Various Artists – Greatest Love Songs (2001)

And here is one of these countless compilation albums with “Greatest Love Song” …

… Compilations of this kind are part of the music industry to earn a little more money with low budget productions.
Many of the songs are actually “sad love songs” and I think there is something for everyone on these two CDs.

My favourite songs are “Morning Has Broken “, “Island In The Sun”, “The Air That I Breathe”, “Light My Fire”, “When A Man Loves A Woman”, “Pretty Woman”, “Wonderful World”, “My Girl”, “Only You”, “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and “Brown Eyed Girl” … they touch my soul.

Enjoy your sentimental side.

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Al Martino: Spanish Eyes (Kaempfert/ingleton/Snyder) 2.49
02. America: Sister Golden Hair (Beckley) 3.21
03. Art Garfunkel: Bright Eyes (Batt) 3.59
04. Barry White: You’re The First, The Last, My Everything (White/Sepe/Redcliffe) 3.26
05. Bellamy Brothers: If I Said You Have A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me (D.Bellamy) 3.12
06. Cat Stevens: Morning Has Broken (Stevens/Farjeon) 3.19
07. Chicago: If You Leave Me Now (Cetera) 3.54
08. Commodores: Three Times A Lady (Richie) 3.38
09. Dean Martin: Everybody Loves Somebody (Lane/Coslow/Taylor) 2.46
10. Diane Warwick: Heartbreaker (B.Gibb/R.Gibb/M.Gibb) 4.18
11. Eric Carmen: All By Myself (Carmen) 4.54
12. Everly Brothers: All I Have To Do Is Dream (Bryant) 2.24
13. F. R. Davids: Words (Fetoussi) 2.51
14. Gary Pucket: Young Girl (Fuller) 3.08
15. Gary Wright: Dream Weaver (Wright) 4.18
16. Harry Belafonte: Island In The Sun (Belafonte/Burgess) 3.23

CD 2:
01. Hazlewood/Sinatra: Summerwine (Nayer/Mercer) 3.39
02. Hollies: The Air That I Breathe (Hammond/Hazlewood) 4.03
03. Jose Feliciano: Light My Fire (Morrison/Manzarek/Densmore/Krieger) 3.04
04. Leo Sayer: When I Need You (Hammond/Sager) 4.07
05. Pat Boone: Love Letters In The Sand (Kenny/Coots) 2.08
06. Paul Anka: Put Your Head On My Shoulder (Anka) 2.37
07. Percy Sledge: When A Man Loves A Woman (Lewis/Wright) 2.49
08. Righteous Brothers: Unchained Melody (Zaret/North) 3.37
09. Roy Orbison: Pretty Woman (Orbinson/Dees) 2.59
10. Sam Cooke: Wonderful World (Cooke/Adler/Alpert) 3.00
11. Temptation: My Girl (Robinson/White) 2.41
12. The Platters: Only You (Ram/Rand) 2.36
13. Them: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Dylan) 3.48
14. Tom Jones: She’s A Lady (Anka) 3.36
15. Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl (Morrison) 3.03
16. Walker Brothers: The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More (Crewe/Gauido) 3.01

*
**

Van Morrison – The Best Of Van Morrison (1990)

Sir George Ivan Morrison OBE (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.

Morrison began performing as a teenager in the late 1950s. He played a variety of instruments such as guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for several Irish showbands, covering the popular hits of that time. Known as “Van the Man” to his fans, Morrison rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B and rock band Them. With Them, he recorded the garage band classic “Gloria”.

Under the pop-oriented guidance of Bert Berns, Morrison’s solo career began in 1967 with the release of the hit single “Brown Eyed Girl”. After Berns’s death, Warner Bros. Records bought out Morrison’s contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968). While initially a poor seller, the album has become regarded as a classic. Moondance (1970) established Morrison as a major artist, and he built on his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of acclaimed albums and live performances.

Much of Morrison’s music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B. An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as the album Astral Weeks The two strains together are sometimes referred to as “Celtic soul”. His live performances have been described as “transcendental” and “inspired”, and his music as attaining “a kind of violent transcendence”.

Morrison’s albums have performed well in Ireland and the UK, with more than 40 reaching the UK top 40. With the release of Latest Record Project, Volume 1 he scored top ten albums in the UK in four consecutive decades. Eighteen of his albums have reached the top 40 in the United States, twelve of them between 1997 and 2017. He has received two Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was knighted for services to the music industry and to tourism in Northern Ireland.

The Best of Van Morrison is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It compiles songs spanning 25 years of his recording career. Released in 1990 by Polydor Records, the album was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling records of the 1990s and helping revive Morrison’s mainstream popularity. Its success encouraged him to release a second and third greatest hits volume in 1993 and 2007, respectively. The album remains Morrison’s best-seller.

