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Track Listings
| 1. Whenever God Shines His Light - Van Morrison, Cliff Richard |
| 2. Contacting My Angel |
| 3. I'd Love To Write Another Song |
| 4. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You |
| 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 |
| 11. Whenever God Shines His Light - Van Morrison, Cliff Richard |
| 12. When The Saints (Go Marching In) |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album is one of the greatest popular music albums of all time,and it includes a track that would certainly be on my list of Desert Island Discs,that's Coney Island.A trip on the coastline of Belfast,so well written you feel your being personally escorted by Van himself around his hometown.
Then theres the beautiful songs that have become Van classics,Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (still by far the best ever recording of this song)and These Are The Days (remember it in the Hugh Grant movie Nine Months,when he's walking around the room with his baby).This album still gets better everytime I put it on and should be in every collection.I'm still amazed by the structure and majasty of songs like When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God,just listen to the power of his lyrics here.Then theres the big hit he had with Cliff Richard, Wherever God Shines His Light.Oh I could go on and on but it really comes down to one thing this is an absolutely fabulous release and should not be missed by anyone this time around.
Then theres the beautiful songs that have become Van classics,Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (still by far the best ever recording of this song)and These Are The Days (remember it in the Hugh Grant movie Nine Months,when he's walking around the room with his baby).This album still gets better everytime I put it on and should be in every collection.I'm still amazed by the structure and majasty of songs like When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God,just listen to the power of his lyrics here.Then theres the big hit he had with Cliff Richard, Wherever God Shines His Light.Oh I could go on and on but it really comes down to one thing this is an absolutely fabulous release and should not be missed by anyone this time around.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
In some ways "Avalon Sunset" is an odd album.This might have to something to do with the thread of religiosity which runs through it. There is also the variety of styles - New Age sound washes, Irish whimsy, the soppy and sentimental, and straight down-to-earth blues and soul.
The first song "Whenever God Shines His Light" is a duet with Cliff Richard. An out-and-out pop song, OK but slightly out of place. From this to "Contacting My Angel". I'm not so keen on this. It seems to have strayed in from "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart", without doubt the direst album Van Morrison ever made. "I'd Like to Write Another Song" is a spirited blues number, sung against blustering saxes and Georgie Fame's Hammond organ. Van sings like Joe Turner. No higher praise. The words were clearly barrel scraped - but it shows how to write a song when there is nothing to write about.
"Have I Told You Lately" is a very effective soppy number - much loved by, and played for, newlyweds at their wedding dance. "Coney Island" is spoken. In simple language he describes his experience and feelings on a day out in Ireland. It works. "I'm Tired Joey Boy" is out of the same mould. Simple, Irish folk song feel.
It's the last four songs that, for me, bring this album to near classic status. They all have their faults. Van was clearly metaphysical at the time he wrote the lyrics. But he is back into soul mood, and with the grain of his talent.
"When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God" opens up on bass and primitive acoustic guitar over piano chords. It's simple straight declamation from Van Morrison, but, in the same way as you hear the gospel choir in Aretha Franklin, you can hear the Irish preacher in him. In "Orangefield" we are still in Ireland. The lyric here is simpler - an expression of delight in his lover. The music's heaviness and bombast overwhelm the words. But we are properly in the world of soul here, sound separating from meaning. The female backing group seem out of the Staple Singers.
In "Daring Night" we are lovers looking at the stars and dreaming of infinity. The words don't matter much. Van's vocalising becomes increasingly improvisatory in rapid repetitions of "baby, baby", "lord of the dance", "squeeze me" towards a climax, diminishing to pianissimo, alongside vocal ejaculations "don't let go". Van's confident, in-your-face vocal and evident relish of the music sweeps all before it.
The final song, "These Are The Days", opens on a two-note rocking figure on piano, then guitar over accordion and cellos. Laid back vocal for a slow and heavily nostalgic song, looking back to the summers when he was young. God comes is as "the love of one magician turned the water into wine". Some of the best is towards the end, after the song is sung when he and the female backing group vocalise wordlessly - "na, na, na, na" - female wailing above him gospel fashion. Climax then out.
Why isn't it a classic?
All criticisms fall away before the Man. One of the great vocalists of the past fifty years
The first song "Whenever God Shines His Light" is a duet with Cliff Richard. An out-and-out pop song, OK but slightly out of place. From this to "Contacting My Angel". I'm not so keen on this. It seems to have strayed in from "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart", without doubt the direst album Van Morrison ever made. "I'd Like to Write Another Song" is a spirited blues number, sung against blustering saxes and Georgie Fame's Hammond organ. Van sings like Joe Turner. No higher praise. The words were clearly barrel scraped - but it shows how to write a song when there is nothing to write about.
