Hey, let’s talk about some music! I thought it might be fun to look at some bands and artists and decide definitively what their best songs are, with no room for any disagreement or dissent. Ok, really this is just my personal favorite songs, which is entirely subjective and you will probably disagree with some (or maybe all) of my choices. After all, when it comes to music, your opinion is wrong there’s really no wrong answer. These will be in no particular order as far as preference. I’ll just go with chronological order to make it simple. Also, covers and traditional songs like Midnight Special, Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye), and Purple Heather were left off. Only songs written by Van Morrison were considered. Let’s get started!
Honorable Mentions:
He Ain’t Give You None, Blowin’ Your Mind, 1967
Cyprus Avenue, Astral Weeks, 1968
Madame George, Astral Weeks, 1968,
Tupelo Honey, Tupelo Honey, 1971
Listen to the Lion, Saint Dominic’s Preview, 1972
Snow in San Anselmo, Hard Nose the Highway, 1973
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights, Veedon Fleece, 1974
Who Was That Masked Man, Veedon Fleece, 1974
These songs were all in the running to make the list and are totally worth checking out. As you can see, I have a preference for earlier Van Morrison. I’m sure there’s plenty of good stuff after 1974, I’ve even liked some of it, but this early period is far and away my favorite. I think it covers all the things he does best and, for me, he never quite reached these heights again. On to the list!
T.B. Sheets, Blowin’ Your Mind, 1967
T.B. Sheets is about a friend of the narrator who is dying of tuberculosis. It’s not sentimental; the narrator is almost panicking with the discomfort of helplessly watching someone die. He chides Julie that it’s not natural to cry “in the wee small hours”, although of course it is when facing death. He says he has to leave even as she begs him to stay and get her a glass of water, promising to send John around later with a bottle of wine. He turns on the radio on the way out upon request and all but runs away, unable to deal with the misery and claustrophobia of the sick room. This always struck me as an incredibly honest and human description of how we deal with death and sickness. The opening organ lick and the cutting harmonica (maybe my favorite use of harmonica in any song) set a dramatic stage for a dark theme, and then the band settles into a driving two chord groove that Morrison sings over in an almost conversational, improvised sounding way. The song is over nine minutes long, but I’m never ready for it to end when it finally fades out. This seems like an early harbinger for his experimental side, first fully explored on Astral Weeks, with its length and also the way he vocalizes sounds of sniffing and breathing and how he repeats specific words or lines to emphasize their importance.
Send Your Mind, Bang Masters, 1991 (Blowin’ Your Mind sessions, 1967)
This was first released in 1991 as far as I can tell, but was recorded at the same sessions as T.B. Sheets. This is another side of Morrison, more of an R&B feel. I love that quick, repeating guitar riff and all the energy. The background singers add urgency to the insistent request that the subject of the song, someone far from home, keep the singer in their thoughts even if they can’t make it back home yet. I love the two false endings, especially the second time with the muttered “shoo-be-do, shoo-be-do, shoo-be-do” before the band kicks back in one last time.
Astral Weeks, Astral Weeks, 1968
I had heard Van Morrison songs like Gloria and Brown Eyed Girl before, but, having read about Astral Weeks in some magazine, I decided to see if there was more than oldies fodder to his catalogue. So I went out and bought Astral Weeks having never heard any of the songs. The opened is the title track, and from the opening double bass line and the percussion, I was hooked by the folky, jazzy sound. The first line, “If I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream, where immobile steel rims crack and the ditch in the back roads stop, could you find me?” is so vague and specific that I was immediately intrigued. He combines the broad concepts (“put the wheels in motion” and “to be born again”) with idiosyncratic descriptions (“standin’ with a look of avarice” and “talkin’ to Huddie Ledbetter”), which creates the opportunity to both easily identify with the lyrics and still have them feel mysterious, like there’s some things the writer knows about the meaning that remains hidden to the listener. This is the song and album that made me a Van Morrison fan. Also great was hearing Secret Machines unexpectedly cover this song to open their set at the State theater in Detroit back around 2004.
Sweet Thing, Astral Weeks, 1968
The second choice from Astral Weeks, this one is more romantic than questioning, describing what he’s going to do in the future with great optimism, and how his “sweet thing” is a part of it, maybe even the reason for his hope. My favorite line is “And I will never, never, never grow so old again”. It’s like his feelings for his beloved wash away the fatigue and cynicism that has been dragging him down. The strings arrangement and flute emphasize the romance while adding variety to the repeating groove in this short song (well, short for Astral Weeks). This one almost always puts me in a good mood.
