29-Apr-07 New York City

Concert Review: Van Morrison at the Theater at Madison Square Garden - Still Into The Mystique
Van Morrison and his 10 piece, country honk band 'doe- si- doe'd' into New York fresh from stints stateside at the venerable Fairgrounds in New Orleans on Friday (as a National Headliner for this year's JazzFest) and a unique, once off show Saturday night at the Chastain Amphitheater outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Van had already toured Europe and the States last year highlighting his newest album Pay the Devil and this evening 's fans were quite familiar with most, if not all of his songs on tonight's setlist. Not that Van gave much heed to whether his fans get a greatest hits show, nevertheless, to truly enjoy Mr. Morrison live one must sit back and be open to whatever the muse will deliver on that particular evening. Tonight Van was very good indeed, good enough to justify selling out the Theater at $175 per ticket.

His shows invariably last 90 minutes, but tonight he played an hour and forty five, making light of the situation by claiming in the middle of the show he was grateful we fans could stay out this late on a Sunday night. Twenty plus song show is alot by Van Morrison's standards, usually one could set their watch to his concerts - but New York City is a favorite venue for Van and this evening it showed. He opened the concert with "Talk is Cheap" a bluesy, rhythmic number from his album Down the Road. He then segued into a heartfelt "I'm Not Feeling It Anymore", a bouncy, horn driven song given a new look and feel live, borrowed from his emotional, double album Hymns to the Silence.

Van plays the sax, guitar and harmonica liberally throughout his shows, but tonight he also played the piano, something I have rarely, if ever, seen this quixotic performer do during a performance. He is a rare musical genius, who also had a lot of notable fans in the audience, one being Vincent Pastore - Sal 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero from The Sopranos. Those at this evening's show know this, because Van played "The Philosopher's Stone" at his backstage guests' special request! A long beautiful song, included on his Back on Top collection released in 1999.

Van does know how to pace a show, and his crowd favorites always get a standing ovation. "Moondance" was performed, fiddle and all, with a dark, luminous backdrop invoking an evening's starry night - an incandescent mood enhancer perfectly situated halfway through the show. The Country Western appeal was revisited when Van lit into a tune made famous by Maria Muldaur in the '70's. The salacious "Don't You Make Me High" was given a boogie woogie twist by Van and it seemed to inspire not only the band behind him but the singer himself. A number of other tunes from his most recent effort Pay the Devil were spotlighted, even the Ray Charles nugget "I Can't Stop Loving You" was performed with panache and soul. The real showstopper, however, was the evening's first encore, "The Healing Has Begun" a transcendental melody, with Van on the guitar, dating back to his '79 Into the Music album. A song which has now taken on even greater significance, at least to this listener, especially in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

The ubiquitous "Gloria" followed by "Brown Eyed Girl" closed the show and we all felt like grabbing our partner, and sashaying out to Seventh Avenue with the rest of the Midnight Cowboys, quite content that we'd just experienced one of the great, soulful, rhythm and blues performers of Twentieth Century.
-Dave Alper


WFUV Blog Review
Great Van show at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. I was there with my pal DJ Wilbur who has this to say about the show. I pretty much concur

I saw a killer Van Morrison show last night at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Whenever you see Van and the tickets say 7:30 sharp….be there on time. His “orchestra” came on stage at 7:30 and vamped to “Train Kept a Rolling” and then at 7:35 out came the man in the hat in mighty fine voice hitting us with “Talk Is Cheap” and I’m thinking, strange choice for an opener, he must be in a grumpy mood and its not gonna be a phenomenal show…so he turns his back to the stage and he starts pointing to musicians to take solos during this and he’s liking what he hears cause as I’m a bit on the side, I see him with a big ole grin on his face and I know this is gonna now be a great show…

A really great show. The only thing was he was barking at some of the musicians and publicly humiliating them for “not keeping time”. He was like a really strict school teacher, waving his arms and pointing at them and speaking to them on mike during I believe it was And The Healing Has Begun. I’d heard he’s done this in the past, but I’ve never seen this behaviour before and it was most un-satisfying. Lets face it, he doesn’t rehearse and he does nothing but throw the band curveballs with set list changes every night. They did an outstanding job the whole show and I’m sure that drummer will not soon forget his public humiliation any time soon.
-DJ Wilbur



Here's a review from Dan the Man (Thanks for the lift!):
The voice is in fine supple shape. Beautiful phrasing on the ballads, of
which there were way too few to make this a balanced gig.
Thorough workout on Not Feeling It, lovely Stranded, both sung with heart.
Van dedicated a quality version of Philosopher's Stone to Vincent Pastore,
who sleeps with the fishes as Big Pussy Bompensiero.
Otherwise not much to elaborate on. Van was animated during the gig, more
so in the first half than the second. He did namecheck Janeen Daly and
Karen Hamill for the first time that I can recall.

