My Favourite Van Albums, Number 6,Veedon Fleece

I bought Veedon Fleece in the mid-70's when i briefly returned to Peterborough.I played it a couple of times and decided it was boring and it languished in my album collection unlistened to for decades.It is only in the last few years and especially since i started buying all Van albums again on CD that i have finally come to realise what a fine album it is.Veedon Fleece was years ahead of its time for fans, critics and me alike.

The cover is really nice with Van photographed with two Irish wolfhounds.They are brilliant dogs.When i was a kid growing up on the mean streets of Peterborough there was a recreation ground near us that was known as Woodston Rec (Opposite the Cherry Tree pub on Oundle Road).Next to that on Queens Walk was a big house called Fletton Towers owned by Miss Hartley who was the sister of LP Hartley who wrote 'The Go Between'. Anyway in the grounds of her house she had about 6 of these wolfhounds roaming about.I was a bit scared of them, they seemed huge.The back of the album cover is a nice green colour which is quite appropriate because this album is definitely tinged with green.

I think the reason i didn't get into this album initially is because there is no upbeat poppy hit single type song on it to grab the attention.That is one of the strengths of the album though because in terms of consistency of mood it is almost comparable to Astral Weeks.The album came about when Van made a trip to Ireland in 1973, his first visit since his move to America 6 years earlier.He was worn out by work and the break up of his marraige.He visited Cork, Cashel, Killarney and even the Blarney Stone (It didn't give him the gift of the gab though!).Seeing his native Island again through fresh eyes was the inspiration for this album.After a lifetime of looking towards the blues and jazz of America Van was beginning to go through a change in which his celtic roots would come to the fore.Lets have a listen to the songs-

Fair Play to you is an Irish expression, eg "I'll buy you a drink", "Fair play to you, i'll have a Guinness".Fair Play is a wonderful opening song which sets the tone for the album.Killarneys lakes so blue is mentioned (See pictures of me in Killarney!)There is a smattering of Vans literary name dropping again with Poe, Wilde and Thoreau.Also Geronimo and High Ho Silver .Cowboys and Indians crop up quite a lot in Vans lyrics,a throwback to his childhood no doubt.'Linden Arden Stole The Highlights', is a much darker song.I wonder what in Vans subconsious made him come up with the name Linden Arden?.In Notting Hill where he lived at one time is a street called Linden Gardens.'Who Was That Masked Man?' carries straight on with the theme of living with a gun and Lone Ranger imagery again and is a tale of paronoia about not being able to trust anyone and Van sings about being so fragile you might break which suggests it is about a personal crisis in his life.

'Streets Of Arklow' is next which is a classic and a song Van has returned to his reportoire to huge acclaim from the fans in recent years.It begins with a sombre acoustic guitar intro before Vans vocals accompanied by a flute.Van returns to his gypsy obsession

"And the gypsy's rode

With their hearts on fire

They say "We love to wander,"

"Lord we love,""Lord we love to roam..."

You Don't Pull No Punches But You Don't Push The River' is another masterpiece.The only thing i don't like about this song is the length of the title!.I have a book at home by Barry Stevens called Don't Push The River (It flows by itself) but i still havent read it yet.Maybe thats where Van got the title from..This song seems to be an aural sketch describing the beauty of the Irish countryside,the real soul,i mean the real soul, people,and meandering like a river through the visions of Blake and Eastern mysticism of Meher Baba.William Blake and The Eternals is not a soul band like Gladys Knight And The Pips, this is the poet, painter and visionary William Blake.This is the first time Blake is mentioned in a Van song but in the years to come Blake was obviously a big influence because Vans songs are strewn with references to him.'Bulbs' is possibly the most catchy song on the album and was issued as a single with 'Masked Man' on the flip side.The lines 'The one shot deal don't matter, And the other one's the same' seems quite Dylanesque to me. With the references to football games and light bulbs i'm not sure what it's about but it seems quite a bitter song.'Cul De Sac' is an enigma to me as well.That doesn't mean i don't like it.

The last three songs though, 'Comfort You', Come Here My Love' and 'Country Fair' all flow together beautifully in a sustained atmospheric languid twelve minute passage of brilliance.Van seems to stretch and search for adjectives, as i do who doesn't know many,Just layin' down in shades of effervescent, effervescent odors And shades of time and tide.I must say the last three songs are quite exquisite with the flute playing on Country Fair just perfect.It might be a recorder actually but the album just ebbs away and fades into the distance wonderfully.

