Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey
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Free Music Notes for Tupelo Honey
Free Music Review: "Tupelo Honey" Gets A Superb Remaster - And It's As Cheap As Chips To!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the 3rd or even 4th re-issue on CD of "Tupelo Honey" (released originally on Warner Brothers in November 1971) and it's probably the best version to date.
Tracks 1 to 9 make up the original album with Track 10 and 11 being previously unreleased - an Alternate Take of "Wild Night" and a cover version of an old Traditional, "Down By The Riverside". I must say that both bonus tracks are excellent and not at all throwaway crap designed to sucker in punters (as some had feared). The upgraded booklet contains all the lyrics, but disappointingly no history of where the album fits in. The photo of Van, Lady and Horse originally featured on the LP inner gatefold is faithfully reproduced as the booklet centrepiece - a nice touch. There's band and production credits - and even lyrics for the two bonus tracks.
But the best bit is the SOUND. The original analogue master tapes have been 96K/24 Bit digitally remastered by Tim Young at Metropolis Mastering in London for this 28 January 2008 release - and the sound is just beautiful - and that's for almost every track. I say this because, I've had the 1998 remasters for a while and always thought they were `too' loud and `hissy' for comfort. Don't get me wrong, there is unfortunately still audible hiss on the gorgeous "Tupelo Honey" and "You're My Woman" (two on the best on here) but not `too' much to detract. Those without hiss are just unbelievably good. The punch out of them! From the album opener "Wild Night" to "When That Evening Sun Goes Down" - the band might as well be in your living room - it's that vibrant and alive! The session men put in a blinder too - fantastic brass work by Jack Schroer and Luis Gasca on "Wild Night" with equally superb piano touches from Mark Jordan on "When That Evening Sun Goes Down". Ronnie Montrose, who later formed "Montrose" and created one of the hardest and best rocking debuts ever in "Montrose" (1973 on Warner Brothers, also produced by Ted Templeman) plays guitar, mandolin and even throws in some backing vocals too. Not everything on here is genius of course, but there's just something about his Warner Brothers albums (all of them) that's magical. And it's mid-price too - I picked up my copy for £6 in Central London.
All in all, a great sounding re-issue and one I urge fans and the uninitiated to get stuck into pronto.
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), "Common One" and The Healing Game (1997)
(see also SEPARATE REVIEWS for "Veedon Fleece", "Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart", "Enlightenment", the live 2CD set "A Night In San Francisco" and "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher")
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).
Free Music Review: Enhanced masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
These melodies sneak up on you and linger long after the music has stopped. That is why Tupelo Honey is one of Van Morrison's most accessible and commercially successful albums. This re-release has been enhanced by the addition of Down By The Riverside and an alternate take of Wild Night. The packaging includes the original artwork and the lyrics to all the songs.
Tupelo Honey is a work of genius: there's the gorgeous title track with its delightful imagery and the swirling I Wanna Roo You with its foot tapping rhythm. The catchy When That Evening Sun Goes Down has a propulsive rhythm whilst the structural complexity of Moonshine Whisky, with its tempo changes and delectable female backing vocals, makes for a magnificent composition, similar to some of those meandering gems on Astral Weeks.
Wild Night is a powerful R&B outing with an old time rock and roll feel and Straight To Your Heart is another melodic rocker. I also love Old Woodstock, a song filled with warmth and joy. And that is what this album celebrates - domestic bliss and the joy of life. In its own way, it is therefore as spiritual as most of his best work, although perhaps not so overtly mystical. Well whether you're into Van for his poetry or for his tunes, this album will please you. It's a masterpiece.
Free Music Review: A very quick review
Hit: 4 Stars
For the purpose of this note, by this time I'm assuming most of you know what a great album this is. If you have the previously-issued Polygram remasters, there's probably no need to purchase yet another re-mastered version of this album or any of Universal's newly-issued re-mastered Van CDs (I've heard all of 'em released up to now) unless you're a completist and absolutely must have the two bonus tracks. To my ear, there's no appreciable improvement in sound quality....certainly not enough improvement to warrant the cost of replacing my Polygram discs.
I think Van's deal with Universal was done for no other reason than for Van to make a few more bucks in royalities. But, if you don't already have these albums, you'll get very good remastered recordings plus the bonus tracks (mostly non-essential, but hey, they're bonus tracks) and a heck of deal for the money.
Now, when will ever see ANY re-mastered versions of MOONDANCE, ASTRAL WEEKS, BEAUTIFUL VISION or HIS BAND AND STREET CHOIR?
Free Music Review: Exceptional Remastered, Expanded Version Of Another Great Van Morrison CD
Hit: 5 Stars
The expanded, remastered edition of Van Morrison's TUPELO HONEY is an exceptional version of what was already a great album. Morrison continues his spiritual quest after a jaunty beginning with the carefree R&B rocker "Wild Night", with several songs taking on an almost gospel-y quality; however, even these are so general in their spirituality that even a young Jewish guy like me can identify with them. The most masterful song on here is the title cut, a mystical love song featuring Modern Jazz Quartet percussionist Connie Kay, who'd played on ASTRAL WEEKS, on drums. In this age of punk rock and emocore, it's great to have a true classic back in print.
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