Music Banter - View Single Post - The Complete Discography thread Van Morrison

Son of JayJamJah · 07-07-2008, 12:52 PM

Back to the Blues with Sonny Boy’s “Take Your Hands out of My Pocket” . At first the more complex sound of Van’s blues imagination throws you off, but the fullness of the sound eventually only serves to reinforce the melancholy of the music. Most artists would never be so bold as to try a song like “Listen to the Lion” live, but not only does this free form bellow hold up it may be an even more revealing and reassuring version. The varying levels of volume, while not as exact as studio production allows, are very capably executed by the talented band that backs Morrison. He takes the middle of the song to introduce the band in between verses “All my tears like water flow…” as Van fights each word squeezing every ounce of meaning and feeling he can from it before moving on to the next. “Here Comes the Night” is a song that Van has been known for covering since his days fronting “Them”, the most famous version is probably the one with the Stones where Jagger is brilliant alongside Morrison. This like, Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria have become the standards the casual and corporate types at the shows look forward to Van playing. I love this one too though. Its fun and catchy just try and not love it. Almost like he planned it that way, as it usually does, “Gloria” follows next and brings the masses to their feet with seal arms a flapping and hands a clapping as they parrots Van’s first famous chorus. “G-L-O-R-I-A” yeah we all know this one. It’s a great song, often imitated never duplicated, but rarely does Van go all out with anymore. The penultimate track for “Too Late…” is Van’s favorite track to perform live and what would become, especially amongst musicians, a couple years after this version one off the most talked about Live numbers in rock music history. “Caravan” from 1970’s “Moondance” is the perfect atmosphere for Van to explode on the stage as pour out the words with the sort of desperation only a man at the edge of his emotions can muster. Van always changes the lyrics and usually the way he pronounces “radio” and “electric light” in the bridge. This song is about the journey, fittingly as its called Caravan and uses Gypsy life as a metaphor for the places music can take you. It builds as Van’s emotion and conviction does, ending with Van, the Horns, Strings, the Drums and typically the crowd wailing away giving it everything they got. This album closes with “Cypress Avenue” the only number from “Astral Weeks” to make the final cut. From the outside it seems like an odd exclusion, however it’s rare that Van covers Astral Weeks live and when he does it’s usually about 50 straight minutes of organized medley. From the opening line this is a special performance. Van removes Cypress from it’s Astral Weeks wrapper, removes “The Mansion on the Hill” verse and blends the now half a decade old composition into the context of “Too late…” perfectly without losing it’s singular brilliance as a part of the 1968 LP. Maybe my favorite live track ever and a great excuse to listen to album all over again after your done with the first pass.

The Band
• Theresa "Terry" Adams: cello
• Bill Atwood: trumpet, backing vocals
• Nancy Ellis: viola
• Tom Halpin: violin
• David Hayes: bass guitar, backing vocals
• Tim Kovatch: violin
• Jeff Labes: organ, piano
• John Platania: guitar, backing vocals
• Nathan Rubin: violin
• Jack Schroer: alto, tenor, baritone saxophones, tambourine, backing vocals
• Dahaud Shaar: drums, backing vocals

…So there’s that, the ability throughout to mimic studio performances and\or re-imagine the phrasing and pitch and sometimes lyrics of every note makes the album an adventure that few fans could ever hope to experience first hand. I’ve had the fortune of attending over 20 of Van’s live shows over the years and he is, if I’m being honest, hit or miss. It’s always good if you like the music as much as me, but every now and then there is that look in his eyes and that urgency in his voice, and when that element is there he can deliver the kind of overwhelming emotional performance that captivated us all when we first heard Astral Weeks or Moondance. Tomorrow Night I will be attending what very well could be my last Van Morrison concert at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit about an hour from my home. It’s the “Keep it Simple” tour, the album is his strongest in years and there has been speculation this may be his last tour for a while if not forever. Here’s to hoping that look is there and I get one more stirring performance.

First Time I Listened to it: 1974 (Bought it same day as Veedon Fleece with the totality of my Graduation money after paying my parents back.)
Defining Track(s): You need em’ all in this collection.

