Monday, December 25, 2006

Listen To Van in Nashville Concert Streaming on BBC

Van Morrison in Nashville, Christmas Day at 3pm on BBC Radio Ulster
(Click Van Morrison In Nashville)

BBC Radio Ulster simply sparkles with star surprises this Christmas. There’s a veritable musical feast of entertainment over the festive season kicking off on Christmas Day with Van Morrison in Nashville at 3pm.

Ralph McLean presents an exclusive concert featuring Belfast’s own Van the Man in concert at the hallowed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, recorded earlier this year. The concert will include traces from the country inspired album Pay the Devil as well as classic Van Morrison songs.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Van's "Pay The Devil" Makes 2006 Year End Lists

Denver Post - Best of 2006: Pop music
4. "Pay the Devil," Van Morrison: To be filed under: fans of Van Morrison, country & western, quality music. Van Morrison is far from flawless, but his voice remains sterling - especially when paired with lush countrypolitan compositions.

NY Daily News - The most listenable CDs
Van Morrison: "Pay the Devil" Who knew country music would be the thing to shake Van out of his doldrums?

CMT - Country Albums of 2006
(Noteworthy Albums) Van Morrison, Pay the Devil (Lost Highway)

GJSentinel - Top Releases of the 2006
In March the releases were Van Morrison’s country CD “Pay the Devil”

Musicbox-Online's Readers' Favorites for 2006
Readers' Favorites - 2006:
1) John Mayer - Continuum
2) Van Morrison - Pay the Devil
3) T Bone Burnett - The True False Identity
4) The Little Willies - The Little Willies
5) David Gilmour - On an Island

Amazon.com's Top 100 Customers' Favorites of 2006

31. Pay The Devil

Friday, December 22, 2006

New CD In '07: At The Movies - The Soundtrack Hits

Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits Collects 19 Cinematic Music Gems

Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits Collects 19 Cinematic Music Gems
CD to Be Released February 13, 2007 by Manhattan/EMI

Watch the video Van did for Days Like This from the movie As Good As It Gets which appears on the new cd. (Thanks: Julian Barnes/EMI)

Van Morrison's music plays a role in many of modern cinema's most cherished films. Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits, to be released February 13 by Manhattan/EMI Music Catalog Marketing, collects, for the first time, 19 of Morrison's best-known songs, presented as they've been featured in films. In addition to favorites including "Gloria" from The Outsiders, "Wild Night" from Thelma & Louise, and "Brown Eyed Girl" from Born On The Fourth Of July, the new collection includes a previously unreleased live version of "Moondance" from An American Werewolf In London, recorded live with strings in 1986 at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre.

The cinematic qualities of Van Morrison's songs make it no surprise that he is one of the most popular choices for movie music. His compositions have graced the soundtrack of many box office hits over the years.

That Martin Scorsese is a Van Morrison fan is unsurprising: the connection was made when Robbie Robertson's former roommate directed The Last Waltz, The Band's historic farewell performance in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. Rock writer and spectator Greil Marcus described Morrison's entrance as the catalyst that "turned the show round... There he was on stage, in a maroon suit and a green top, singing to the rafters. They cut into 'Caravan' (with John Simon waving The Band's volume up and down), and the horns at their most effective -- while Van burned holes in the floor... It was a triumph, and as the song ended Van began to kick his leg in sheer exuberance, and he kicked his way right offstage like a Rockette. The crowd had given him a fine welcome and they cheered wildly when he left."

Morrison's live version of the Pink Floyd classic "Comfortably Numb," featured by Scorsese in his 2006 blockbuster The Departed, was cut in Berlin some 16 years earlier when Roger Waters put on a live production of "The Wall." There was a Band connection again, with Levon Helm and Rick Danko contributing background vocals.

Departed star Jack Nicholson also appeared in James L Brooks's As Good As It Gets, which used the title track from Days Like This, Van's latest album at the time of release (1997). But it's the earlier classics that have inevitably attracted the most attention from directors, even if some have been performed by others.

Not one but two Vietnam movies have featured his music, and, as befits the timescale, they have chosen 1960s vintage material. "Brown Eyed Girl," Morrison's first U.S. solo hit from 1967, was Oliver Stone's choice in 1989 for the Born On The Fourth Of July soundtrack, while the earlier "Baby, Please Don't Go" from Morrison's Them days appeared in 1987's Good Morning Vietnam. Continuing the military theme but moving forward a musical decade, Taylor Hackford's An Officer And A Gentleman visited the often overlooked Wavelength album for "Hungry For Your Love" -- a fine addition to a well above average soundtrack.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, the tender "Someone Like You" was not only a highlight of Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss but also Bridget Jones' Diary. And Michael Hoffmann's One Fine Day, the George Clooney/Michelle Pfeiffer film from 1996, included Morrison's classic "Have I Told You Lately?"

Mark Joffe's The Matchmaker reflected Morrison's Irish heritage by telling the story of an election campaigner (Marcy Tizard, played by Janeane Garofalo) who visits an Irish village to track down the ancestral roots of the U.S. senator she works for, only to find romance. Suitably, the track selected was "Irish Heartbeat," Morrison's 1983 creation with The Chieftains.

