Van Morrison, Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber "The Skiffle Sessions: Live in Belfast" 1998(rec) 2000(released)***

Like any grammar school essay, this review will start with a Wikipedia definition "Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments". It became immensely popular in the UK during the late 50's, to be subsequently forgotten; but not before leaving an important legacy in its wake: the success of skiffle convinced British youths that one doesn't have to be black to play jazz and blues, or a hillbilly to play country; if a Scotsman like Lonnie Donegan can do it, they thought, so can we. So they went on and bought themselves their first guitar - or made themselves one from scratch, using a cigar box and some wires. Thus, in 1956 Liverpool, John Lennon started a skiffle group called The Quarrymen; pretty soon Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined in. The skiffle craze passed the Irish sea, infecting Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison who also proceeded to form bands playing in this idiom. Individual Rolling Stones started their career playing with Alexis Korner, who was Chris Barber's guitarist at the time. Barber introduced trad jazz to the UK; his idea to include folk and blues songs into his repertoire is what gave birth to British Skiffle music. Donegan, a former member of Barber's band, struck out on his own, and had a huge hit in 1955 with a sped-up version of traditional folk blues "Rock Island Line". For a few short years, he was the biggest star of British radio, to be subsequently completely forgotten - by everyone, it seems, except Van Morrison, who organised his reunion with Chris Barber's band for this concert and CD. It's obviously a work of love, a most warm and convivial affair. Barber plays bass and trombone, while Donegan and Morrison share the lead vocal duties; if the latter is the better singer, the former's voice carries more authenticity to the project. Dr. John adds his New Orleans-style piano on two songs, "Good Morning Blues" and "Goin' Home". The presence of an American could be construed as an anomaly in an album that offers homage to a British phenomenon, but, seeing as it all began as an attempt to bring the music of New Orleans to Britain, one can see it as the closing of a circle: an American jazzman paying tribute to Brits paying tribute to American jazz and folk. The material leans heavier on jazz and blues than folk and country, somewhat inverting the analogy of original skiffle. The choice of overtly familiar material (traditionals, songs by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Jimmie Rodgers etc.) is the weakest feature of this collection; one can immediately recall a better-known (or better performed) version of each tune here. I was surprised to hear them close the CD with "I Wanna Go Home", which I knew as The Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" from Pet Sounds. Little did I know that it's a traditional Bahamian tune which has been recorded by various folk singers over the years - Donegan's own version predated The Beach Boys' by 5 years. According to the liner notes, the concert is unrehearsed, which sounds unbelievable considering the perfect coordination between the musicians. I guess the lack of rehearsal time accounts for the fact that they chose these famous songs that everybody was already very familiar with. Ultimately, there's not much here that's novel or particularly interesting; just a fun, good-natured, exercise in nostalgia by the progenitors of British blues and rock - which is enough for me. It certainly was nice to see Donegan rise from decades of obscurity; this (his last ever) recording, together with a honorary MBE by the Queen in the same year, served as belated recognition of his important contribution to British music before his sudden death from a heart attack in 2002.

**** for It Takes A Worried Man, Goin' Home, Good Morning Blues, Outskirts Of Town, Goodnight Irene, I Wanna Go Home

*** for Lost John, Don't You Rock Me Daddio, Midnight Special, Dead Or Alive, Frankie & Johnny, Railroad Bill, Muleskinner's Blues, The Ballad Of Jesse James

Van Morrison & The Chieftains "Irish Heartbeat" 1988****

I'm sitting at my house looking at a patch of snow outside and contemplating whether I should join the outdoors St. Patrick Day celebrations in The Hague later in the evening. I've always had a good time at St. Patrick's, listening to Irish music and drinking Guiness, but would the Saint really want me to freeze my balls off just to celebrate his holiness? You'll notice I don't question whether he'd approve of my getting drunk on his nameday - of course he would, after all he was Irish wasn't he? (actually he was a Latinised Briton, but don't tell it to any Irishmen). 