The Best of Van Morrison was Morrison’s first greatest hits album and featured songs that were compiled from 25 years of material. including “Wonderful Remark”, a song which first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1983 film The King of Comedy. The album became one of the best-selling records of the 1990s, spending a year and a half on the UK charts, helping Morrison regain his commercial popularity during the decade. It also debuted at number one in Australia on the ARIA Albums Chart. In the United States, the album never reached the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 but remained on the chart for more than four-and-a-half years. In 2002, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped four million copies in the US. Morrison was reluctant at first to have a greatest hits album released, although its success encouraged him to personally select tracks for the second and third volumes in 1993 and 2007, respectively. “As the story goes, Van Morrison wanted nothing to do with his first greatest hits collection”, wrote Andrew Gilstrap from PopMatters. “He probably warmed up to the idea, though, after the sales figures started pouring in—year after year after year.”

The Best of Van Morrison remains his best-selling release.(wikipedia)

For an artist who’s doggedly album-oriented, plus a songwriter who revels in subtlety, Van Morrison doesn’t seem like a logical candidate for a successful greatest-hits compilation. Nevertheless, The Best of Van Morrison is a crackerjack compilation, tracing Van the Man from his days with Them, through his best-known tunes (“Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Moondance,” “Blue Money,” “Wild Night”), to highlights from the ’70s and ’80s cult efforts, topped off by “Wonderful Remark,” a song first heard on the King of Comedy soundtrack. This collection makes Morrison’s work seem a little more immediate and accessible than it usually is, but that’s a blessing, since it provides a great summary of his hits and a nice introduction for the curious. Yes, it could have dug deeper into the catalog, but as a sampler, it can’t be faulted. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Van Morrison (vocals, guitar, saxophone, harmonica)
+
many other musicians

Tracklist:
01. Bright Side Of The Road (Morrison) (Into The Music;1979) 3.46
02. Gloria (with Them) (Morrison) (Them; 1965) 2.38
03. Moondance  (Morrison) (Moondance;1970) 4:31
04. Baby, Please Don’t Go (with Them) (Williams) (Them; 1965) 2.43
05. Have I Told You Lately (Morrison) (Avalon Sunset;1989) 4.20
06. Brown Eyed Girl (radio edit) (Morrison) (Blowin’ Your Mind!; 1967) 3.05
07. Sweet Thing (Morrison) (Astral Weeks;1968) 4.23
08. Warm Love (Morrison) (Hard Nose The Highway;1973) 3.23
09. Wonderful Remark (Morrison) (The King Of Comedy – Soundtrack;1983) 3.59
10. Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile) (Morrison) (Saint Dominic’s Preview; 1972) 2.58
11. Full Force Gale (Morrison) (Into The Music; 1979) 3.15
12. And It Stoned Me (Morrison)  Moondance 4.29
13. Here Comes The Night (with Them) Bert Berns Them 2.47
14. Domino  (Morrison) (His Band And The Street Choir;1970) 3.05
15. Did Ye Get Healed? (Morrison) (Poetic Champions Compose;1987) 4.07
16. Wild Night (Morrison) (Tupelo Honey;1971) 3.34
17. Cleaning Windows (Morrison) (Beautiful Vision;1982) 4.42
18. Whenever God Shines His Light (duet with Cliff Richard) (Morrison) (Avalon Sunset. 1989) 4.54
19. Queen Of The Slipstream (Morrison) (Poetic Champions Compose; 1987) 4.55
20. Dweller On The Threshold (Morrison)/Murphy) (Beautiful Vision; 1982) 4.44

*
**

More from Van Morrison:

Van Morrison – Live With The Danish Radio Big Band (Barbican Center London) (1990)

Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison OBE (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. His professional career began as a teenager in the late 1950s, playing a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands, covering the popular hits of that time. Van Morrison rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B band, Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic “Gloria”. His solo career began in 1967, under the pop-hit orientated guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single “Brown Eyed Girl”. After Berns’s death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968). Though this album gradually garnered high praise, it was initially a poor seller.

Morrison has a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime. His live performances at their best are seen as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It’s Too Late to Stop Now, are highly acclaimed.

Moondance (1970) established Morrison as a major artist, and he built on his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of acclaimed albums and live performances. He continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received, sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains.

Much of Morrison’s music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B, such as the popular singles “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”, “Domino” and “Wild Night”. An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as the album Astral Weeks and the lesser known Veedon Fleece and Common One.

The two strains together are sometimes referred to as “Celtic soul”. He has received two Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was knighted for services to the music industry and to tourism in Northern Ireland. He is known by the nickname Van the Man to his fans. (by wikipedia)

And Van Morrison worked many times with The Danish Radio Big Band (see here)

And here´s another fine example, a nearly perfect bootleg (excellent broandcast reording) … what a wonderful night … what a brilliant combination !

… what a great addition to every Van Morrison collection … it´s a must to have !

Bit: This is the worst cover art for a Van Morrison I have ever seen !!!

Personnel;
Van Morrison (vocals, guitar on 05. – 15.)
+
The Danish Radio Big Band:
Jørgen Emborg (keybords)
Lennart Gruvstedt (drums)
Bjarne Roupé (guitar)
Mads Vinding (bass)
Ethan Weisgard (percussion)
+
saxophone, flute, clarinet:
Jesper Thilo – Jan zum Vohrde – Uffe Kraskov – Bent Jædig
+
trumpet, flugelhorn:
Benny Rosenfeldt – Jens Winther – Lars Togeby – Palle Bolvig – Perry Knudsen
+
trombone:
Jens Engel – Axel Windfeld – Steen Hansen – Ture Larsen – Vincent Nilsson
+
Georgie Fame (organ on 11. – 14.)

