Van Morrison - His Band and the Street Choir

Styles: Vocal, Guitar
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:18
Size: 98,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:09) 1. Domino
(3:00) 2. Crazy Face
(2:40) 3. Give Me a Kiss
(3:29) 4. I've Been Working
(3:55) 5. Call Me Up in Dreamland
(3:53) 6. I'll Be Your Lover, Too
(3:48) 7. Blue Money
(4:14) 8. Virgo Clowns
(3:18) 9. Gypsy Queen
(2:12) 10. Sweet Jannie
(3:47) 11. If I Ever Needed Someone
(4:49) 12. Street Choir

Released in 1970, Van Morrison's Moondance was a hit commercially and critically. Encouraged by his manager, Morrison and a sextet including three players from the Moondance sessions hit the studio and delivered His Band & the Street Choir in time for that year's holiday season. Morrison responded to the pressure by relaxing into it. The feel here is loose, often celebratory. He digs deep into his long-held fascination with the New Orleans R&B tradition for inspiration. "Domino" is his highest charting single. The funky guitar lick, left-hand piano rumbling, driving, Memphis-style horns, and pumping bassline kick things off in grand party style. The ballad "Crazy Face," written in 1968, melds acoustic guitar, mandolin, and piano. Morrison's brittle, bluesy saxophone line and a grooving B-3 tip the balance toward R&B. "Give Me a Kiss" has a great Zigaboo Modeliste feel in the horn charts; Fats Domino gets referenced in Alan Hand's piano stroll, and the punchy, doo-wopping tag in the chorus nods at Frankie Ford. "I've Been Working" (which dates to Astral Weeks) is Morrison at his funky best, roaring above a cooking choogle. The acoustic guitar vamp is highlighted by swirling organ, and electric Meters-esque guitar and basslines. Drummer Dahaud Elias Sharr lays down tough breaks and fills throughout as jazzy horns frame the singer. "Call Me Up in Dreamland" features the loose-knit "street choir" (musicians, wives, girlfriends, etc.). It's built on the ragged, Celtic soul-gospel template that Morrison would continue to refer to. The intimate "I'll Be Your Lover Too," adorned only by acoustic guitar and whispering drums, is haunted with the slow-burn passion that would flow so easily on 1972's Saint Dominic's Preview. Second single "Blue Money" is a Rhodes-and-brass driven blues that returns to the NOLA trick bag for fire. The poetic "Virgo Clowns" is painted in a lovely meld of 12-string acoustic guitars and bass clarinet. "Gypsy Queen" is slippery love song, with Morrison offering a gorgeous falsetto. The Celtic soul in "If I Ever Needed Someone" is highlighted by the same trio of backing vocalists that appeared on Moondance's "Crazy Love." The closing title track draws on the swaggering, testifying gospel that inspired that album's "Caravan" (and, played back-to-back, seems to grow right out of it). The street choir's backing is sweeter, balanced by eloquent sax and harmonica breaks. As an album, His Band & the Street Choir may not equal Astral Weeks or Moondance, but the aim was never that lofty. That most of these songs have endured as fan favorites is testament enough to their quality.~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/his-band-and-the-street-choir-mw0000191086

His Band and the Street Choir

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Van Morrison - The Best Of Van Morrison

Styles: Vocal, Post Bop
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:46
Size: 189,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:45)  1. Bright Side Of The Road
(2:38)  2. Gloria
(4:32)  3. Moondance
(2:43)  4. Baby Please Don't Go
(4:20)  5. Have I Told You Lately
(3:04)  6. Brown Eyed Girl
(3:13)  7. Days Like This
(4:23)  8. Sweet Thing
(3:23)  9. Warm Love
(4:00) 10. Wonderful Remark
(2:57) 11. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)
(3:14) 12. Full Force Gale
(4:31) 13. And It Stoned Me
(2:46) 14. Here Comes The Night
(3:09) 15. Domino
(4:07) 16. Did Ye Get Healed
(3:32) 17. Wild Night
(4:42) 18. Cleaning Windows
(4:54) 19. Whenever God Shines His Light
(4:53) 20. Queen Of The Slipstream
(4:48) 21. Dweller On The Threshold

For an artist who's doggedly album-oriented, plus a songwriter who revels in subtlety, Van Morrison doesn't seem like a logical candidate for a successful greatest-hits compilation. Nevertheless, The Best of Van Morrison is a crackerjack compilation, tracing Van the Man from his days with Them, through his best-known tunes ("Brown-Eyed Girl," "Moondance," "Blue Money," "Wild Night"), to highlights from the '70s and '80s cult efforts, topped off by "Wonderful Remark," a song first heard on the King of Comedy soundtrack. 