Despite the pedestrian, predictable setlist, there were swaths of pure
vocal beauty in the ballads.
Easy to fault the song selection, but extremely difficult to fault the
singing.

Unfortunately, And the Healing was Begun was under rehearsed, failed to
cohere and build, and Van snapped at the bass player or drummer both
because he was not happy with their timekeeping on the piece, and even an
underused John Platania was ordered to play rhythm.
The encores were disorganized and Gloria and Brown Eyed Girl were flicked
off like lint.
On the other hand, I had tears in my eyes during Stranded, P. Stone and
Not Feeling It, and the couple next to me thought the evening was fabulous
in its entirety.
Great preshow, always great to see everybody, will follow the caravan and
the Voice and the constant promise to Boston.
-Dan Murray

Setlist:
Train Kept A Rollin' (Ned)
Talk is Cheap
Not Feeling It
Stranded
Have I Told You (Vegas)
Glass
Playhouse
Philosopher's Stone
Don't You Make Me High
Can't Stop Loving
Moondance
Wild Night
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie/Shake Your Moneymaker
Precious Time
Help Me
And the Healing Has Begun
Gloria
Brown Eyed Girl

28-April-07 Atlanta Concert Review

Van Morrison. Chastain Park. Saturday night.

As the moon rose over the roof of Chastain Park’s amphitheater Saturday night, Van Morrison gave the sold-out crowd a little hometown homage. He’s been singing “Georgia On My Mind” at previous stops on his on-and-off tour in recent months, including Oxford, England, a couple of weeks ago. So it
wasn’t like he was trying to curry favor with the audience. As if - he’s Van Morrison.

He took the old sweet song slow and stately at first, then let his exquisite 10-piece back-up band take a few solo breaks, and then escalated to a full-throated roar to bring it home. He sang “Georgia” like he wanted to swallow it whole, so that no one else could ever sing it; for just a
couple of transcendent minutes, it was Van’s song only; not the state’s, not Hoagy’s, not even Ray’s.

A couple transcendent minutes here, a few more there, and pretty soon they add up to an amazing evening. Morrison, a singer who’s seemed
disconnected from his live audiences lately according to many reports (even as his connection to the music has stayed strong), seemed to relax
about a half-hour into his 90 minute set, his first in Atlanta in many moons.


He started slowly, just saying “Thank you,” for the applause. Then he might mention what the next song was going to be. At one point, he seemed to crack a small joke. For most performers, this is just
business. For the frequently sullen Morrison, who’s been known to sing for stretches with his back turned to the audience, it was like inviting
everyone onstage for hugs.

But even Van Morrison has his limits. No matter how loose he got, he never unbuttoned either button on his two-button suit coat.

At age 61, Morrison exudes vigor and passion onstage; his voice was as strong as anyone could wish, and he seemed to relish that, playing with
his vocals, slurring, scatting, belting, caressing. He tossed off a bouncy “Real, Real Gone” and folded in a few bars of Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” at the end; re-fashioned “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?” into a jaunty swing number that stripped it of its schmaltz; channeled that Satchmo gravel-voice thing he does on “Bright Side of the Road.”

There were enough hits to please those who only know him from the radio (“Moondance,” “Brown Eyed Girl”) and some bones tossed to those who like to
be surprised, like Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me.”

Even the notoriously chatty Chastain audience seemed more attentive than usual. It was a fantabulous night to make music, and to listen to it. Maybe it was the moon.

-By Phil Kloer

27-April-07 New Orleans

From The Times-Picayune
Van Morrison is a noted curmudgeon. But a relatively warm and fuzzy Van showed up this year. Instead of hiding out in his backstage trailer, he reportedly sat on the steps outside, posing for pictures. On the Acura Stage, as his fiddle- and pedal steel guitar-laden band laced "Moondance" with a Western swing, he looked interested, not like he was working an assembly line. And he welcomed Dr. John to sit in.




At the nearby Acura Stage, Irish singer Van Morrison easily bridged the
distance between soul music and Nashville, especially in that classic
country weeper, “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” A cooing trio of backup singers
and dreamy steel guitar plus Morrison’s own sax solos ensured the special
mood.