Tracklist:

The Danish Radio Big Band:
01. Basically Yours (Jones) 2.56
02. Introduction + Aura (Holdman) 6.01
03. Tiptoe (Jones) 7.44
04. Wild Bill (Pitts) 6.49

Van Morrison & The Danish Radio Big Band:
05. I Will Be There (Morrison) 2.51
06. Here Comes The Knight (Morrison) 3.26
07. Haunts Of Ancient Peace (Morrison) 4.12
08. Celtic Swing (Morrison) 5.00
09. Got To Go Back (Morrison) 5.07
10. A New Kind Of Man (Morrison) 3.15
11. Listen To The Lion (Morrison) 5.04
12. Vanlose Stairway (Morrison) 4.25
13. I`d Love To Write Another Song (Morrison) 2.44
14. Orangefield (Morrison) 4.00
15. Whenever God Shines His Light (Morrison) 4.09

The Danish Radio Big Band:
16. To You (Jones) 4.27
+
17. Van Morrison Live With The Danish Radio Big Band (Barbican Center London) (uncut edition) 1.17.45

I got this concert many, many years ago as a tape:

*
**

More Van Morrison:

Van Morrison & The Danish Radio Big Band – Live at the Kulturcafe, Centersal, Ishoj, Denmark (1987)

Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison OBE (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. His professional career began as a teenager in the late 1950s playing a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands, covering the popular hits of that time. Van Morrison rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B band Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic “Gloria”. His solo career began under the pop-hit oriented guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single “Brown Eyed Girl” in 1967. After Berns’s death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968). Though this album gradually garnered high praise, it was initially a poor seller.

Morrison has a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime. His live performances at their best are seen as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It’s Too Late to Stop Now, are highly acclaimed.

Moondance (1970) established Morrison as a major artist, and he built on his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of acclaimed albums and live performances. He continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received, sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains.

Much of Morrison’s music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B, such as the popular singles “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”, “Domino” and “Wild Night”. An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as the album Astral Weeks and the lesser known Veedon Fleece and Common One. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as “Celtic soul”. He has received two Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was knighted for services to the music industry and to tourism in Northern Ireland. He is known by the nickname Van the Man to his fans. (by wikipedia)

And here´s a wonderful, a brilliant live concert together with The Danish Radio Big Band … what a great addition to every Van Morrison collection … it´s a must to have !

I had a request for this recently and to save myself some transfer time i thought i’d see if this already existed here [Dime]. What i found of this well-known Van show was a bootleg of the incomplete show just including the songs Van sang plus a couple of tracks from another show. After grabbing this i went back to my 31-year-old cassette. I remembered it being longer and it was. My tape has what I believe to be the complete FM broadcast including a version of one of the songs not included on the bootleg. i also believe my copy is better quality. I got this a few months after the show was on the radio. (davmar77, September 2018)

Recorded live at the Kulturcafe, Centersal, Ishoj, Denmark; February 28, 1987
Very good FM broadcast.

Personnel:
Van Morrison (vocals)
+
The Danish Radio Big Band:
Palle Bolvig (trumpet)
Lennart Gruvstedt (drums)
Ole Kock Hansen (piano)
Steen Hansen (trombone)
Lars Hougaard (trombone)
Bent Jædig (saxophone)
Uffe Karskov (saxophone)
Fleming Knudsen (saxophone)
Perry Knudsen (trumpet)
Ture Larsen (trombone)
Vincent Nilsson (trombone)
Benny Rosenfeld (trumpet)
Bjarne Roupé (guitar)
Jesper Thilo (saxophone)
Lars Togeby (trumpet)
Mads Vinding (bass)
Jan zum Vohrde (saxophone)
Ethan Weisgard (percussion)
Axel Windfeld (trombone)
Jens Winther (trumpet)

Alternate front + backcover:

Tracklist:
01. Say It (instrumental) (Nilsson) 5.18
02. DJ talk 0.36
03. I Will Be There (Morrison) 2.49
04. DJ talk 0.49
05. A New Kind Of Man (Morrison) 3.41
06. DJ talk 0.26
07. Haunts Of Ancient People 6:06
08. DJ talk 0.29
09. Celtic Swing (instrumental) (Morrison) 5.16
10. Listen To The Lion (Morrison) 5:52
11. DJ talk 0.33
12. Vanlose Stairway (Morrison) 5.01
13. DJ talk 0.51
14. Scarborough Fair (instrumenta) (Traditional) 6.27
15. DJ talk 0.22
16. Got To Go Back (Morrison) 5.06
17. DJ talk 0.21
18. Here Comes The Night (Berns) 3.31

*
**

Van Morrison – Meet Me In… (2002)

Van Morrison continued to record and tour in the 2000s, often performing two or three times a week. He formed his own independent label, Exile Productions Ltd, which enables him to maintain full production control of each album he records, which he then delivers as a finished product to the recording label that he chooses, for marketing and distribution.

