Van Morrison - Album by Album discussion - PART THREE

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

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  1. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    hahaha, you're probably hitting the nail on the head with this statement!
     
  2. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    I was thinking the same thing. We seem to be dumping on old Van because he's given us too much material. As a boot, this would probably be discussed as a mysterious side project and we'd all be anxiously PM-ing each other in an effort to hear it.

    Sometimes I think we take old Van for granted.
     
  3. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014



    Maybe... Maybe not... :sigh:

    On the other hand,

    It could just be a pile of skiffle ****... :eek: Yes, we may too oft take the man for granted, but we also too oft blindly worship at his altar... :love: Is it a cool archival side project, or a cheaply produced gap filler "fleecing" of the fans? :agree: :shake: :laugh: :winkgrin:

    You decide...

    :cheers:
     
  4. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    if it was a boot it'd of been cool. I actually had it on a boot before it was a release...took all the charm out of it for me when it came out as his new record and made me realize it as the washboard washed up dreck it actually is. Its one thing to glean something through the gauze of a taped radio broadcast, dubbed and dubbed...akin to van listening to his wireless, hoping for a good signal, never quite connecting to it all the way, but in theory very entertaining...then its his new album....and what was once a cool radio broadcast traded between loyalists, now we buy it and realize it does actually suck...and notice all the love for it in here for instance.....:angel:

    now you got your official Gene Clark boot today and its not perfection is it? no, its disappointed you, you're glad it exists, but its not the perfect issue you'd hoped....skiffle piffle is kinda like that for me.
     
  5. drewslo

    drewslo Forum Resident

    I really doubt that Van expected this project to be a big money maker. I think he wanted to pay tribute to Lonnie Donegan much in the same way he wanted to turn people on to Mose Allison. It's almost doing an album as charity work in a way. I also think it's cool that Van put all of his influences on the cover of "Down The Road" to turn people on to the "real thing". I don't think any of us worship at the altar of Van. The one Van Morrison discussion group (away from here) I check out actually mocks him quite a bit!...
     
  6. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Well, I guess you guys can tear up my membership card. I just threw on The Skiffle Sessions tonight and enjoyed the heck out of it. Lots of verve and energy. Most of these songs are classics (even if these are not definitive versions). "Midnight Special", "Goodnight Irene", "Jesse James" and others are certainly better songs than most of what Van was writing in the late 90's. I'll take this stuff, washboards and all, over Back On Top any day of the week and twice on Sundays. There I said it. I can't believe the rest of you are so mistaken about this album (and Back On Top) :angel:

    The cd is mastered too loud (natch), but the recording quality seems quite good. And I think my previous impression of Van running roughshod over the proceedings was due to my crappy iPod headphones which is the only way I've heard any of these tunes recently. Listening on my home system, Van sounds much more integrated into the band--he only slightly overwhelms.
     
  7. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Not at all. I had hoped someone would defend its honour and give me a reason to go search it out. If it had been panned across the board here I might've given it a miss altogether.

    So, a bull in an Ikea, then, as opposed to a china shop.;)
     
  8. tfarney

    tfarney Active Member

    Location:
    Charlotte,NC
    Does this mean Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome" is a Skiffle album?

    Tim
     
  9. dee

    dee Senior Member

    Location:
    ft. lauderdale, fl
    Y'know curbach's post had me sampling the skiffle record, and although I didn't hear Van singing during the first few tracks, I may have had a similar reaction that you did, regarding the Seeger Sessions, in that I thought of them while listening to the skiffle samples.
     
  10. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Just to be clear here, I am not really recommending that anyone go out of their way to obtain The Skiffle Sessions (unless you are a big Lonnie Donegan fan). I'm just saying that it is entertaining--unlike certain other late-era Van albums. It's still a completely superfluous release. If you stumble upon a cheap used copy like I did, well ok. . .

    Tom, can you get Maggie in here for a Post-Feminist critique of the lyrics to "Goodnight Irene" :laugh:
     
  11. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    hey what happened to Maggie in here? she moved on from Van and Tom, where is the next release...I'm dying to talk about part three of what I call "The Turd Trilogy"...
     
  12. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    I think tomorrow we'll move on to You Win Again, if that's all right with everyone.
    I spent some time with it over the weekend. Not a hidden gem or anything, but not nearly as turdy as I was expecting.
     