This collection makes Morrison's work seem a little more immediate and accessible than it usually is, but that's a blessing, since it provides a great summary of his hits and a nice introduction for the curious. Yes, it could have dug deeper into the catalog, but as a sampler, it can't be faulted.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-van-morrison-mercury-mw0000204352

The Best Of Van Morrison

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Van Morrison - Keep Me Singing

Styles: Vocal, Guitar, Piano And Saxophone
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:42
Size: 131,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:54)  1. Let It Rhyme
(4:43)  2. Every Time I See A River
(3:39)  3. Keep Me Singing
(7:06)  4. Out In The Cold Again
(4:08)  5. Memory Lane
(3:51)  6. The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
(6:18)  7. Holy Guardian Angel
(4:11)  8. Share Your Love With Me
(5:18)  9. In Tiburon
(2:28) 10. Look Beyond The Hill
(5:18) 11. Going Down To Bangor
(2:48) 12. Too Late
(2:54) 13. Caledonia Swing

Van Morrison remains a beautifully mercurial creative force. Thirty-six discreet recordings into a 52-year career, Morrison has only Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, as poly-genre conquering peers, each of whose reach has proven to be expansive and penetrating. This is a rarified trio, to be sure, a very selective club that needs be no larger. Morrison's last recording of new material, Born to Sing: No Plan B (Blue Note Records, 2012), was an upbeat effort that was, or course all Van Morrison. In his Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD Richard Cook posited that the late pianist Gene Harris always ended up making the same record...but that was all right, because of the elevated quality of the recordings. If imagination and ingenuity are the measures, Morrison does the same thing. While each of his recordings will have its own personality, they will still be undeniably Van Morrison. Which raised the question, "What is a bad Van Morrison records anyway. Whether listening to his seminal recordings from the 1970s, his Celtic hallucinations of the 1980s, or his idea of jazz in the 1990s, the listener always knew who was in the driver's seat. That blonde Irish honey-and-Quaaludes slur stirred into rock, country, R&B, blues just as well be a part of the grand unified theory of everything. On his current recording, Keep Me Singing, Morrison turns on the air conditioning and relaxes. There are no hard R&B edges to be found on the baker's dozen of songs here. The singer resurrects Nelson Riddle in Fiachra Tench, who provides lush strings throughout. These strings, along with a copious dose of Hammond B3 seasoned throughout, cushion Morrison's stream-of-conscious lyrics among soft tones and well-behaved melodies. Clever are his lyrics on "Let it Rhyme,"  "Put another coin in the wishing well / Tell everybody just to go to hell / let it rhyme / in time / you'll be mine..."  "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword" is the closest thing to the blues here, with sharper electric guitar and percussion. But it is still tame when compared to "Gloria." Morrison tries to include a "Cyprus Avenue" and "Rough God Goes Riding" on every recording and he has representatives here: "In Tiburon" is a muse on the Bay Area and all of the music made there, while the gospel tinged "Holy Guardian Angel" reminds us that there is something out there bigger than we are. Morrison continues to wind is way down that Gaelic road toward eternity, rarely looking back. He ends things magically with the tuneful and sincere "Caldonia Swing." How Wonderful! ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/keep-me-singing-van-morrison-caroline-international-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Van Morrison: vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano, alto saxophone; Liam Bradley: drums; Jez Brown: bass; Laurence Cottle: bass, trombone, Lance Ellington: background vocals; Tony Fiztgibbon: violin; Ange Grant: background vocals; Dave Keary: guitars; Anthony Kerr: vibraphone; Paul Moore: bass, Hammond organ, trumpet; Paul Moran: bass, Hammond organ, piano, trumpet; Nigel Price: guitars; John Platania: guitar; Paul Robinson: drums; Robbie Ruggiero: drums; Nicky Scott: bass; Fiachra Tench: Hammond organ, piano, string arrangements; Neal Wilkinson: Drums.

Keep Me Singing

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Van Morrison - Moondance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:45
Size: 88.7 MB
Styles: Album rock, Blue eyed soul
Year: 1970/2018
Art: Front

[4:29] 1. And It Stoned Me
[4:31] 2. Moondance
[2:34] 3. Crazy Love
[5:01] 4. Caravan
[3:26] 5. Into The Mystic
[2:29] 6. Come Running
[3:52] 7. These Dreams Of You
[5:09] 8. Brand New Day
[3:30] 9. Everyone
[3:40] 10. Glad Tidings

The yang to Astral Weeks' yin, the brilliant Moondance is every bit as much a classic as its predecessor; Van Morrison's first commercially successful solo effort, it retains the previous album's deeply spiritual thrust but transcends its bleak, cathartic intensity to instead explore themes of renewal and redemption. Light, soulful, and jazzy, Moondance opens with the sweetly nostalgic "And It Stoned Me," the song's pastoral imagery establishing the dominant lyrical motif recurring throughout the album -- virtually every track exults in natural wonder, whether it's the nocturnal magic celebrated by the title cut or the unlimited promise offered in "Brand New Day." At the heart of the record is "Caravan," an incantatory ode to the power of radio; equally stirring is the majestic "Into the Mystic," a song of such elemental beauty and grace as to stand as arguably the quintessential Morrison moment. ~Jason Ankeny

Moondance mc
Moondance zippy

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Van Morrison & Joey DeFrancesco - You're Driving Me Crazy