The album Down the Road, released in May 2002, received a good critical reception and proved to be his highest charting album in the US since 1972’s Saint Dominic’s Preview. It had a nostalgic tone, with its fifteen tracks representing the various musical genres Morrison had previously covered—including R&B, blues, country and folk; one of the tracks was written as a tribute to his late father George, who had played a pivotal role in nurturing his early musical tastes. (by wikipedia)

Van Morrison has always from time to time allowed for concert recordings and here´s a real pretty one … This show was broadcasted on August 16, 2002, by the German radio station RadioEins.

And here ist the complete version of this concert in soundboard quality !

Enjoy the one and only Van Morrison !

Recorded live at the The Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany, June 06, 2002

Personnel:
Richard Dunn (keyboards)
Ned Edwards (guitar, background vocals)
David Hayes (bass)
Matt Holland (trumpet)
Bobby Irwin (drums)
Van Morrison (vocals, guitar, saxophone, harmonica)
Martin Winning (saxophone, clarinet)
+
Candy Dulfer (saxophone)

Alternate front+ backcover

Tracklist:
01. Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (Morrison) 3.27
02. Whining Boy Moan (Morrison) 5.10
03. Days Like This (Morrison) 2.59
04. Did Ye Get Healed? (Morrison) 5.47
05. Naked In The Jungle (Morrison) 6.38
06. In The Midnight (Morrison) 5.05
07. Hey Mr. DJ (I) (Morrison) 3.49
08. Meet Me In The Indian Summer (Morrison) 3.51
09. Hey Mr. DJ (II) (Morrison) 5.26
10. Sometimes We Cry (Morrison) 3.00
11. Into The Mystic (Morrison) 3.46
12. Early In The Morning (Jordan/Bartley/Hickman) 5.51
13. Real Real Gone (Morrison) 4.49
14. In The Afternoon/Raincheck (Morrison) 10.31
15. All Work No Play (Morrison) 4.49
16. Its All In The Game (Morrison) 11.43
17. Brown-Eyed Girl (Morrison) 4.18
18. Gloria (Morrison) 4.39

*
**

Van Morrison (feat. Dr. John) – The Wonderland Tapes (1977)

For years the best known set of Van’s brief collaboration with Dr John in 1977 has widely circulated only in incomplete form and mediocre sound on a bootleg known as Amsterdam’s Tapes. Now, thanks to the persistence, dedication and collaboration of VLS (vanlose stairway) members and friends, this rare show has finally been assembled from the best sources available to us, complete as broadcast on Dutch FM radio. After 20+ years, we are sure fans will agree that it is about time! Better yet, we have also unearthed the “raw audio source” of that set, taken from the live performance for a TV program called “Wonderland” in Vara Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands. This audio has never before been circulated, and although available only in mono, it will surely delight the attentive listener. –

Thanks to crmass; and to goody for the remaster and for sharing the tracks at Dime.

This is a new remaster (uploaded June 10, 2019) based upon a set that’s been circulating for years, last seen here as of 2017 or so courtesy of, I think, DeathGlider (who’ll definitely be picking up this update, I see…) I got it back in ‘05, courtesy of ‘crmass’ at that time (thanks!).

I would like to sincerely thank VLS so much for this excellent compilation, and all others along the way for these sources – until now, the best presentation of this great program. Many of the FM tracks needed speed/pitch adjustment and are now in tune. Some tracking here and there has been updated a bit, (meaning a total of only 3 marker moves.) Many of those digital noises mentioned towards the end of disc 2 have been greatly reduced or removed, making it easier now to hear some very low volume off-mic dialog if you listen closely. Hope nobody minds. So… NOW… I do believe to my soul it’s the very best… (goody)

A Vanlose Stairway ProductionVery good FM broadcast/video feed;
Goody Speed/Pitch-adjusted Remaster.

Alternate front covers

Personnel:
Mo Foster (bass)
Peter van Hooke (drums)
Dr. John (keyboards, background vocals)
Van Morrison (vocals, piano, harmonica)
Mick Ronson (guitar, background vocals)

Tracklist:

From FM broadcast:
01. Hallelujah, I Love Her So (Charles) 2.35
02. Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Johnson) 2.14
03. Fever (Cooley/Blackwell) 3.52
04. Foggy Mountain Top (Carter) 5.02
05. I’ll Go Crazy (Brown) 2.57
06. Baby, Please Don’t Go (Williams) 4.18
07. Santa Rosalia (Traditional) 4.15
08. Announcer 0.38
09. Joyous Sound (Morrison) 2.48
10. You Gotta Make It Through The World (Morrison) 3.14
11. I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Dixon) 5:22
12. Shakin’ All Over (Kidd/Robinson) 4.14
13. The Eternal Kansas City (Morrison) 4:53
14. Announcer 0.21
15. Cold Wind In August (Morrison) 5.56

