Van Morrison - Enlightenment
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Van MorrisonEdition: Music CD
Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2008-07-01
Music Label: Polydor / Umgd
Soundtracks:
- Real Real Gone
- Enlightenment
- So Quiet In Here
- Avalon Of The Heart
- See Me Through
- Youth Of 1000 Summers
- In The Days Before Rock'n'Roll
- Start All Over Again
- She's My Baby
- Memories
- Enlightenment
- So Quiet In Here
Free Music Notes for Enlightenment
Free Music Review: Two Hands Clapping - And They're Mine! "Enlightenment" Gets A Superb Remaster & Two Fairly Good Bonus Tracks!
Hit: 4 Stars
"Enlightenment" is part of the 2nd wave of Van Morrison remastered reissues to hit the shops in 2008 (see full list below). Released Monday 30 June 2008 in the UK and 1 July 2008 in the USA, it also boasts an upgraded booklet and 2 bonus tracks for the first time.
Here's the layout (58:52 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 10 make up the original album - it was released in October 1990 on Polydor
Tracks 11 and 12 are previously unreleased bonus tracks - "Enlightenment (Alternate Take)" and "So Quiet In Here (Alternate Take)"
The upgraded booklet has the lyrics to the two Alternate Takes after the rest of the album, session notes and beneath the see-through inlay is a photo that matches the original artwork. Disappointingly, there's no new liner notes, no interview, no photos - but the really greats news is the remaster - the original analogue tapes have been 96K/24Bit Remastered for this release and the sound quality is superlative - much better than the very quiet sound that came off the original 1990 CD. I've waited 18 years to hear "See Me Through" in this sound quality - and it was worth the wait.
The bonus tracks are a mixed bag; the alternate version of "Enlightenment" is heavy on the vocals and the keyboards - while Georgie Fame's tinkering is lovely, Van's vocals are very forced and it sounds like what it is - a run-through - a take trying to find the true soul of the song. It's good, but nowhere near as good as the finished take. "So Quite In Here" fares better - it's delicate, lovely in places - and deserves the moniker of `bonus track'.
"Enlightenment is "Avalon Sunset" Part 2 and a firm fan favourite - this excellent remaster finally gives it the sonic muscle it's long deserved. Recommended.
PS:
30 Van Morrison albums are re-issued in remastered form throughout 2008 and into early 2009. Each title contains an upgraded booklet; previously unreleased bonus tracks and all will be at mid-price. The releases are in 4 batches as follows:
28 January 2008 (7 titles)
Tupelo Honey (1971), It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 CD Live Set) (1974),
Wavelenght (1979), Into The Music (1979), A Sense Of Wonder (1985),
Avalon Sunset (1989) and Back On Top (1999)
(see SEPARATE REVIEWS for all 7)
30 June 2008 UK/1 & 8 July 2008 USA (8 titles)
Veedon Fleece (1974), Common One (1980), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983), Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984), No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986), Enlightenment (1990), A Night In San Francisco (2CD Live Set) (1994) and The Healing Game (1997)
(see also SEPARATE REVIEWS for "Veedon Fleece", "Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart", "Common One", the live 2CD set "A Night In San Francisco" and "No Guru, No Teacher, No Method")
September 2008 (7 titles)
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972), A Period Of Transition (1977), Beautiful Vision (1982), Poetic Champions Compose (1987), Hymns To The Silence (2CD Studio Set) (1991), How Long Has This Been Going On (Live At Ronnie Scott's) (1995) and Tell Me Something - The Songs Of Mose Allison (1996)
January 2009 (8 titles)
Hard Nose The Highway (1973), Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988),
Too Long In Exile (1993), Days Like This (1995), The Story Of Them (2CD Set) (1999), The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast (with Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber) (2000), Down The Road (2002) and What's Wrong With This Picture? (2003)
PPS:
Those hoping to see desperately needed sonic upgrades of his 1st and 2nd album masterpieces on Warner Bothers "Astral Weeks" (1968) and "Moondance" (1970) or even "His Band & The Street Choir" (late 1970) will be disappointed to hear that they're NOT in this re-issue campaign - on either side of the pond. "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" in particular have both been languishing around on crappy-sounding non-remastered CDs for over 20 years now and they're glaringly obvious omissions in this supposedly 'extensive' re-issue campaign. These universally recognized masterpieces have long deserved 2CD DELUXE EDITION treatment (some tracks in remastered form are available across the 3 volumes of "Best Of"). However, I've recently been informed by a good source that all 3 are NOW AVAILABLE since June 2008 in JAPAN in RHINO REMASTERED form. See the excellent Japanese site CDJAPAN.CO.JP for details (worded in English).
Enlightenment Poster
2008 newly remastered sound and expanded packaging including lyrics of Enlightenment, an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1990. It reached No. 5 on the UK charts. Exile/Polydor releases this album as part of a batch of two of the four catalogue reissues of Morrison's albums dated from 1971 through 2002. In "Enlightenment" Van once again ruminates on spiritual matters, but this is probably the most sober and matter-of-fact expression of his personal struggle toward understanding that he has ever offered. "I'm in the here and now and I'm meditating / But still I'm suffering," Morrison admits, "But that's my problem."Folk Music CDs
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