This album wasn't received all that well by the public and critic's.Van wouldn't attempt another album as experimental for several years and following its release Van disappeared off the scene for three years and the kid who left school at 15 to become a window cleaner went through a period of self education and personal growth before emerging stronger than ever.

My Favourite Van Albums, Number 7,'St Dominics Preview'

Take me back, take me way back to springtime of 73.I am lying on my bed in my room at college, wondering why i am so lazy.On my desk lie heaps of work that i haven't done.It wasn't that i didn't want to do it,i just couldn't get motivated.Music could be heard coming through the paper thin walls.It sounded familiar.It was the album i had first heard a few weeks earlier in Manchester.It was Astral Weeks.I banged on the wall and shouted,"Turn that record up mate!".Eventually the person in the next room invited me into his room to listen to his records.He was a really nice bloke.His name was Roger Hawker and he came from Gloucester if i remember correctly and we used to sit there for ages listening to and talking about music.In my minds eye i can still picture his heap of albums leaning against the wall.Not only did he have Astral Weeks he also had another album by Van and that was how i first got to hear St Dominics Preview which is the album i want to discuss in this essay.
Before we explore the music lets just peruse the album cover for a moment.It is really funny.Whoever was in charge of the artwork decided to portray Van as a sort of vagabond troubadour with his guitar on the steps of a church.There is a great big split in the seam of his jeans.I don't know about Van but his jeans are certainly torn down a la Rimbaud!. It reminds me of Rimbauds poem, 'My Bohemian Life' or 'Ma Boheme'-

My only pair of breeches had a big hole in them.

Stargazing Tom Thumb, I sowed rhymes along my way.

My tavern was at the Sign of the Great Bear.

My stars in the sky rustled softly.

Lets have a look at the contents.For this album Van used many of the same musicians as on Tupelo Honey but this album is a total change from the rural contentment of that album containing some huge rambling epic stream of consiousness songs.'Jackie Wilson Said' is one of Vans best known songs,one of his poppiest songs since Brown Eyed Girl and was a huge hit for Dexys Midnight Runners when they covered it.I think Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson mentioned in the lyrics holds the record in Britain for taking the longest time to get to number 1 in the charts.It was released in 1957 and finally got to the top of the charts in 1986.Jackie Wilson Said is a great upbeat opening to this album.It is unlike any other song on the album.Lets move on to 'Gypsy' which is a good song although the lyrics are a bit simplistic.Gypsies crop up a lot in Vans lyrics in such songs as Caravan,Gypsy In My Soul,Into The Mystic,Gypsy Queen etc.I wonder why Van has this gypsy fixation?.It must be something to do with him being one Irish rover.We have quite a lot of gypsies in our area.I call them travellers but other people call them Dids or Pikeys which isn't very nice.We also used to get a lot of New Age Travellers,hippy types coming through here on their way to Stonehenge and such places.I used to envy their lifestyle and freedom.Perhaps thats why Van found them so fascinating.'I Will Be There' follows and i can't think of anything to say about it so i'll move quickly on to the tour de force that is 'Listen To The Lion'.Little did i realise all those years ago when i first heard it that a live version of this masterpiece would become my all time favourite Van song.I will discuss this song at more length later.

The following song 'St Dominics Preview' is another supurb work of art,again one of Vans finest songs.The opening line Chamois cleaning all the windows recalls his early life in Belfast.Then we have Paris images of Notre Dame And Edith Piaf.I've always liked Edith Piaf,she was known as 'The Little Sparrow' and was born on a gendarmes cape on the streets of Paris in a rainstorm in 1915.You also get the feeling that Van is getting homesick for Ireland in this song.Apparently one of his band members after a gig complained that it was a long way to Buffalo where he lived and Van ruefully replied "And its a long way to Belfast City too".Van had been stateside for about 6 years now and maybe missing home but it was a bit difficult by 72 with all the troubles,chains, badges flags and emblems and everyone not feeling anyone elses pain.I was just reading the lyrics and it suddenly occured to me that,'See them freedom marching,out on the street, freedom marching,Saint Dominic's Preview'. It reminded me of Dylans 'Chimes Of Freedom', 'And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom crashing'.Anyway, i better move on because i'm tired and i've been writing all this bollix for ages.