Video feed; mono:
16. Santa Rosalia (Traditional) 4.53
17. Cold Wind In August (Morrison) 6.14
18. Joyous Sound (Morrison) 3:02
19. You Gotta Make It Through The World (Morrison) 3.20
20. I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Dixon) 5.27
21. Shakin’ All Over (Kidd/Robinson) 4.36
22. The Eternal Kansas City (Morrison) 7.18
23. Cold Wind In August (Morrison) 8.00
24. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 3:29
25. Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Johnson) 2.42
26. Fever (Cooley/Blackwell) 4:18
27. Foggy Mountain Top (Carter) 5.45
28. I’ll Go Crazy (Brown) 3.17
29. Baby, Please Don’t Go (Williams) 5.05

*
**

Van Morrison, Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber – The Skiffle Sessions – Live In Belfast (2000)

The Skiffle Sessions – Live In Belfast 1998 is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, with Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber, released in 2000 (see 2000 in music). Lonnie Donegan had played with the Chris Barber Jazz Band when he had his first hit with “Rock Island Line”/”John Henry” in 1955. He had been a childhood influence on Van Morrison, who had first performed in his own skiffle band with schoolmates when he was twelve years old in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This was Donegan’s first album in twenty years, reviving his career until his death in 2002.

Recorded on 20 and 21 November 1998 at Whitla Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1977, Morrison had discussed recording an album of skiffle music with Dr. John, “because I started off in a skiffle group and there must be millions of other musicians who also began their careers playing that kind of music…” In preparation for this recording, he went to see Donegan perform and invited him to dinner and after a second meeting they arranged to record the sessions live. Dr. John, who was playing in concert in the city’s Ulster Hall the same evening, arrived toward the end of the recording to play piano on the final few tracks. (by wikipedia)

Van Morrison probably chose to give a pair of skiffle concerts in November, 1998 not because he was nostalgic, but because he has genuine love for this music. At least, that’s the impression The Skiffle Sessions gives. It’s a cheerfully old-fashioned yet curiously fresh album. By skipping “Rock Island Line,” the style’s best-known tune, and emphasizing the music’s foundation in American folk, blues, and jazz, they wind up revitalizing skiffle while paying homage to it. Yes, this may be corny at times, yet it’s a clever, diverse record. They delve into blues, letting Barber have a Dixieland trombone solo on “Frankie and Johnny,” invite Dr. John to play some New Orleans on “Goin’ Home” and “Good Morning Blues,” haul out Jimmie Rodgers’ “Muleskinner Blues” and Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene,” paying tribute to both country and folk. Only “Don’t You Rock Me Daddio” fits the clichés of skiffle, and here it’s only one side of a rich, generous collection of roots music.

Some might say that this multifaceted approach to skiffle is revisionism, but it isn’t; skiffle itself was a hybrid, drawing from all sorts of American roots music but given an endearing twist by idealist British musicians, who loved the American myth as much as the music. The Skiffle Sessions captures this love of myth and music, while being a hell of a good listen. Morrison’s career has been idiosyncratic and unpredictable, but nothing has been quite as surprising as this. Really, there’s no reason why a skiffle album released in 2000 should be as irresistible as this, but Morrison, Donegan, and Barber bring such heart and love to this music that it’s hard not to be charmed. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Chris Barber (vocals, trombone, bass)
Lonnie Donegan (vocals, guitar)
Paul Henry (guitar)
Chris Hunt (bass)
Van Morrison (vocals, guitar)
Nick Payne (harmonica, saxophone, background vocals)
Nicky Scott (bass)
Big Jim Sullivan (guitar)
Alan “Sticky” Wicket (washboard, percussion)
+
Dr. John – piano on 03. + 04.)

Promo EP

Tracklist:
01. It Takes A Worried Man (Traditional) 3.40
02. Lost John (Traditional) 3.33
03. Goin’ Home (Dvořák) 3.08
04. Good Morning Blues (Leadbelly/Lomax) 2.52
05. Outskirts Of Town (Razaf/Waller) 4.20
06. Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O (Traditional) 1.51
07. Alabamy Bound (DeSylva/Green/Henderson) 2.22
08. Midnight Special (Traditional) 2.53
09. Dead Or Alive (Guthrie) 2.33
10. Frankie And Johnny (Traditional) 4.31
11. Goodnight Irene (Leadbelly/Lomax) 2.46
12. Railroad Bill (Traditional) 1.57
13. Muleskinner Blues (Rodgers/Vaughn) 3.06
14. The Ballad Of Jesse James (Traditional) 3.07
15. I Wanna Go Home (Traditional) 3.46

*
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Van Morrison – Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983)

Inarticulate Speech of the Heart is the fourteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1983. Morrison said he arrived at the title from a Shavian saying: “that idea of communicating with as little articulation as possible, at the same time being emotionally articulate”. As his last album for Warner Bros. Records, he decided to do an album of mostly instrumentals. As he explained in 1984, “Sometimes when I’m playing something, I’m just sort of humming along with it, and that’s got a different vibration than an actual song. So the instrumentals just come from trying to get that form of expression, which is not the same as writing a song.” Although not expanded upon, of note is that a special thanks is given to L. Ron Hubbard in the liner notes. The reissued and remastered version of the album contains alternative takes of “Cry for Home” and “Inarticulate Speech of the Heart No. 2”.

