Van Morrison
(Universal)
Enlightenment
The Healing Game
Live At the Grand Opera House Belfast
A Night in San Francisco
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Veedon Fleece
It is important to note the manner in which Van Morrison is overseeing the reissue of his catalog. This second batch of six titles is again non-chronologically grouped. The bonus tracks are minimal and for the most part offer nothing essential. There are no liner notes, just the lyrics and personnel. And, with the exception of the two live releases, there are no dates provided - not the recording dates or the original year of release. A wise and apt approach, this allows individual albums to be considered on their own terms, freed from the historical arc of his career.
Morrison favors making album length statements and each of the four studio works has its own clear identity. As an artist, Morrison resents having to play to audience expectations, following a course of his own choosing. This brings up another purpose in a reissue campaign such as this. A certain number of longtime fans will replace old copies or fill in missing titles, but a younger audience who knows him primarily by reputation can freely start anywhere and move in any direction. The Healing Game from 1997 has a jazzy resilience showcasing a band that, with some variations, had been working with him for a good while at that point (and can be heard on the live A Night in San Francisco recorded four years earlier). No Guru, No Method, No Teacher and Enlightenment were released four years apart (1986 and 1990 respectively) and show his fluctuating impulses as both a creator and a producer. The former favors soulful but impressionistic settings and the latter marks one of his last attempts to marry those inclinations with a poppier gloss and radio directness.
The earliest of these half dozen is Veedon Fleece from 1974, which is seen by the parts of his fan base who've been along since the beginning, as sort of last hurrah, overtly linked to the gently audacious sound of Astral Weeks. However, it should more appropriately be seen as one peak among many, with no two mountains the same.
Standout Tracks: "Start All Over Again" (Enlightenment), "Rough God Goes Riding" (The Healing Game), "Rave On John Donne/Rave On Part Two" (Live At The Grand Opera House Belfast), "I'll Take Care Of You/It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" (A Night In San Francisco), "Thanks For The Information" (No Guru, No Method, No Teacher), "Who Was That Masked Man" (Veedon Fleece) DAVID GREENBERGER
