Van Morrison: your views please

yeah i've always wondered if that song is just straight up improv on van's part or what. barely a song but holy shit!

yeah 'bright side of the road' was on into the music, pretty easily the best post-peak run van album (xgau says best post-moondance, and he may be right). apparently shakira performed it at the obama inauguration!

Into The Music a fine piece of work but hardly the best since Moondance

I prefer it to Moondance. I prefer St Dominic's Preview to Moondance. I prefer Tupelo Honey to Moondance.

see a trend?

"Full Force Gale" is mighty

holy shit steppin' out queen - i just went fucking ham

how did i not know about this philosopher's stone thing??????

fuckin' a

YOU GONNA PROMENADE!
A LITTLE HIP ACTION!

seems like that release was kinda under the radar (at least I didn't really pay attention to it when it came out). but it's essential imo. van really needs like a comprehensive box set, but maybe he's been on too many different labels for that to happen?

yeah label thing is a huge obstacle, even the comps, as solid as they are, are hurt by this i think. really wish his 80s onward stuff was on spotify, totally the kind of thing that service is best for.

yeah, i just went over there to listen to some stuff but no dice! vannnnnnnn!

it used to be, must've been taken down

van really needs like a comprehensive box set, but maybe he's been on too many different labels for that to happen?

I have a good 2-disc NRBQ comp (on Rhino) and they've been on like seven different labels, so it's doable.

yeah, i mean now that all major labels are one major label (or three, i can't keep track) it seems like it should happen. might even be van's fault, i feel like he might own his masters or something?

holy shit steppin' out queen!

soto do you actually not like moondance or are you just tired of it or do you just prefer some others to it? totally understand the latter two and always kinda amazed at how many ppl i've met who own and LOVE moondance, go to a weird place when they hear 'into the mystic' like it's 'desperado' or something and yet somehow have zero interest in listening or owning any other van morrison album.

I gotta rep for "inarticulate speech of the heart" as far as 80s van goes. immense album.

soto do you actually not like moondance or are you just tired of it or do you just prefer some others to it? totally understand the latter two and always kinda amazed at how many ppl i've met who own and LOVE moondance, go to a weird place when they hear 'into the mystic' like it's 'desperado' or something and yet somehow have zero interest in listening or owning any other van morrison album.

The second side is a bore and I never want to listen to it whereas every other album I mentioned has goodies.

but the first side is so awesome it makes up for it. but yeah, this is one of those albums where i only listen to one side.

also, why does Allmusic show "Crazy Love" as having been written by Paul Anka? That can't be right!

yeah, i mean now that all major labels are one major label (or three, i can't keep track) it seems like it should happen. might even be van's fault, i feel like he might own his masters or something?

Van owns most of his masters, and that's part of the problem. He had a nice reissue campaign going a few years ago, but stopped it (depending on who you ask) either because he got pissed at his label, or he got caught up in new projects, including the Astral Weeks concert series. The latter also came about because of another problem: most of his solo catalog that he doesn't own is controled by Warner Bros. Morrison has been trying to get them back for years to no avail, complaining that those albums haven't been treated properly (and hence no reissues other than audiophile vinyl outside of the still in print original cd editions). The live AW album was done so he could own versions of the all the songs on that set.

I listened to ASTRAL WEEKS about a year ago and was sorely disappointed. Not even sure how it can be considered a classic album...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWmAez71uMY

I'm really into ponderous Van. "Keep It Simple" is a hugely funny Van album title to me.

really wish his 80s onward stuff was on spotify, totally the kind of thing that service is best for.

i was bummed to discover this fact today

what are some good early-ish mark isham albums? I like his soundtrack for "never cry wolf"

Not Supposed To Break Down off Philosopher's Stone is just amazing.

Some other gems from the 80s that I don't think have been mentioned
- Wild Honey from Common One
- Rave On, John Donne from Inarticulate Speech
- So Quiet in Here and Real Real Gone from Enlightenment
- Tore Down a la Rimbaud from A Sense of Wonder

Rave On, John Donne is such a quintessential Van title. Hard to think of anyone else who'd merge Buddy Holly and 17th C English poetry.

"Celtic Ray" off Beautiful Vision quite nice too

i guess it's obvious that common one is totally killer but common one is totally killer

"Give Me My Rapture" from Poetic Champions Compose is a good 'un.

Yep, love that whole album.

I've been enjoying Into The Music quite a bit lately. Warm and comfy like an old sweater.

i don't think i've ever heard poetic champions.
this long outtake from the early 70s is worth hearing, if you haven't checked it out. http://ow.ly/fOwOm

Van The Man Don't Give A Fuck About Artwork (#20? In A Continuing Series...)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81deahJtc5L._SY450_.jpg

hope there's a posthumous biggie track on there

btw that's basically the concept for the elevator music that would play during the extremely long ride to my personal hell

(the record, I mean, not van/biggie)

Was hoping this morning that this might be news about further reissues. Like somebody finally getting a remastered Astral Weeks out officially. Or is that scuppered by Van's reaction to the release of the Deluxe Moondance?

lol at "Re-Working The Catalogue" -- van sounds really enthused about this one.

How about a reissue of Saint Dominic's Preview? I don't think you can even buy that on CD anymore.

really? crazy.

you can basically do what you like van, you've earned it, but ffs "Streets of Arklow - Van Morrison & Mick Hucknall"

Xp yeah it is crazy but it's definitely been OOP for a few years, cuz I remember being really excited to find the vinyl at my college radio station c.2007 (& subsequently really disappointed in the record's condition)

Van doesn't earn anything from the Warner Bros albs, so he's got no motivation or interest in helping out with or endorsing remastered editions.

yeah makes sense that he wouldn't want to do it, but can he stop WB from doing it?

Well he couldn't with Moondance - but can't think of another reason why WB haven't given Astral Weeks similar deluxe treatment (there are def outtakes etc floating around on bootlegs)

are there actual astral weeks outtakes on bootlegs? only things I've heard are the acoustic demos for moondance. i would kill for astral weeks session outtakes. KILL.

Think there's def some AW session stuff on that four CD 'Genuine Philosopher's Stone' bootleg set

should've gone with 'astral leaks'

there are some pre-astral weeks demos, but i don't think there are any actual session outtakes on that genuine philosopher's stone set.

kinda love that the duets record almost exclusively focuses on '80s and '90s material, very van

Hey did anyone read that Clinton Heylin bio of Van? I gave up pretty early in because he was so dismissive of The Them and Bang Records stuff, and also seemed weirdly hung up on bashing other Van Morrison biographies. Is it worth schlepping through the whole thing?