The LP spinning on my record player right now was my first introduction to Irish folk almost 30 years ago, and has remained a favourite of mine ever since. I was pretty young at the time and mostly liked punk rock and 60's garage/psych but I had also discovered Van Morrison via his Astral Weeks LP which I listened to constantly. So I thought I'd try his latest one. Not that I expected it to sound the same, after all bald Van on this LP cover was worlds away from the romantic youth of Astral Weeks. As for the rest of the guys on the photo, they looked like someone's uncles from the village, or like the sort of musicians that play at the local panigyria (Greek village festivals) which is, I guess, not that far from what they really were. But that's the thing with traditional music: we reject our own as the uncool stuff our grandpas like, but someone else's grandpa music? well, it's exotic and interesting. The opening "Star Of The County Down" immediately caught my attention, with its rhythm and instrumentation so different from what I had heard until then: bagpipes, fiddles, flutes and tin whistles. As this wonderful song was my first contact with Irish folk, it's no wonder I immediately became a fan. "Irish Heartbeat" and "Celtic Ray" are two older Van songs, reinterpreted in an Irish old-timey manner yet still close to his familiar Celtic Soul style. The traditional ballads ("Raglan Road", "She Moved Through The Fair", "My Lagan Love" and "Carrickfergus") showcase Van's voice beautifully. Listening to them now is a pleasure, but at the time I was more interested in the jauntier tracks like "Marie's Wedding" and, especially, "I'll Tell Me Ma".

Here's the whole gang. For some reason, Van is posing with a fiidle...

Can't help but sing along and dance to such infectiously groovy tunes! "Tá Mo Chleamhnas Déanta" was another surprise, a ballad about arranged marriages and lost loves, Van trading vocals with The Chieftain's Kevin Conneff singing in Gaelic. What a crazy language, not a single word sounds familiar! Thank God for Van translating the lyrics, though "wee lass" wasn't exactly the kind of English I was taught at school. The Chieftains went on to make more crossover albums with pop and rock artists -I have a few and will present them here sometime- but this one is special for me. Great, great music! Certainly put me in the right mood, I think I'll brave the cold and go to the St. Patrick Day festival after all! 

