Thursday, April 30, 2009

Van Interview With The Daily Californian

The Daily Californian
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Van Morrison, of "Brown Eyed Girl" fame, will play the Greek Theatre on May 2 and 3. The Daily Californian interviewed Morrison via e-mail to discuss set lists, songs, CDs and more.

Daily Californian: What do you enjoy most about performing your newer albums, like Pay the Devil and Keep It Simple?

Van Morrison: I enjoy whatever music I am playing at any given time. Sometimes I play certain things because it can get too serious; other times require a serious message. Some (songs) are played for no particular reason other than I might like the tune, the melody (or) the timbre; others are because of the lyrics or the mood. It varies-it has to keep it all flowing.

DC: How do you decide the balance between old and new songs in a set list?

VM: It depends on a couple of factors. One is if you feel like the audience can go with you, you know, then I can stretch out more. There might be key songs that can be stretched out more ... finding key songs where I can get these particular musicians to go along with me, because ... every band combination can be quite different. A lot of times, you can get musicians, but they don't have a rapport together, so you sometimes have to build the set around where we can go. Some bands ... can do anything, go anywhere, you know? Other bands can only go on certain songs in a certain way. It just depends.

DC: What's your favorite venue to play?

VM: I like symphony halls that are built acoustically for music-musician's best friend(s). Good acoustics (equals) walls and surroundings built for subtleties and good ambient sound.

DC: Do you have any memories of the Bay Area or of the Greek Theatre in Berkeley that you might share?

VM: Just that the audience really seems to get what the music is about. They understand where this music fits in and what it's for: the soul. It's all soul.

DC: You have a lot of fans who have been loyal to you since the '60s. How do you keep them coming back while also attracting newer fans of younger generations?

VM: It's like what Jung said about the creative process: What is unconscious or subconscious becomes more conscious. And I suppose when you become more conscious of the process then, you know, it's different than, say, Astral Weeks, which was mainly channeling something from the unconscious, you know? My latter stuff is more like coming from where there's more kind of thought going into it, there's more editing going into it; it's different in that way. But that's just because I changed. I think the fact (that) my music comes from the collective unconscious, the soul-and that it has soul and is soul-is a reason people may stay in tune with certain music. I know soul grabs my attention.

DC: You stated in another interview that you have no intention of renewing your contract with iTunes. How do you think this decision will affect your younger fanbase, who rely almost completely on downloadable music?

VM: I'm not into downloading because I'm not a download artist. Maybe some people are, but I prefer something I can hold, with sleeve notes and lyrics I can read. I think, no matter (their) age, people will understand that the hard copy CD is the very best dollar value entertainment on the planet Earth. And the best part is you can keep it for ever and more. I like the old-fashioned way of making music. I am not into disposable music-I still like LP vinyl records best. Nowhere else but the LP can (give) you a true-to-life, uncompressed, real sound. People may think the download sounds right but if you heard the music before it is compressed 100 times, you would think I may be onto something here.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

San Francisco Chronicle Interview With Van

San Francisco Chronicle
Van Morrison finds magic in 'Astral' songs


Van Morrison, who begins the final dates in his current tour Saturday and Sunday at UC Berkeley's Greek Theatre playing his classic album, "Astral Weeks," has long had a wary relationship with the press, which made it somewhat surprising that he was willing to talk about his tour.

But when transatlantic time changes and hectic schedules added up to missed phone connections, who would have expected that the notoriously taciturn character, who has always maintained that he wanted his music to speak for itself, would sit down and type out e-mail answers to a list of questions submitted in advance? Morrison first performed this "Astral Weeks" concert - a Morrison fan's dream come true - with a band featuring many of the musicians from the original sessions last November at the Hollywood Bowl. Both live DVD and CD have been released. He took the show to New York in March and earlier this month to London's Royal Albert Hall. He closes out the historic run with two dates next month back in Los Angeles.

Q: What made you decide to do these "Astral Weeks" shows?

A: I wanted to do these songs the way I have always heard them in my head, with strings section, flutes and full orchestration. We initially were doing just the two shows in Hollywood in order to get these live and raw, straight-from-the-stage recordings, but demand from New York and London and now Bay Area and Los Angeles to finish up the series of shows where it all began - where I started out my career as a soloist - Los Angeles. I have a history as a musician in the '60s there, so it seemed the fitting place to end up.

Q: How have the shows been going?

A: I went into this to just record the songs live in Hollywood and that was it - no expectations whatsoever. I only wanted to get the 2009 live version recorded, but it went from there, the demand. There has been a strong magic from each and every audience which has been tangible. I have felt it each show. There is definitely something magical and "astral" going on every time the songs have been played live before the audiences.

