The Essential Van Morrison

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The Essential Van Morrison
The Essential Van Morrison.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedAugust 28, 2015 [1]
Recorded1969
Genre Rock, pop
Length2:36:54
Label Legacy Records (Aus), Sony Music Japan
Producer Dick Rowe, Lewis Merenstein, Van Morrison, Ted Templeman, Mick Glossop, Georgie Fame
Van Morrison chronology
Duets: Re-working the Catalogue
(2015)
The Essential Van Morrison
(2015)
Keep Me Singing
(2016)

The Essential Van Morrison is a two-disc compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on August 28, 2015. [2] It is part of Sony BMG's Essential series of compilation albums and includes tracks from Morrison's solo output, as well as tracks from his days with Them. The tracks consist of some of Morrison's biggest hits and popular album tracks from 1964 as leader of the Northern Irish band Them through his 2009 release Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl. The liner notes were contributed by David Fricke.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]

The Green Man Review says that the Northern Irish singer and songwriter has spent the past 50 years fusing American jazz, pop, blues, soul and rhythm & blues with Anglo-Irish folk music to create something that's been dubbed Celtic Soul. The Essential is a two-disc, 37-track collection from Sony Legacy celebrates that half-century of song, as part of a huge new reissue project. [6]

Vintage Rock says that with the Essential Van Morrison is a double-disc, 37-track career-spanning anthology that kicks things off in grand style as a thorough introduction to Van Morrison. It all starts with those early Them nuggets like "Gloria" and "Here Comes The Night" before moving onto to Morrsion's first solo hit "Brown Eyed Girl." Of course, "Astral Weeks," the title track of his second solo album changed the game entirely, leading to a career of musical exploration that transcends those early R&B and pop flavorings to more organic strains of country music, jazz, Celtic folk and rock. [7]

Roz Milner from Bearded Gentlemen Music says:

What is about Van Morrison that inspires such loyalty and passion? While I'm sure there are a casual Van fans, most people I know either fall into two camps: they know of him, but just a couple of the big singles or they're hopelessly in love with the man's music.

When I say hopelessly in love, I mean absolutely, completely, in-over-their-head and hopeless kinda love. I’ve traded emails with a guy who keeps track of what music he listens to and he's literally listened to Van Morrison thousands of times. I know people who collect albums, outtake compilations and bootlegs for the guy. [8]

Track listing

Disc one

No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
1."Gloria" Van Morrison The Angry Young Them (1965)2:38
2."Here Comes the Night" Bert Berns Non-album single (1965)2:46
3."Spanish Rose"Van Morrison Blowin' Your Mind! (1967)3:06
4."Brown Eyed Girl"Van MorrisonBlowin' Your Mind! (1967)3:05
5."Astral Weeks"Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968)7:03
6."The Way Young Lovers Do"Van MorrisonAstral Weeks (1968)3:12
7."Moondance"Van Morrison Moondance (1970)4:34
8."Crazy Love"Van MorrisonMoondance (1970)2:35
9."And It Stoned Me"Van MorrisonMoondance (1970)4:31
10."Into the Mystic"Van MorrisonMoondance (1970)3:26
11."Domino"Van Morrison His Band and the Street Choir (1970)3:08
12."Wild Night"Van Morrison Tupelo Honey (1971)3:34
13."Tupelo Honey"Van MorrisonTupelo Honey (1971)6:56
14."Jackie Wilson Said"Van Morrison Saint Dominic's Preview (1972)2:59
15."Warm Love"Van Morrison Hard Nose the Highway (1973)3:23
16."Fair Play"Van Morrison Veedon Fleece (1974)6:16
17."Caravan" (recorded on November 25, 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom with The Band)Van Morrison The Last Waltz (1978) [lower-alpha 1] 5:46
18."Hungry For Your Love"Van Morrison Wavelength (1978)3:45
19."Cleaning Windows" (recorded in March 1983 at the Grand Opera House, Belfast)Van Morrison Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (1984) [lower-alpha 2] 4:22
Total length:1:17:16