Into the Mystic, Moondance, 1970
Lyrically and musically, this is more in line with his soul and R&B in its directness and brevity, but the subject matter is more spiritual. It seems to be more of a love letter to the universe than an individual. This might be the quintessential Van Morrison song; it’s a love song that is concerned with matters of the soul, and the music combines the the acoustic strumming and mid-tempo pace of Astral Weeks with horn spikes and a soaring chorus that is more characteristic of his more accessible output. I particularly like the line “yeah, when that foghorn blows, I will be coming home” with a tenor sax imitating the sound of a ship’s horn in the pre-chorus, it gives a sense of place (along with the preceding line, “hark now, hear the sailors cry, smell the sea and feel the sky”) and creates space for the chorus to burst into.
I’ll Be Your Lover, Too, His Band and Street Choir, 1970
More romance from Morrison, this time a little more somber in tone. The lyrics are direct and simply stated. If someone else was delivering these lines, it might come of a little glib or maudlin, but it works because of his voice and delivery. I’ve heard a few cover versions of this song, and regardless of how technically proficient the singing is, the song just doesn’t work without the right approach. “Less is more” is a lesson many singers haven’t learned (thanks, American Idol). Van Morrison is a great singer, but he doesn’t have a pretty voice, exactly. That’s what makes this song hit you right in the gut; you believe what he’s saying.
Virgo Clowns, His Band and Street Choir, 1970
This is the most lighthearted song on the list. I don’t know why I like this one so much, it almost sounds like an informal jam session. The lyrics are just basically just “don’t worry, be happy” and the arrangement is fairly sparse. I feel like they just stuck a mic in a room, picked up whatever instruments were laying around the studio, and just banged it out in one take. Maybe I just like how shambling and informal the result sounds. Nothing groundbreaking or profound here, just a fun song to listen to.
You’re My Woman, Tupelo Honey, 1971
This is another romantic song, but it is more about married life than the first blush of infatuation. It was written for Janet, his first wife, and talks about the birth of their child. That’s Janet on the horse on the album cover, by the way. It’s nice to hear a love song that is less about teen romance and more about living with the love of your life and your child (to be fair, they only were married for about 6 years and got divorced about 2 years after this song was written. Oh, well). The most striking thing about this one is the chorus. The band stops and starts to match Morrison’s vocal cadence before pulling back to slide back into the verse, a quiet, sedate whisper to the belted chorus. The powerful vocals are a real highlight. And you get a ship reference (“just like a ship out in the night returning for a light”)! I’ve noticed that the songs I like by Van Morrison tend to have ships, boats, or the sea featured in the lyrics. Not sure why, but there it is.
Almost Independence Day, Saint Dominic’s Preview, 1972
Another epic, this one is over 10 minutes in length. The opening features Morrison singing along wordlessly with an acoustic guitar solo before the guitar leads the band into a signature Van Morrison two-chord repeating groove with a consistent drone underneath the guitar, bass and drums. That drone sound is actually a Moog synthesizer, one of the first times it was used in popular music. There’s also a higher Moog solo featured later on in the song. The song ebbs and flows (appropriately) as he repeats the lyrics describing a summer evening looking out over the water in San Francisco Bay. This song creates a a mood in the listener incredibly effectively. I particularly enjoy the coda of the song, where the band pulls back and he repeats “way up and down the line” before it all fades out except the last Moog note. I love driving around at night listening to this song.
You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push the River, Veedon Fleece, 1974
This last one is the most experimental track on the list. It’s filled with wordless vocalizations and unconventional singing, with lots of repeated phrases. There’s plenty of room for Morrison to play around with the melody and he seems to be taking his time, circling back to earlier phrases and dwelling on them until he’s ready to move on. Flute and strings expand the musical palette and complement the mysticism of the lyrics. William Blake and Baba (presumably Meher Baba, the Indian spiritualist), as well as the Sisters of Mercy, a Roman Catholic organization concerned with charity and organization, are repeated frequently along with the Veedon Fleece, the object being searched for throughout the song. Not sure if the Veedon Fleece is like a holy relic or a person, but the narrator and his companion go far and wide searching for it/them. It’s inscrutability is a strength as Morrison repeats his themes over another folky, celtic backing track. Another song that could go on forever as far as I’m concerned. I think the singing on this song could only have been done by Van Morrison. It may not work for every listener, but I love it.