Redwood Tree' is fabulous and has some great images of a dog and a boy and his dad.In one of the biographies i read that when Van was a lad he had a dog called Maxey who he used to go everywhere with.Maybe the song is quasi-autobiographical as Van might say.Its a great song but it doesn't half remind me of Enlightenment.'Almost Independance Day' brings the album to a close in truly epic style.The last four songs on this great album are really brilliant and i can't understand how i forgot two of them when i did my 100 top Van songs.This album from Vans early period is supurb and playing it again takes me right back to a time when i was very young very lazy and very happy.

My Favourite Van Albums, Number 8, Common One

I never bought Common One when it came out because i was gallivanting around Europe at the time.I first bought it when i lived in Taunton,that was on vinyl.I have quite an amusing anecdote about the day i bought my CD copy.We went to Glastonbury for the day with two friends John and Dale and sat on top of the Tor drinking alcho-pops then we went to a pub in Glastonbury,the one opposite the Abbey carpark.We thought we would sit out the back in the fresh air.It had been raining the night before and without looking i pulled out a chair at this table and sat down in about two gallons of water.I was drenched.The others nearly broke their faces laughing but i couldn't see the joke.Kim went off to buy me a new pair of trousers but came back with these hippy things that i refused to wear so i spent the afternoon with a wet bum.It was strange in that yard that afternoon because there was an old eccentric chap there who played 78 records on an old wind up gramophone, there was also an American hippy called Odin (made up name i bet) who played the harp,i don't mean a harmonica i mean a real harp.I asked him to sing a Van song and he sang Caravan brilliantly accompanying himself on the harp.There was also a bloke from Newcastle who played guitar and claimed he used to be in Lindisfarne but i knew he was lying because i knew exactly who had been in that band.Anyway to get to the point i bought Common One on CD that day.

Lets have a look at the cover.It shows an old man with a stick walking up a hill that looks a bit like the tor but i dont think it is.The concept of the picture is Vans idea.I think the old man is a pilgrim on a spiritual quest.On the back cover is a deer in a circle in a sort of William Morris type design.I wonder what that is all about?.The album was recorded in Super Bear studio's in the south of France.It seems very unusual for Van to go all that way to record which must have been quite a logistical problem.I think Pink Floyd recorded The Wall at this studio but that is by the by.
The opening track 'Haunts Of Ancient Peace' is a wonderful piece of music with Pee Wee Ellis and Mark Isham excelling on this.Beside the garden walls is an image that Van often refers to.The new Jerusalem is a reference to William Blake-

And did the Countenance Divine

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

And was Jerusalem builded here

Among these dark Satanic mills?

"Be still" ,whispers Van at the end of this song which is a great jazzy evocative atmospheric opening to the album.

Peter Van Hookes drums start the next song which is the epic 'Summertime In England'.The opening line 'Will you meet me in the country in the summertime in England',i particularly like for personal reasons because i always used to look forward to seeing Van in Summertime at Glastonbury festival. I expect it was opium that Coleridge and Wordsworth were smoking up in Kendal.I know Coleridge was quite partial to it.In fact Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy dispaired of the amount of opium Coleridge was smoking.It did give him great dreams and visions such as Kubla Khan whereas Wordsworth could only conjure up a few manky daffodils.Van says in the song 'Did you ever hear about Jesus walking down by Avalon?'.It is known that Jesus's uncle Joseph Of Aramathea came to Glastonbury because he was a trader and after the age of 12 Jesus was unheard of for years.It is possible that he went travelling with his uncle.William Blake thought this as well-

And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon England's mountains green
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

The Church Of St John would probably be the one in Glastonbury High St across the road from the Abbey.Anyway, i'm going to move on because you can get lost in the lyric's and its probably best not to analyse them too much.After all it ain't why it just is.

The following song 'Satisfied' continues the pastoral scene and mentions Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger which is a great book.Salinger is a grumpy old git who doesn't like giving interviews.'For Esme With Love And Squalor' by Salinger is one of my favourite stories.The images of mountains, hillsides, valleys and light shining through is carried on in 'Wild Honey' which is one of Vans best and underrated love songs. 'Spirit' is another song in the same theme as the previous songs .They are about finding happiness by looking within and changing from the inside first.Listen to the lion in a way.

