40th Anniversary of Van's His Band And The Street Choir Album

Van Morison's His Band And The Street Choir was released 40 years ago today on 15 November 1970. Originally titled Virgo's Fool, Street Choir was renamed by Warner Brothers without Van's consent. Van had intended to record the album a cappella with only vocal backing by a vocal group he called the Street Choir.

Side one

"Domino"

"Crazy Face"

"Give Me a Kiss (Just One Sweet Kiss)"

"I've Been Working"

"Call Me Up in Dreamland"

"I'll Be Your Lover, Too"

Side two

"Blue Money"

"Virgo Clowns"

"Gypsy Queen"

"Sweet Jannie"

"If I Ever Needed Someone"

"Street Choir"

Street Choir peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200 and number 18 on the UK Album Chart and was help mainly by the Top Ten hit Domino. Some songs on the album were previously recorded a few years earlier: I've Been Working was an out-take from the Astral Weeks sessions in 1968 and the Moondance sessions in 1969; If I Ever Needed Someone was also originally recorded in 1968; Virgo Clowns was first recorded at the start of 1969 as (Sit Down) Funny Face; Crazy Face evolved from "Going Around with Jesse James", a song Van first recorded for Astral Weeks on 15 October 1968.

Rolling Stone magazine's, Jon Landau, reviewed Street Choir and described it as follows:

His Band and the Street Choir is a free album. It was recorded with minimal over-dubbing and was obviously intended to show the other side of Moondance. And if it has a flaw it is that, like Moondance, it is too much what it set out to be. A few more numbers with a gravity of "Street Choir" would have made this album as close to perfect as anyone could have stood.

But notwithstanding its limitations. His Band and the Street Choir is another beautiful phase in the continuing development of one of the few originals left in rock. In his own mysterious way. Van Morrison continues to shake his head, strum his guitar and to sing his songs. He knows it's too late to stop now and he quit trying to a long, long time ago. Meanwhile, the song he is singing keeps getting better and better.

RTE Radio 1: Listening to Van Morrison

A special programme, Listening To Van Morrison, with Greil Marcus, American music and cultural critic, author of Listening to Van Morrison (Faber), as he explains what he has come to understand about Morrison's music from paying it deep attention, with special emphasis on the achievement and enduring appeal of Astral Weeks (1968).