Styles: Vocal, Saxophone Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:45
Size: 166,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:15)  1. Miss Otis Regrets
(4:09)  2. Hold It Right There
(3:05)  3. All Saints Day
(4:13)  4. The Way Young Lovers Do
(5:55)  5. The Things I Used to Do
(4:18)  6. Travelin' Light
(4:45)  7. Close Enough for Jazz
(7:05)  8. Goldfish Bowl
(3:21)  9. Evening Shadows
(5:13) 10. Magic Time
(4:46) 11. You're Driving Me Crazy
(5:38) 12. Everyday I Have the Blues
(4:52) 13. Have I Told You Lately?
(2:46) 14. Sticks and Stones
(5:15) 15. Celtic Swing

Van Morrison's late career tear continues with You're Driving Me Crazy, his third album in seven months. Following the formula of 2017's Roll with the Punches and Versatile each offered jazz, blues and R&B standards and redone originals this set offers eight tracks from Morrison's catalog and seven standards. it stands on its own, however, as a collaborative encounter with jazz organist and trumpeter Joey DeFrancesco's hip quartet. They all holed up in a Sausalito studio and completed the recording in only two days, capturing everything in a take or two.The loose feel is deceptive as the playing is anchored deep in the pocket; it crackles with live-wire intensity. Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" is framed by a gentle swing, with DeFrancesco's organ and Troy Roberts' smoky tenor saxophone introducing Morrison. Though he sings in a lower register now, his voice has lost none of its suppleness. He hovers, glides, and swoops through the lyrics; his vocal is akin to another horn, thus making DeFrancesco's trumpet solo a virtual duet. The jump swing of "All Saints Day" sounds like Jimmy McGriff jamming with Louis Jordan and James Moody. The new version of "The Way Young Lovers Do," from Astral Weeks, offers a lilting, Coltrane-esque soprano saxophone, modal changes, souled-out scatting, and minor swing, revealing just how prescient and timeless the song remains. Johnny Mercer's "Travelin' Light" is a sweet, sultry blues with muted trumpet, shimmering chords, and Morrison's improvisations on the changes. 

The band stretches out on "Goldfish Bowl." Morrison's fingerpopping delivery touches on everyone from Ray Charles to Jimmy Witherspoon; what's more, he adds his alto horn for a twin saxophone attack as DeFrancesco's tight B-3 solo is appended by guitarist Dan Wilson's stinging, fleet-fingered break. No tune here signifies the collective musical mind meld like the title track by Walter Donaldson. It finds Morrison laughing with delight during the instrumental breaks and outro as the band swings and struts. "Everyday I Have the Blues," with twinned saxes, bassline-heavy B-3, and popping snares becomes the perfect jump jam. The uptempo read of "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" marks the latter (and best) of two duets between Morrison and daughter Shana (the other is Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's hard bopping "Hold It Right There"). Its three-saxophone head and sumptuous, soul-drenched organ fills surround the pair's empathic singing. The funky Titus Turner-penned "Sticks and Stones" offers dazzling electric piano pumping from DeFrancesco, bell-like cymbals from Wilson, and Morrison straddling of the worlds of R&B, jazz, and blues. Closer "Celtic Swing" is the lone instrumental, a stellar showcase for Morrison's own alto playing and Wilson's arpeggio-rich soloing with DeFrancesco keeping the breezy groove even when he embellishes it during his solo. You're Driving Me Crazy is as energetic as any live show. Of the three successive recordings done in this way, this one stands head and shoulders above for its inspired performances and choices of material. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/youre-driving-me-crazy-mw0003157654    

Personnel:  Van Morrison – vocals, saxophone;  Joey DeFrancesco - Hammond organ, trumpet;  Dan Wilson - guitar;  Michael Ode - drums;  Troy Roberts - saxophone

You're Driving Me Crazy

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Van Morrison - Versatile

Styles: Vocal, R&B
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:40
Size: 157,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:17)  1. Broken Record
(3:33)  2. Foggy Day
(3:38)  3. Let's Get Lost
(3:45)  4. Bye Bye Blackbird
(4:01)  5. Skye Boat Song
(4:07)  6. Take It Easy Baby
(4:52)  7. Makin' Whoopee
(4:10)  8. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(3:37)  9. I Forgot That Love Existed
(4:33) 10. Unchained Melody
(4:40) 11. Start All Over Again
(5:29) 12. Only A Dream
(6:04) 13. Affirmation
(3:10) 14. The Party's Over
(6:02) 15. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
(3:35) 16. They Can't Take That Away From Me

Versatile is Van Morrison's 38th album, and follows the release of the excellent R&B and blues covers collection Roll with the Punches by less than three months. Like its predecessor, it's primarily a covers set, but its focus is on jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook with six originals added for good measure. Historically, these experiments haven't worked for rock artists: Rod Stewart delivered five overblown, badly sung collections from the canon, and Bob Dylan delivered five discs of highly idiosyncratic interpretations of the stuff. Even Boz Scaggs tried them with very mixed results. Morrison fares better than his peers due to experience standards have peppered his set lists for decades. Versatile is not a pillar in his catalog, but it's not a cynical cash-in, either.  Morrison surrounds himself with a septet that includes saxophones, trombone, keys, guitar, bass, and drums. Most of these tracks were recorded in hotel lounges in Ireland's County Down, adding to the slippery jazz feel. The canonical material proves a real interpretive challenge. Curiously, he opens the record with a throwaway new original entitled "Broken Record," that shows off his band's fingerpopping swing quotient but little else. He quickly recovers with a fine reading of the Gershwin's "A Foggy Day," showcasing his fluid phrasing and empathic lyric interpretation. His Chet Baker worship is well known, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he takes on "Let's Get Lost." His take is jaunty, offering tinges of Jimmy Rushing-inspired R&B while retaining its identity as a jazz tune. 