The recording sessions took place in California, Dublin, and a series of marathon sessions at the Town House in London. Morrison played piano, guitar and saxophone on these sessions. Two Irish musicians played on the album (Arty McGlynn and Davy Spillane) and overall the music had a strong Celtic colouring. Four of the songs were instrumentals. (by wikipedia)

Almost a forgotten album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart takes listeners to the deepest, most inward areas of Van Morrison’s renegade Irish soul, the culmination of his spiritual jazz period and also — perhaps not coincidentally — the last record he made for Warner Bros. Four of the 11 tracks are moody instrumentals, which might partly explain the indifference of many rock critics toward the album, although the album’s very title gives a clue to their presence. The mood is predominantly mellow but never flaccid or complacent; there is a radiance that glows throughout. “Higher Than the World” is simply one of the most beautiful recordings Morrison ever made, with Mark Isham’s choir-like synthesizer laying down the lovely backdrop. The instrumental “Connswater” is the most Irish-flavored piece that Morrison had made up to that point, and would continue to be until he recorded with the Chieftains in 1988. “Rave on, John Donne” — in part a recitation invoking a roster of writers over a supple two-chord vamp — seems to have had the longest afterlife, reappearing in Morrison’s live shows and greatest-hits compilations. “The Street Only Knew Your Name” is the only piece that could be classified as a rocker, tempered even here by the synthesizer overlays. The record sold poorly, but many of those who bought it consider it one of the most cherished items in their Van Morrison collections. (by Richard S. Ginell)

Personnel:
John Allair (keyboards)
Tom Donlinger (percussion, drums, percussion)
Pee Wee Ellis (saxophone, flute)
David Hayes (bass)
Peter van Hooke (drums, tambourine)
Mark Isham (synthesizer, trumpet)
Arty McGlynn (guitar)
Chris Michie (guitar)
Van Morrison (guitar, piano, saxophone, vocals)
Davy Spillane (uilleann pipes, flute)
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background vocals:
Annie Stocking –Bianca Thornton – Mihr Un Nisa Douglass – Stephanie Douglass – Pauline Lozana

Tracklist:
01. Higher Than The World 3.39
02. Connswater 4.08
03. River Of Time 3.00
04. Celtic Swing 5.03
05. Rave On, John Donne 5.15
06. Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart No. 1 4.52
07. Irish Heartbeat 4.38
08. The Street Only Knew Your Name 3.36
09. Cry For Home 3.42
10. Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart No. 2 3.53
11. September Night 5.14

All songs written by Van Morrison

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Van Morrison – Blowing Your Mind (1967)

Blowin’ Your Mind! is the debut album by Northern Irish musician Van Morrison, released in 1967. It was recorded 28–29 March 1967 and contained his first solo pop hit “Brown Eyed Girl”. It was included by Rolling Stone as one of the 40 Essential Albums of 1967.

Morrison does not regard this record as a true album, as Bert Berns compiled and released it without his consent. A few months previously, Morrison had carelessly signed a contract that he had not fully studied and it stipulated that he would surrender virtually all control of the material he would record with Bang Records. The songs were recorded in March 1967 and had been intended to be released on four separate singles. The album jacket became notorious as a model of bad taste. It featured a strange swirl of circling brown vines (and drug connotation) surrounding a sweaty looking Morrison. Greil Marcus described it as a “monstrously offensive, super psychedelic far out out-of-sight exploding” design. Morrison’s then-wife, Janet Planet, said “He never has been, never will be anything approaching a psychedelic user – wants nothing to do with it, wants nothing to do with any drug of any kind”. As the singer recalls, “I got a call saying it was an album coming out and this is the cover. And I saw the cover and I almost threw up, you know.” Later, after Berns’ death, Morrison would express his displeasure on a couple of “nonsense songs” he included on the contractual obligation recording session. One was entitled “Blow in Your Nose,” and another was titled “Nose in Your Blow.”

Of the eight songs on the album, all were composed by Morrison except “Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)” and the last song, “Midnight Special”. Clinton Heylin contends that the first side of the album “makes for one of the great single-sided albums in rock”, whereas Greil Marcus, the album’s most hostile critic, found it “painfully boring, made up of three sweet minutes of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and… the sprawling, sensation-dulling ‘T.B. Sheets'”.[8] “He Ain’t Give You None” is an urban tale of “lust, jealousy and sexual disgust.” It references Notting Hill Gate and Curzon Street in London, England, places Morrison would have been familiar with when he lived there during his earlier touring days. It contains the words, “You can leave now if you don’t like what is happening.” Brian Hinton compares “the delighted contempt of the singer, the song’s graveyard pace, the stately organ and stinging guitar” to the Highway 61 period of Bob Dylan.

