Van Morrison - Album by Album discussion - PART THREE

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DJ WILBUR, Feb 29, 2008.

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  1. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    Is that all? a bargain at twice the price... to hear our hero wax poetic in a Gansta suit? sweet... but I'll pass for now... :cheers:
     
  2. dgstrat

    dgstrat Senior Member

    Location:
    West Islip, NY
    The Healing Game was a letdown for me after Days like This. There are a few tracks that I absolutely love. "Fire in the Belly" is one of my fav Van tunes. It's got that slow groove simmering and Van gives an impassioned vocal. A perfect song. "Rough God..." is another I love. The vocals are Caravan-esque, and the backing vocals work extremely well. "Burning Ground is a great upbeat number that this set sorely needed, and I dig the vocals on "The Healing Game", but I kinda tire of that track. Aside from those, these songs feel rushed and thrown together. Very simple chord progressions harkening back to 50's doo wop. I'm thinking Van wasn't very inspired for this record............
     
  3. Craig

    Craig (unspecified) Staff

    Location:
    North of Seattle
    This is an example of why Michael Hayward's site is badly missed. :shake:
     
  4. tfarney

    tfarney Active Member

    Location:
    Charlotte,NC
    Not to backtrack but...well, yes, actually, to backtrack, because I missed the first installments of the Turd Trilogy, and because I just heard "Tell Me Something" for the first time last night. I'm listening to it again right now.

    Actually, I don't think it's bad at all. It sounds good. It has this kinda cool, loose feel. And some of the songs are fun, in an odd Randy Newanesqe (I know; redundant) sort of way. And some of them swing nicely. Thing is, this isn't a Van Morrison album. I suspect Van just loaned it some cred in hopes of finding a wider audience for Mose, who is just not a wider audience sort of guy. I was disappointed, but not because it's bad. I was disappointed because I thought I was going to get Van singing a full set of Mose Allison tunes which would mean, for the first time, a full set of Mose Allison tunes well-sung.

    Still, it's light years ahead of most popular music. Very easy to listen to.

    Tim
     
  5. peterC

    peterC Aussie Addict

    Location:
    sydney
    Craig, any idea if it'll be back up in the future?

    When I make my daily visit it says "stay tuned".
     
  6. gohill

    gohill Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    I like this one quite a lot, its less slick than Days Like This and sounds more real. However one thing puzzles me.

    On the old pulled Van Morrison website the review of this album is quite poor and seems to focus on a perceived vocal inadequacy. The guy states that Van's voice sounds really strained and that he perhaps had a cold/throat infection during recording hence his vocals were really poor. I don't hear this at all, i think he sounds great as always. Anyone else care to comment on this?
     
  7. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    I don't remember the throat comment, but I do remember the poor review, which is why I was so pleasantly surprised when I finally sat down with it. His voice sounds great to me.
     
  8. Craig

    Craig (unspecified) Staff

    Location:
    North of Seattle
  9. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    I remember that review, too. Having just listened to the album I must say I don't know what he's talking about either :shrug:

    BTW, upon relistening "side two" is way too doo-woppy and unmemorable except fo the title track which is doo-woppy and memorable ;) So my original opinion of this one stands. As much as I have complained about The Healing Game it does have 3 or 4 good songs on it which is enough to make it my favorite post Too Long In Exile release. Talk about damning with faint praise :angel:

    And I forgot that I do have a promo cd single of the title track, but it doesn't have any cool extra tracks on it :sigh: Just the album version and a single edit (same mix with an abbreviated ending as far as I can tell). A Dallas radio station was giving these away to promote the album release.
     
  10. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    The Healing Game...

    Listening to The Healing Game now...

    I just love the opening gambit, Rough God Goes Riding... It just speaks to me, and it really swings... I love the duel sax soloing as welll...go pee wee... great Van track... essential, IMNSHO... and included on the three Cd verison of Still on Top.

    2bc...

    :cheers:

    PS: Could The Healing Game be the best Van Morrison studio Cd of the 1990s?

    :agree:
     
  11. Craig

    Craig (unspecified) Staff

    Location:
    North of Seattle
    :agree:
     
  12. drewslo

    drewslo Forum Resident

    I would choose "Enlightenment" as Van's best 90's studio release. But "Healing Game" comes close.
     
  13. albert_m

    albert_m Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atl., Ga, USA
    That one is next. :winkgrin:

    That said, I always like this album. From the first time I heard the title song on the radio, I knew there was some great Van.