While his muted scat groove on Cole Porter's "Bye Bye Blackbird" is overly strident, he gives a polished, nuanced performance to the composer's "I Get a Kick Out of You." "Makin' Whoopee" contains a nice bluesy chart (Dave Keary's electric guitar playing recalls Grant Green's), but Morrison's vocal is uncomfortably stilted. Among his own tunes are two new ones the punchy, Jimmy Witherspoon-esque "Take It Easy Baby" and the contemplative, nearly spiritual, modal, instrumental "Affirmation" with Sir James Galway guesting on flute as well as beautifully rendered rearrangements of catalog material "I Forgot That Love Existed," "Start All Over Again," and "Only a Dream." There is also a deeply satisfying arrangement of the traditional "Skye Boat Song" that melds Celtic soul with Celtic swing as Morrison's smoky alto sax leads the rest of the horn section's lithe groove. While he could have left off the too-often covered "Unchained Melody" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" as they add nothing to the originals, readings of "The Party's Over" and the Gershwin closer "They Can't Take That Away from Me" are impeccable examples of Morrison's mercurial phrasing and limpid modern arrangements that make swing their top priority. Versatile has its flaws and will likely appeal most to longtime fans, but Morrison fully invests himself in each tune, singing them as if he wrote them. This is head and shoulders above similar efforts by his peers and a solid addition to his shelf. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/versatile-mw0003123437

Versatile

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Van Morrison - Into The Music

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:26
Size: 142.9 MB
Styles: Soft rock, Album rock
Year: 1979/2008
Art: Front

[ 3:46] 1. Bright Side Of The Road
[ 3:14] 2. Full Force Gale
[ 5:27] 3. Stepping Out Queen
[ 4:41] 4. Troubadours
[ 2:53] 5. Rolling Hills
[ 4:09] 6. You Make Me Feel So Free
[ 6:51] 7. Angeliou
[ 8:02] 8. And The Healing Has Begun
[ 5:09] 9. It's All In The Game
[ 5:39] 10. You Know What They're Writing About
[ 7:00] 11. Stepping Out Queen
[ 5:30] 12. Troubadours

Into the Music may not seem like a great Van Morrison record, one of his very best, upon first listen, especially if you're trying to compare it to such masterpieces as Astral Weeks and Moondance, or even Tupelo Honey. Yet this is certainly one of his best records, one that is quietly winning and thoroughly ingratiating, sounding stronger, even irresistible, with each new spin. In a sense, this is the definitive post-classic-era Morrison, since it summarizes all of his attributes while showcasing each at a peak. Musically, this is a little harder and rootsier than its two predecessors, but only a little; this is still remarkably relaxed music, where the charm is in its ease of delivery and compositions. The difference, there's more grit in the performances, more substance in the songs, letting Van the craftsman shine through along with his spirituality and grace. There may be no masterworks on the level of his early-'70s records, but these are deft, subtle songs that are full-bodied songs, unlike their counterparts on this album's immediate predecessors or successors. There's little question that this is not a knockout record, and some could even be excused if they find its charms elusive -- but once you've entered Van's sizable cult, few records sound as much like Morrison as this, a record that served as culmination of where he was coming from and served as blueprint for where he was going. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

new link: Into The Music

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Pee Wee Ellis - What You Like

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:29
Size: 134,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:57)  1. The Prophet
(5:21)  2. Take Me To The River
(4:53)  3. Soul Pride
(2:42)  4. I Will Be There [feat. Van Morrison]
(5:09)  5. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(6:02)  6. 2 Dock C
(5:31)  7. (Your Love Is) So Doggone Good
(6:49)  8. Far From Home
(6:12)  9. Tune With A View [feat. Fred Wesley]
(3:46) 10. Step
(6:02) 11. What You Like

Leading the German NDR Big Band, saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis turns in a competent, occasionally stilted collection of soul-jazz and classic funk. The production and the playing is a bit too mannered for the music to actually catch fire, but there are moments  such as Fred Wesley's cameo on "Tune with a View" or Van Morrison's vocal spotlight on "I Will Be There" that make the disc a worthwhile listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine http://www.allmusic.com/album/what-you-like-mw0000693549

Personnel: Pee Wee Ellis (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone);  Jenni Evans, Van Morrison (vocals);  Tony Remy (guitar); Peter Bolte (reeds, alto saxophone);  Lutz Büchner (reeds, tenor saxophone);  Edgar Herzog, Fiete Felsch, Steffen Schorn (reeds); Ingolf Burkhardt, Claus Stötter, Lennart Axelsson, Reiner Winterschladen (trumpet); Lucas Schmid, Fred Wesley, Wolfgang Ahlers, Jon Welch, Egon Christmann, Joe Gallardo (trombone); Detlev Beier (acoustic bass); Mike Mondesir (drums).

