Saturday, December 17, 2005
Van Morrison
Tonight, on the way home, from a busy day at the store (the busiest retail day of the year according to some), I popped in Van Morrison's 'What's Wrong With This Picture'.
I have been a Van the Man fan now for at least ten years.
I purchased 'Enlightenment' when it came out. I loved the fact that Van wrote the lyrics, wrote the music, played the music and sang the songs. I loved the fact Van let his musicians have breathing room, each offering their own nuances to the mix. Something about the title track stuck with, and still sticks, with me.
'Well chop that wood and carry water, what's the sound of one hand clapping, enlightenment, don't know what it is'. The lyric is so true of a westerner who is trying to grasp eastern mysticism, or just somebody like me who's tired at the end of the day and is seeking some solace.
After 'Enlightenment', I bought the 'Best Of', the one with the old fashioned mic on the cover. I was treated to jazz, blues, gospel, soul and rock. Not a bad pedigree from an irishman who started out in the volatile sixties and didn't quite fit in.
The deeper I got into Van's music, the more I realized certain themes were important to The Man.
Apparently, Van had some really bad experiences with record execs early on in his career, which makes what seems to be a justifiable paranoia of the industry types for him. Many of his songs talk about being threatened with being blackballed or perhaps being physically harmed by the industry men.
Love gone bad is another theme Mr. Morrison tackles on many an occassion. There is a boy and there is a girl, but there is a storm brewing in the distance, or perhaps more accurately, a tempest in the teacup, and everything is all wrong. The woman loses interest or the man suffers too much stress, etc. etc. etc.
Running through the Man's music too, is the olden time mystical path. The Ancient of Days is called upon, the One is beatified, the Common is commiserated. Van is obviously a spiritual seeker and shares this viewpoint with the listener to great effect.
Van's songs can last six to seven minutes, forever in modern rock terms, when many songs are plowed through in less than three minutes.
The listener is treated to strings, acoustic bass and guitar, harmonica, Hammond organ, whistles and bells and so forth. The mix is usually stripped down to the essentials, but is fleshed out enough to make one think he is getting a bargain for his money.
Can't say enough good things about the Man.
Long may he blow his sax, play his harmonica, strum his guitar and bass, and sing with that Irish blue-eyed soul-ish voice that always sounds just a little out of joint.
Tonight, on the way home, from a busy day at the store (the busiest retail day of the year according to some), I popped in Van Morrison's 'What's Wrong With This Picture'.
I have been a Van the Man fan now for at least ten years.
I purchased 'Enlightenment' when it came out. I loved the fact that Van wrote the lyrics, wrote the music, played the music and sang the songs. I loved the fact Van let his musicians have breathing room, each offering their own nuances to the mix. Something about the title track stuck with, and still sticks, with me.
'Well chop that wood and carry water, what's the sound of one hand clapping, enlightenment, don't know what it is'. The lyric is so true of a westerner who is trying to grasp eastern mysticism, or just somebody like me who's tired at the end of the day and is seeking some solace.
After 'Enlightenment', I bought the 'Best Of', the one with the old fashioned mic on the cover. I was treated to jazz, blues, gospel, soul and rock. Not a bad pedigree from an irishman who started out in the volatile sixties and didn't quite fit in.
The deeper I got into Van's music, the more I realized certain themes were important to The Man.
Apparently, Van had some really bad experiences with record execs early on in his career, which makes what seems to be a justifiable paranoia of the industry types for him. Many of his songs talk about being threatened with being blackballed or perhaps being physically harmed by the industry men.
Love gone bad is another theme Mr. Morrison tackles on many an occassion. There is a boy and there is a girl, but there is a storm brewing in the distance, or perhaps more accurately, a tempest in the teacup, and everything is all wrong. The woman loses interest or the man suffers too much stress, etc. etc. etc.
Running through the Man's music too, is the olden time mystical path. The Ancient of Days is called upon, the One is beatified, the Common is commiserated. Van is obviously a spiritual seeker and shares this viewpoint with the listener to great effect.
Van's songs can last six to seven minutes, forever in modern rock terms, when many songs are plowed through in less than three minutes.
The listener is treated to strings, acoustic bass and guitar, harmonica, Hammond organ, whistles and bells and so forth. The mix is usually stripped down to the essentials, but is fleshed out enough to make one think he is getting a bargain for his money.
Can't say enough good things about the Man.
Long may he blow his sax, play his harmonica, strum his guitar and bass, and sing with that Irish blue-eyed soul-ish voice that always sounds just a little out of joint.