'When Heart Is Open' is a forerunner of where Vans musical development would take him as the 80's unfolded.Music would become like an aid to meditation and contemplation.Many critics have said this song is pretentious but thats because they are stupid and don't understand it.I am listening to it at the moment and its a magnificant piece of music.When theres no coming and no going you will tarry. (tarry is a good old word!).I once heard a recording of somebody playing the flute in the dome of the Taj Mahal and this reminds me of it.The music just floats around like a butterfly.This is great music for listening to in the dark.It is quite amusing though where Van says 'hand me down my great coat and big boots'.You feel like saying"Get yer own big boots you lazy little git". This track lasts fifteen minutes but it could go on for an hour and still not be boring. It brings to an end one of Vans most experimental but rewarding albums.

My Favourite Van Albums, Number 9, Beautiful Vision

In 1982 i was living in a little village called Hilperton with my mate Fred and another bloke called Wally in a house called 'The Nook'.Next door lived this old man who we called 'the old grey fella'.He was always banging on the wall because of the noise.I was one of Thatchers victims,on the dole but i used to do a bit of gardening around the village to get some beer money.I did the gardening at the local pub The Lion And Fiddle and the pub owner used to give me some money and then i'd sit in his bar and give him the money back over the course of the evening.Thatcher was starting her Falklands adventure,it was the worst of times and the even worser of times but there was something to cheer up about,a new Van album 'Beautiful Vision'.

I like the cover design,i don't know what it all means though.It reminded me of a line in a David Bowie song 'Crack in the sky and a hand reaching down to me'.I liked the cover so much i had it framed and stuck it on my wall (See picture).As i have said i think where Van lives is reflected in his music and for a short time in the early 80's Van lived with his northern muse Ulla Munch in the Vanlose district of Copenhagen and this inspired a number of tracks on Beautiful Vision such as Vanlose Stairway,Scandinavia,She Gives Me Religion and the title track.

'Celtic Ray'the opening track though is very Irish,with Van yearning for home.Van says in the song that he has been away too long.Lots of Irish people move away to places not greener but meaner but they never move away mentally,they always think about returning.This theme is continued on 'Northern Muse,Solid Ground'.The muse in question would be Vans musical muse and how he had to leave in order to fulfill his creative spirit.The line 'If you see her say hello' is the title of a Dylan song off Blood On The Tracks.I wonder if Van pinched it off Bob?

The next track 'Dweller On The Threshold' is a great upbeat song and made for people who like probing into the lyrics to see what they mean .On the sleevenotes Van tells us that this song and Aryan Mist were inspired by the book 'Glamour, A World Problem' by Alice Bailey (See Picture).She was a theosophist who wrote lots of books that were dictated to her telepathically by a Tibetan monk.That might sound like a lot of piffle and balderdash to a lot of people but not to Van.In a song on another album he talks about getting a telepathic message from his angel.I often think that great musicians like Van are channeling the music of the spheres from a higher place.That is why they shouldn't always have to explain what it all means. Van also talks about crossing the burning ground something he would return to in a much later song.

'Beautiful Vision' is next and i wonder if this song is about his girlfriend Ulla.I think Van sang this the last time he played in Copenhagen so that might be significant.There is no doubt that during the 80's when Van was with Ulla his music was very spiritual.Maybe it was her vision that inspired him.'I can make it with your beautiful vision' sings Van.Anyway its a great song.
I really like the next song as well, 'She Gives Me Religion'.When you think about it this album is wedged with great songs.I like the imagery of girls walking by dressed in the summer fashions and the church bells chiming on a Sunday afternoon as Van walks down the mystic avenue again as he does in many other songs.Walking down Cyprus Avenue with a sense of wonder as a child must have had a profound impact on his psyche because he returns there time and again.