Star rating: (1-5) (from my personal catalog) ****
How it made me feel today: (1-10): 9

07-07-2008, 12:52 PM	#36 (permalink)
Son of JayJamJah Occams Razor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: End of the Earth Posts: 2,472	Part Two: It's Too Late To Stop Now (1974) Back to the Blues with Sonny Boy’s “Take Your Hands out of My Pocket” . At first the more complex sound of Van’s blues imagination throws you off, but the fullness of the sound eventually only serves to reinforce the melancholy of the music. Most artists would never be so bold as to try a song like “Listen to the Lion” live, but not only does this free form bellow hold up it may be an even more revealing and reassuring version. The varying levels of volume, while not as exact as studio production allows, are very capably executed by the talented band that backs Morrison. He takes the middle of the song to introduce the band in between verses “All my tears like water flow…” as Van fights each word squeezing every ounce of meaning and feeling he can from it before moving on to the next. “Here Comes the Night” is a song that Van has been known for covering since his days fronting “Them”, the most famous version is probably the one with the Stones where Jagger is brilliant alongside Morrison. This like, Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria have become the standards the casual and corporate types at the shows look forward to Van playing. I love this one too though. Its fun and catchy just try and not love it. Almost like he planned it that way, as it usually does, “Gloria” follows next and brings the masses to their feet with seal arms a flapping and hands a clapping as they parrots Van’s first famous chorus. “G-L-O-R-I-A” yeah we all know this one. It’s a great song, often imitated never duplicated, but rarely does Van go all out with anymore. The penultimate track for “Too Late…” is Van’s favorite track to perform live and what would become, especially amongst musicians, a couple years after this version one off the most talked about Live numbers in rock music history. “Caravan” from 1970’s “Moondance” is the perfect atmosphere for Van to explode on the stage as pour out the words with the sort of desperation only a man at the edge of his emotions can muster. Van always changes the lyrics and usually the way he pronounces “radio” and “electric light” in the bridge. This song is about the journey, fittingly as its called Caravan and uses Gypsy life as a metaphor for the places music can take you. It builds as Van’s emotion and conviction does, ending with Van, the Horns, Strings, the Drums and typically the crowd wailing away giving it everything they got. This album closes with “Cypress Avenue” the only number from “Astral Weeks” to make the final cut. From the outside it seems like an odd exclusion, however it’s rare that Van covers Astral Weeks live and when he does it’s usually about 50 straight minutes of organized medley. From the opening line this is a special performance. Van removes Cypress from it’s Astral Weeks wrapper, removes “The Mansion on the Hill” verse and blends the now half a decade old composition into the context of “Too late…” perfectly without losing it’s singular brilliance as a part of the 1968 LP. Maybe my favorite live track ever and a great excuse to listen to album all over again after your done with the first pass. The Band • Theresa "Terry" Adams: cello • Bill Atwood: trumpet, backing vocals • Nancy Ellis: viola • Tom Halpin: violin • David Hayes: bass guitar, backing vocals • Tim Kovatch: violin • Jeff Labes: organ, piano • John Platania: guitar, backing vocals • Nathan Rubin: violin • Jack Schroer: alto, tenor, baritone saxophones, tambourine, backing vocals • Dahaud Shaar: drums, backing vocals …So there’s that, the ability throughout to mimic studio performances and\or re-imagine the phrasing and pitch and sometimes lyrics of every note makes the album an adventure that few fans could ever hope to experience first hand. I’ve had the fortune of attending over 20 of Van’s live shows over the years and he is, if I’m being honest, hit or miss. It’s always good if you like the music as much as me, but every now and then there is that look in his eyes and that urgency in his voice, and when that element is there he can deliver the kind of overwhelming emotional performance that captivated us all when we first heard Astral Weeks or Moondance. Tomorrow Night I will be attending what very well could be my last Van Morrison concert at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit about an hour from my home. It’s the “Keep it Simple” tour, the album is his strongest in years and there has been speculation this may be his last tour for a while if not forever. Here’s to hoping that look is there and I get one more stirring performance. First Time I Listened to it: 1974 (Bought it same day as Veedon Fleece with the totality of my Graduation money after paying my parents back.) Defining Track(s): You need em’ all in this collection. Star rating: (1-5) (from my personal catalog) ** How it made me feel today:** (1-10): 9 Last edited by Son of JayJamJah; 07-07-2008 at 06:35 PM.