What You Like

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Van Morrison (With Georgie Fame & Friends) - How Long Has This Been Going On

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:59
Size: 114.4 MB
Styles: Blue eyed soul, Adult contemporary
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[2:26] 1. I Will Be There
[3:49] 2. The New Symphony Sid
[2:40] 3. Early In The Morning
[3:58] 4. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
[4:02] 5. Sack O' Woe
[7:14] 6. Moondance
[4:04] 7. Centerpiece
[3:44] 8. How Long Has This Been Going On
[3:01] 9. Your Mind Is On Vacation
[2:15] 10. All Saint's Day
[3:17] 11. Blues In The Night
[2:18] 12. Don't Worry About A Thing
[3:48] 13. That's Life
[3:16] 14. Heathrow Shuffle

Aretha Franklin and Van Morrison are the best vocal improvisers of their generation, but neither can be accurately described as a jazz singer. When authentic jazz singers such as Jon Hendricks or Betty Carter improvise, they construct new harmonic lines as variations on the melody. When Morrison and Franklin take off on the tag of a song, they employ more of a blues approach: They don't alter the harmonies so much as add new emotional emphasis to old chord progressions. This is true even when they tackle jazz standards, as the Queen of Soul did on her early albums for Columbia and as the Belfast Cowboy does on his new album, How Long Has This Been Going On.

Morrison's album may feature such jazz-vocal classics as King Pleasure's "New Symphony Sid" and traditional jazz solos by two longtime collaborators, saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and organist Georgie Fame, but Morrison devotes himself in true blues style to squeezing as much feeling — in this case, joy — as possible out of the repeating melodies. This is quite a change for a singer who has spent most of the past 25 years wrestling with "the lion inside of me" and contemplating the shadows of Celtic mysticism. Those angst-filled meditations have led to some brilliant albums, but if last year's underwhelming Days Like This is any indication, that vein may be running dry. Or maybe going back to the Mose Allison and Frank Sinatra songs that Morrison loved as a kid has merely reminded him of more cheerful times. Whatever the reason, he has recorded his brightest, most extroverted music since the early '70s trio of Moondance, His Band and the Street Choir and Tupelo Honey. Even songs about heartbreak, such as Louis Jordan's "Early in the Mornin'" and Cannonball Adderley's "Sack o' Woe" (whose lyrics are all about heartbreak and the blues), receive upbeat treatments, as if Morrison were trying to outdo his own horn section by honking and shouting with pleasure. It's an old blues trick — laughing in the face of trouble — but Morrison does it with such contagious enthusiasm, it sounds fresh again.

How Long Has This Been Going On

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Various - Tell Me Something: The Songs Of Mose Allison

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:00
Size: 82.4 MB
Styles: Adult contemporary, Jazz/pop vocals
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[3:13] 1. Van Morrison - One Of These Days
[3:17] 2. Van Morrison - You Can Count On Me (To Do My Part)
[3:42] 3. Ben Sidran - If You Live
[3:24] 4. Georgie Fame - Was
[2:05] 5. Ben Sidran - Look Here
[3:21] 6. Georgie Fame - City Home
[2:11] 7. Ben Sidran, Georgie Fame - No Trouble Livin'
[2:57] 8. Ben Sidran - Benediction
[2:19] 9. Georgie Fame - Back On The Corner
[2:36] 10. Van Morrison - Tell Me Something
[1:59] 11. Van Morrison - I Don't Want Much
[2:39] 12. Van Morrison - News Nightclub
[2:12] 13. Van Morrison - Perfect Moment

Great idea on paper -- invite rock's Van Morrison, his then-organ/vocal-sidekick Georgie Fame, singer/pianist/producer Ben Sidran, and Mose Allison himself to compile a celebration of one of the most delightfully idiosyncratic songwriters of our time. And these are serious Allison buffs indeed, for they chose tunes from the back catalog that Mose rarely performed live in the '90s, with hardly a well-known Allison standard in the batch (the exception being "I Don't Want Much"). The hang-up is that Allison's own performances over the decades are so unique and right for their material that they pose a creative problem for anyone who wants to give these songs a different slant. Accordingly, with one exception, these guys fall back upon imitating the master, bowing low and not really saying anything new. Sidran is an outright Allison vocal clone -- he's got all of the slides, accents, and hip attitudes down pat -- though his piano doesn't sound anything like Allison's. Fame is not quite as literal, and he seems a bit stodgier by comparison. Meanwhile, Van the Man just does his own thing, paying little mind to the Mose manner, bending these tunes to his will, and pulling it off in style. Mose's participation consists of a couple of loose, chummy duets with Morrison on "I Don't Want Much" and "Perfect Moment." The band is a small combo that you can imagine playing in an English pub, with saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and trumpeter Guy Barker giving the sound an R&B flavor. It's a good record actually, but it makes you aware of why there hadn't been many Mose tributes before. How can one compete when the creator is still alive and swinging? ~Richard S. Ginnell

Tell Me Something: The Songs Of Mose Allison

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Van Morrison - Pay The Devil