'What's my line?' sings Van in the next song.Whats My Line was a popular panal show on the telly when i was a kid.It was hosted by Eamon Andrews and the panalists had to guess what the contestants did for a living.Van tells us his line was 'Cleaning Windows'.This is a great song unlike anything else on the album and i think Mark Knopfler plays on it.In the song Van talks about buying 5 Woodbines and i did actually find a packet of 5 woodbines at work under some floorboards (see picture).Van the name dropper is in evidence here with Jimmy Rodgers, Jack Kerouac and Christmas Humphreys getting a mention amongst others.Van likes to get his listeners into things he is into.'Baby don't let it slide' sings Van at the end.I think he was a bit worried about climbing up the ladder!
'Vanlose Stairway' is another great song.The apartment where they lived in Copenhagen is quite an ordinary looking building but Van can make anything sound romantic,this stairway reaches right up to the moon!.Georgie Fame also does a great version of this on his own on the Van Morrison Songbook album that Simon Gee compiled. 'Aryan Mist' is another song inspired by Alice Bailey and her Tibetan friend.Apparently the railway carraige charm is a reference to amphetamines.Out of my brain on the 5.15!'.

'Across The Bridge Where Angels Dwell' is a very contemplative evocative song which leads us in to the instrumental 'Scandinavia' which features Van on piano which is most unusual.I remember him doing this one at my second ever Van concert in 1982.This technique of the quiet song leading into the instumental is also used on a couple of other Van albums in the early 80's.The idea is that the music induces beautiful visions and mystical raptures in the listener and it works because this album is brilliant!

My Favourite Van Albums, Number 10, Poetic Champions Compose

In 1983 myself and Kim were sitting in the Canal Tavern in Bradford On Avon and i mentioned that i was leaving because i had a job in Taunton. "Ok", she said, "see you later".

Four long years went by and i returned in March 1987 and went back in the Tavern, she was still sitting there in the very same seat!.So we carried on where we left off.The same week i had arranged with a friend Steve to go and see King Lear at the Theatre Royal in Bath with Anthony Quayle as Lear and Kate O'Mara as Goneril.I popped into the workshop where Steve worked to see what time we were setting off.While i was there i picked up a hammer and some nails and helped him put some backboards on an Irish dresser.His boss came in,"Do you want a job?", he said to me."Yeah, alright", i replied, and i've been in the same job ever since.1987 was quite a year of change for me,it was also the year of Vans best ever incredible performance at Glastonbury,i was there on that glorious day and also the year that Poetic Champions Compose was released.

It's a fine album that i specially recommend for playing on Sunday mornings when contemplation is best but you can play it any time you like.On Poetic Champions Van harks back to earlier in the decade by mixing songs with instrumentals.On some peoples albums the inclusion of instrumentals usually means they are 'fillers', not so on this record where the 3 instrumentals are crucial in setting the mood for the whole album.The album opens with 'Spanish Steps'.The Spanish Steps are in Rome as you know.It is the widest and grandest stairway in Europe.Why Van called this piece of music after it is a mystery to me but Dylan afficionado's will know that Vans pal Bob does mention the Spanish Stairs in his Classic 'When I Paint My Masterpiece',

Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble,

Ancient footprints are everywhere.

You can almost think that you're seein' double

On a cold, dark night on the Spanish Stairs.

'This is very atmospheric Miles Davis type ambiant music featuring Van on alto sax.Anyone who doesn't think Van is a good sax player should pay attention to this album.It starts slowly then quickens up with Neil Drinkwaters piano kicking in,before fading away again.Then Van invites us to go into'The Mystery'."Trust what i say and do what you're told and all your dirt will turn into gold' says Van the alchemist.The mystery is life itself.
The next song is absolutely brilliant, 'Queen Of The Slipstream'.Van is quite keen on slipstreams.On Astral Weeks he ventures into the slipstream.In Charlies Bar in Westbury they used to have this on the jukebox and i played it all the time.
'I Forgot That Love Existed 'is another great song featuring some great sax playing.Socrates and Plato are mentioned in this song.'Motherless Child' is next.I first heard this song sung by the great Richie Havens in the film of Woodstock.Vans version is great as well..There is some nice percussion playing on this.
I dig (!) 'Celtic Excavation' another great instumental again with some great sax playing.This is the sort of music tailor made for film soundtracks.The piano playing is exquisite.

