Back On Top by Van Morrison.

I remember the day in 1998 that I bought Back On Top because it was the same day I had a tooth out at the dentists in Trowbridge. Afterwards, I went to the record department of Knees store and bought Van’s new album. I did not like the cover much.  It reminded me of something like a John Le Carre spy novel. Going Down Geneva opens the album not very promisingly with a typical bluesy song.  Vince Taylor is mentioned and Van says it’s a shame nobody has heard of him. I had never heard of him either, but I looked him up on youtube and I don't think he was a great talent. I have read that David Bowie based the character of Ziggy Stardust on Vince. Van also mentions going down Geneva in the song Foreign Window. He must have a thing about going down Geneva. Montreux is also mentioned which makes me think of Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple which has similar subject matter.

Vince Taylor.

The next song though is one of Vans greatest, The Philosophers Stone. To Van music is a form of magic and Van is an alchemist who takes the various genres of music such as blues, jazz, rock, folk and soul and turns it into the gold that is uniquely his own. This is what he is talking about in this wonderful song. His harmonica playing is top notch as well. The pace is slowed right down then for In The Midnight, a sad song about lost love which I have enjoyed hearing Van sing live on many occasions. The title track Back On Top has never been a personal favourite with Van moaning about the deadbeats at the top of the hill. When The Leaves Come Falling Down in contrast though is a beautiful ballad which is amongst Vans finest and the sort of song that Van’s devoted fans love. It is quite exquisite with beautiful imagery of Paris in the rain and leaves a tumblin' down. Some fabulous piano accompanies Vans walk to the place between the garden and the wall. Chet Baker is name checked as well. Chet crops up again in the more recent song In Tiburon. At the Grand Hotel in Torquay a couple of years ago we gave Van a list of requests and he sang this song for us which made our evening.

His great harmonica playing opens High Summer. Van is complaining about high summer getting him down, in other songs he moans about having to get through January and February. He seems to moan all year round apart from Autumn time. The mansion on the hillside and red sports car seems to hark back to earlier Van songs. Reminds Me Of You is a similar song to In The Midnight, but even more desperate with Van saying he feels like he is going to hell and when will the pain recede into the darkness from whence it has come. New Biography is Van taking a swipe at people like me who have a hobby on the internet. 

It’s a bit unfair really because Van has his favourite writers and singers and doesn't mind talking about them so why should he care if people like to discuss his work. Not on my Wavelength is a reference to the excellent Wavelength fan magazine which sadly does not exist anymore. Precious Time is one of Van’s great pop songs which a lot of the fans did not seem to like. It provided Van with a hit single, and I like it as it bounces along to a boppy beat while Van muses about the certainty of death and no chance of afterlife. Golden Autumn Day ends the album on a bleak note with Van pretending it is paradise on a golden autumn day, but in fact it is grim with Van recounting how he was nearly mugged in a town surrounded by green hills which must be Bath. I never have liked this song much. Anyway, not to worry, this album contains some of Vans finest songs and deserves to be included in his top twenty albums. The Philosophers Stone and When The Leaves Come Falling Down alone make this an album worth buying.

Paris when the leaves come falling down.