When it seemed that Morrison's music might be getting stale--right around the time of Period Of Transition and Wavelength--this came out of nowhere and brought everything...
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Into the Music may not seem like a great Van Morrison record, one of his very best, upon first listen, especially if you're trying to compare it to such masterpieces as...
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Possibly rock's finest-ever live album; catches Moondance-era Morrison in his prime, boosts the murky sound of his Band And Street Choir material....
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While Van Morrison is, to be kind, an erratic and temperamental live performer, he's in stellar form throughout the double album It's Too Late to Stop Now, a superb concert...
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Morrison's moments of approaching the splendor of Astral Weeks are few and far between; this beautiful, private-sounding disc comes closer than any...
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The final album of Van Morrison's remarkably prolific and innovative 1968-1974 period (followed by three years of silence), Veedon Fleece brings the singer full circle,...
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Morrison's unique blending of philosophy, religion and life was never more apparent here, another disc that--instrumentally at least--sounds in the Astral Weeks/Veedon...
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With "Ivory Tower," Van Morrison produced another excellent rocker in his familiar style, while "In the Garden" took him to one of his more spiritual, religious spaces. ~...
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If the title didn't tip you off, the opening five-minute jazz instrumental "Spanish Steps" certainly reveals that Poetic Champions Compose is an art record. Of course, Van...
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While less thematically and sonically cohesive than Van Morrison's prior albums, Saint Dominic's Preview nonetheless hangs together on the strength of its songs, an...
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Another re-packaging of Bang Records material issued without Van Morrison's approval, this album focuses on Morrison's longer, more ambitious songs, such as the title cut,...
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One of several reissue packages documenting Morrison's priceless early material, this may be the most complete major-label repackage. Its only flaw: the inclusion of an...
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During the period between his departure from Them and his masterpiece Astral Weeks, Van Morrison tenured with Bert Berns' Bang label, notching his biggest solo hit with the...
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No big hit singles are here, or even familiar songs for that matter. Van Morrison compiled The Best Of, Volume 2 himself, leaning heavily toward his recent work. As an...
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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...
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The title track is a mundane cross between contemporary blues and soft rock with a chorus repeated ad nauseam. Next up is the gently rocking blues of "Big Time Operator"...
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Tupelo Honey is typical of Van Morrison's early-'70s work in both sound and structure; after dispensing with the requisite hit -- here, the buoyant, R&B-inflected "Wild...
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Wavelength essentially picks up where A Period of Transition left off, offering a focused, full-bodied alternative to that record's warmly fuzzy lack of direction. Like that...
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Van Morrison's U.S. label debut with Polygram (which had issued his Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast album in England earlier) is a strong effort, mixing some of his...
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Titles rarely come as explicit as A Period of Transition, a record Van Morrison released three years after Veedon Fleece, an uncommonly long period of inactivity for this...
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Van Morrison scored one of his biggest commercial successes with Avalon Sunset, a record highlighted by the gorgeous "Have I Told You Lately," one of his most heartfelt love...
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Beautiful Vision shares much sonically with its predecessor, Common One, being heavy on long, winding song-poems, moderate tempos, dense lyricism, and dated production....
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Morrison was working through one of his greatest -- yet least appreciated -- creative periods when he made this album, one that burrows deeply into an introspective...
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Essentially the same album as Avalon Sunset, Enlightenment is an immaculately produced collection of spiritually infused R&B and mid-tempo singer/songwriter fare. If Avalon...
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Unfairly slagged upon its release, this album has aged very well for the most part (except for "The Great Deception," still too strident); opening track "Snow In San...
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Although it marks a decline from the astonishing run of five great albums Van Morrison had made from 1968 through 1972, Hard Nose the Highway is still a respectable, if...
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After the brilliant one-two punch of Astral Weeks and Moondance, His Band and the Street Choir brings Van Morrison back down to earth, both literally and figuratively. While...
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A lengthy, sometimes hard to digest double-CD, this seemed slightly excessive at the time. Is this man ever going to stop making records? Typical Van song idea: "I'm Not...
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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...
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Van Morrison is a legendary live performer, capable of invigorating, incendiary performances that can be utterly hypnotic, as the near-classic 1974 set It's Too Late to Stop...
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Van Morrison's third commercially released live album takes a show format that frequently spotlights the backup band, led by organist/singer Georgie Fame and featuring...
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A most fascinating double disc. The first contains the tracks found on Bang Masters; the bonus CD contains 31 previously unreleased acoustic ditties. The word ditties is a...
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Surprise: Morrison's recent album features a few arrangements surprisingly reminiscent of his Moondance days. Great fun, particularly "Burning...
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Van Morrison's 23rd studio album of original material in 30 years follows two jazz-oriented side projects, during which he was able to indulge his affection for the works of...
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Brown Eyed Beginnings is a horribly retitled repackaging of the material that comprises Charly's double-disc set, Payin' Dues. Like the Charly collection, Brown Eyed...
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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,...
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On the second track of his new album, Morrison sings, "I keep searching for the Philosopher's Stone." I wish he'd find the damn thing already. It's probably too...
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After so many songs ranging through so many styles, it is a pleasure to have Van Morrison return to the music that suits him so well. Steeped in blues and R&B, Back on Top...
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This brief hits collection includes a few of Morrison's more well-known songs, like "Brown Eyed Girl," "Madame George," "Spanish Rose," "I Send Your Mind" and "He Ain't Give...
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Van Morrison has always been a prolific artist, releasing nearly an album a year for 30 years. All the while, he had a stockpile of unreleased material in the vaults, many...
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Metro's Early Years: 1967-1968 collection is comprised of the (much compiled) recordings Van Morrison made for Bang! after his split from Them. Teaming with Brill Building...
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On the surface, it might be easy to consider The Skiffle Sessions as just another sidebar in the long and storied career of Van Morrison, a la his forays into Celtic...
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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,...
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After spending much of the 1990s expressing his bitterness with the modern world in albums like Hymns to the Silence and Days Like This, Van Morrison sought to overcome his...
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Castle Pie's Brown Eyed Girl is comprised of the (much compiled) recordings Van Morrison made for Bang! after his split from Them. Teaming with Brill Building vet producer...
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If you only read smug publications like Blender you might believe that Van Morrison is a "grumpy grampy" bitter about his place in the music world, just another old fart...
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While 2002's Down the Road was the best Van Morrison release in ages -- with its autobiographical allusions, cultural critiques, and new band -- it could not have prepared...
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Dressed to Kill's Van Morrison Collection, Vol. 1 is comprised of the (much compiled) recordings Morrison made for Bang! after his split from Them. Teaming with Brill...
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Thanks & Giving All Year Long is a companion CD to Marlo Thomas' book of the same name. Combining spoken word performances of the stories and poems in the book with original...
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Magic Time is one of those rare, intermittent Van Morrison records that consciously offers a bird's eye view of everywhere he's been musically and weaves it all together...
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