton’s guitar becoming accidently decoupled from its strap just as the “Layla” hitmaker is about to sing the first line of “Further On Up the Road”. Robbie Robertson has to step into the breach with an impromptu solo, to give Clapton the time to strap his guitar back on again. Oh! how we chuckled.

    • Because I think the Nights In section is really for new releases and reissues rather than any old back catalogue. Also, although linking to personal blogs is fine, indeed encouraged, I think that flooding the site with content would be seen as bad form (particularly my brand of inane prattle).

      Am very much looking forward to Ruby’s Van reissue reviews. So far I’ve pre-ordered His Band And The Street Choir for starters. I only have Astral Weeks, St. Dom’s and Moondance on LP, so it’ll be nice to see what “Ruby’s Recommendations” are!

  16. I have been mainlining Into The Music since a lot of Van’s records popped up on Deezer. In Rolling Hills, I think the people of this island – Ireland – have found a fitting, non-sectarian national anthem which would sound a lot bloody better than *shudder* Ireland’s Call at rugby matches/showband specials/the All-Ireland finals.

  17. Jesus, forgive me, Ruby – my missus has shouted me down for staining the tablecloth with red wine, but FFS what is a tablecloth for but to take food and drink upon against the risk of a spoiling? And I’ve sprayed the Vanish and all seems to be pristine now or as near as.

    But my goodness has that rubbed me up the wrong way and I saw another Van thread and all I can think is, Guys, FFS, get over him, he’s a slightly above-average Irish soul singer but no fucking genius. A best-of and a couple of the early albums inc “Astral Weeks” and Something Else is all that you need, surely? Can we stop talking about the Owd Fecker now and then I can stop pretending to talk Irish.

    Jesus. The mewsic is mighty awdnary, now.

        • No need for apols. How’s the head? Red wine, eh? And your poor tablecloth. 😀

          No worries. I was actually half-serious; I’d be interested in counter views. I don’t know enough to count myself as a ‘fan’ and so I have no dog in this fight. If it is a fight. Which it isn’t. 😀

  18. Hey, mini. Please go ahead and post your Dylan reviews. You could put them up, one at a time, every couple of weeks or so.
    I’m glad to see I’m not alone in thinking they d be a great addition to the blog. Go on.

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