Then we have one of Vans best ever songs 'Someone Like You'.This was in the film Bridget Jones Diary which must have made it a nice little earner for Van.Dina Carroll also had a hit with it in the UK. After 'Have I Told You Lately' it must be Vans best known love song.
'Alan Watts Blues' is fantastic, Cloud Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown is the title of one of Watts's books.I must confess i havent read it though.Alan Watts was born in Britain in Kent.Coincidentally in his early days Watts met and was influenced by Christmas Humphreys of Cleaning Windows fame.He moved to the United States and wrote many books on Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism etc. He met Jack Kerouac and is a character in two of Jacks books.Sadly Alan Watts died at the relatively young age of 58 and alcoholism was said to be a main cause of his death so all the eastern mysticism didn't seem to do him all that much good did it?.The reference to 'of mice and men' is from Shakespeare but also a book by John Steinbeck whose 'Travels With Charlie' is one of my favourite books. Go here if you want to hear this song now.

http://www.panhala.net/Alan_Watts_Blues.html
Scroll down and click the music thing.

'Give Me My Rapture' demands Van on the next song.I have had a few dark nights of the soul i can tell you so i identify with this song.'Did Ye Get Healed?' is one of my all time favourites.The version on his Night In San Francisco album is great as well,a bit punchier.I remember Van doing a terrific version of this in 94.At the end of the show it was Michelle who asked if we got healed.On the album i suppose it must be June Boyce who also accompanies Van on 'When The Child Was A Child' on the Cuchulain tape.Van often uses olde worlde words like ye.Others are hark,ere and yonder. Ye is very Irish.When i was a kid and we got letters from Ireland the letter always began with,how are ye all?.The album ends with another fine instumental 'Allow Me'.

So there you go.Poetic Champions is a champion album and highly recommended by myself.

Did Ye Get Healed?

My Favourite Van Albums, Number 11,Avalon Sunset'

Avalon Sunset will always have a special place in my affections for a variety of reasons.Firstly because i had two really good friends from the time i worked in the night shelter.They got married in 1989 and i was the best man.There was only 5 of us at the wedding in St Mary's Catholic Church in Magdalene Street in Glastonbury.I bought them Vans newly released album as a present.Also Vans records very much reflect where he was living at the time and in the 80's Van was living in the west country and Avalon Sunset to me represents the pastoral scene of that area.The Isle Of Avalon is the area around Glastonbury and was in many ways Van's spiritual home for a long time and he is actually playing in the Abbey grounds in August which should be good.

The cover design is very tasteful.It reminds me of Yeats poem, 'The Wild Swans At Coole'

Mysterious, beautiful;

Among what rushes will they build,

By what lake's edge or pool

Delight men's eyes when I awake some day

To find they have flown away?

I don't like the opening track all that much, 'Whenever God Shines His Light' mainly because i don't like Cliff Richard very much.His backing group were called the Shadows and apparently after a gig Cliff used to slip quietly into the Shadows.I have heard that Cliff has something in common with the Queen Mother but that is probably just a rumour put about by people who don't like him.Cliff was very discourteous about Van in interviews later on which wasn't very nice.Still it gave Van a hit single in the charts and maybe got him a few new fans.'Contacting My Angel' is better.I think the lyrics might have an Avalon connection.'I've been on a journey up the mountain side and I drank the water from the stream, pure, pure water and I got completely healed' could refer to the Tor and the Chalice Well.I have drank lots of the water from the Chalice Well and it never healed me!.'Love To Write Another Song' isn't that great but just to prove he can do it Van then pulls one of his greatest songs ever out of the hat.

'Have i Told You Lately' is one of the best love songs ever written by anyone.I remember a song by Jim Reeves with the same title but i think that was a cover by another Country and Western singer but Van on several occasions has taken a song title he likes and then effortlessly writes a totally new song from it.'Days Like This' is another example.What makes the best of Vans love songs so great is that they are on two levels.It can be love for a woman or pure spiritual love of a higher power.

There's a love that's divine

And it's yours and it's mine Like the sun

at the end of the day

We should give thanks and pray to the One

Rod Stewart had a huge hit with this song and although Rods version is really good it isn't as good as Van's.This song must have made Van known to millions of people.Neil Drinkwater deserves special praise for his piano and it is Fiacra Trench's finest moment with his string arrangements.
Coney Island is another sublime track on this brilliant album.Vans supurb speaking voice takes us on a spellbinding journey through the beauty of Northern Ireland and stopping off to buy the Sunday papers and some mussels and potted herrings along the way.In view of all the trouble in Northern Ireland Van says quite sadly at the end "Wouldn't it be great if it was like this all the time".Well it is now hopefully.

'I'm Tired Joey Boy' sits very nicely next to this track.The words of this song show Van to be an excellent nature poet as he demonstrated by reading it in a documentary called 'A Coney Island Of The Mind'.In 1989 when the album came out the country was still in the grip of Thatchers icy claw, it was only a new Van album and Glastonbury Festival that kept my spirits up so i like the line,'Conservatism brings you to boredom once more'.

'When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God'. is another fabulous song.I used to know this stupid girl called Julie who said she hated Van because he was banging on about religion all the time.She was studying architecture!.The greatest architecture of all time was built to the glory of god as Van says in this song.Again the words of this song remind me of times of climbing up the Tor.

Up on the hillside its quiet

Where the shepherd is tending his sheep

And over the mountains and the valleys

The countryside is so green

Standing on the highest hill with a sense of wonder

You can see everything is made in God

Head back down the roadside and give thanks for it all.

On the slopes of the tor there is an almost biblical feel with the sheep grazing amongst the thorn trees. Georgie Fame plays brilliantly on this track with the rich sound of his hammond organ.Thats when i like Georgie complementing Vans songs and not leading him down that Symphony Sid road if you know what i mean.I'm not so keen on 'Orangefield' so i'll move quickly along if you don't mind to 'Daring Night' which is again brilliant.Van seems to really enjoy himself on this song,fancying a bit of nookie, 'Squeeze me, don't leave me',whilst celebrating the wonders of the universe.I love words like firmament and galactic swirl and the great goddess of eternal wisdom makes an appearance.That will be Sophia, hello Sophie!.And the lord of the dance,"Dance, dance, wherever you may be,i am the lord of the dance said he'.

The album ends with another great song, 'These Are The Days'

These are the days now that we must savour

And we must enjoy as we can

These are the days that will last forever

You've got to hold them in your heart

What more can i say, this is a truly great album which starts slowly but builds to a brilliant optimistic finale and one of my favourite records.

My Favourite Van Albums, Number 12, Hymns To The Silence.

1991. Things were looking up for me,i had moved out of my crummy bed-sit and moved into my flat in Maristow Street.It was a vast improvement,i even had a garden.In the evening i could sit outside and watch the swifts darting around as twilight descended while the sound of my new album 'Hymns To The Silence' floated through the ether.What can i say about this album?.It reaches heights of dazzling brilliance which Van has not equalled since but also contains some quite ordinary songs.Come with me and lets explore it further.

The album opens not very promisingly with 'Professional Jealousy'.Its not really good with Van saying the only thing that matters is delivering the product on time.Try telling that to Kate Bush or Pete Gabriel or Scott Walker who take about 10 years to deliver the product.It seems to me that it is Van who insists on putting out an album every 12 months or less.'I'm Not Feeling It Any More', is another Van moaning song but this one i like, it's of the superior variety.I remember at Wembley Arena in 96 when Van opened the show with this song.What a message to give the audience!, i thought, "Oh no, here we go".However it is a great song .I have enjoyed Van singing it many times since.It's all about how fame and fortune don't bring you happiness,it's being yourself that matters.This theme is carried forward in the next song,'Ordinary life', 'Be my rock in times of trouble, Bring me down to earth, keep my feet on the ground'. Van has always tried to lead an ordinary life when not performing.When he lived in Bath he was often spotted in the second hand bookshops and record shops mooching around.A friend of mine Jean was in a cafe in Bath one day with her son Ben who was about 10 at the time and she spotted Van who was having a cuppa tea and a tea cake.When Jean was leaving she said hello to Van and said Ben would like to shake hands with him.Van wiped his hands on his serviette and shook hands with Ben and said "How do you do"A lot of people slag Van off and say he isn't a nice person but i think he shows some admirable qualities such as humility and honesty.It is things like silly hippy gestures and falseness and time wasters that irritate him.He thinks that putting musicians on a pedastal is a lot of bullshit.Its just what he does for a living as far as Van is concerned.Van bares his soul even further on the next song 'Some Peace Of Mind' 'You see me on the stage, doing my job, learn to do it well, keep on singing the song, but sometimes it gets, so lonely out there'.This is taken even further on 'So Complicated' when Van says 'Better get into a new frame of mind When I don't have to think about the business no more ,Cause I just wanna blow my horn'.

