Van Morrison - Best 00s Album Poll!!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Aar Gal, Feb 14, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    whats the best Van Morrison album from the 00s. I’m going to include everything where Van is a main contributor so this includes the 2 Them albums, the collaboration albums and the live releases.

    I excluded the Live At Austin City Limits and the Astral Weeks Live releases as I don’t have them and probably lots of people don’t have them either (especially the Austin one)

    Come back tomorrow for Best Of The 10s Poll!
     
    Jem and Rockford & Roll like this.
  2. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    You know I never “got” What’s Wrong With this picture” maybe someone can open my eyes and ears to what I’ve been missing
     
  3. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    I don’t think you missed anything. Near the bottom of the Van pile for me.

    We have officially entered the churning out product phase of Van’s career. Moments of inspiration are few and far between, and nothing really approaches the heights of prior triumphs. Nothing essential here. I can’t really recommend any of these albums except to diehards.

    I’m casting my vote for The Skiffle Sessions because Van at least sounds like he’s having fun, and because I expect I’ll be the only person to vote for it :)
     
    majorlance and chickendinna like this.
  4. chickendinna

    chickendinna Homegrown’s All Right With Me

    The Naughties were not Van's best decade, actually nowhere near that. I agree with Curbach. Van churns them out with the best of them. The releases become indistinguishable from one another and are basically interchangeable. You'll always find something redeeming on just about any Van album. His music at this point blended together so quite a bit of it doesn't stand out. When I'm in a Van mood, I rarely pull anything from this decade.
     
    Rockford & Roll and curbach like this.
  5. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    3 albums of pretty much all covers too...pretty odd
     
  6. John Rhett Thomas

    John Rhett Thomas Forum Resident

    Location:
    Macon, GA, USA
    Tough choice between Magic Time and Keep It Simple. I went with Magic Time because it has one of his greatest songs ever, "Celtic New Year."
     
    Rockford & Roll likes this.
  7. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    My vote's actually for Choppin' Wood, but Down the Road at least has "Fast Train" on it.
     
  8. Etienne Hanratty

    Etienne Hanratty Forum Resident

    Location:
    uk
    Keep It Simple is up there with his best records-it might even be my favourite after Astral Weeks.

    There are some astonishing songs on Magic Time (Stranded, Celtic New Year, Just Like Greta, The Lion This Time) but I find it uneven overall, with a lot of filler.

    I’ve never really felt Down The Road or What’s Wrong With This Picture but I have a soft spot for Pay The Devil as it’s the first new release of his I bought and it’s the record which inspired me to investigate further.
     
    Jem and Rockford & Roll like this.
  9. Rockford & Roll

    Rockford & Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midway, KY
    Down the Road for me, followed by Keep It Simple, What's Wrong With This Picture and Magic Time. And a hearty recommendation for Astral Weeks Live.
     
    Aar Gal likes this.
  10. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    I guess not many fans of Van’s 00s work!
     
  11. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I have Down The Road and What’s Wrong With This Picture? I think I’ll pick Down The Road because of the title track, Hey Mr. DJ, What Makes The Irish Heart Beat, Whatever Happened to PJ Proby and Evening Shadows.

    This is that era of overlong, never ending album lengths. Trim this down to 40 minutes and it would be much better.
     
    Billy 1957 and Rockford & Roll like this.
  12. skinnyev

    skinnyev Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    I always liked Keep it Simple, especially the live tracks. One of my favourite Van albums for sure.
     
  13. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Definitely. The last 5 or 6 tracks on Down The Road all feel like album closers, but it just keeps going on and on.
     
    Zeki likes this.
  14. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Guilty as charged, I've not heard a single one of these.
     
  15. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    From prior discussions on the forum I know there are plenty of people around here who like these albums. Maybe they’re all away for romantic Valentine’s Day weekends ;)
     
    Aar Gal likes this.
  16. Tom H

    Tom H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kapolei, Hawaii
    If it had been an option, I would have voted for the live Astral Weeks set. Since it wasn't, I voted for Down the Road, which is my favorite of this group. Not a great period, obviously.
     
    Jem and C6H12O6 like this.
  17. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Forgot to mention that Down The Road has the coolest album cover. So points right there.
     
    Rockford & Roll and Aar Gal like this.
  18. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I have a lot of time for Pay The Devil.
     
  19. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    I couldn't vote. I had to look to be sure but of the 27 Van Morrison albums I have none are from 2000-2009 and only two (2016 and 2019) past that time frame.
     
  20. I came here to post the same thing. Choppin' Wood is easily the best Van album from the 2000s.
     
    C6H12O6 likes this.
  21. Rockford & Roll

    Rockford & Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midway, KY
    Good call! That is a great album cover.
     
    Zeki likes this.
  22. newelectricmuse

    newelectricmuse charm, strangeness and quark

    Location:
    London
    This is where my interest starts to tail off; I have four of these albums and none really stands out. In fact looking at the track lists there are a lot of songs I can't remember. Perhaps it's because I don't usually reach for these when I want to hear some Van - the albums in all of the decades before this all get a fair bit of play. I'll go for Down the Road.
     
  23. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    The only one I have from this period is You Win Again, likely due to the collaboration with Linda Gail Lewis. Nice change of pace.
     
  24. Jem

    Jem Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lathbury
    Magic Time, Down The Road and Keep It Simple all have multiple wonderful tracks. Hard to pick one album. I actually put together a 21st Century Van playlist last year so it misses anything from Three Chords but I think it gives a decent run through of some Vans best songs this century:

    21st Century Van, a playlist by Jem on Spotify
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine