This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2017) |
A Sense of Wonder | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1985 January 2008 (reissue) | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Genre | Celtic soul | |||
Length | 43:08 | |||
Label | Mercury (original release) Polydor (all reissues since 1990) | |||
Producer | Van Morrison | |||
Van Morrison chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from A Sense of Wonder | ||||
|
A Sense of Wonder is the fifteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released in 1985. On first release, original pressings had to be recalled when the W. B. Yeats estate refused to allow Morrison's musical version of the poem "Crazy Jane on God" to be included, as they believed his poems should only be set to classical music. Morrison substituted "If You Only Knew" for the Yeats' recording. (Later, perhaps due to Morrison's efforts, Yeats poems would be put to rock settings on a whole album). [1]
The 29 January 2008 reissued and remastered version of the album contains alternate takes of "Crazy Jane on God" and "A Sense of Wonder". [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [3] |
Robert Christgau | C+ [4] |
Rolling Stone | (not rated) [5] |
All songs written by Van Morrison unless stated otherwise.
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] | 34 |
American Albums Chart | 61 |
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 25 |
Common One is the twelfth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1980. The album was recorded over a nine-day period at Super Bear Studios, near Nice, on the French Riviera. Its title comes from the 3
4 section of the song "Summertime in England", where Morrison sings the lyrics "Oh, my common one with the coat so old and the light in her head".
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart is the fourteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1983. Morrison said he arrived at the title from a Shavian saying: "that idea of communicating with as little articulation as possible, at the same time being emotionally articulate". As his last album for Warner Bros. Records, he decided to do an album which had more than the usual complement of instrumental tracks. As he explained in 1984, "Sometimes when I'm playing something, I'm just sort of humming along with it, and that's got a different vibration than an actual song. So the instrumentals just come from trying to get that form of expression, which is not the same as writing a song." Although not expanded upon, of note is that a special thanks is given to L. Ron Hubbard in the liner notes. The reissued and remastered version of the album contains alternative takes of "Cry for Home" and "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart No. 2".
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher is the sixteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1986 on Mercury.
Avalon Sunset is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success. In 2008, Avalon Sunset was reissued and remastered, featuring an alternate take of "Whenever God Shines His Light", and a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with additional lyrics by Morrison.
Enlightenment is the twentieth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1990 and reached No. 5 in the UK charts and "Real Real Gone" charted at No. 18 in Mainstream Rock Tracks.
How Long Has This Been Going On is the twenty-fourth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, "with Georgie Fame and Friends", released in December 1995 in the UK. It charted at No. 1 on Top Jazz Albums.
Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison is a collaboration by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, Mose Allison and Ben Sidran, released in 1996. It is Van Morrison's 25th album. It charted at No. 1 on the Top Jazz Albums chart.
The Healing Game is the twenty-sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1997 by Polydor. It reached the Top Ten in four countries, and the Top Twenty in three more. Following two overtly jazz albums, it saw Morrison adding blues and a pop sensibility. It is the only album recorded after 1980 which Rolling Stone judged to be among his ten best, calling it "a clear highlight of his mid-period discography".
Back on Top is the twenty-seventh studio album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1999 by Point Blank. It reached the Top Twenty in seven countries, building on the success of 1997's The Healing Game.
The Philosopher's Stone is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released in 1998.
"Summertime in England" is the longest song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's 1980 album, Common One, and is approximately fifteen minutes long. Although the album on which the song appeared was not critically or commercially successful, the song would be performed by Morrison in concert for almost two and one-half decades, taking on new meaning when performed live. A truncated version of the song with an early fade-out was also released as the B-side of the 1983 single "Cry for Home".
"Bright Side of the Road" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1979 album Into the Music. It was also one of the outtakes that made up the 1998 compilation album, The Philosopher's Stone. As a single "Bright Side of the Road" was released in September 1979 and charted at No. 48 in the Netherlands, No. 63 in the UK and just outside the Billboard Hot 100 in the US at No. 110. In 2020, the song reached its highest radio airplay chart position in Ireland, peaking at #2.
"Cleaning Windows" is a song written by the Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, recorded on his 1982 album Beautiful Vision.
"Warm Love" is a hit song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison.
"Days Like This" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and the title song of his 1995 album of the same name. Morrison has often performed this song in concert appearances,and it has become one of his most popular songs from his later years. Despite peaking at #65 in the UK, it reached positions #17 and #12 on the Billboard US. In Ireland, "Days Like This" peaked at #1 on the radio airplay chart in 2022.
Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1984. It was recorded from four live shows in March 1983 at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The album was composed of songs from Morrison's last four recordings. It is the second live album Morrison released, following 10 years after It's Too Late to Stop Now.
"The Healing Game" is the title song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's 1997 album. It was released twice as a single in 1997 as an A-side with different B-sides – including "Have I Told You Lately" and "Gloria". The single reached number 46 in the UK.
Van Morrison in Ireland is the first official video by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1981 of a concert Morrison recorded in Northern Ireland in 1979. It was directed by Michael Radford who later became a noted filmmaker. The video includes footage of the band whilst touring in Ireland and images of Belfast, including Hyndford Street and Cyprus Avenue. Tony Stewart of the NME states, "The band display a range of textures reminiscent of The Caledonia Soul Orchestra, first with the dark resonance of Toni Marcus' violin, then Pat Kyle's bright sharp tenor sax and finally Bobby Tench's prickly electric guitar".
"Full Force Gale" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was included on his 1979 album Into the Music.
"Burning Ground" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1997 album, The Healing Game. For this song, Morrison got his inspiration from a common scene from his childhood when jute was shipped to Belfast from India in the 1950s.