Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece
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Free Music Notes for Veedon Fleece
Free Music Review: Van fromhis mediocre period
Hit: 3 Stars
You want to hear this only if you're a completist. There's so much better Van out there.Free Music Review: Stunning, and close to perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't know why this often gets forgotten and stored on the Van backburner: out of the nine or ten Morrison albums I've heard, the only one I prefer to it is Astral Weeks. Then again, I really like the mystic folksy side of Van, and you get a lot of that here. He reaches the intensity level of a shaman on
"You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River": I heard he used to go completely insane in his live performances, raving and barking and generally acting like something inhuman, and you really hear it on that intense track. Plus the flutes make it sound like Astral Weeks, which in my mind is a good thing, since I absolutely adore that masterpiece. Anyway, in my mind "Punches" is a Van Morrison classic, though its length and cathartic ending make it inaccessible. But worthwhile! Oh yes, very worthwhile. And it's tightly wound, too, the closest Van ever came to a full-blown symphony. Right, so enough praise for that, onto praising the rest: "Fair Play" and the jazzy "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" have a sort of quiet, stately majesty to them. They're just pure atmosphere, but it's lovely, soothing, melodic, atmosphere. And the strings on "Streets of Arklow" are creative and add a lot to the song. Much like on "Sweet Thing" (my favorite Van Morrison song, for the record: when I start listening to that one, I just can't stop and I find it being virtually the only song I listen to for days on end), I can't imagine it without them. I also like "Cul de Sac". It's hypnotic! And has tasty jazz guitar! My favorite part of the song is when he goes, "do-do-do-do-do-do-do you go back... to the cul de sac..." and all the other crazy scatting he does. I can't name you any other rock (in the broad, generic sense of the term) singer who would scat without making a total fool of themselves. There are a couple pseudo-weak songs: "Comfort You" is at least pretty, and has some awesome acoustic guitar, but "Bulbs" is more Jackson Browne than Van Morrison (nothing against Jackson, but unrelenting mediocrity can only get you so far). But the creepy "Country Fair" makes up for it - it honestly sounds like Indian music. This is one of my very favorite Van albums. It's far off the beaten track, but if you ask me any fan should have it.
Free Music Review: an early 70's treasure.
Hit: 5 Stars
after "astral weeks," this is my favorite van morrison album. simply one of the very greatest recordings of the early 70's, this is a gentle and stunning work of music. you don't need me to go through this tune by tune, each song is a majestic piece in its own right. the whole thing works as an organic wonder of sounds. don't miss this masterpiece.Free Music Review: Van gets dark
Hit: 5 Stars
I own a few of Van Morrison's classic 60's/70's recordings, and this one surprised me since it's so much darker than any of his other, generally upbeat Irish soul albums. On first listen, it really floated by me--the music is mellow, the accompaniment is subtle and not in-your-face, and there aren't many upbeat numbers. Once I started actually listening, though, Veedon Fleece became one of my very favorite Van Morrison albums.
The album starts off gently enough with "Fair Play," which plays off Van's jazzy side, with lounge piano and a relaxed vocal. It's mellow, in a major key, and easy to relax to. Things stay similar on the second track, which builds to an emotive crescendo as the song wears on. Van gets more soulful, singing in a sweet falsetto on "Who Was that Masked Man?" Things really get dark on "The Streets of Arklow." I don't think I'd ever really heard Van get so brooding or mysterious (except maybe on Astral Weeks), and the Irish folk background music makes for a pastorally forboding feeling. This just continues into the album's centerpiece, where the title comes from, "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River." Beginning with a hypnotic and haunting piano line, the song pulses under Van's searching vocal, as he channels something soulful and mystical that's beyond my comprehension (maybe that's why I like it so much).
The rest of the album has some more upbeat and characteristic Van numbers, like the grooving "Bulbs" and soulful "Cul de Sac," but an aura of darkness lurks beneath the surface in a really intangible way, like it's gone to soon return. "Country Fair" closes the album on a mellow, flute-inflected folk note, keeping the spell of mystery intact.
There are Van Morrison albums that are more versatile, like Moondance, that I can play to fit almost any situation or mood, but Veedon Fleece has a certain magic and mystery that makes it all the more special when the time is right to let the music wash over me. Hopefully it comes back into print soon--it's a classic, if often overlooked album.
Free Music Review: Van's "Blood On The Tracks"...
Hit: 5 Stars
This is my favorite Van Morrison album without question. Every time I hear the opening strains of "Fair Play" it takes me to another place. I find it stunning that this album caused such a disruption of Van Morrison's career after it was released and alienated so many of his fans. True, this album doesn't contain any R&B stompers, but it shouldn't be seen as anything less than an amazing group of songs. "Veedon Fleece" has a reputation for being a somber and depressing album, but the second half of the disc is actually much more upbeat than the first. I read that Van Morrison had returned to Ireland for the first time in years and after his divorce from then wife Janet Planet, and the effect it had on his music is evident, particularly in the instrumentation on songs like "Streets of Arklow". Although Van sounds dispirited at times the music is actually very relaxing. This album is always one that I can slip on late at night and feel right at home with. Highly recommended.