BCB 100 - Van Morrison

[geoffcowgill]

I'm doing pretty good. I haven't bought the last two Morrison albums. But now some bastard will convince me that "they're really good, better than what he's done for years". The problem with this guy is that he's obviously very talented and has such a wonderful voice and has teased me with the out-of-the-wilderness greatness of The Healing Game that I can't quite drop him. I've got enough of his records that I feel I might as well get all of them. But I really can't imagine listening to the last two I bought, Sense of Wonder and What's Wrong With This Picture, again, leastways with any pleasure. But with that out of the way, let's just say that he made some remarkable music and seemed one of the most intuitive and passionate musicians of the 1970s. Astral Weeks is great and all, but his finest achievement is Moondance, which is about as good as a record gets. Any number of tracks from it can rightfully be consider among his finest, but "Into The Mystic" is a transcendent little slice of magic.

Favorite Album - Moondance

Favorite Song - "Into the Mystic"

[purgatory brite]

Favorite Album - Moondance

Favorite Song - "Into the Mystic"

Snap!

[toomanyhatz]

The man who's most let me down, unless Stephen Stills counts. Love Them, Astral Weeks, Moondance, & scattered bits after (Veedon Fleece, the one with the Chieftains). Lots of genre jumping, half-assed live shows, and very intermittent inspiration since.

Best Album - Astral Weeks

Best song - original - Into the Mystic
cover - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

[Clippernolan]

Favourite album: Moondance

Favrourite Song - this is a really tough one, but I'll say "Caravan".

Underrated track: "If I ever Needed Someone" off of His Band & Street Choir. This is the closest Morrison got to writing a pure gospel tune. It's right out of the church, with some great call-and-response backing vocals. If Solomon Burke hasn't recorded this, I'd like to know why not.

Generally, I prefer early Van, before his voice took on that deeper, wooly tone which he has today. Although he's still a vital singer, a lot of the juice has been squeezed out, to these ears. And the production on his middle period to recent records has been too slick by half. I prefer the sound of the earlier "gather in the living room and play" type of sound he achieved on Moondance/Tupelo Honey/His Band and Street Choir, etc

[My name is Spaulding]

Favorite Album - Moondance

Favorite Song - "Into the Mystic"

exactly.

As for you don´t owning the last two Van albums, geoff, I wouldn´t worry about it... you don´t need them (and it´s Captain "new records are always fine" Spaulding telling you this!).

"Magic time" has it´s nice moments, and it´s certainly better than the awful "Down the road!, but you won´t find anything in there that´s more exciting than anything on "What´s wrong with this picture".

As for the country album, well, it´s better than what I thought it would be, and a few tracks are really outstanding ("til I gain control again" in particular is excelent), but, again, it´s not the return to form that those of us who loved "The healing game" expect from good old Van.

[Clippernolan]

... and a few tracks are really outstanding ("til I gain control again" in particular is excelent)

Blue Rodeo do a great version of that tune on this excellent record:



Five Days in July

[Davey the Fat Boy]

The man who's most let me down, unless Stephen Stills counts. Love Them, Astral Weeks, Moondance, & scattered bits after (Veedon Fleece, the one with the Chieftains). Lots of genre jumping, half-assed live shows, and very intermittent inspiration since.

I try not to be let down. Or more accurately, I try not to have too many expectations. At least that's how I am these days. Van was one of the guys who taught me that lesson.

At one point Van was on my Mount Olympus. I actually quit my first job because I couldn't get the manager to give me the night off for a Morrison concert. Fast forward to the tour he did with Dylan and Joni Mitchell about 7 years ago. My buddies and I walked out in the middle of his set, after spending about an hour of the show doing impressions of him based on the following template:

"Wilson Pickett...ahhh
Wilson Pickett...
and Big Bill Broonzy...
that's right...
Big Bill...
big, big, big Bill...
...and Big Joe Turner...
yeah...Big Joe Turner...
Clarence Frogman...
ain't got no home
Clarence Frogman...
sing about...
Clarence Frogman...
They're all in it....
every one of them in it...
lord have mercy...
In my record collection...
uh huh...
In my records...
my record colllection...
say Lefty Frizzell, lord have mercy...
in my record....Lefty Frizell in my record...collection...
(sax solo - then drops more names for another 45 minutes.)"

