Best Ever Albums

Re: Van Morrison

Spyglass — Mon, 4 May 2020 14:09:14 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 05/04/2020 18:09

I thought Avalon Sunset was a great album, and it's seen as the worst of the 80's catalogue, or so I've read. It's not worth top 500 like Van Morrison's best albums, and not even top 5 for Morrison, but it deserves more recognition.

Re: Van Morrison

rkm — Sat, 2 May 2020 17:12:55 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 05/02/2020 21:12

RoundTheBend wrote:

Both Astral Weeks and Moondance are near perfect albums imo. Pretty crazy those were back to back.

I'd have to agree with Skinny's comments though. After Veedon Fleece he pretty much washed up (imo). He didn't age as well as say a Randy Newman or Johnny Cash or Paul Simon... all of which who have had albums late in their career people cared about. Having said that, to be fair, I haven't listened to much after it because it was a rough go and I don't consider myself a masochist. It was just painfully boring... I remember an older track showing up on a comp or like listening to a comp of his and near the end I had to turn it off it was so stale.

Tip to some of the earlier works, also mentioned, with Them or Brown Eyed Girl... I mean damn, is there really a better pop song than Brown Eyed Girl?

I love Veedon Fleece. He had a divorce shortly after that, suffered writers block and stage fright. There was a three year gap (unusual for him) before Period of Transition, and Into the Music rounding out the 70’s (There’s a few things on those I like). In the 80’s I totally rate Common One, and Beautiful Vision is another virtually perfect album. I’ve found things to like on most albums. In the 90’s Hymns to the Silence is a cracker in my opinion, and suffers the fate of many double albums, in that with a bit of a cull, they make an even better single album.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50DXFfsIne2szRIVKdpLH8?si=KuSmydslQBi4O68dRF9s4A

Re: Van Morrison

Anonymous — Sat, 2 May 2020 08:07:35 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 05/02/2020 12:07

theblueboy wrote:

I've never quite grasped the greatness of Astral Weeks

Listened again. Turns out it's 100% great (shock news to you all I know). I don't even mind that I had to shell put for the album a second time.

It's funny how you can feel completely differently about an album after not listening for a while. I think it's because I listen to more Jazz now that I was able to appreciate Astral Weeks better. Though I'm still a bit confused abut why I didn't love it in the first place.

Re: Van Morrison

PurpleHazel — Sat, 2 May 2020 07:51:04 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 05/02/2020 11:51

If BEA is any indication, among album fans he's equally known for Astral Weeks.

When I worked in a big record store in the 80s, "Brown-Eyed Girl" wasn't available except for a live version on a double album. Probably the most requested song or album by customers that wasn't available -- and there were a lot of OOP albums or brand new singles customers requested that weren't available.

Re: Van Morrison

RoundTheBend — Sat, 2 May 2020 01:40:50 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 05/02/2020 05:40

Both Astral Weeks and Moondance are near perfect albums imo. Pretty crazy those were back to back.

I'd have to agree with Skinny's comments though. After Veedon Fleece he pretty much washed up (imo). He didn't age as well as say a Randy Newman or Johnny Cash or Paul Simon... all of which who have had albums late in their career people cared about. Having said that, to be fair, I haven't listened to much after it because it was a rough go and I don't consider myself a masochist. It was just painfully boring... I remember an older track showing up on a comp or like listening to a comp of his and near the end I had to turn it off it was so stale.

Tip to some of the earlier works, also mentioned, with Them or Brown Eyed Girl... I mean damn, is there really a better pop song than Brown Eyed Girl?

Re: Van Morrison

Skinny — Fri, 1 May 2020 15:54:13 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 05/01/2020 19:54

rkm wrote:

I’m interested in which album you guys think is Van’s last good album?

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher by Van Morrison

Re: Van Morrison

rkm — Fri, 1 May 2020 15:11:31 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 05/01/2020 19:11

I’m interested in which album you guys think is Van’s last good album?

Re: Van Morrison

rkm — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 16:24:40 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 04/28/2020 20:24

If you’re after some inspiring live Van, and like his run from Astral Weeks to Veedon Fleece, I’d highly recommend these expanded volumes of ‘’It’s Too Late To Stop Now”

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

...It's Too Late To Stop Now... Vols. II, III, IV by Van Morrison

‘Vol. III Live at the Santa Monica Civic’ is fantastic (perhaps better than the original release).

Having listened from 1964-1994, I also have found a new appreciation for this live album

A Night In San Francisco by Van Morrison

In fact, all the live albums sum up each era quite well.

Re: Van Morrison

Spyglass — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 14:12:43 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 04/28/2020 18:12

Astral Weeks and Veedon Fleece are my two favorites. Moondance comes pretty close, though. I tried playing some of his music for my brothers but they hate his voice.

Re: Van Morrison

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 11:40:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 04/28/2020 15:40

Yeah, he's really good. Particularly like the live album "it's too late to stop now"- I don't think I've ever been more impressed by a live album.

I've never quite grasped the greatness of Astral Weeks though I'm due a revisit so hopefully this might change (woefully enough my cd of said album will not read in my laptop so this idea has stalled 😢 )

Any nuggets from later on in his career we should know about?

Re: Van Morrison

RockyRaccoon — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 10:23:17 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 04/28/2020 14:23

rkm wrote:

I think the public’s awareness extends to ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and ‘Moondance’. Perhaps ‘Have I Told You Lately’ (although most think that song belongs to Rod Stewart). It’s a shame, because his catalog is deep and interesting.

Oh I'd say bare minimum most people are familiar with And It Stoned Me, Domino, and Into The Mystic alongside the ones you mentioned (and probably a few more).

But yea, like Skinny said, that stretch from Astral Weeks to Veedon Fleece is absurdly good, with Veedon Fleece being one of my personal favorites and an album of his that I think deserves more credit than it gets. Later stuff has been hit or miss, but yea, dude's great.

Re: Van Morrison

Skinny — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 10:18:16 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 04/28/2020 14:18

The run from Astral Weeks to Veedon Fleece, including the live album from '73, can stand up to almost anyone's entire discography, and he's been sporadically great on record since. (There's some golden Them stuff, too.) Live in recent years, however, he has just largely settled into a phoned-in lounge soul comfort zone, which - given the money I've spent to watch him - has evaporated much of my goodwill towards him.

At his best, he was equally adept at rolling, stream-of-consciousness jazz-folk as he was warm, light-hearted rock'n'roll and country homages, and even incredibly convincing, incredibly passionate soul music, all with a bucolic, distinctly Gaelic feel, a glorious singer, and inspiring bandleader, and an impressionistic writer who borrowed liberally from both the history of pop music and from the Romantic poets to create his own language of utopian Irish countrysides and nostalgic, summertime Americana, not wordy in the Dylan or Springsteen sense, but capable of capturing immersive moods with economic turns of phrase. During that glorious six or seven year period, his sound was evolving constantly to pull in various strands of pop and folk music, but he always managed to sound like nobody but himself.

I still kinda hate him for those fucking sleepy and inoffensive gigs I've sat through, hoping to catch a glimpse of genius, but it's hard to deny the power of that stretch.

Van Morrison

rkm — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 08:12:55 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 04/28/2020 12:12

Any fans here?

I’m in the middle of a listening project. I’ve heard everything from 1964-1994 in order. I still have 1995 to the present to hear properly.

The dude has a strong work ethic. Almost 50 albums, compared to The Stones (about 30).

I think the public’s awareness extends to ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and ‘Moondance’. Perhaps ‘Have I Told You Lately’ (although most think that song belongs to Rod Stewart). It’s a shame, because his catalog is deep and interesting.