Review: Keep Me Singing By Van Morrison.

I like to support my local music shop if I can so on Friday morning still buzzing from Van’s great concert on the BBC the previous night I caught the bus over to Warminster where I picked up the CD of Van’s 36^th solo album Keep Me Singing from Raves From The Graves record shop. Then I met my friend Sian in the Bath Arms pub and eagerly opened the package. The artwork is by Justin Helton who apparently designed the posters for some of Van’s shows in the USA earlier in the year. I was really pleased that the CD contained a booklet with all the lyrics because I like poring over the words to see what I can glean from them. Later that afternoon I played the album for the first time and immediately decided that this is Van’s best recorded work in 20 years. I have been guilty in the past  of being over-enthusiastic on hearing a Van album for the first time so I waited till today before writing a review. I must say though after a few listens that I think it is possibly his best work since Down The Road in 2002. Let’s have a look at the songs.

Let It Rhyme is a great opening track. Van complained in an interview recently about the length of time it takes to do the mixing after the recording is complete but I think the wait has been worth it because Enda Walsh has done a great job in the mixing and adding Fiachra Trench’s strings. One thing that this album shows is that Van’s voice is as great or even greater than ever. Van plays some really nice blues harp and Paul Moran’s Hammond organ playing deserves a mention as well.

Every Time I See A River is a collaboration between Van and the famous lyricist Don Black and I think it is destined to be a Van classic and I can imagine it being part of his live repertoire for years to come. Dave Keary shows what a fine guitarist he is on this song.

The title track Keep Me Singing is next. Here we find Van on the corner where the homeboys welcome him back which is an image Van has conjured up before in his long and illustrious career and the great Sam Cooke gets another mention in a Van song. Watching boats from the hillside also reminds me a bit of previous Van songs such as So Quiet In Here. It’s nice to see some old faces from a previous Van era reappearing on this album such as Johnny Scott, Nicky Scott & Liam Bradley. Van plays more great harp on this track as well.

Out In The Cold Again is another great song. It only features one member of Van’s present band who is Paul Moran but really nice to see Kate St John return on the Cor Anglais. There is some very nice acoustic guitar played by Nigel Price. When I read the lyrics before hearing the song I thought the words were quite depressing but you don’t get the feeling of rage on this album but more like world weary resignation in the cold black night. I think this song will be great in concert.

Memory Lane is well named because it reminds me of Van songs from another time mentioning Autumn and leaves in all their splendour. I think it must have been recorded at the same session as the previous track because it features the same eight people. Another great song which the fans will love.

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword is a complete change of mood and quite funky and you can have a dance to this one if you want. The lyrics are a bit repetitious but that doesn’t matter. Dave Keary and Van play some great guitar on this track.

Holy Guardian Angel might prove to be my favourite track from the album in time. It is very spiritual as you would imagine from the title. I think this song might have evolved from Van’s concert performances because in the past when stretching out In The Garden he has often referred to guardian angels and the witching hour. It is very nice to see that John Platania another of Van’s old friends from the past playing acoustic guitar on this song. In the lyrics van sings ‘Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows my sorrow’, this is taken from an old slave spiritual published in 1867 which has been recorded by Louis Armstrong, Sam Cooke and many others which Van has cleverly worked into this song.

Share Your Love With Me is the only cover version on the album and was written by Alfred Braggs & Don Robey. Van originally recorded it for a Bobby Bland tribute album which never happened so he decided to include it here. Van’s admiration of Bobby Bland goes back a long way with his band Them recording Turn On Your Love light and Van’s live version of  Ain’t Nothing You Can Do. This song is a nice rhythm & Blues song with a hint of country. No wonder Kenny Rogers had a hit with it.

In Tiburon is next and I loved the lyrics of this song when I first heard it because it mentions a lot of the Beat Generation writers who I admire such as Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It also mentions City Lights Bookshop and it was City Lights who published the American edition of Van’s book of lyrics ‘Lit Up Inside’. Ferlinghetti is still alive actually aged 97, I wonder if he knows that Van has mentioned him in a song. He read one of his poems at the Last Waltz concert where Van stole the show so they do know each other. This song is dripping with literary and music references. I think I noticed a typo error in the lyrics booklet. It mentions the ‘Hungry Eye’ club, I think it should read ‘The Hungry I’. Also the song mentions another of Van’s heroes Chet Baker playing at The Trident. It was outside the Trident that Chet Baker while trying to score some heroin got beaten up so badly that all his teeth got knocked out which ruined his embouchure so he couldn’t play his horn for a long while till he got his mouth sorted out.  Cast Your Fate To The Wind by Vince Guaraldi which is also mentioned got to number 5 in the UK Charts in 1965 when recorded by Sounds Orchestral. Anyway, all that besides, this is a great song and one of my favourites from the album and has foghorns a plenty which Van also likes to mention occasionally.