With An American Werewolf In London, John Landis created the classic horror movie. Typical of his witty style was his use of music, and he incorporated a number of different 'moon-themed' pop songs including "Moondance," which, because of the contrast in mood this created, echoed the comedy/tragedy juxtaposition.

Van Morrison has announced several upcoming concert dates. For more information and updates, visit www.vanmorrison.co.uk.

Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits
1. Gloria (performed by Them) -- The Outsiders
2. Baby, Please Don't Go (performed by Them) -- Wild At Heart
3. Jackie Wilson Said -- Pope of Greenwich Village
4. Domino (live) -- Clean & Sober
5. Moondance (live)* -- An American Werewolf In London
6. Queen Of The Slipstream -- Extreme Close-Up
7. Wild Night -- Thelma & Louise
8. Caravan (live) -- The Last Waltz
9. Wonderful Remark -- King Of Comedy
10. Brown Eyed Girl -- Born On The Fourth Of July
11. Days Like This -- As Good As It Gets
12. Into The Mystic (live) -- Patch Adams
13. Hungry For Your Love -- An Officer And A Gentleman
14. Someone Like You -- French Kiss
15. Bright Side Of The Road -- Fever Pitch
16. Have I Told You Lately? -- One Fine Day
17. Real Real Gone -- Donovan Quick
18. Irish Heartbeat (with Chieftains) -- The Matchmaker
19. Comfortably Numb (live) -- The Departed

* previously unreleased

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Someone Like You From Only The Lonely (1991)


Here's A Clip Which features the Late John Candy, Ally Sheedy & the Great Maureen O'Hara (Playing the Typical Irish Mother To Perfection) Along With One Of Van's Great Love Songs.

Monday, December 18, 2006

BBC Radio Interview With Van

Reclusive Van Morrison opens up
One of rock's most reclusive figures, Van Morrison, releases his 36th album Magic Time on Monday.

He gave a rare interview to the Today programme, talking about how he finds inspiration after 40 years in the business.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Van Dedicates Song To Ahmet Ertegun

At last Friday night's show in Glasgow, when Van and his band were finishing "Gloria", usually the last song of the show, Van called out for Ray Charles' classic "What I'd Say" and dedicated the song to Ahmet Ertegun who had died earlier in the day.

Ahmet Ertegun 1923-2006

"When I first heard Ray Charles, he was a flop artist on a small label in California," Ertegun said on NPR's Morning Edition in 2005. "He hadn't sold any records. And I bought his contract for $2,500."

By 1959, Charles had topped the charts with "What'd I Say," and a major label, ABC-Paramount, came calling with a deal he could not refuse.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Malvern Concert Review 08-Dec-06

I took some time off last week to go see Van in the UK. Here is a brief review of the first show I saw (other being Bristol the following night).

Van opened with a very nice "Enlightenment" into the rarely played "Once A Day". Next up was a pretty "Steal My Heart Away" Later Van did "Baby, Pls, Don't Go" with some solid Harp playing by Van at the begining - he then mention playing it along with this next song at the Marintine in Belfast in the 60s and started into "Don't Start Cryin' Now". Since we were in Malvern, he strapped on the acoustic guitar and did a beautiful "Little Village", blowing on his sax towards the end. "Shot of Rythmn & Blues" made a rare return to setlist (with Van again mentioning a street in Belfast in intro). This was probably the most quiet audience I ever heard in all the years of going to Van gigs - a far cry from the American audiences I'm use to. All in all a very satisfying show.


Check out Simon's Site for full setlist.

Malvern is a pretty town, especially near Christmas.
-John Gilligan

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Al Pacino To Honour Van At Oscar Wilde Event

Pacino is Wilde about Van the Man By Claire McNeilly

05 December 2006
Ulster's favourite musical son, Van Morrison, is to be honoured by legendary actor Al Pacino at an Oscar Wilde event.

Oscar winner Pacino will introduce Van at the US-Ireland Alliance's second annual Oscar Wilde night.

The event, officially called Oscar Wilde: Honouring Irish Writing in Film, is due to take place on February 22, at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles.

Pacino, who delivered a speech to students when he was at Trinity College in Dublin two weeks ago, told Alliance president Trina Vargo that he was a big fan of Morrison.

"Al agreed to participate because he is a great friend and fan of Van's," she said.

"It's an added bonus that he also has a great interest in Ireland and the namesake of out event."

Also being honoured, at what is fast becoming one of the hottest pre-Academy Awards parties, is screenwriter William Monahan and Belfast-born writer/director Terry George, best known for Hotel Rwanda.

Ms Vargo confirmed that Culture Ireland, which promotes the best of Ireland's arts and culture internationally, had agreed to sponsor Van's performance.

John O'Donoghue, the Republic's Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism, paid tribute to both men.

"Van Morrison and Terry George are exemplary cultural representatives of this island, both using the great gifts of lyrics and words - in song and script - telling Irish stories that have universal appeal," he said.

Culture Ireland joins the Irish Film Board and Walt Disney Studios as sponsors of the event.