At some point I just figured out that you ride with an artist as long as you can, then when they make a turn you just can't make...you get off the bus. I hung in with Van as long as I could, but I really should have gotten off the bus years ago.

All of that said:

I have to agree with the crowd:

Moondance and Into the Mystic.

[copehead]

Album: Moondance
Song: Gloria

There was a lovely "greatest heckle ever" bit in the WORD a few months back:

Ivan was doing his usual mumbling bit; " Rave on John Donne, Rave on metaphysical poets, rave on............" etc, getting quieter and quieter his head slumped into his chest until he was whispering. Whereupon someone in the audience shouted " Speak Up Van ".

[The Fish]

You're all mad (apart from Toomanyhatz)

Album: ASTRAL WEEKS

Track: Purely for a non AW viewpoint - Linden Arden Stole The Highlights

[Carlisle Wheeling]

Album - Common One

Song - Snow In San Anselmo

Sorry.

[Hare Brained]

Album - Common One

I couldn't comment, it depends on my mood, but yes Common One's another strong contender.

[T. Berry Shuffle]

Best album: none

Best song: none

[Carl's Son]

Tell you what, that Brown Eyed Guirls a bit good innit? Guarenteed to get people dancing at parties. Couldn't give a toss for anthing else.

[frimleygreener]

"fair play"...

[The Slider]

Album: That boring one. You know? The one that is exactly the same as all the other albums.

Song: That one on the boring album. You know? The one that is exactly the same as all the others on the album.


Oh alright.

Album: Astral Weeks

Song: Domino

[Hare Brained]

Album: That boring one. You know? The one that is exactly the same as all the other albums.

Song: That one on the boring album. You know? The one that is exactly the same as all the others on the album.

Oh alright.

Album: Astral Weeks

Song: Domino

You've just heard them too much. They're by no means all the same. Come on, it's easy to criticise - I've seen him loads and sometimes he reminds you what an excellent musician he is; highly skilled, great interpreter and sometimes brilliantly original. Yes, he's produced a fair amount of indulgent nonsense but don't forget the good stuff.

[Prez!]

Tell you what, that Brown Eyed Guirls a bit good innit? Guarenteed to get people dancing at parties.

Best Album: Moondance
Best Song:- Did Ye Get Healed


I'm sure you're being sarcastic, Mr. C, but after a 46 year recording career, I'd hope to be remembered for something a little more substantial than "Brown Eyed Guirls "{sic}.

[The Slider]

No, I like his records up to say Veedon Fleece.
But by Wavelength he just sticks to the Van formula.
He isn't quite at Quo status, but not very far from it.

It's Too late To Stop Now shows a vibrant, vital and forceful performer at the top of his game delivering a punchy set of great songs in a concise(ish) manner.
But the few times I have seen him (granted it was many years later) he has been uncommunicative, surly, indolent (to the point of making Brian fucking Kennedy sing most of his lead vocals for him on one occasion) and a waste opf my time and money.

I wouldn't go to see him tomorrow if he were playing at my local and you gave me a free ticket.

[The Slider]

after a 46 year recording career, I'd hope to be remembered for something a little more substantial than "Brown Eyed Guirls "{sic}.

The only thing he did that was more substantial was Astral Weeks.
And you don't like that.

[the masked man]

This guy was responsible for one of the worst gigs I've ever endured. It was at Cardiff University (admittedly, not an inspiring venue) and he was in a foul mood. He wasn't talking to his backing band or to the audience.

There was no setlist. At the end of each song he dragged his guitarist (who looked embarrassed to be there, and I didn't blame him) over to a book containing a list of songs, and just pointed to one of them. The guitarist then announced which song was next on the mic, as much for the benefit of the other band members as anything. The set was almost completely based around his less-than-inspiring current album ("Hymns To The Silence", as I remember) with only one hit ("Moondance") included as a sop to the audience. I have never seen a performer quite as misanthropic - by comparison, Mark E Smith is a jolly all-round entertainer.

It really put me off him - I'd started collecting his records, and I haven't bought a single one since. But, of what I've heard, I think that "The Common One" is outstanding. I struggle to match the wide-eyed wonder is this album with the surly boor I witnessed in Cardiff. Best song is "Summertime In England", which does what it says on the tin, evoking endless images of bucolic utopia.