Q: What was so special about "Astral Weeks" in retrospect?

A: It depends on what special means - but there is nothing else like the "Astral Weeks" songs. They are poetry - movie-like stories woven into music. There are a lot of dynamics to find in these songs, a lot of nuance that goes on, and a lot of subtlety going on. That is what I like about them. They are complex - it's me doing me, my kind of music, my signature sound - all me.

Q: Why "Astral Weeks"? Is there another album you considered doing?

A: I am in the moment and I choose music I do by what I want to work with at any given time. The ... albums [that have been] been requested a lot [have] been "Hymns to the Silence" and "Hard Nose the Highway" and "No Guru No Method No Teacher," but I have not really thought about doing "albums" per se, though I would like to hear what my songs on those albums sound like raw, as I have noticed the engineers lost a lot of sound that I know was there when it was recorded. That is why I am doing raw music from now on; the production thing is a myth and ruins my songs, I find.

Q: "Astral Weeks" was made at a very stressful time in your career - what do you recollect of its creation?

A: As people, we all have stressful times - some are worse because it happens when we are younger and do not know quite how to deal, so the trauma is or could be worse, but that is a loaded subject. "Astral Weeks" was made with intention of getting it right, just like the 2009 live version. I just went in and did it - same with the live 2009 record of "Astral Weeks." No matter what any band member was doing, I had the intention and mind-set of getting it recorded like I wanted it and that is what I did - one short and not so good rehearsal after 40 years and I just took the stage and did what I do - played it and made it go right.

Q: How did you put the band together for these dates? Have you stayed in touch all these years? Were they hard to find?

A: I had not stayed in touch with anyone. I just chose some of the band I had before this and, as I thought back, I just started calling people - some for no particular reason other than I thought they might "get it." There was not a real plan to it, really, just step by step.

Van Morrison: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley campus. Tickets $50-$350 at ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000, at APEConcerts.com. Tickets may be purchased without a service charge in person at the Cal Performances box office.
-Joel Selvin

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl DVD Available May 19th On Amazon.com

Van Morrison's DVD Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl Press Release:

AMAZON EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE RELEASE On Heels of Critical Acclaim at London's Royal Albert Hall

Following Van Morrison's two critically-acclaimed sold out nights bringing his groundbreaking, signature album, Astral Weeks to brilliant life at London's Royal Albert Hall, the anticipation builds for the May 19 Amazon exclusive DVD release, Astral Weeks: Live at The Hollywood Bowl.

Five-star reviews heralded Mr. Morrison's revisiting of his 1968 studio masterpiece, performed on stage for the first time in its entirety outside of the U.S. And soon multitudes of fans around the world will be able to invite multi-award-winning soul singer Van Morrison into their living rooms through the DVD release of Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl, an in-concert reworking of the musical legend's historic 1968 gold-certified solo album. Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl was recorded live over two nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in November 2008 and is available as a concert film for purchase exclusively on Amazon.com beginning May 19 for an SRP of $29.99.

The London papers exclaimed about the music legend's pivotal performances:

* "Encircled by his own musicians, in thrall to the jazz-folk sub-genre single-handedly invented and, many would say, never bettered by these songs, two eyebrows rose plaintively above Morrison's shades. "I believe I've transcended," he averred. If the five-minute ovation encompassing all of a seismic, valedictory Gloria was anything to go by, he wasn't the only one who thought so. FIVE STARS!" The London Times
* And from London's Daily Express, "What we saw this weekend was dynamic creation...this was no evening of nostalgia. This was music making on the hoof-improvised, intense. FIVE STARS!"
* The U.K.'s Telegraph remarked, "Morrison showed off by playing piano, harmonica, saxophone, organ and guitar. I also noticed the vocal tic of repeating words and syllables which often has the exultant effect of making him sound (as Lester Bangs once said) like a man running downhill into a lover's arms...FIVE STARS!"

Van Morrison first released Astral Weeks when he was only 22. The recording immediately became a critically-acclaimed classic and is still considered one of the greatest albums of the rock era. The fall 2008 shows captured for the DVD marked the first time Mr. Morrison ever performed Astral Weeks in one complete concert set. Joining him was an orchestral string section and a band composed of world-class musicians, some of whom played with Van on the original Astral Weeks sessions 40 years ago. During the first half, the artist performed a number of the timeless classics he is famous for while the second half was an awe-inspiring performance of the Astral Weeks album. Among the songs included on the concert DVD are: "Astral Weeks/I Believe I've Transcended," "Beside You," "Slim Slow Slider/I Start Breaking Down," "Sweet Thing," "The Way Young Lovers Do," "Cyprus Avenue/You Came Walking Down," "Ballerina," and "Madame George."