Entertainment Weekly gave it a B-rating, noting that it “displays the pitfalls of late-’60s blues rock: meandering solos, hippie sentiments, and the occasional fuzz-tone guitar. But in the hand of Van the Man, those vices are virtues, and what could have been tedious is often hypnotic.” (by wikipedia)

Although Van Morrison’s first solo album is remembered for containing the immortal pop hit “Brown Eyed Girl,” Blowin’ Your Mind! is actually a dry run for his masterpiece, Astral Weeks. Songs like “Who Drove the Red Sports Car” look to that song cycle, even as “Midnight Special” nods to Morrison’s R&B past. But it’s the agonizing “T.B. Sheets” — all nine-plus minutes of it — that dominates this record and belies its trendy title and pop association. “T.B. Sheets” takes the blues and reinvents it as noble tragedy and humiliating mortality. It’s where Van Morrison emerges as an artist. (by William Ruhlmann)

Personnel:
Gary Chester (drums)
Eric Gale (bass)
Al Gorgoni (guitar)
Paul Griffin (keyboards)
Hugh McCracken (guitar)
Van Morrison (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
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unknown female background singers

Tracklist:
01. Brown Eyed Girl (Morrison) 3.0
02. He Ain’t Give You None (Morrison) 5.14
03. T.B. Sheets (Morrison) 9.45
04. Spanish Rose (Morrison) 3.08
05. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) (Farrell/Russell) 2.59
06. Ro Ro Rosey (Morrison) 3,03
07. Who Drove The Red Sports Car? (Morrison) 5.34
08- Midnight Special (Traditional) 2.51
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09. Spanish Rose (alternate take) (Morrison) 3.38
10. Ro Ro Rosey  (alternate take) (Morrison) 3.08
11. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) (alternate take) (Farrell/Russell) 2.40
12. Who Drove The Red Sports Car?  (alternate take) (Morrison) 3.49
13. Midnight Special  (alternate take) (Traditional) 2.46

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Van Morrison – It’s Too Late To Stop Now (1973)

It’s Too Late to Stop Now is a 1974 live double album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It features performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California; the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and the Rainbow in London, during Morrison’s three-month tour with his eleven-piece band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, from May to July 1973. Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever, It’s Too Late to Stop Now was recorded during what has often been said to be the singer’s greatest phase as a live performer.It’s Too Late to Stop Now is a 1974 live double album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It features performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California; the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and the Rainbow in London, during Morrison’s three-month tour with his eleven-piece band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, from May to July 1973. Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever, It’s Too Late to Stop Now was recorded during what has often been said to be the singer’s greatest phase as a live performer.

Noted for being a mercurial and temperamental live performer, during this short period of time in 1973, Morrison went on one of his most diligent tours in years. With his eleven-piece band, The Caledonia Soul Orchestra, which included a horn and string section, he has often been said to have been at his live performing peak.

Morrison said about touring during this period:
I am getting more into performing. It’s incredible. When I played Carnegie Hall in the fall something just happened. All of a sudden I felt like ‘you’re back into performing’ and it just happened like that…A lot of times in the past I’ve done gigs and it was rough to get through them. But now the combination seems to be right and it’s been clicking a lot.[9]
It’s like watching a tiger. The tiger isn’t thinking about where he’s going to put his paws or how he’s going to kill… and [it’s the] same thing with Van. He’s just so there that you’re completely drawn to it.“”-Jim Rothernel

Evidence of his newly invigorated joy in performing was on display during the ending of the over-ten-minute-long dynamic performance of “Cyprus Avenue”. When an audience member shouts out, “Turn it on!”, Morrison good-naturedly replies, “It’s turned on already.” At the very end he finished the concert with a final heartfelt, “It’s too late to stop now!” giving the album its title (this line first appeared on the song “Into the Mystic”).
The concert performances were described by Erik Hage as “sequences of a young soul lion whipping the crowd into a frenzy and then stopping on a dime—teasing out anticipation, rushing, receding, and coaxing every drop out of his band.”

Guitarist John Platania says “He had a funeral for a lot of his old songs on stage. With Caledonia, he really got off on performing. There was definitely joy getting onstage at that point. That was a wonderful time for everybody. It was really like a family. Ordinarily, with rock ‘n’ rollers, jazzers and classical musicians in the band, you’d think it was a three-headed serpent but everybody got along famously.”

The performances on the live album were from tapes made at the beginning of the tour in Los Angeles and also in Santa Monica and London. Marco Bario, who attended the opening night concert at The Troubadour, said in Playgirl: “he was exceptional. The mood was right, the audience was receptive, and the music left no comparisons to be made. It was the finest opening night performance by a consummate musician that I have ever witnessed.”A large cream-coloured and tiled building stands at the intersection of two roads. Dark grey clouds dominate an overcast sky. Two flags are flying from the fascia of the building, which is covered mostly by a large advertising hoarding.The Rainbow Theatre in London
The London concerts were the first time he had appeared in that city since performing with Them, six years earlier. The two concerts at the Rainbow Theatre in London were referred to as “the rock event of the year” by critics according to Ritchie Yorke in his biography. The 24 July 1973 London Rainbow concert was the first BBC simulcast broadcast simultaneously on BBC 2 television and Radio 2 stereo so that viewers with strategically sited loudspeakers could enjoy “stereo TV”. The broadcast took place on 27 May 1974.

