The All Things Van Morrison Thread

[duaneiac]

I was listening to the Down The Road album from 2002.  Had not listened to it in years.  I was absolutely wowed by this track, buried in the middle of this semi-forgotten album.  Beautiful imagery & sensations woven around a simple melody which builds and expands until it becomes its own sing-along anthem.  Join Mr. Morrison in fondly recalling "The Beauty of The Days Gone By".  You'll be glad you did.

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by duaneiac

[soulpope]

On 23.2.2019 at 6:28 PM, duaneiac said:

I was listening to the Down The Road album from 2002.  Had not listened to it in years.  I was absolutely wowed by this track, buried in the middle of this semi-forgotten album.  Beautiful imagery & sensations woven around a simple melody which builds and expands until it becomes its own sing-along anthem.  Join Mr. Morrison in fondly recalling "The Beauty of The Days Gone By".  You'll be glad you did.

 

👍Good one👍 ....

[Tom in RI]

Some years ago there was a Van trading group on Yahoo, I am amazed at just how many of his shows are around. He came off of the restricted list at a popular torrent site last year.

[duaneiac]

14 hours ago, Tom in RI said:

Some years ago there was a Van trading group on Yahoo, I am amazed at just how many of his shows are around.

Yes, I've been listening to quite a few shows on YouTube.  I really wish he (or his management) would get around to issuing some "authorized bootlegs" of some selected concerts.  There are so many ways they could go:  different sets devoted to different decades from the 1960's to 2010's; different sets devoted to concerts held in certain areas like New York, San Francisco, Dublin, etc.; sets of just shows that featured string sections or shows that included horn sections.  There is an immense amount of live material out there and if some of it could be collected, cleaned up and "officially" released, I'd be pleased to buy that package.

[medjuck]

27 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

Yes, I've been listening to quite a few shows on YouTube.  I really wish he (or his management) would get around to issuing some "authorized bootlegs" of some selected concerts.  There are so many ways they could go:  different sets devoted to different decades from the 1960's to 2010's; different sets devoted to concerts held in certain areas like New York, San Francisco, Dublin, etc.; sets of just shows that featured string sections or shows that included horn sections.  There is an immense amount of live material out there and if some of it could be collected, cleaned up and "officially" released, I'd be pleased to buy that package.

There are some good concerts at Wolfgang's Vault or whatever it's called now. 

[mjazzg]

Anyone seen him live recently (not with DeFrancesco)?  He's just announced a couple of nights at a nice London venue.  The last time I saw him was ten years or so ago when he played a predominantly 'Astral Weeks' set which was with a full, ten-piece plus band and was pretty marvellous.  A couple of years ago I watched a live concert on TV which was pedestrian at best, embarrassing at worst - he was uninvolved, didn't seem to want to sing complete songs etc. Everyone has an off night but...

I'm a huge fan of everything up to 'No Method...' and haven't been overly impressed by any album since. I've seen him four or five times and I'm thinking it's about time to see him live again. Any thoughts from anyone who's seen him recently? 

[duaneiac]

7 hours ago, mjazzg said:

I'm a huge fan of everything up to 'No Method...' and haven't been overly impressed by any album since. I've seen him four or five times and I'm thinking it's about time to see him live again. Any thoughts from anyone who's seen him recently? 

My thought upon seeing him in concert last November were what prompted me to start this thread.  It was the fourth time I'd seen him in concert and I still really enjoyed the show.  Check out the first post in this thread for more of what I wrote about it.

Have you checked out the albums Days Like This or The Healing Game?  I thought both of those were particularly strong releases of the past 25 years,

[medjuck]

I've seen him live about once a decade since 1970 or so. Last time I saw him was a couple of years ago and he was great.  (He dos seem to tease the audience at the end-- walks off stage and the band vamps for about 10 minutes looking offstage as if he might return but he doesn't. Though  I do think I have seen him play encores a couple of times. ) 

[stephenrr]

Seen Van 3 times in the past 3 years...and tickets to see him in Chicago in April.  He never really engages with the audience...no stories...no jokes...no banter.  But the band is tight and largely jazz/blues/R&B oriented.  He remains, IMO, a total original vocal interpreter of whatever he choses to sing.  Goosebumps, tears, and loud cheers are my physical response.  The man somehow manages to weave some magic sort of soul that speaks to me at a deep, subconscious level.  For me, the experience is worth 10 times the price of a ticket. 

[mjazzg]

Thank you everyone.  Good to hear folk have had very positive experiences recently

6 hours ago, duaneiac said:

My thought upon seeing him in concert last November were what prompted me to start this thread.  It was the fourth time I'd seen him in concert and I still really enjoyed the show.  Check out the first post in this thread for more of what I wrote about it.