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 45:34

Size: 104.3 MB

Styles: Country, Country-jazz

Year: 2006

Art: Front

[2:12] 1. There Stands The Glass

[2:36] 2. Half As Much

[3:07] 3. Things Have Gone To Pieces

[2:52] 4. Big Blue Diamonds

[4:10] 5. Playhouse

[2:28] 6. Your Cheatin' Heart

[2:19] 7. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It

[2:45] 8. Back Street Affair

[3:00] 9. Pay The Devil

[3:53] 10. What Am I Living For

[4:40] 11. This Has Got To Stop

[2:48] 12. Once A Day

[2:42] 13. More And More

[5:56] 14. Till I Gain Control Again

With stunning album-length explorations of jazz and 1950s acoustic skiffle and a country-rockabilly collaboration with Linda Gail Lewis behind him, Van Morrison continues exploring classic country with compelling reinterpretations of standards from the 1950s to the 1970s. He reaches back over half a century for Hank Williams Sr.'s "Half As Much," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and Webb Pierce's landmark honky-tonk hits "Back Street Affair," "There Stands the Glass," and "More and More." Moving to the mid-'60s, he capably explores George Jones's "Things Have Gone to Pieces" and Connie Smith's "Once a Day." The 1970s are his limit, however, as he probes Rodney Crowell's "'Til I Gain Control Again." Three Morrison originals blend nicely into this mix, as do two non-country favorites: Chuck Willis's "What Am I Living For" and a gleeful spin on Blue Lu Barker's 1938 jazzy, single-entendre favorite "Don't You Make Me High." Recorded in Ireland with uncluttered hard-country backing, Pay the Devil reiterates Morrison's own musical diversity and flair for making any song his own. ~Rich Kienzle

Pay the Devil      

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Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company (10th Anniversary Edition)

Styles: Vocal, R&B, Soul
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:01
Size: 141,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. Ray Charles & Norah Jones - Here We Go Again
(3:47)  2. Ray Charles & James Taylor - Sweet Potato Pie
(3:56)  3. Ray Charles & Diana Krall - You Don't Know Me
(4:00)  4. Ray Charles & Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
(3:32)  5. Ray Charles & Natalie Cole - Fever
(4:35)  6. Ray Charles & Bonnie Raitt - Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?
(5:01)  7. Ray Charles & Willie Nelson - It Was A Very Good Year
(5:16)  8. Ray Charles & Michael McDonald - Hey Girl
(4:26)  9. Ray Charles & B.B. King - Sinner's Prayer
(4:33) 10. Ray Charles & Gladys Knight - Heaven Help Us All
(4:55) 11. Ray Charles & Johnny Mathis - Over The Rainbow
(3:44) 12. Ray Charles & Van Morrison - Crazy Love (Live)
(5:04) 13. Ray Charles & Poncho Sanchez - Mary Ann
(4:06) 14. Take 6 - Unchain My Heart

"The way these days just rip along, too fast to last, too vast, too strong..." ~ Jackson Browne

The final recording of Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company, enjoys its tenth anniversary. It is striking to consider that it has been over ten years since the death of Ray Charles, one of the most imposing figures in American music. The music made in the second half of the twentieth century has had a remarkable staying power owing partially to its revolutionary quality and the near frantic dedication of the Post-World War II Baby Boom generation. Charles' contributions to this music are without measure. It is useful to consider the role, or roles, played by Charles in American music. He deftly fused the blues with gospel music forming that offshoot of rhythm and blues: soul music. He then took this new eutectoid and mashed it up with jazz, creating an earthy humus. Once he had done this, he took on country and western music, infusing that mostly-white genre with the same soul music he previously created, resulting in the groundbreaking Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music (ABC, 1962). Charles' reach was long and deep. 

Genius Loves Company is Charles' valedictory. It was recorded between June 2003 and March 2004, with Charles passing away from liver disease on June 10, 2004. While Charles' health was certainly questionable during recording, there is no indication of diminished capacity. His singing is robust and vibrant, overt and assertive. Charles had to have his eye on the end but he was never going to let on. If anything can be said of Charles' singing voice, it is that he "became more himself" as he aged. If Johnny Cash's late voice and appearance were those of an Old Testament prophet, then Ray Charles in autumn was a dying Mozart composing his sunny Clarinet Concerto less in defiance than acceptance.

Duet recordings, pitting old masters with contemporary musicians, are nothing new. Tony Bennett has made a cottage industry of them (and not to any bad effect at that). Time was of the essence for Charles and what better a love letter to his mastery than for him to share the stage with so many like-minded musicians who admired him so. It was because of this programming, the chosen artists and some shrewd marketing that Genius Loves Company was Charles' first top ten recording in 40 years. One of the biggest criticisms of the Charles biopic Ray was that the story ended 40 years early. My argument would be, "what was there left for Ray Charles to do?" This is an album of artists' collaborative praise for a fellow artist. Programming for the original recording was superb as was duet partner and song choice. Norah Jones, a closet country queen masquerading as a jazz artist, is a perfect foil to Charles on "Here We Go Again." Broad country block chords and Jones' creamy voice properly accent Charles' sacred sandpaper tone. 