The Astral Weeks DVD also features special bonus songs, including a live version of "Gloria," and unprecedented behind-the-scenes footage as well as a candid conversation with the artist himself talking about the meaning behind Astral Weeks, his decision to revisit the pivotal project, and his impressions of the music business. To rework Astral Weeks, Mr. Morrison added his signature stretching of songs in a manner unlike any before by creating new sections of songs live on stage. As producer of the record, Mr. Morrison insisted there be no post-production engineering. It is straight up raw from the Hollywood Bowl stage - pure resonant sound.

As Mr. Morrison said, "I'm not just a singer. I am a soul singer." His Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl proves exactly that, over and over again.

Monday, April 20, 2009

19-Apr-09 Royal Albert Hall London Concert Review

Nosey has this review:

Van came on about and went straight into Northern Muse (which was better than last night), come to think of it, it was quite a good rendition, followed by Troubadours (again, much better than last night). And it Stoned Me and Wild Night were next. Then came the proper version of Have I Told You Lately with Van playing sax for the first time this evening.

The next 3 songs were GREAT, Caravan, All In The Game and Healing Has Begun. BUT Common One was absolutely stunning, Van and Richie (as echo) were brilliant, the line where Van says "Going for a long long long drive" must have had about 40 "longs" in it, the audience even started to applaud part way through, but they just carried on regardless, just terrific. A much better 1st set than last night.


Now, the 2nd set (IMHO) was probably THE BEST 2nd SET so far. Van just kept playing guitar at the end of Astral Weeks, as if he was almost rehearsing by himself with the band just following him. Beside You had haunting violin pieces that just made my spine tingle. Slim Slow Slider was great with Van doing that heavy strumming thing that he does lately. Sweet Thing (Misty you missed a stunner) - this was an outstanding version, Van was virtually dancing at the end of this, then just seemed to be staring upwards (to heaven?) at the very end. Cyprus Avenue, we got a change of white guitars, this version was relatively short, but still very good. Ballerina, When Van sang "Here comes the Man" he actually Jumped forward (with both feet at the same time), Young Lovers Do was another shortish version, Madame George, we got an introduction Van said something about part of the song was around here somewhere (meaning West London, I guess) then he went on to say that he was offered some Heroin!!!!

The second white guitar was now "out of tune" so we got the 1st one back (or are ther 3 ?). This was probably one of the best ever versions I've heard and at the end Van sang "This is a Train" so many different ways, it sounded like he wasn't sure if he was on a train, or if a train actually existed, Tremendous, absolutely tremendous.
Listen To The Lion - WHEW, just about all I can say about it just another stunning version.
Finishing up with Mystic Eyes into Gloria and no encore.

Setlist:
set 1
Northern muse
Troubadours
And it Stoned Me
Have I Told You Lately
Caravan
Its all in the game
The Healing has begun
Common One

set 2
Astral Weeks
Ballerina
The Way Young Lovers Do
Beside You
Sweet Thing
Cyprus Avenue
Madame George
Slim Slow Slider
Listen to the Lion
Mystic eyes/Gloria

Big Hand For The Band(s)!
Tony Fitzgibbon
Bobby Ruggiero
Sarah Jory
Jay Berliner
Paul Moran
Liam Bradley
Richie Buckley
Bianca Thornton
David Hayes
John Platania
Terry Adams
Nancy Ellis
Rick Schlosser
Pauline Lozano

18-Apr-09 Royal Albert Hall London Concert Review

Times Online: Although it has long been regarded as one of the greatest records of all time, interviewers who have, over the decades, ventured to broach the topic of Astral Weeks with Van Morrison have often met with a rather frosty response.

It may, according to no less a fan than Elvis Costello, rank as “the most adventurous album made in the rock medium” but Morrison says Warner Brothers barely promoted it at the time, with the result that sales left him hardly enough money to pay the bills.

One suspects that Morrison’s reluctance to glory in his febrile jazz-folk masterpiece, which he recorded at the age of just 22, may also stem from the serendipitous circumstances that produced it. Two sessions recorded with American musicians, barely known to him at the time, established an artistic high water mark that, in recent years especially, Morrison has struggled to match.

It would be naïve to think that the volte-face represented by this beginning-to-end recital of the album was undertaken in a spirit of smiling rapprochement. In Morrison’s world, for a start, little is done smilingly, and besides, the posters in the foyer advertising a new album on his own imprint Astral Weeks — Live (recorded last year at the Hollywood Bowl) underscored that this was good business.

