Dez Record Guides: Van Morrison, Pt. II (1982-2012)

Two posts below is Part I of the Van Morrison guide.

Beautiful Vision (1982) ***
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983) **
Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (live) (1984) ****
A Sense of Wonder (1985) **
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986) ***
Poetic Champions Compose (1987) ***
Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988) NR
Avalon Sunset (1989) ***
Van’s 80’s work is quite challenging. I admire it very much because it is a period where he did not take the easy route at all, instead delving deeply into his spiritual quest and his Celtic/Irish roots. The term “Celtic Soul” has often been used, and I think it is apt. But like I said, these records are not easy records. They are often very subdued and quiet, and require attentive listening otherwise they easily fade into the background. That is not to say that it is background music, though. I think you can get a sense just from the album titles, or song titles from the period like “Rave On, John Donne,” “Tore Down a la Rimbaud,” “Dweller on the Threshold,” etc. As you can see from my ratings, I do not love them, some I cannot really penetrate, but I admire immensely his efforts during these years as an artist taking risks and doing what he felt he had to do. Beautiful Vision and Avalon Sunset (the bookends, and AS was actually a minor hit record for him) probably grab me the most, and the live record represents this period extremely well and injects some added energy to some of the quieter studio versions.

The Best of Van Morrison (compilation) (1990) *****
It is strange, but this single disc collection, which does not go chronologically and covers a ridiculous span of time and amount of material (from mid-60’s Them to his recent 80’s work), somehow provides a fantastic and rather accurate overview of Van Morrison. As a single disc, it of course cannot cover nearly all of the essential bases, but that is not really its purpose. It works perfectly as a user-friendly introduction, and is a hell of a listen from start to finish.

Enlightenment (1990) **
Hymns To the Silence (1991) ***
Too Long in Exile (1993) **
The Best of Van Morrison, vol. 2 (compilation) (1993) ****
A Night in San Francisco (live) (1994) ***
Days Like This (1995) **
He still has some ambition here, but the early 90’s find Van in a slightly less serious mood. Slightly. Hymns To the Silence is an interesting double record, it would have made a fantastic single with the right editing, there are some songs there that match his peak period, but also a lot of filler. The second volume of Best of was compiled by Van himself, and he clearly favors his 80’s work. Where it should have been the perfect complement to the first Best of, it primarily serves as a sampler of the 80’s (but still also digs all the way back to Them), but without key 80’s tracks that appeared on the first one, so it is not quite definitive 80’s period either. Still a good listen, though, but only in conjunction with the first volume. Whereas his first two live records were brilliant snapshots of an artist deeply exploring his muse, his third live outing is purely for entertainment, as it comes across like a lively R&B revue. And that is what Van will be from here on out, a consummate professional, but not the daring artist that he had been.

How Long Has This Been Going On? (with Georgie Fame) (1996) NR
Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1996) NR
The Healing Game (1997) **
The Philosopher’s Stone (compilation of previously unreleased tracks) (1998) ***
Back On Top (1999) **
The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998 (live) (with Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber) (2000) NR
You Win Again (with Linda Gail Lewis) (2000) NR
Down the Road (2002) **
What’s Wrong With This Picture? (2003) **
Magic Time (2005) **
Pay the Devil (2006) **
Live at Austin City Limits Festival (live) (2006) NR
The Best of Van Morrison, vol. 3 (compilation) (2007) ***
Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits (compilation) (2007) ****
Still on Top – The Greatest Hits (compilation) (2007) ***
Keep It Simple (2008) **
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl (live) (2009) ****
Born To Sing: No Plan B (2012) **
From about ’96 forward, Van’s music tends to blend together. None of these records are “bad” per se, I’m not sure Van is capable of putting out something that is really bad, he is too good a singer with too good taste. On most of these records, there are a couple of tunes that may stand out, but most are a mix of his increasingly stale love for R&B and hints of his Celtic Soul from the 80’s, but without the daring. What is notable here? The Philosopher’s Stone seems like it should have been much more, a double disc emptying of the vaults from the mid-70’s through the 80’s. There are definitely some keepers there, but one would suspect there is more transcendent material still locked away. The vol. 3 of the Best of series is a sprawling and rather baffling double disc assembled by Van focusing on recent material and rarities from the 90’s forward. Nothing special. The At the Movies collection is a bit gimmicky, yet it actually serves as a really good listen (and Morrison’s duet with Roger Waters on “Comfortably Numb” is pretty cool). I reviewed the Astral Weeks Live show in depth when it was released, but it is outstanding and features Van taking risks that we haven’t heard in a long time. It seems that revisiting his most admired material sparked something in him.

Bottom Line: Van Morrison’s discography is immense, akin to trying to get a handle on Bob Dylan’s output. But as a guideline, it is hard to go wrong up through ’74, all of that is essential (well, except Hard Nose the Highway and most of Blowin’ Your Mind!) After that, you have to tread more carefully. Into the Music is almost a must. For the 80’s, Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast gives you a good taste of where he was at during that decade, as well as Beautiful Vision and Avalon Sunset. The Best of Van Morrison serves as a wonderful introduction, and Best of vol. 2 is a decent follow-up for more introduction to his 80’s work, yet it is not definitive since some of the best 80’s material was on vol. 1. I can’t say that I’d recommend anything beyond the mid-1990’s, though.