Charles is most simpatico with his near contemporaries. "Fever" with Natalie Cole and "Heaven Help Us All" with Gladys Knight are love fests. Charles digs deep with BB King (and Lucille) on "Sinner's Prayer" and Bonnie Raitt on "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." Raitt's signature slide guitar, ever influenced by Lowell George, is captured beautifully sonically. Ray Charles possessed a stylistic depth and breadth with few peers. When considering who could step in and accept the mantle from Charles after his death, I posited two names, both gratefully represented here. Willie Nelson has had as varied a career as Charles, sampling and then mastering every genre attempted. The two duet on a song closely associated with another such kindred spirit, Frank Sinatra. "It was a Very Good Year" is an unexpected luxury of artistic irony and grace). Van Morrison shares and ultimately offers his "Crazy Love" as a gift to Charles, the two crossing traditions with all we have in common.  The present Deluxe Edition sports a piquant "Mary Ann" with percussionist Poncho Sanchez and an awesome "Unchain My Heart" with Take 6. An hour-long DVD detailing the making of Genius Loves Company is a bit of gravy for this Fall class. Happy Birthday, Genius Loves Company... it has been a very good year. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/ray-charles-genius-love-company--10th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-by-c-michael-bailey.php
 

Personnel: Ray Charles: vocals, keyboards; Ray Charles-vocals, piano; Norah Jones, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Elton John, Natalie Cole, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis, Van Morrison-vocal; B.B. King, guitar, vocal; Billy Preston-organ; Poncho Sanchez: percussion; Take 6; 63-piece orchestra; others.

Genius Loves Company (10th Anniversary Edition)

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Chris Barber - Memories Of My Trip (2-Disc Set)

The double-CD features Chris Barber and various line-ups of the Chris Barber Band with an impressive array of guests, such as Ottilie Patterson, Rory Gallagher, Jimmy Cotton, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Keith Emerson, Mark Knopfler, Albert Nicholas and many, many more.

The first CD is a complete firework of blues, jazz and gospel songs. We especially like the Muddy Waters Blues Band, playing Kansas City with Chris on trombone. Another great song is Diggin' My Potatoes, with Lonnie Donegan. But this is not the well-known 1954 version recorded at the Royal Festival Hall: it is a recording by the Chris Barber Jazz & Blues Band plus Lonnie Donegan in 1987. And the fireworks of the first CD continue on the second! The opening song is St. Louis Blues / Missouri Special / St. Louis Blues, featuring Ottilie Patterson singing and Edmond Hall playing clarinet. And a great surprise is the duet of Ed Hall and Ian Wheeler, both on clarinet on "High Society". At last this number is now available on CD. The sound changes dramatically with Rock Candy, a rock-oriented recording from 1966 with Keith Emerson and Chris Barber.

It is almost impossible to name and pay the respect to all musicians on this double-CD, so we suggest, sit back in a comfortable chair, sip a good drink (or two!), and listen to more than two hours of great music! All in all, this CD is a fitting tribute to Chris Barber and his more than sixty years as a bandleader and one of jazz's great musicians; it surely is indispensable as an item in every Barber fan's collection.

Album: Memories Of My Trip (Disc 1)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 76:37

Size: 175.4 MB

Styles: Trombone jazz, Blues, Rock

Year: 2012

[2:53] 1. Memories Of My Trip (With Brownie Mcghee)

[2:42] 2. When Things Go Wrong (With Otillie Patterson)

[2:22] 3. Do Lord, Do Remember Me (With Dick Smith)

[3:53] 4. Weeping Willow (With Eric Clapton)

[6:53] 5. Kansas City (With The Muddy Waters Band)

[3:57] 6. Love Me Or Leave Me (With Alexis Korner, James Cotton)

[4:38] 7. Can't Be Satisfied (With Rory Gallagher)

[5:35] 8. Diggin' My Potatoes (With Lonnie Donegan)

[7:47] 9. Goin' Up The River (With Jeff Healey)

[3:38] 10. How Long Blues (With Van Morrison)

[4:32] 11. Goin' Home (With Van Morrison)

[5:31] 12. Oh Didn't He Ramble (With Van Morrison)

[4:38] 13. Lonesome Road (With Otillie Patterson)

[5:31] 14. I'll Be Rested (With Paul Jones)

[5:15] 15. Precious Lord, Take My Hand (With Paul Jones)

[4:39] 16. Couldn't Keep It To Myself (With Alex Bradford)

[2:02] 17. Another Sad One (With John Slaughter)

Memories Of My Trip (Disc 1)

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Album: Memories Of My Trip (Disc 2)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 73:46

Size: 168.9 MB

Styles: Trombone jazz, Blues, Rock

Year: 2012

Art: Front

[10:07] 1. St. Louis Blues Missouri Special St. Louis Blues (With Otillie Patterson)

[ 4:42] 2. High Society (With Jedmond Hall)

[ 2:54] 3. Rock Candy (With Keith Emerson)

[10:16] 4. Georgia On My Mind (With Trummy Young)

[ 5:04] 5. Rose Room (With Joe Darensbourg)