Whatever Morrison’s motives, however, the singer’s famously exacting levels of perfectionism meant this was a task undertaken anything but lightly. The fact that the 64-year-old singer had gone to the trouble of locating guitarist Jay Berliner — sometime sideman to Charles Mingus and present on the original Astral Weeks sessions — suggested as much. A vital presence here, the New Yorker hunched over his guitar and embroidered his way around the iconic tap of the song’s title track with an arresting fluency that obliterated the intervening years.

Inevitably though, it was hard to avert your gaze from a surprisingly trim-looking Morrison, who seems set on revealing surprisingly little of himself these days. As a result, the ever-present shades and hat seemed to accentuate the incongruously orange sheen of his hair.


After the death of James Brown, it’s hard to think of another band leader who elicits such deference from the musicians around him. Initiated via a repertoire of bewilderingly complex hand signals, songs long since etched in the memory of fans revealed magnificent new depths. The love-drunk rapture of Sweet Thing and The Way Young Lovers Do burst to life with new colour amid the ornate soloing of violinist Tony Fitzgibbons. Locked into each other with almost telepathic empathy, rhythm section Robbie Ruggiero and David Hayes lent a purposeful, celebratory zip to an extended Ballerina.

The longer Morrison mapped out the verdant, mystical postwar Belfast so vividly depicted in songs like Cyprus Avenue and Madame George, the more fascinating it became to watch the behaviour they inspired in their creator.

In the one-hour “warm-up” of old hits that preceded this set, Morrison had remained relatively aloof from his band, even when turning in soaring reconfigurations of It’s All in the Game and Caravan. In keeping with the semi-improvisational nature of the Astral Weeks songs, however, Morrison’s body language was gradually transformed. The hand-signals may have persisted, but increasingly, Morrison the band leader seemed no less happy to be led by the joyful noise that surrounded him.

Encircled by his own musicians, in thrall to the jazz-folk sub-genre singlehandedly invented and, many would say, never bettered by these songs, two eyebrows rose plaintively above Morrison’s shades. “I believe I’ve transcended,” he averred.

If the five-minute ovation encompassing all of a seismic, valedictory Gloria was anything to go by, he wasn’t the only one who thought so.
-Pete Paphides

Word Blog: Anyone out there go to see Van the Man last night? What a night. I've seen him many times including both of the last two shows at Hampton Court, but last night was exceptional. Not only did we get, as billed, Astral Weeks in its entirety in the second half plus two (yes two) encores of Listen for for the Lion and Gloria (including a snippet of 'Who do you love' in the middle), but a first half of sheer joy. He was clearly having fun, he even spoke to us...it was brief, but amusing: "This is the bit where I hide behind the guitar', as he strapped it on for the first time and played some typically brilliant, restrained lead guitar.

It seemed as though it had suddenly dawned on him that he has an amazing back catalogue that the fans want to hear him play. The 'back and forth' in Common One was worth the entry price alone, as was the two minute strings interlude in Listen for the Lion.

The band were stupendous. Violin playing to die for. Van on harmonica and singing (or should I say growling) at the same time. Brilliant guitar playing. Wonderful backing singers....etc


I've been to many concerts at The Albert Hall...I think it's a terrible venue for a 'rock' concert but Van filled every corner of it. He touched everyone in the crowd. People were buzzing as they left, smiling from ear to ear. He's on again tonight. It wasn't sold out and there were plenty of fans trying to sell spare tickets at much less than the horrific box office price. If you're a fan and can get there I'd highly recommend it.

Oh..and by the way...if you were there last night and you noted down the set list, would you be kind enough to post it? Thanks
-Barnes

Setlist:
Northern Muse
Troubadour
Baby Please Don't Go
And It Stoned Me
I Can't Stop Loving You
Wild Night
It's All In The Game
Moondance
Queen of the Slipstream
Have I Told You Lately?
Caravan
And The Healing Has Begun
Common One
Astral Weeks
Beside You
Sweet Thing
Cyprus Avenue
The Way Young Lovers Do
Madame George
Ballerina
Slim Slow Slider
Listen To The Lion
Mystic Eyes/Gloria

Big Hand For The Band(s)!
Tony Fitzgibbon
Bobby Ruggiero
Sarah Jory
Jay Berliner
Paul Moran
Liam Bradley
Richie Buckley
Bianca Thornton
David Hayes
John Platania
Terry Adams
Nancy Ellis
Rick Schlosser
Pauline Lozano