Disc two

No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
1."Bright Side of the Road"Van Morrison Into the Music (1979)3:44
2."And the Healing Has Begun"Van MorrisonInto the Music (1979)7:59
3."Tore Down a la Rimbaud"Van Morrison A Sense of Wonder (1985)4:07
4."Someone Like You"Van Morrison Poetic Champions Compose (1987)4:04
5."Irish Heartbeat"Van Morrison Irish Heartbeat (1988) [lower-alpha 3] 3:52
6."Whenever God Shines His Light" (featuring Cliff Richard)Van Morrison Avalon Sunset (1989)4:54
7."Have I Told You Lately"Van MorrisonAvalon Sunset (1989)4:19
8."Real Real Gone"Van Morrison Enlightenment (1990)3:38
9."Enlightenment"Van MorrisonEnlightenment (1990)4:05
10."Why Must I Always Explain?"Van Morrison Hymns to the Silence (1991)3:51
11."Days Like This"Van Morrison Days Like This (1995)3:11
12."That's Life" Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon How Long Has This Been Going On (1995) [lower-alpha 4] 3:48
13."Rough God Goes Riding"Van Morrison The Healing Game (1997)6:15
14."Precious Time"Van Morrison Back on Top (1999)3:45
15."Once in a Blue Moon"Van Morrison What's Wrong with This Picture? (2003)3:28
16."Magic Time"Van Morrison Magic Time (2005)5:05
17."Playhouse"Van Morrison Pay the Devil (2006)4:11
18."Sweet Thing" (recorded on November 7/8 2008 at the Hollywood Bowl)Van Morrison Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2009)5:33
Total length:1:19:58
Download and streaming bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
19."Close Enough for Jazz" (with Joey DeFrancesco)Van Morrison You're Driving Me Crazy (2018)3:45

Personnel

Them

Charts

Chart (2015)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [9] 101
Australia ARIA Charts [10] 23
Belgium Ultratop [11] 176
Dutch Album Top 100 [12] 88
New Zealand Recorded Music NZ [13] 6
Spanish Productores de Música de España [14] 82

Release history

CountryDateLabelFormat
WorldwideAugust 28, 2015 [15] Sony Music, Legacy Records [16] CD, digital download

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [17] Gold35,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png
United Kingdom (BPI) [18] Gold100,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png

Double-dagger-14-plain.png Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. "Caravan" originally appeared on the album Moondance (1970).
  2. Van Morrison's studio recording of "Cleaning Windows" is found on the album Beautiful Vision (1982).
  3. The song "Irish Heartbeat" was originally released in March 1983 on Van Morrison's album Inarticulate Speech of the Heart , this version is the 1988 re-working by Van Morrison and The Chieftains.
  4. "That's Life" was originally recorded in 1963 by Marion Montgomery and was made famous by Frank Sinatra's hit 1966 version.

Related Research Articles

Van Morrison Northern Irish musician

Sir George Ivan Morrison, known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans six decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.

<i>Moondance</i> 1970 studio album by Van Morrison

Moondance is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album Astral Weeks (1968), Morrison moved to upstate New York with his wife and began writing songs for Moondance. There, he met the musicians that would record the album with him at New York City's A & R Studios in August and September 1969.

"Madame George" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Astral Weeks, released in 1968. The song features Morrison performing the vocals and acoustic guitar. It also features a double bass, flute, drums, vibraphone, and a string quartet.

<i>Saint Dominics Preview</i> 1972 studio album by Van Morrison

Saint Dominic's Preview is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records. Rolling Stone declared it "the best-produced, most ambitious Van Morrison record yet released."

<i>Into the Music</i> 1979 studio album by Van Morrison

Into the Music is the 11th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and was released in August 1979. It includes "Bright Side of the Road", which peaked at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart, and other songs in which Morrison sought to return to his more profound and transcendent style after the pop-oriented Wavelength. The record received favourable reviews from several music critics and was named as one of the year's best albums in the Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

<i>Too Long in Exile</i> 1993 studio album by Van Morrison

Too Long in Exile is the twenty-second studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The album was produced by Morrison and draws on urban blues and soul jazz sounds, including collaborations with John Lee Hooker and Georgie Fame. Released in 1993 by Polydor Records, Too Long in Exile received positive reviews from most critics and reached #4 on the UK Albums Chart. It reached #29 in the US, Van Morrison's highest ranking since 1978's Wavelength (#28) and until 1999's Back on Top (#28).

<i>Enlightenment</i> (Van Morrison album) 1990 studio album by Van 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.

Moondance (Van Morrison song) 1970 single by Van Morrison

"Moondance" is a song recorded by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison and is the title song on his third studio album Moondance (1970). It was written by Morrison, and produced by Morrison and Lewis Merenstein.