[ 6:01] 6. C-Jam Blues (With Albert Nicholas)

[ 6:27] 7. Tea Party Blues

[ 6:25] 8. Jack Teagarden Blues (With Eddie Durham)

[ 4:23] 9. Tailgate Boogie (With Sammy Price, Sandy Brown)

[ 2:49] 10. Winin' Boy Blues (With Jools Holland)

[ 4:39] 11. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (With Jools Holland)

[ 3:42] 12. Blues Stay Away From Me (With Mark Knopfler)

[ 2:46] 13. Dallas Rag (With Mark Knopfler)

[ 3:26] 14. ‘til The Next Time I'm In Town (With Mark Knopfler)

Memories Of My Trip (Disc 2)

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Van Morrison - Duets: Reworking The Catalogue

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:43
Size: 175.6 MB
Styles: R&B, Rock, Blues, Soul vocals
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[5:15] 1. Some Peace Of Mind (With Bobby Womack)
[3:50] 2. If I Ever Needed Someone (With Mavis Staples)
[3:49] 3. Higher Than The World (With George Benson)
[6:23] 4. Wild Honey (With Joss Stone)
[3:43] 5. Whatever Happened To P.J. Proby (With P.J. Proby)
[4:54] 6. Carrying A Torch (With Clare Teal)
[4:12] 7. The Eternal Kansas City (With Gregory Porter)
[4:58] 8. Streets Of Arklow (With Mick Hucknall)
[3:52] 9. These Are The Days (With Natalie Cole)
[4:42] 10. Get On With The Show (With Georgie Fame)
[4:24] 11. Rough God Goes Riding (With Shana Morrison)
[6:42] 12. Fire In The Belly (With Stevie Winwood)
[4:00] 13. Born To Sing (With Chris Farlowe)
[5:15] 14. Irish Heartbeat (With Mark Knopfler)
[4:02] 15. Real Real Gone (With Michael Buble)
[6:34] 16. How Can A Poor Boy (With Taj Mahal)

On DUETS: RE-WORKING THE CATALOGUE, Van Morrison and the guests selected and recorded some of his songs from the catalog of 360 songs across his career. Deliberately steering away from his more well-known classics, Van enlisted some of the artists he most respects to perform these songs with him to re-craft and re-imagine them. The album was recorded in his home town of Belfast and London in the United Kingdom over the last year, using a variety of musicians and fresh arrangements.

Produced by Van Morrison along with Don Was and Bob Rock, the album features duet performances with Bobby Womack, Steve Winwood, Mark Knopfler, Taj Mahal, Mavis Staples, Michael Bublé, Natalie Cole, George Benson, Gregory Porter, Clare Teal, P.J. Proby, Joss Stone, Georgie Fame, Mick Hucknall, Chris Farlowe, and Van's daughter Shana Morrison.

Van Morrison is considered one of the most prolific recording artists and extraordinary live performers of our time. He has received a multitude of awards and accolades including 6 Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, and has been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His visionary songwriting and mastery of many genres continues to shine on albums celebrating and re-exploring his blues, jazz, skiffle and country roots. With one of the most revered catalogues in music history, his talents as a composer, singer and performer are unmatched.

Duets: Reworking The Catalogue

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Van Morrison - Saint Dominic's Preview

Styles: Pop/Rock, R&B
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:42
Size: 96,0 MB
Art: Front

( 3:01)  1. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)
( 4:40)  2. Gypsy
( 3:04)  3. I Will Be There
(11:09)  4. Listen To The Lion
( 6:28)  5. Saint Dominic's Preview
( 3:07)  6. Redwood Tree
(10:11)  7. Almost Independence Day

While less thematically and sonically cohesive than Van Morrison's prior albums, Saint Dominic's Preview nonetheless hangs together on the strength of its songs, an intriguingly diverse collection which draws together the disparate threads of the singer's recent work into one sterling package. The opener, "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)," is pure R&B jubilation, while the title cut, although essentially a rewrite of "Tupelo Honey," is stunning gospel-pop; both "Listen to the Lion" and "Almost Independence Day," meanwhile, mark a return to the epic mystical explorations of Morrison's earlier work and offer a pair of his most primal performances. ~ Jason Ankeny  http://www.allmusic.com/album/saint-dominics-preview-mw0000651366

Personnel: Van Morrison (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, saxophone, keyboards, background vocals); ; Janet Planet (vocals, background vocals); Doug Messenger (guitar, 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar); Ron Elliott (guitar); ; Mark Naftalin (piano, organ, Moog synthesizer); Mark T. Jordan, Mark Jordan (piano); Leroy Vinnegar, Bill Church (bass instrument); Ronnie Montrose (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Mark Springer, Ellen Schroer (vocals, background vocals); John McFee (steel guitar); Jack Schroer (saxophone, piano); Rolf Houston (saxophone, background vocals); Jules Broussard (saxophone); Pat O'Hara (trombone, horns); Tom Salisbury (piano, organ, keyboards); Bernie Krause (synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Gary Mallaber (vibraphone, drums, percussion); Connie Kay, Lee Charlton, Rick Shlosser (drums).

Saint Dominic's Preview

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