A mixture of songs that inspired his own musical development, together with some of his own compositions, allied to a backing band and orchestra (The Caledonia Soul Orchestra) and several performances (as noted in the album’s liner notes) that were recorded in concerts at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, California (24–27 May 1973), the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (29 June 1973) and The Rainbow (23–24 July 1973) in London.

These performance result in what Myles Palmer of the Times reviewed as demolishing “all barriers between the soul, blues, jazz and rock genres”. The songs chosen went back to his days with Them with versions of “Gloria” and “Here Comes the Night”. His first solo hit “Brown Eyed Girl” was performed but not included on the album until the reissue in 2008. M. Mark called the album “an intelligent selection of songs that draws on six of Morrison’s records and five of the musicians he learned from.” These musicians were Bobby Bland, (“Ain’t Nothing You Can Do”), Ray Charles, (“I Believe to My Soul”), Sam Cooke (“Bring It On Home to Me”), two songs by Sonny Boy Williamson II (“Help Me” and “Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket”) and a cover of a Willie Dixon song, “I Just Want to Make Love to You” that was popularized by Muddy Waters.

Unlike most live rock albums, there was no studio overdubbing allowed by Morrison, which resulted in the exclusion of “Moondance” from the album due to one wrong guitar note. Morrison strictly adhered to his concept of authenticity in presenting the live performance but his musical perfectionism prevented him from including “Moondance”.[15] “It’s common practice to go back and fix things, but not with Van,” bass player David Hayes said, “I think that’s what makes it one of the best ever.” It is thought to be one of the first live albums with no overdubs and the first live album to have string players.

Fellow biographer Johnny Rogan said that “Morrison was in the midst of what was arguably his greatest phase as a performer.”

It’s Too Late to Stop Now has been on lists of greatest live albums of all time. (by wikipedia)

Named for the mighty Belfast singer’s exhortation at the close of his song, Into The Mystic, It’s Too Late…is oft-referred to as one of the greatest live albums ever recorded. Included in the first batch of remasters of the ‘Man”s back catalogue, now’s your chance to argue the toss again.

When Morrison hit the road in the Summer of 1973 -ITLTSN collects material from gigs in LA, Santa Monic and London – he’d not only notched up a run of six absolutely flawless collections of what would probably now be referred to as ‘soul jazz’, but he’d also assembled a team of players that were the equal of his own perfectionism. Such was this perfectionism that the original running order was shorn of his most widely-known tune, Moondance, due to one bum guitar note. In other words this is one of the few live albums you’ll ever hear with NO overdubs.

When you hear ITLTSN you realise why this had to be the case: Morrison’s blend of his own classics along with a fair smattering of tracks that influenced him is delivered with such passion, and belief that any studio tinkering would be like throwing a tin of paint over the Mona Lisa. In a live setting all the hyperbole about Morrison’s blend of genres into one Celtic, mystic vision makes perfect sense. This is soul music in a very real sense.

It was also a sign of how Van had matured that he can deliver classics like Ray Charles’ I Believe To My Soul or Sonny Boy Williamson’s Help Me and make them his own. Not only this he improves on his own compositions. Cypress Avenue, complete with the strings of the Caledonian Soul orchestra may even be better than the original on Astral Weeks. Quite a feat. And just listen to how playful Morrison is on the improvised breaks (”You say in France!”): grunting, wailing, going beyond mere words in his striving to convey the heart of this music. This is a master live performer at work. And enjoying it.

With just one bonus track (a version of Brown Eyed Girl) this polished edition gives you the chance to hear one of the best bands and their genius of a singer deliver the goods one more time, 35 years on. It’s never too late… (Chris Jones, BBC, 2008)

Personnel:
Teressa Adams (cello)
Bill Atwood (trumpet, background vocals)
Nancy Ellis (viola)
Tom Halpin (vocals)
David Hayes (bass, background vocals)
Tim Kovatch (violin)
Jef Labes (keyboards)
Van Morrison (vocals)
John Platania (guitar, background vocals)
Nathan Rubin (violin)
Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw) (drums, background vocals)
Jack Schroer (saxophone, tambourine, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do (MaloneScott) 3.48
02. Warm Love (Morrison) 3.05
03. Into The Mystic (Morrison) 4.31
04. These Dreams Of You (Morrison) 3.37
05. I Believe To My Soul (Charles) 4.09
06. I’ve Been Working (Morrison) 3.55
07. Help Me (Williamson/Bass/Dixon) 3.25
08. Wild Children (Morrison) 5.04
09. Domino (Morrison) 4.48
10. I Just Want To Make Love To You (Dixon) 5.16
11. Bring It On Home To Me (Cooke)4.43
12. Saint Dominic’s Preview (Morrison) 6.18
13. Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (Williamson) 4.05
14. Listen To The Lion (Morrison) 8.44
15. Here Comes The Night (Berns) 3.14
16. Gloria (Morrison) 4.15
17. Caravan (Morrison) 9.21
18. Cyprus Avenue (Morrison) 10.28
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19. Brown Eyed Girl (Morrison) 3.26

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