Avalon Sunset

Van Morrison - Avalon Sunset

Avalon Sunset
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Van Morrison
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1989-05-19
Music Label: Polydor Records
Soundtracks:
  1. Whenever God Shines His Light
  2. Contacting My Angel
  3. I'd Love To Write Another Song
  4. Have I Told You Lately
  5. Coney Island
  6. I'm Tired Joey Boy
  7. When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God
  8. Orangefield
  9. Daring Night
  10. These Are The Days

Free Music Notes for Avalon Sunset

Free Music Review: Beautifully subtle
Hit: 5 Stars

Van Morrison's "Avalon Sunset" was originally released back in 1989, but it is as wonderful today as when it first came out. One measure of how well Van is able to speak to people is that I still hear the song "Have I Told You Lately" from this album quite regularly on the radio.

"Avalon Sunset" is perhaps best known for being a spiritual album (I prefer the word "spiritual" to the word "religious"), but as a matter of fact only a couple of the songs on the album have an overtly spiritual bent to them, including the initial "Whenever God Shines His Light on Me." This song is a real attention-grabber--great melody, beat and words--and deserves its spot at the beginning of the album. I sometimes stop and play this track two or three times before moving on to the rest.

The most famous song here is, of course, "Have I Told You Lately [That I Love You]." What I especially like about it is that I can listen to it on a couple of different levels, either as a song of praise to God or else as a simple love song addressed to another person. It's that subtlety, that lack of "beating me over the head" with the lyrics, that I find especially appealing, but the more I hear the song, the more I find comfort in the spiritual interpretation of it.

Of course, there are any number of songs on here that deserve to be as well known as "Have I Told You Lately," and that repay repeated listenings. Some of my other favorites on this album are "I'd Love to Write Another Song," "I'm Tired Joey Boy" and "Orangefield."

One very special track is "Coney Island." Van's voice, reminiscent of John Prine's in some ways, is very expressive, and especially so in this piece. "Coney Island" is not a song at all but rather a short spoken description of a trip Van took to Coney Island with someone special, the stops they made on the way, the photos they took, the food they bought, and so forth. If I had to pick a favorite phrase here, it would be "I look at the side of your face," which is indelibly etched into my memory.

I have enjoyed this album many times and expect to continue enjoying it well into the future. Indeed, "Avalon Sunset" is at the top of my short list of indispensable albums.

Avalon Sunset Poster

2008 digitally remastered and expanded edition of Van's classic 1989 album featuring two previously unreleased bonus tracks: 'Whenever God Shines His Light' (Alternate Take) and 'When The Saints Go Marching In'. (with additional lyrics by Morrison). Includes original artwork and full lyrics to Van Morrison compositions 12 tracks. Polydor.
When R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe wrote "That's me in the spotlight / Losing my religion," he could have been singing about Van Morrison, the man who lost his three times within a decade. In the end, though, Van returned to Christ and found himself rewarded with his first British Top 20 hit. With its sparse piano hook and Cliff Richard's guest vocals, "Whenever God Shines His Light" is a misleading beginning for an album awash in the kind of sentimental orchestration that might hurt one's teeth were it not for its perpetrators' almost childlike wonder. Cynics, then, needn't concern themselves with love songs like "Have I Told You Lately" and "Orangefield"--both of which suggest that, despite his renewal of faith, Morrison's muse isn't purely metaphysical. Even better is the spoken-word reverie "Coney Island," in which a grown man can be heard extolling the virtues of potted herrings. Naturally, it's the best thing here. --Peter Paphides

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