The next song 'I Can't Stop Loving You' with The Chieftains is a complete change.I'm not sure i like it all that much.It's not a patch on Ray Charles original thats for sure.I think Van performs this song really well these days.I enjoyed it in Torquay last summer. 'Why Must I always Explain' is a great Van song that i have great memories of such as hearing him sing it at Bangor two years ago when i was sitting next to Colleen.
'Well it's out on the highway and it's on with the showAlways telling people things they're too lazy to know,It can make you crazy, yeah it can drive you insaneTell me why must I always explain'.
'Village Idiot' is derided in a review i just read but i like it.(I think its the reviewer who is the idiot). I suppose it could be Van's equivilant of The Beatles Fool On The Hill.'Don't you know he's on to something,You can see it, you can see it in his eyes,Sometimes he looks so happy As he goes strolling by'.I have known quite a few people like that in my life such as Gordon, Charlie and Sean who the local community shun because they aren't 'respectable'.If you get to know them though they are really interesting.I would rather have their company anyday than some pretentious middle class git.

'By His Grace' is a great song with Van preaching to the flock.'Open your mind to the wisdom, When you try for the kingdom,on high'.Georgie Fames influence on Van can be felt very strongly on 'All Saints Day'.I don't think i like it all that much.By the way i think All Saints Day is November 1st which in the old pagan days was Samhain the start of the celtic new year so what goes round comes round as they say.
The title song 'Hymns To The Silence' is next and what can i say apart from that i think it is amongst Vans finest work ever.Neil Drinkwaters piano is wonderful,you can hear Van go "yeah" during the piano bit.I havent really got the words to describe this song,it's pointless trying, the listener has to feel it for themselves.At his best Van doesn't enhance a mood, he creates it.The great mood of Contemplation created is continued on 'On Hyndford Street' with just Vans speaking voice accompanied by Derek Bells synth which has total empathy with what Van is saying.Sometimes i like to listen to this track in the dark and try to re-create the sounds whispering across Beechie River.I think Van has a great speaking voice when he doesn't rush at it.If Van ever made a spoken word album, reading his favourite pomes or prose i would most certainly buy it.These two tracks add up to about 15 minutes and sadly i don't think Van has sustained 15 minutes of sheer bliss like this on any album since.That is not to say that he hasn't written lots of great songs since then.'Be Thou My Vision' i don't care for much because it breaks the spell for me created by the two previous songs.

'Carrying A Torch is a song that Van wrote for his friend Tom Jones .Van and Tom have worked quite a lot together over the years.Tom also recorded 'Some Peace Of Mind' and 'I'm Not Feeling It Any More' from this album.I like Carrying A Torch and have enjoyed hearing Van sing it in concert a few times.'Green Mansions' is the title of a book by WH Hudson which was made into a filum starring Audrey Hepburn.I don't think there is any connection between the song and the book,i think Van just stole the title to write the song which is quite pleasant without being spectacular.'Pagan Streams i like because of Vans mention of searching for white Horses on surrounding hills.I am convinced he is refering to Westbury White Horse which is only a mile away from where i am sitting at this very moment.The white horse commemorates the Battle Of Edington when King Alfred dumped the Jutes (The Danes) on the burning ground.It can be seen for miles around,easily from Vans former recording studio The Woolhall at Beckington.Honey Street is also a little village near here on the Kennet and Avon Canal.There is an excellent pub there The Barge Inn, so if you are ever in Wiltshire repair to Honey Street!. 'Quality Street' is written by Van's old friend Doctor John and again is quite a nice song but nothing special.'It Must Be You' features some nice alto sax from Candy Dulfer which livens up another quite ordinary song.'I Need Your Kind Of Loving' again features some pleasant flute playing but is quite forgettable.
I suppose this flawed diamond of an album ends quite disappointingly for me but i think it has times of genius on it and there is no track on the album that i would say was bad.Hymns To The Silence has my seal of approval.Oh yes!