    Piper is also is a wonderful little song. The Healing Game song does obviously revisit the “healing” them, but musically it just rocks (in a non rock way) from the opening through his vocals, the awesome sax solo and then again with him towards the end and the doo wop like back up vocals. In that regard,
    “It was once my life” is very pleasing too.

    But that is not to say that there’s not some quality (and passion) to the other tracks. In fact most of the album is good and do agree that it's among his best of the decade.


    '97 also saw Van's excellent collaboration with the Chieftons as well as with John Lee Hooker, including the also excellent "Don't Look Back" and a few other from that album, including a fine bluesy version of the Healing Game.
     
  14. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    More Healing Game...

    dunno, havent heard that one.... but man, THG is sweet, Pee wees sax solo in Sometimes We Cry playing now... I like the first side a lot, cool how they do the vocla thing at the end of the weight... Piper appealed to me first listen, still does, but I decided I like Rough God Goes Riding better... Burning Ground is cool, but not sure how I feel about the spoken word segment. Like the title track too, so at least half of this album is a killer van keeper, and really nothing stand out too badly, like the way some tracks did on Hymns and 2LIE...

    cheers,

    :cheers:

    Ps; and yes, Curbach, I could do without BK's vocal shadow on most tracks.. but it doesn't offend that much... it was you not liking them, right?
     
  15. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

     
  16. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
     
  17. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

     
  18. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Nah, Brian didn't bother me on The Healing Game.
    I have to say again that I'm really impressed with this record and I'm kind of mad at myself for having passed it by until acquiring it for the purposes of this thread.
     
  19. peterC

    peterC Aussie Addict

    Location:
    sydney

    For me, easily.
     
  20. dee

    dee Senior Member

    Location:
    ft. lauderdale, fl
    Saw Van with his band at the end of December 1997 (wait, it could have been '96, aw hell, I can't be sure of the year) - the 1st and only two times I've been to his concerts. In performance, everything about the Healing Game seemd either somewhat magical or powerful to me and the friends I went with, who were also familiar with the songs from the new cd.

    Burning Ground, Piper, Rough God, man, everything from HG just seemed so much more on fire and visceral. He was in good form, in a good mood. He even hung out at a jazz club, O'Hara's, in Ft. Lauderdale, after one of his gigs, and he did a spate of shows in Florida that year, and came back the next to do more. If I was older and wiser at the time, I would have taken in a few more of those shows.

    For me, Healing Game is essential, especially as I feel fortunate to have seen and heard it performed with what I thought was some real vigor and inspiration.
     
  21. mrmaloof

    mrmaloof Active Member

    Location:
    California
    The Healing Game is one of my absolute favorite Van Morrision albums from any era of his, and the title cut is one of my absolute favorites of his songs. There is so much soul and beauty in this album.

    - Joe
     
  22. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Thanks for that. :righton: It's nice to have a remembrance of a gig concurrent with the album in question. I've never had the pleasure of seeing the Hatted Sunglassified One in concert, so this is great.
     
  23. dee

    dee Senior Member

    Location:
    ft. lauderdale, fl
    Thanks Tom, I Know DJ and curbach and many others have seen him many more times than I have, but if I could indulge some about the concerts. I find it a little surreal when you're excited about being at the concert and the anticipation about what songs you're going to get to hear and what the performance will be like. So, unfortunately with all that, when I'm there and there's Van Morrison putting on a musical show, it's like that whole moment kind of takes over, and I find it can be difficult to really "judge" the performance, just for the excitement factor alone. But, as I say, all of us were thrilled and pleased to have seen Van and the whole band, and hear him in concert, and we enjoyed ourselves and thought he was in good form.

    Sunrise Musical Theatre, where the concerts were given, was a wonderful venue. I think we sat first row mezzanine center for both shows. I have to say, BW is a heckuva singer, imo, because his voice sounded really good, and it was interesting actually sometimes watching him watch Van to try to fathom when and where Van might next go. Van did the whole James Brown encore cape routine and the pre-show Van intro was kinda fun (I don't remember seeing the clock :laugh: ). Van did a rap during Burning Ground, maybe, or Healing Game, about cellphones and computers, and all kinds of stuff like that, which the audience got a kick out of.
     
  24. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Not sure what William has cooked up in terms of bringing this thread Back on Top, but I'm sure we'll be moving on to that sometime soon.

    William...?
     
  25. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    oh are we there already? man, i'm dogged with work today/tomorrow...give me till thursday or friday and we'll climb back to the Top....
     
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