Look Beyond The Hill I think is one of the lesser tracks on the album but I might change my mind after a few more listens.It was originally an instrumental called Yo and was a B-Side to one of Van's singles but he has revisited it and added lyrics.

Going Down To Bangor is the fun song with Van getting aboard a charabanc with his bucket and spade for a day at the seaside. I think his Northern Ireland fans will love all the local references to the Pickie Pool, Napoleons Nose, Cave Hill and Donaghadee.

Too Late is the token pop song and the first single from the album. I thought it was Dave Keary doing the backing vocals as he does live but he is not credited on this track so I think it must be Lance Ellington who sings backing vocals with Dana Masters.

Caledonia Swing is the instrumental track which brings this excellent album to an end. Van has had an obsession with the word Caledonia all his life even to the extent of it being his daughter Shana’s middle name. I think it is because he is proud of his Ulster/ Scots background and Caledonia is the old Roman word for Scotland. Anyway, it is quite a jolly romp and it’s nice to see his old fiddle player Tony Fitzgibbon make a welcome return.

I highly recommend this album which is a great addition to the finest body of work of any singer in the world. To make an album of this quality at the age of 71 after a career of over 55 years is quite an amazing achievement.

                                                             The End.

Van Morrison - Too Late

Down By Avalon on August 6th 2016

Van Morrison on Cyprus Avenue was undoubtedly the Van gig of 2015 but Van's concert at Glastonbury Abbey must be a contender for the Van concert of 2016. This is what happened. When I woke up on Saturday morning I opened the curtains and the light came shining through. "Brilliant", I thought to myself. It was a hot sunny day and I kicked my heels for hours waiting for the afternoon. Finally I met the others in the pub and fifteen of us set off in a minibus from the Market Place in Westbury at 4.15. There was me, Sian, Colin, Sharon, Mark, Angela, Chris, Chrissie, Jacquie, Phil, Marty, Ann, Phil, Tommy the driver and his sister & her husband. I got Tommy to play the Into The Music album by Van and we passed the time chatting and drinking wine.

In next to no time we arrived outside Glastonbury Abbey where about 10.000 people were still pouring into The Abbey grounds. As soon as we set up camp Jacquie served up a picnic while we listened to the Wells Cathedral School Big Band. I didn't avalot of food, I concentrated on the wine. After a while me and Sian decided to go for a walk and see if I could find any of the other Vanatics. It was great to bump into Howard and his family and Sue & Colin who I hadn't seen since Belfast last year. It was really nice to meet Simon & Sandra in the George & Pilgrim pub and we had a chat with them out the back of the pub for a while. Finally time was getting on and we returned to the Abbey.

Jamie Cullum was just finishing his set when we returned. I wasn't all that fussed about seeing him but a lot of the others later said he was really good. There is a Van connection with Jamie because when he was only 16 he was credited as an assistant engineer on Van's Days Like This album which must have been a valuable experience for him.
Finally I heard the familiar sound of Moondance  and said to Sian, " Come on, he's on, lets get down the front". Half way to the front though she didn't want to go any further saying it was too crowded, so that's where we stayed for the rest of the concert. I was pleased that Van had changed the intro to the concert though. Then Van introduced Clare Teal who actually lives in Glastonbury these days so she must have enjoyed singing to her neighbours.  They sang Way Young Lovers Do from the Astral Weeks album and Carrying A Torch which was one of the highlights of  the Duets album from last year. Clare departed and Van sang By His Grace  which was very spiritual and fitting for the mystical surroundings of the abbey. This theme continued with When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God? from the Avalon Sunset album and the lyrics of the song are perfect for this concert, ' The sun was setting over Avalon, the last time we stood in the west'.

The mood was much more up-beat then for Precious Time which went down a storm for those in the audience who just wanted to party and have a dance. Then Van said, "This might blow your mind", and introduced Joss Stone. Joss is local to the West Country as well. I think she lives in Devon somewhere. Some people I spoke to afterwards thought her performance was too over the top while others thought she was great. Anyway, They sang Wild Honey also from the Duets album and the classic Crazy Love. After Joss left the stage the dancing started again with Wild Night  and then the audience sang along with Have I Told You Lately in which Dana got the chance to show she is just as good a singer as Clare or Joss.

The medley of  Baby Please Don't Go/ Don't Start Crying Now  followed and Here Comes The Night. I thought Van's choice of songs for this gig was perfect with songs for the party people and also songs for those who preferred the less well known music. Haunts Of Ancient Peace was another brilliant choice of song for these surroundings which inspired Van to write some of his most spiritual music in the first place. Van played the keyboards on this song. Van even mentioned the church of Saint John which is actually in Glastonbury High Street which shows how familiar he is with this town.