Astral Days
Between the soft-shell crab and cochon du lait po-boys, rosemint ice tea, popcorn shrimp, and beignets today we heard jamming’ string-band music from Jeff and Vida and caught snippets of Zachary Richard, Trombone Shorty, Soulive, and Percy Sledge. We ended the day by shoving our way to near the front of the Acura stage (where they’ve finally outlawed those obnoxious frat/sorority style easy-chair encampments, to watch Van Morrison prove he’s still got it with a country-ish (dobro and fiddle included) band offering five-party backing harmonies. Dr. John came out to sit in on a Fats Domino tune but it looked like they had woken him up from a nap or a nod, because he tootled on the piano just a little bit and interspersed a little response to Van’s call in his inimitable “Y’at” drawl. Van opened with Moondance and took his time with “Cleaning Windows” and country classics like “There Stands the Glass” before my arthritic knee threatened to kill me if I didn’t hobble off the green and find some place to rest.



Van-L Lister checks in:
Van was awesome - A mind blowing Healing has Begun - people were weeping with joy - Dr. John sat in for Hello Josephine w/ Fats Domino's sax player - Can't stop loving you was very emotional - Van really into it - most active I've seen - playing harp, sax, guitar and keyboards - band very tight, great interplay - nice set list with many highlights - last song Help Me, Van blowing harp and walking off - 90 minutes which was the allotted time - one of Jazz Fest highlights - truly great performance, crowd 20000+ at the Acura stage at least - dancing, waving hands, tremendous response - could not be better.
-Thank to Duke for review

The Band's New Compilation, "The Best of A Musical History", Features Van Duet From 1971

The Best of A Musical History

April 2007 release with highlights from Capitol's 2005 5-CD+DVD The Band box set A Musical History. Available both as audio CD and CD+DVD set.

Tracks
CD
Who Do You Love? - Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
He Don't Love You (And He'll Break Your Heart) - Levon & The Hawks
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? [single version] - Bob Dylan (with The Hawks)
Ain't No More Cane On The Brazos
The Weight
Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)
King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
All La Glory [early version]
Stage Fright
I Shall Be Released
4% Pantomime (Van Morrison & Richard Manual)
Don't Do It
Life Is A Carnival
Slippin'& Slidin'[live]
Endless Highway
Share Your Love With Me
Forever Young - Bob Dylan (with The Band)
Twilight [song sketch]
Home Cookin'

DVD
Jam/King Harvest (Has Surely Come) [rec. 1970, Robbie's Studio, Woodstock, NY]
Long Black Veil [live 7/5/70, the Festival Express Train Tour, Calgary, Canada]
Rockin'Chair [live 7/5/70, the Festival Express Train Tour, Calgary, Canada]
Don't Do It [live 12/28-12/31/71, the Academy of Music NYC]
Hard Times (The Slop)/Just Another Whistle Stop [live 9/14/74, Wembley Stadium, London]
The Band - The Best of A Musical History - 2007 - Capitol Records 88713

Best of Van Morrison, Vol. 3 to Be Released June 19

Van Morrison's The Best of Van Morrison, Volume 3 to Be Released June 19 by Manhattan/EMI

2-CD Collection Features 31 Tracks, Including Previously Unreleased Collaborations With Tom Jones and Bobby Bland

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Manhattan/EMI Music Catalog Marketing will release The Best of Van Morrison, Volume 3 on June 19. The new 2-CD collection, compiled by Morrison himself, offers a comprehensive overview of his later material. The set's 31 tracks include previously unreleased collaborations with Tom Jones and Bobby Bland, as well as duets with John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Ray Charles.

THE BEST OF VAN MORRISON, VOLUME 3 (2-CD and Digital Album)
Disc 1
1. Cry For Home (with Tom Jones) (previously unreleased)
2. Too Long In Exile
3. Gloria (with John Lee Hooker)
4. Help Me with Junior Wells (live)
5. Lonely Avenue / 4 O' Clock In The Morning (with Jimmy Witherspoon,
Candy Dulfer & Jim Hunter) (live)
6. Days Like This
7. Ancient Highway
8. Raincheck
9. Moondance
10. Centerpiece (with Georgie Fame & Annie Ross)
11. That's Life (live)
12. Benediction (remix) (with Georgie Fame & Ben Sidran)
13. The Healing Game (re-mix)
14. I Don't Want To Go On Without You (with Jim Hunter)

Disc 2
1. Shenandoah (with The Chieftains)
2. Precious Time
3. Back On Top (remix)
4. When The Leaves Come Falling Down
5. Lost John (with Lonnie Donegan) (live)
6. Tupelo Honey (with Bobby Bland) (previously unreleased)
7. Meet Me In The Indian Summer (orchestral version) (remix)
8. Georgia On My Mind
9. Hey Mr. DJ
10. Steal My Heart Away
11. Crazy Love (with Ray Charles)
12. Once In A Blue Moon
13. Little Village
14. Blue and Green
15. Sitting On Top Of The World (with Carl Perkins)
16. Early In The Morning (with B.B. King)
17. Stranded

From THE BEST OF VAN MORRISON, VOLUME 3 liner notes
-By Michael Heatley

It's now been more than four decades since Van Morrison left his native Belfast to embark on a career as a professional musician. And while there will be a number of people buying this third volume of highlights from that career who remember the days of Them, and others who picked up the story with legendary late 1960s/early 1970s albums like 'Astral Weeks' and 'Moondance,' there is yet another generation that tuned in during the 1980s.

