have fed the contents of the Van Morrison thread into the mainframe computer and the results are in.
A few rules of engagement. I only allowed five songs per person (sorry, Owlsley). However where people indicated a clear change of mind I allowed it, because that’s the kind of guy I am. Where people indicated a specific live or alternative recording I noted it as such; otherwise I assumed it was the original studio recording. I took the lists in the order presented, with five points for the first down to one for the last. I realise not everyone was specific about the order so I also totted up the number of votes, and guess what – it hardly made any difference. This may be worth bearing in mind should anyone be foolish enough to do one of these in the future.
In all 45 of us voted, with 220 votes for 101 tracks. A fair spread. Well over half were chosen by just one person. However there was a clear winner.
Full details in the comments below
Blue Boy says
Here’s the Afterword Van Morrison Fab 40…..
1 Into the Mystic (45 points/15 votes)
2 Astral Weeks (34/8)
3 St Dominic’s Preview (28/8); tied with
Tupelo Honey (28/8)
5 Sweet Thing (26/7)
6 And the Healing Has Begun (21/6)
7 Summertime In England (18/5)
8 And it Stoned Me (17/6)
9 In the Garden (16/5)
10 Rave On John Donne (16/4)
11 Beside You (13/5)
12 Listen to the Lion (13/4)
13 You Don’t Pull No Punches But You Don’t Push the River (13/3)
14 Wonderful Remark (12/4)
15 Cyprus Avenue (11/5)
16 Madame George (11/4), tied with
Dweller on the Threshold (11/4)
18 Fair Play (11/3)
19 Caravan (10/3)
20 Santa Fe/Beautiful Obsession (10/2)
21 Snow in San Anselmo (9/4)
22 Domino (9/3) tied with
Mystic Eyes (Them) 9/3)
24 Natalia (9/2)
25 Orangefield (8/3) tied with –
Days Like This (8/3), and
Moondance (8/3), and
Streets of Arklow (8/3)
29 Coney Island (8/2)
30 The Ways That Young Lovers Do (7/3)
31 Vanlose Stairway (7/2), tied with
Haunts of Ancient Peace (7/2)
33 Enlightenment (6/3)
34 When the Leaves Come Falling Down (6/2) tied with
Cleaning Windows (6/2) and
Sense of Wonder (6/2) and
Baby Please Don’t Go (Them) (6/2) and
Jackie Wilson Said (6/2) and
Wild Children (6/2)
40 Did Ye Get Healed? (4/3)
There were a whole stack of songs with 5 points and 1 or 2 votes but I gave the last place to ‘Did Ye Get Healed?’ given that three people cared enough to list it.
Blue Boy says
Unsurprisingly, the earlier material won hands down. The most popular album was, inevitably, Astral Weeks with 33 votes for 6 of its 7 songs. After that it was
Moondance (29 votes for 6 songs)
St Dominic’s Preview (17 votes for 6 of its 7 songs)
Veedon Fleece (13 votes for 7 songs)
Beautiful Vision (10 votes for 5 songs)
Tupelo Honey (10 votes for 3 songs)
No Guru (8 votes, 4 songs)
Into the Music (8 votes, 3 songs)
Its Too Late to Stop Now (7 votes, 5 songs)
Poetic Champions Compose (7 votes, 5 songs)
There were 9 Them songs, with 12 votes between them, largely through the valiant advocacy of deramdaze.
Just two tracks and three votes from his entire output of the last twenty years. I guess that’s a product of the reductive process of just five choices each – there was no room for any number of songs which are great, but just not his greatest. Still I am surprised that good records Like The Healing Game and Magic Time didn’t get a single mention.
Seamus says
This will be of interest to all who voted: Excellent live Van from 1971:
http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=1744
Junior Wells says
Looking forward to the spotify list @blue-boy
Blue Boy says
and here it is (if this works…)
Twang says
Pretty good list there. iTunes playlist to follow.
H.P. Saucecraft says
Thanks for your efforts, Blue Boy! A few surprises (for me, at least) – Veedon Fleece at Number Four. It’s taken a good few years for this to inch up into the Best Of Van category, but it’s well-deserved.
Junior Wells says
how do I find that playlist on spotify- new to the game.
dai says
Good work
Junior Wells says
Ballerina notable by its absence.
Junior Wells says
Just listened to the whole list – thanks@blueboy, top effort.
Would have been great to have those one or two vote songs as we know they are all excellent…except the Way Young Lovers Do -everything about it annoys me. The way he sings it , the pace of it , the lyrics.
But otherwise excellent- Mrs Wells is now totally Vanned out – me I’m onto the boots.
MC Escher says
Agreed on TWYLD Junior – great song, totally ruins the mood of the LP
Kaisfatdad says
Brilliant! What a labour of love. Thanks a lot for all your hard work.
I didn’t vote in the end as my choices would have been so pathetically obvious.
Can I please post a link to the playlist on my Facebook page and share it with friends?
All rather a good bit of PR for the Afterword in fact.
Feedback_File says
There are very few artists where this would be worthwhile – well done for putting this together and the playlist. I don’t think you can argue too much with the outcome although personally I’m a tad mystified , or perhaps intrigued, by inclusion of Summertime in England and Healing Has Begun so far up the pecking order – I need to re-evaluate methinks
Johnny Concheroo says
Great work. I really admire your passion for Van.
deramdaze says
Good homework!
I once bought a Van Morrison fanzine from the music bookshop in Denmark Street for a long train journey, and in their poll ‘Astral Weeks’ was voted Van’s 10th best LP.
Just a few months previously Mojo, I think, had placed it 2nd of all time!
deramdaze says
While I remember, Robert Elms is doing a Van half an hour today where people ring up for their favourite song (BBC Radio London 12-3).
Baron Harkonnen says
That is great work Blue Boy, impressive. As previously stated I love these lists and when I get home I’ll be making hard copies of the top forty songs and distribute to friends who aren’t already fans and fans alike.
A question BB, what’s your opinion on the late great Jackie Leven?
Once again thanks.
ewenmac says
Top work! Got me listening to a lot of old Van I’d not heard in a while. Cheers.
It reminds you what a staggering output he’s had. How he managed to maintain the quality is incredible. Even a half of that lot would have left him with a great legacy.
ger_the_boptist says
Well done BlueBoy – a labor of love.
Take a well deserved bow.
Thanks for the Spotify playlist.
Bingo Little says
Top stuff, Blue Boy. This playlist is fantastic!
duco01 says
Thanks for all your efforts, Blue Boy.
These threads have been a reminder – if any were needed – of the incredible quality and consistency of Van Morrison’s output from, say 1968 to 1980.
duco01 says
Actually, Black Type and ger, that was a typo – I meant to say:
“…from, say 1968 to 1990.”
ger_the_boptist says
As I have said I would still hold at 1980.
Van to Veedon Fleece was to me transcendent. From then on he is merely very, very, very good.
Listening to Tupelo Honey as I type – transcendent indeed.
Actually hadn’t played it through for a very long time.
Black Type says
A bit harsh on his 80s work there, @duco01. Overall, he was consistently excellent throughout that decade, up to and including ‘Hymns To The Silence’; I’d suggest that it’s from that point that he became much more miss than hit.
ger_the_boptist says
Hi BlackType,
I’d have to say I’d agree with @duco01, I find anything later than 1980 a bit too smooth for my taste. I know, a bit harsh, but that’s my taste. I love his pre 1980 stuff to bits (actually up to Veedon Fleece – but also including Common One).
Still, we all agree a major, major talent with a catalog which compares with anyone in the rock era (with the exception of Mr Z and the HJHMs of course).
Neil Jung says
Playing it via Spotify now. Thanks for this.
Blue Boy says
Thanks for the comments. I enjoyed doing this, and like others it’s taken me back to some stuff I hadn’t played for a while. like @ger_the_boptist I have listened to Tupelo Honey today – it’s just great and I do hope they release it soon. Even if it does contain the disturbing image in Moonshine Whiskey of Van promenading in his hot pants ‘down funky Broadway til the cows come home.’ Bonkers but brilliant
Surprised by the amount of love for Van Morrison here – he’s had an easier ride than peers like Dylan and Young – maybe it’s just that the dissenters have kept their heads down. But I agree with others – this thread, and all the hoopla of the last week has reminded me just how remarkable his body of work is.
A couple of specific responses – @junior-wells I like the relatively compact scale and quality of the top 40 playlist, but you’re right the other 60 or so tracks people chose are pretty damn good as well, so I’ll gladly do a separate Part 2 playlist and post it here.
@kaisfatdad hope this has taken you to some stuff you didn’t know – please do indeed post the link on FB.
@baron-harkonnen I have to confess that I have never listened to Jackie Leven though I know he has his fans here. I take it you ask in a ‘if you like Van you’ll like this’ kinda way. If so, where should I start?
Blue Boy says
if anyone can bear it and isn’t completely Van’ed out by now here is a playlist with the rest of the songs chosen in the poll. Most of these were only picked by one person, so this is much more of a random ragbag than the top 40 list. Best listened to not as a ‘best of’ but more as a conversation in the pub in which your mate is saying ‘yes that’s great, but have you heard THIS one…?’ Apropos of which I can’t believe I am the only person to have picked the sublime Cul de Sac. You bastards.
To be complete this list should have had 61 tracks, but there were three I couldn’t find on Spotify. So to get it to a round 60 I used editors discretion and added excellent two songs at the end from his more recent work which as previously stated is somewhat underrepresented here.
Enjoy.
count jim moriarty says
And remember – for those in the UK with access to BBC1 Northern Ireland, 1 hour live show from Belfast, tonight 10.35pm.
I wouldn’t bank on it appearing on the iPlayer though.
minibreakfast says
As I mentioned on one of the other Van threads (too numerous to remember which), it’ll be shown on BBC4 on Sunday night, then repeated in the early hours on Weds. No doubt it’ll make it onto the iplayer subsequently.
Set them boxes, Van fans!