Tupelo Honey (song) 1972 single by Van Morrison

"Tupelo Honey" is a popular song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and the title song from his 1971 album, Tupelo Honey. The title derives from an expensive, mild-tasting tupelo honey produced in the southeastern United States. Released as a single in 1972, it reached number 47 on the U.S. pop chart.

Bright Side of the Road 1979 single by Van Morrison

"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.

<i>The Essential Kenny Loggins</i> 2002 compilation album by Kenny Loggins

The Essential Kenny Loggins is the third compilation and second greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, released on November 19, 2002. It is part of Sony BMG's Essential series of compilation albums and includes tracks from Loggins' solo output, as well as tracks from his Loggins and Messina days. A limited edition was released with seven additional tracks.

<i>Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential 70s Masters</i> 1995 box set by Elvis Presley

Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of the recorded work of Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1970s. It was released in 1995 by RCA Records, catalog number 66670-2, following similar box sets that covered his musical output in the 1950s and 1960s. This set's initial long-box release included a set of collectable stamps duplicating the record jackets of the LP albums on which the tracks in the box set were originally released by RCA. It also includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, as well as a lengthy essay by Dave Marsh, some of it excerpted from his 1982 book on Presley. The box set was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 15, 1999.

"The Way Young Lovers Do" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison from his second solo album, Astral Weeks. It was recorded in 1968, at Century Sound Studios New York City, during September and October of that year. The song is in triple metre. The distinctive feel of the original recording emerges from the non-rock style of double-bass phrasing by veteran jazzman Richard Davis and additional jazz musician session players, which combined with Morrison's soulful vocals, creates a relatively unusual combination of stylistic elements.

<i>Live at Montreux 1980/1974</i> 2006 video by Van Morrison

Live at Montreux 1980/1974 is the first official DVD by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 16 October 2006. The films consist of two separate performances by Van Morrison at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. It was certified gold in May 2007 and platinum in June 2009.

Back on Top (song) 1999 single by Van Morrison

"Back on Top" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and the title track on his 1999 album, Back on Top. It was released as a single in the UK and charted at number sixty-nine.

Queen of the Slipstream 1988 single by Van Morrison

"Queen of the Slipstream" is a romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1987 album, Poetic Champions Compose. In 1988 it was released as a single in the UK, but did not chart.

Rough God Goes Riding 1997 single by Van Morrison

"Rough God Goes Riding" is the opening song on the album, The Healing Game by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The song reached No. 168 on the UK charts. One of the B-sides of the single, the alternative version of "The Healing Game", appears on all three editions of Morrison's 2007 compilation album Still on Top - The Greatest Hits. The other B-side "At the End of the Day" was released as a bonus track on the 2008 reissue of The Healing Game.

<i>Blowin Your Mind!</i> 1967 studio album by Van Morrison

Blowin' Your Mind! is the debut studio album by Northern Irish musician Van Morrison, released in 1967. It was recorded 28–29 March 1967 and contained his first solo pop hit "Brown Eyed Girl". It was included by Rolling Stone as one of the 40 Essential Albums of 1967.

<i>The Prophet Speaks</i> 2018 studio album by Van Morrison

The Prophet Speaks is the 40th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The album was released on 7 December 2018 by Exile Productions and Caroline Records.

<i>The Best of Everything</i> (album) 2019 greatest hits album by Tom Petty

The Best of Everything is a 2019 greatest hits album with recordings made by Tom Petty, with his backing band The Heartbreakers, as a solo artist, and with Mudcrutch. It was released on March 1.

References

  1. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison (2 Disc)
  2. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison at Target
  3. The Essential Van Morrison at AllMusic
  4. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison at All About Jazz
  5. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison at American Songwriter
  6. Van Morrison's The Essential Van Morrison Album Review at The Green Man Review
  7. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison – CD Review at Vintage Rock
  8. No More Casual Vanning: A Look At The Essential Van Morrison at Bearded Gentlemen Music
  9. Billboard 200 – Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison
  10. Australian Charts – Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison
  11. Belgium Charts – Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison
  12. Dutch Charts – Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison
  13. NZ Charts – Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison
  14. Spanish Charts Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison
  15. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison at Sanity
  16. Van Morrison – The Essential Van Morrison at JB Hi-Fi Australia
  17. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  18. "British album certifications – Van Morrison – The Essential". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved June 5, 2020.