The first 'Best Of Van Morrison' made the UK Top 5, proof that his fan base was still expanding after a quarter of a century at the cutting edge of music. And the reason is clear. Live shows are no 'greatest hits' parades but have always incorporated healthy amounts of new music, and the public has responded by buying tickets and albums in ever-increasing numbers. The 1990s would prove to be a fruitful and prolific period in Morrison's history, with a release round about every year taking his original recordings total past the 30 mark by the middle of the following decade.

All of which means the people who purchase this double album will differ widely in their knowledge of the man's back catalogue. Some of the songs here will be familiar -- even if not in these exact versions -- while others will have escaped all but the most ardent Van-ologist. What's certain is that it's a hand-picked selection with something for everyone whose life has been touched by Morrison's music.

Source: Manhattan/EMI

Manchester 06-Apr-07 Concert Review

Van Morrison @ Bridgewater Hall

I have a list of musical icons to see before either of us shed this mortal coil.

I've done ok - Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page; although my all-time number one Neil Young still evades me.

And routed up there in that top 20, more out of respect and curiosity than anything, is Van Morrison.

My first experience of Morrison was as a 13-year-old at a cousin's wedding hearing Brown-eyed Girl. It's a song that encapsulates everything a song should: dreamy lyrics, a memorable melody, and a sudden urgency to make you
want to dance. Since then the tune has been engraved on my memory thanks to countless nights at my old student union.

Before tonight's gig I doubted Morrison would perform the classics. My understanding is that he's not a nostalgia performer; he's an ever-evolving
artist. Just take a look at his back catalogue, almost 40 studio albums to date, and no sign of fading into obscurity.

The 62-year-old Belfast boy is still three years off retirement, which, for him, is nowhere in sight. He appears on the stage of Bridgewater Hall
dressed in his characteristic sharp suit, hat and dark glasses, packed snugly amongst his broad band of musicians.

Growl

He ploughs through a mound of songs recreating not only blues, jazz and soul but Celtic folk, scat, rock 'n' roll with his unmistakable growl. Bright Side of the Road is bliss; Saint James Infirmary, more so; Brown-Eyed Girl, efolescdnt. Gloria, epic.

But for me this collection is about Precious Time, where Morrison sings "Precious time is slipping away, but you're only king for a day, it doesn't
matter to which God you pray."

This rings true for this treasured veteran; king for a day; coronated here tonight.

Morrison has been unfairly ciriticised about his disconnected and arrogant style of performance, but for me tonight he has been faultless. To say that
Morrison doesn't have an integral passion about his music would be a terrible inaccuracy. Morrison loves singing his songs. And he loves watching his songs played by the brilliant musicians around him
turning a 40-year-old idea into an unfurling orchestral soundscape.

It must feel amazing; and humbling at the same time.

My only issue tonight is that all-seater venues like Bridgewater Hall encourage a static audience. What I saw tonight was a 'mature' audience dying to break out and bust some moves, but were constrained by politeness and were made to 'feel their age'.

My advice to Morrison: ditch the seats, I promise it’ll turn back the clocks and change everything.

Setlist:
Opening song (Ned Edwards)
Enlightenment
All Work
Can't Stop Loving You
Don't Start Crying/Custard Pie
Playhouse
There Stands The Glass
Cleaning Windows
When the Leaves Come Falling Down
That's Life
Wild Night
Northern Muse
Goin' Down Geneva/Cadillac
Georgia
Jackie Wilson
Bright Side Of The Road
Days Like This
St. James Infirmary
Precious Time
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

-Thanks To Dan For Setlist

Van Morrison's Jukebox

A new cd called Van Morrison's Jukebox - The Songs That Inspired The Man features artists that influenced Van.

Van Morrison’s early influences are typical of the post-war generation of British artists who found their inspiration in the hotbed of musical creativity which was the USA in the late 1940s and 1950s.

The sentimentality of the Swing era was over, and the sounds of the Trad Jazz revival, Bebop, Blues, Country, R&B, and, of course, Rock ‘n’ Roll were sweeping over a country which was seeking a release from years of austerity.

From influential recordings by giants of jazz such as Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker via great bluesmen such as Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters through to Gene Vincent’s iconic ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’, this new collection presents a selection of seminal recordings made by some of the artists whose musical language gives the listener an invaluable insight into the eclectic and improvisational nature of Van Morrison’s own work.