Have you checked out the albums Days Like This or The Healing Game?  I thought both of those were particularly strong releases of the past 25 years,

Interestingly, those are two that I too felt have been the stronger but not up to the high standards of before. 

Thank you everyone.  Good to hear folk have had very positive experiences recently

[medjuck]

BTW When I saw him at the Santa Barbara Bowl he began Moondance just as the  full moon appeared over the stage.  Coincidence? Or, despite appearances, does he have a sense of showmanship? 

[duaneiac]

Here's a really good performance from 1997, around the time of The Healing Game album.  Van sounds like he was really into the new material.  He had a great band here including Georgie Fame and Pee Wee Ellis.  This version of that album's title tune (at around 36:30) is pure gold.  I don't know how well it comes across on video, but moments like that, experienced live, are really mesmerizing and soul-stirring.

 

[duaneiac]

1 hour ago, medjuck said:

BTW When I saw him at the Santa Barbara Bowl he began Moondance just as the  full moon appeared over the stage.  Coincidence? Or, despite appearances, does he have a sense of showmanship? 

I think he has quite a well-honed sense of showmanship.  That version of "The Healing Game" in the video I posted above is every bit as theatrical as Elvis Presley performing "Suspicious Minds" in concert or James Brown doing "It's a Man's World".  On the version of "The Burning Ground" that closes that concert, Van almost turns into a kabuki actor with his stylized stage movements.

[Ed S]

On 2/23/2019 at 0:28 PM, duaneiac said:

I was listening to the Down The Road album from 2002.  Had not listened to it in years.  I was absolutely wowed by this track, buried in the middle of this semi-forgotten album.  Beautiful imagery & sensations woven around a simple melody which builds and expands until it becomes its own sing-along anthem.  Join Mr. Morrison in fondly recalling "The Beauty of The Days Gone By".  You'll be glad you did.

 

I love this song.  I played it at the end of my father's wake this past September.  Very emotional.  The beauty of the days gone by for sure.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Ed Swinnich

[duaneiac]

A good video featuring 3 songs from a perhaps overlooked album.  Upon seeing Van Morrison so incomparably rockin' the v-neck sweater in this broadcast, the members of The Cardigans realized they would have to settle for their second choice for their band name.

[duaneiac]

New album due out October 25 --

[duaneiac]

I received notice that Van Morrison will be performing for 3 nights at Yoshi's in Oakland next February.

Tickets are $250.

[soulpope]

16 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

I received notice that Van Morrison will be performing for 3 nights at Yoshi's in Oakland next February.

Tickets are $250.

Steep ....

[erwbol]

19 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

I received notice that Van Morrison will be performing for 3 nights at Yoshi's in Oakland next February.

Tickets are $250.

Not per night?!  

[duaneiac]

55 minutes ago, erwbol said:

Not per night?!  

Yes, per night.  I can understand since it is an intimate venue and the shows there should be unforgettable experiences.  I forget what the seating capacity at Yoshi's is, but I'm guessing it's under 200 people.  If they can only sell 600 tickets over the three nights versus selling maybe 5,000 and up at a one night only show in a larger venue, they would have to raise the prices in order to make it worthwhile for both the performer and the venue.  And it is the SF area, so there are plenty folks around here who have that kind of disposable income.  I, alas, am not one of them.

[BFrank]

1 hour ago, soulpope said:

Steep ....

Yes. I think tix were around $200 when he played at SFJAZZ a while back, so not unexpected. I figured it would be more like $300-500! 

[erwbol]

Geldwolf (money grubber).

45 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

And it is the SF area, so there are plenty folks around here who have that kind of disposable income.  I, alas, am not one of them.

Enough top 5% earners in the SF area, so that's OK. Paupers prefer Kenny G and country music anyway.

[jlhoots]

Love Van, but not at that price!!

[Gheorghe]

Quite interesting was the tune "Send in the Clowns", when Van Morrison sat in with the Chet Baker Group, I think at Ronnie Scott´s . And since I don´t know much other Music than jazz, this was the first time I became Aware of him. That "Send in the Clowns" with Chat Baker sounded good, of course......

[soulpope]

24 minutes ago, Gheorghe said:

Quite interesting was the tune "Send in the Clowns", when Van Morrison sat in with the Chet Baker Group, I think at Ronnie Scott´s . And since I don´t know much other Music than jazz, this was the first time I became Aware of him. That "Send in the Clowns" with Chat Baker sounded good, of course......