"Have I Told You Lately" is a very effective soppy number - much loved by, and played for, newlyweds at their wedding dance. "Coney Island" is spoken. In simple language he describes his experience and feelings on a day out in Ireland. It works. "I'm Tired Joey Boy" is out of the same mould. Simple, Irish folk song feel.
It's the last four songs that, for me, bring this album to near classic status. They all have their faults. Van was clearly metaphysical at the time he wrote the lyrics. But he is back into soul mood, and with the grain of his talent.
"When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God" opens up on bass and primitive acoustic guitar over piano chords. It's simple straight declamation from Van Morrison, but, in the same way as you hear the gospel choir in Aretha Franklin, you can hear the Irish preacher in him. In "Orangefield" we are still in Ireland. The lyric here is simpler - an expression of delight in his lover. The music's heaviness and bombast overwhelm the words. But we are properly in the world of soul here, sound separating from meaning. The female backing group seem out of the Staple Singers.
In "Daring Night" we are lovers looking at the stars and dreaming of infinity. The words don't matter much. Van's vocalising becomes increasingly improvisatory in rapid repetitions of "baby, baby", "lord of the dance", "squeeze me" towards a climax, diminishing to pianissimo, alongside vocal ejaculations "don't let go". Van's confident, in-your-face vocal and evident relish of the music sweeps all before it.
The final song, "These Are The Days", opens on a two-note rocking figure on piano, then guitar over accordion and cellos. Laid back vocal for a slow and heavily nostalgic song, looking back to the summers when he was young. God comes is as "the love of one magician turned the water into wine". Some of the best is towards the end, after the song is sung when he and the female backing group vocalise wordlessly - "na, na, na, na" - female wailing above him gospel fashion. Climax then out.
Why isn't it a classic?
All criticisms fall away before the Man. One of the great vocalists of the past fifty years
Format:Audio CD
This album has long been a regular visitor to my trusty CD player. It has an poppy immediacy about it quite apart from all the usual mystic Celtic soul flavoring that Van likes to infuse his albums.
I would say that at least half of the tracks sound genuinely inspired- 'Whenever God..','Contacting My Angel' and 'When Will I Ever..'indicate that Van was up right and breathing at the time of recording. Other tunes ('Orange Field')pleasant though they might be have a listlessness that suggest that the great man was on snooze setting at the time of writing and performance.There is evidence that Van needs a little competition. Cliff Richard pushes Van on 'Whenever God..' to give a little more passion then usual. It's a real shame that Van can't indulge himself with a few more guest vocalists,this might liven up some of his more somnambulant outings.
This album should be given the benefit of the doubt: it sounds gorgeous,there are plenty of great tunes and in places it is deeply moving.Choose wisely, Van has often promised more then he has delivered- all those 'return to form' albums of the last few decades, for instance...but this is definatly a very good Van disc.
Avalon Sunset
I would say that at least half of the tracks sound genuinely inspired- 'Whenever God..','Contacting My Angel' and 'When Will I Ever..'indicate that Van was up right and breathing at the time of recording. Other tunes ('Orange Field')pleasant though they might be have a listlessness that suggest that the great man was on snooze setting at the time of writing and performance.There is evidence that Van needs a little competition. Cliff Richard pushes Van on 'Whenever God..' to give a little more passion then usual. It's a real shame that Van can't indulge himself with a few more guest vocalists,this might liven up some of his more somnambulant outings.
This album should be given the benefit of the doubt: it sounds gorgeous,there are plenty of great tunes and in places it is deeply moving.Choose wisely, Van has often promised more then he has delivered- all those 'return to form' albums of the last few decades, for instance...but this is definatly a very good Van disc.
Avalon Sunset
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Sonic Improvement!
None of the reviewers have mentioned how much better this re-issue sounds than the original 1989 cd, and the 1990's remastering! Read more
Published 19 months ago by 70'S MAN
Lush Van classic
When Radio Two had a Van Morrison week not so long ago it cemented , to my mind anyway, that Van Morrison is an artist of contrasts. Read more
Published on 23 April 2008 by russell clarke
VAN THE MAN
Aside from Astral Weeks and Moondance, I never quite 'got' Van until this beauty. I found most of his output after the aforementioned two classics to be a bit samey and lacking any... Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2008 by DAG
Competent album but he has made much better
This album is usually considered to be the last album he made when he still "had it". After this he became bland and respectably okay, but running short on the fires of... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2008 by BS on parade
Great album, GREAT typo!
This album is Van at the peak of his 80s "lush" sound. Apart from the throwaway "I'd love to write another song", every track is great (I haven't heard the added tracks on this... Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2008 by E. Nolan
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