***** for Star Of The County Down, Tá Mo Chleamhnas Déanta, I'll Tell Me Ma

**** for Irish Heartbeat, Raglan Road, She Moved Through The Fair, Carrickfergus, Marie's Wedding

*** for Celtic Ray, Lagan Love

Van Morrison "Astral Weeks" 1968 (remst.2015)*****

I thought it best to start the year with one of my all-time favorite records. My musical tastes have fluctuated quite a bit during the years, but "Astral Weeks" never leaves my personal Top-10. Last month I also bought it on CD, as it was recently remastered and reissued. I first discovered it around the time of my 18th birthday, and immediately fell in love with it. Funny, as my favorite music at the time veered from the classic rock I grew up with (Doors, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd) towards the garage punk of The Ramones, Stooges, Cramps etc. It probably shouldn't have resonated so strongly with a "rebellious" youth discovering college night life and political activism, but I've always had an introspective, melancholic side it appealed to. Not that it shows on the record, but Van was at the time an angry young man, too. A 22-year old immigrant from North Ireland to New York, he fell in with producer Bert Burns who tried to take control of his career and steer him towards pop. Burns' commercial instincts produced a huge hit ("Brown Eyed Girl") but Van kept wrestling for artistic freedom and the fight soon got ugly. By the beginning of 1968, Van Morrison was legally prohibited from entering a recording studio or playing live anywhere. Burn's premature death only made things worse, as his widow took over his estate with a vengeance, trying to have Morrison deported from the country. He subsequently managed to avoid deportation by marrying his American girlfriend and broke free from his contract with Burns' company. But he was certainly boiling with anger and resentment towards the music industry - feelings still palpable when, 25 years later, he wrote a song about his experience. So, the Van who entered the studio was remote and aloof, if not quite the misanthrope the music press always portrays him as. The session players assembled for the recording were not given any explanations as to the meaning of the lyrics and no written music or instructions. Van just stepped into the recording booth with his acoustic guitar without even introducing himself. The rest of the band stayed in a different part of the studio, and were told to improvise along to the music that came off the speakers. Miraculously, this approach worked: the spontaneous interplay between these brilliant jazz musicians (guitarist Jay Berliner, upright bassist Richard Davis, drummer Connie Kay, vibraphonist Warren Smith and saxophonist/flautist John Payne) captured something elusive as well as timeless, while the dreamy atmosphere was enhanced later by overdubbed strings. The music was completely different from anything heard before: that gentle mix of baroque jazz and folk had analogies to the music made by Tim Buckley at the time, but it was infused by Morrison's soulful delivery and Celtic lyricism. The lyrics were oblique and poetic, inspired by mysticism and nostalgia for his Belfast childhood. He's described opener "Astral Weeks" as a song about "the light at the end of the tunnel". It flows at a leisurely pace, with playful vibraphone and flute and unobtrusive strings, while Van sings (as he does in the whole album) with the fervor of a gospel singer losing himself in religious ecstasy: "If I ventured in the slipstream/Between the viaducts of your dreams...Could you find me/Would you kiss my eyes/Lay me down/In silence easy/To be born again/In another world/In another time". "Beside You" is folkier and sports some great classical guitar. "Sweet Thing" is a love song with a pastoral Celtic feel, more straightforward that the rest and therefore open to interpretation by other artists. Jeff Buckley and The Waterboys have produced their own excellent covers. "Cyprus Avenue" is a long jam about a lovestruck boy, sitting in a car under a tree-lined road, watching as the girl of his dreams goes by. I especially like how the violinist plays his own improvisations behind the vocal rather than just accompanying. "The Way Young Lovers Do" is somewhat of an anomaly in the album, being the only upbeat song, with Van scatting Sinatra-like accompanied by soulful brass and swirling strings. "Madame George" is the record's centerpiece, a dreamy and nostalgic 10-minute ballad about a mysterious figure living in the back street of his childhood house. It's unclear what kind of establishment the madame runs (or whether she is indeed a lady or a transvestite, as some surmise from the cryptic innuendos) but it seems to hold great attraction for the boy watching her. An earthier version of the song had been cut the previous year at Bang studios (together with one of "Beside You"), and the comparison speaks volumes about Van's decision to leave Burns to follow his own muse. "Ballerina" is a long love song written about his first encounter with his future wife Janet. It harks back to Van's rock'n'roll days with Them (he had rehearsed it a few times with that band) but delivered here in his new Celtic Soul style. "Slim Slow Slider" closes the album in a melancholic manner, as befits a song about a dying girl. Payne's saxophone is a highlight here, while the strings are absent for the first time. At 3,5 minutes it seems rather short, but the reissue rectifies that by including an alternate, longer version. Of the other bonus tracks, there's another long version ("Ballerina"), a first take on "Beside You" and an alternate version of "Madame George". All these performances are great while the absence of strings, together with the crystal clear production, create the illusion of being in the room with the band (although, as previously mentioned, the band and singer never actually sat in the same room). That impression is enhanced by the inclusion of studio banter, but that's not necessarily a good thing: "Astral Weeks" is an album that takes you on an inner voyage, and the atmosphere gets abruptly shattered by the voices of people talking to each other and counting down. I much prefer the silence following the soft click of the turntable coming to a stop and stylus returning to its position. Anyway you prefer it, in LP or new crisply remastered CD, if there ever was an album made to be heard as a whole, on the stereo or with headphones, that's "Astral Weeks". Download the individual tracks in MP3 and play them on your laptop to ruin one of the greatest listening experiences one can ever have.