  13. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Really, Tom? I just took a pass on it today for $6--may be I should go back for it :angel: I did snag a used copy of Days Like This and I have to say "Perfect Fit" sounded great on the drive back to the office--great horns on that one, and Brian Kennedy didn't jump out and frighten me :shh:
     
  14. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    I listened to it on the subway the other day and it sounded less objectionable that I thought it would, how's that for damning with faint praise?:laugh:

    Linda Gail is rather shrill to my ears, but Van seems upbeat. More tomorrow. It sounds like it was dashed off in an afternoon, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
     
  15. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    [​IMG]

    YOU WIN AGAIN

    1. "Let's Talk About Us" -(Blackwell) – 2:53
    2. "You Win Again" - (Williams) – 3:01
    3. "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" - (Williams) – 2:57
    4. "Crazy Arms" -(Mooney, Seals) – 3:37
    5. "Old Black Joe" - (Lewis) – 3:21
    6. "Think Twice Before You Go" - (Smith) – 2:38
    7. "No Way Pedro" - (Morrison) – 3:44
    8. "Shot of Rhythm and Blues" - (Thompson) – 3:59
    9. "Real Gone Lover" - (Bartholomew, Durand, Robichaux) – 3:09
    10. "Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)?" - (Williams) – 2:23
    11. "Cadillac" - (McDaniel) – 2:33
    12. "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" - (Otis, Stein, Benton) – 3:45
    13. "Boogie Chillen" - (Hooker) – 4:00

    Van sashays his way through this c&w/early rock 'n roll genre exercise with a little more ease than his earlier ham-fisted excursions into jazz. The blend of Van's voice with Linda Gail's isn't a perfect pairing by any stretch, yet I think any VM fan would be impressed with the duo's energetic takes on Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" and the Killer's "Old Black Joe."
    The album asks to be taken lightly, and should be approached in this spirit.
    One's satisfaction/disappointment will depend almost exclusively upon how one feels about the songs chosen for the project, many of which should be familiar to even the most casual of fans.

    "No Way Pedro," the album's sole Morrison original, is a slight concoction which wouldn't fit in on a standard VM album, but slips seamlessly into the vibe here.
     
  16. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    no way pedro...here's my review...:hurl:...from that bad Jambalaya...
     
  17. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Well, I took Beano beforehand, so I'm fine.
     
  18. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    hahahaha....

    I bet you never play this one again! I know I wont lose again that bet!
     
  19. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    :shh: :whistle:
     
  20. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Hah. I think I'll just hold onto my $6. May be I'll wait for the reissue with bonus tracks :nauga: :laugh: (Actually, I assume Van will not be re-releasing this one due to the falling out he had with Linda Gail. Is it actually on the release schedule?)

    Note: I've never been sure what that "nauga" :nauga: is supposed to mean, but I like it.
     
  21. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    I'd assumed he'd just remove her vocals and re-release it as a van album...
     
  22. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    'nauga'

    nasty *** ugly gross avatar...

    :shh:
     
  23. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I agree with Tom a slight, fun romp to be taken lightly. Van seems to be enjoying himself. I think all this revisiting his early influences was used to recharge his batteries. I've wondered if he did this in hopes of getting to record with the Killer. Ultimately, that possibility disappeared when it all went sour because of Linda Gail's inability to resist the gossip rags.

    I do find this to be non-essential, but I do not detest it to the degree that I hear from many Van fans.

    Somehow his forays into C&W and Christianity references seem to have made him more popular in the American South. Does anyone else share that opinion? (or wish to vehemently disagree?):winkgrin:
     
  24. drewslo

    drewslo Forum Resident

    With all of the Van albums available, this one doesn't get much play. Why would you when there is Astral Weeks, St. Dominic's Preview or No Guru in your collection? But putting on "You Win Again" is a very entertaining experience. Has Van ever sounded like he is having this much fun on any other album? We often complain about "Van the grouch" but criticize him for putting out these somewhat lightweight albums. "You Win Again" is Van once again reconnecting with his roots. Van had just done this with the "Skiffle Session" so many of us were disappointed that there was no classic Van album forthcoming....but taken out of context this album is fine, a prequel to "Pay The Devil". When Van had put out the Mose Allison tribute and "How Long Has This Been Going On' back to back I had worried that he had run out of steam, but he followed those albums with the very good "Back On Top". He will do the same after the Skiffle Sessions and "You Win Again" with the release of the excellent "Down The Road" (which we cover next). So not essential but a very listenable album that gives us more insight into Van's roots. Those roots blend with his own unique style on the next album....
    Also, if your a John Lee Hooker fan, the closing track isr a great version of "Boogie Chillen" with Van playing the John Lee Hooker style guitar..loose and spontaneous.

    I think it's interesting that Van puts out these very noncommercial albums. He could sell a lot more by doing a "Moondance" part two release...
    I give him credit for following his inspiration.
     
  25. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    :righton: :righton: :righton: :righton: :righton: :righton: :righton:
     
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