The first of two BSBdG's go out today to VAN (The Man) MORRISON, the Celtic Soul Brother, who turns 60 today. Here's 30 of my favorite Van songs, and bear in mind that I haven't picked up one of his albums since the early 90's...
SWEET THING from Astral Weeks
SLIM SLOW SLIDER from Astral Weeks
AND IT STONED ME from Moondance
MOONDANCE from Moondance
INTO THE MYSTIC from Moondance
I'LL BE YOUR LOVER TOO from His Band and the Street Choir
WILD NIGHT from Tupelo Honey
STRAIGHT TO YOUR HEART LIKE A CANNONBALL from Tupelo Honey
JACKIE WILSON SAID (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) from St. Dominic's Preview
I WILL BE THERE from St. Dominic's Preview
REDWOOD TREE from St. Dominic's Preview
SNOW IN SAN ANSELMO from Hard Nose the Highway
PURPLE HEATHER from Hard Nose the Highway
CARAVAN (live) from It's Too Late to Stop Now
I BELIEVE TO MY SOUL from It's Too Late to Stop Now
FAIR PLAY from Veedon Fleece
STREETS OF ARKLOW from Veedon Fleece
COUNTRY FAIR from Veedon Fleece
YOU GOTTA MAKE IT THROUGH THE WORLD from A Period of Transition
FULL FORCE GALE from Into the Music
ROLLING HILLS from Into the Music
SUMMERTIME IN ENGLAND from Common One
SATISFIED from Common One
CELTIC RAY from Beautiful Vision
CLEANING WINDOWS from Beautiful Vision
HIGHER THAN THE WORLD from Inarticulate Speech of the Heart
IRISH HEARTBEAT from Inarticulate Speech of the Heart
TIR NA NOG from No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
CARRICKFERGUS from Irish Heartbeat (with the Chieftains)
And that's just a few! Essentially, anything from 1969 to 1974 is must-have, and much of the next 10 years after that is outstanding as well. In my opinion, of course. There are some other things he's done since that sounded OK, but not since 1990's Enlightenment have I been moved to buy- too much name-dropping of ancient poets and too much fuzzy-headed mystical bullshit, too much generic-sounding R&B, too many diatribes against the music biz that he thinks has treated him so badly over the years and the state of music in general, which is not to say that he doesn't have a point but geez Louise! and just not enough of what drew me to his wonderful 70's music in the first place- adventurous singing, the wonderful folk/R&B/jazz hybrid sound, and a willingness to vary up his subject matter and accompaniment just a little...
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