***** for Astral Weeks, Beside You, Sweet Thing, Cyprus Avenue, The Way Young Lovers Do, Madame George

**** for Ballerina, Slim Slow Slider [Long Version]

*** for Slim Slow Slider, Beside You (Take 1), Madame George (Take 4), Ballerina [Long Version]

Van Morrison "Too Late to Stop Now" 1974*****

I've had this LP for years now and it's even survived the great vinyl purge and accompanied me to the Netherlands. But, finding a cheap CD copy, I bought it for the second time so that I can still listen to it even though I'm parted from my record player. So I guess I must like it a lot, mustn't I? Well it's Van the Man fronting a great band, and have you seen the tracklist? Incidentally Van is one of few of my favorite artists whom I haven't yet seen in a full concert. 15 years ago I won in a radio contest a free pass for his concert in the Athens Olympic stadium. And what did he do? He freaking went and cancelled the gig. And I didn't even get a refund! That's why people don't like you Van, they like your songs but not you! Just joking, of course - it was disappointing obviously but at least I have seen Van perform once, even if it was for a few minutes. It was in '89 during a Bob Dylan concert. He just came  unannounced onstage and sang a few tunes and let me tell you it was the highlight of the night. No offence to Bob, he's probably the world's best songwriter but as a singer he's no Van. This double live album was recorded in 1974 and has a fantastic mix of R&B covers and originals, Celtic folk and even a couple of Them tunes. He's backed by the so-called Caledonia Soul Orchestra which included his regular band augmented by carefully arranged horns and strings. The album is recorded 100% live with minimal post production and no studio overdubs, while all performances are energetic, soulful, well-played and innovatively arranged so as to offer different but equally good versions to the familiar studio recordings. The album opens with a cover of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do". Van alternates between a soft croon and powerful blues shout, with a backing of jazzy guitar and piano and occasional loud horns. It was released as the album's lead single backed with "Wild Children", originally a track from "Hard Nose the Highway". The live version is really superb, with a mystical celtic jazz flavor thanks to great use of the string quartet. "Warm Love", originally from the same album, is somewhat more upbeat with an engaging soulful performance by Van. Moondance tracks "Into The Mystic" and "These Dreams Of You" also shine, the former beautifully adorned with sweeping strings and the latter displaying a playful swing. That album's uplifting highlight "Caravan" is presented in an extended 10-minute version that gives Morrison the chance to present his band. "I Believe To My Soul" is the first of two Sam Cooke numbers. Great bluesy performance by singer and the band. "Bring It On Home To Me" is just as good at the vocal department but the simple piano backing is underwhelming. Two upbeat numbers from "His Band and the Street Choir" follow, both noticeably faster and funkier from their studio counterparts: "I've Been Working" and "Domino", especially the former impressing with its energetic James Brown-style performance. Even more impressive is the use of strings on Muddy Waters' "I Just Want To Make Love To You". It shouldn't work, but it does. Great slide guitar in this one, too! Ditto for Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me", which gets the soul treatment, including a Green Onions-style organ groove. Another Sonny Boy oldie "Take Your Hands Out Of My Pocket" is light and jazzy when the lyric asks for a tougher delivery. "Saint Dominic's Preview" is represented by the title track and "Listen To The Lion" in resplendent new arrangements. Two songs from his Them days follow, the pop soul classic "Here Comes The Night" invigorated by the strings and that old garageband favorite "Gloria" in hi-energy soul mode. The album closes with an astonishing 10-minute version" of Astral Weeks' "Cyprus Avenue". About the only drawback from this album is that it doesn't contain more songs from "Astral Weeks". I'd like to hear that band tackle more songs from one of my all-time favorite records but that's a minor quibble for an album that justifiably regularly finds itself in the lists of all-time greatest live albums.

***** for Into The Mystic, These Dreams Of You, I Believe To My Soul, Wild Children, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Cyprus Avenue

**** for Ain't Nothin' You Can Do, Warm Love, I've Been Working, Help Me, Listen To The Lion, Here Comes The Night, Gloria, Caravan 

*** for Domino, Bring It On Home To Me, Saint Dominic's Preview,  Take Your Hands Out Of My Pocket