Dana got the chance again to show how good she is when Van and herself sang Sometimes We Cry. This was followed by Whenever God Shines His Light  which isn't one of my favourites but this audience loved it. In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/ Joe Turner Sings Flip Flop And Fly was a great medley of songs and included  Raincheck  which shows Van has no intentions of fading away anytime soon.
Think Twice Before You Go and Rock Me Baby were next and then Van played sax on I believe To My Soul which was great. Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria brought the proceedings to a close. When Van left the stage during Gloria the band played on as fireworks started erupting in the sky and we went back to base to collect our stuff. It must have been about midnight when we got back to Westbury after a brilliant night. It wasn't the greatest Van concert but for a great night out in nice weather with some great friends it was perfect. Thank you very much to Michael Eavis for organising such a great event.

Van Morrison Have I Told You Lately- Live at The Glastonbury Abbey Extra...

Lily By Christy Moore. Review

The new album by Christy Moore called Lily popped through my letterbox about a week ago but I have been so busy lately that it is only today that I have had time to write a review.
This is the first Christy album I have bought since I bought Folk Tale at a gig at Bath Pavilion about three years ago and thanks to my friend Hilary I managed to get Christy to sign it. Anyway, I love the new album Lily. As soon as I opened the package I was struck by the cover artwork which is very eye catching. Inside is a painting called 'Lilies' by the Irish expressionist artist Brian Maguire. Like Christy Brian is also an Irish artist with his heart in the right place. I have just been reading about him. There are also some very informative notes by Christy about the various songs.
I love the opening song Mandolin Mountain which Christy tells us was written by the late Tony Small. I had never heard of Tony before but I have now, thanks to Christy. I have been listening to him on youtube the last few days. The lyrics are very inspiring such as 'Love is for the patient ones, the honest and the good'. It is the kind of song that makes you aspire to be a better person. I must say Christy's voice sounds better than ever on this album when lots of other singers of his generation can't hit the notes any more. Also Christy enunciates every word perfectly so that even on the first listen of a song you know what he is singing. A lot of other singers can't tell talk from mutter!
I first heard The Tuam Beat written by Padraig Stevens many years ago when it was a track on a Saw Doctors single called The World Of Good. Christy's version is just as much fun and I must say I love the banjo playing on it by Cathel Hayden. Although it is a joyful fun song there is still that little political message, 'Fair play to the travelling man'.
The Gardener is the perfect song for this time of year. I first heard it at Christy's Brighton concert a few weeks ago. It is written by Paul Doran and reminds me that I must get out in my own garden which I have neglected lately.
Lily is a song that reminds me a bit of a song from Folk Tale about a little Honda 50 but that doesn't bother me. I like the reference to the 'waters of the fen' which reminds me of my childhood in Peterborough. I see that the song is co-written with  Wally Page who Christy has collaborated with before.

I have always liked Peter Gabriel who is another artist of great political integrity. He actually lives near here in the village of Box. We had a walk around Box a few months ago to admire his Real World Studio. I wasn't familiar with Wallflower  though until I heard Christy's version. Peter's version was actually banned in South Africa during the Apartheid era which is a good sign in a way because when they are so rattled they ban your songs it shows you have got them on the run. Both Peter and Christy have recorded great songs about Steve Biko in the past.
Another powerful political song is Oblivious  written by Mick Blake. I had never heard of Mick Blake till Christy sang this song in Brighton and now Mick is a Facebook friend. Such is the power of Christy.  The song is about how the dreams of the people who founded the Irish republic have been squandered by the scoundrels and fools and how people don't even get angry about it. The great deception has happened all over the world with the bankers and speculators gambling with other peoples money and awarding themselves bonuses for doing it and it's not even classed as a crime. I bet Christy didn't get a massive annual bonus when he worked in a bank.
John Spillane is another singer who I have discovered via Christy. I love his songs such as 'Dance Of The Cherry Trees' & 'The Mad Woman Of Cork'. The Ballad Of Patrick Murphy is the fifth of John's songs to be recorded by Christy and tells the sad and true tale of a fisherman murdered by the Murricaune who were gangsters in the service of the crown.
Lightning, Bird,Wind, River Man is a delightful happy song written by Declan O'Rourke. I have actually seen Declan twice playing live. Both occasions were purely by chance. The first time was at the Fleadh in Finsbury Park in 99 and the second was in the Acoustic tent at Glastonbury in 2005 I think it was. We left before the end to see another Declan who was Declan McManus better known as Elvis Costello. Anyway, on both those occasions I didn't pay much heed to Declan O'Rourke because I wasn't familiar with the music. However, if he is capable of songs as great as this one I will certainly give him another listen.
Green Grows The Laurel is a traditional song that Christy first heard sung by John Reilly in 1965 and more recently by Helen Grehan. Christy has added a verse of his own. It is a beautiful haunting ballad.
Dave Lordan is a poet and playwright who was born in Derby in 1975 and grew up in West Cork. The Lost Tribe Of The Wicklow Hills was written by him and Christy recites it brilliantly to bring this great album to a close. It shows what a great speaking voice Christy has. He would be great for talking books reciting Irish myths and legends or something like that but I expect Christy has enough on his plate as it is.

I have really enjoyed listening to this album so thank you very much Christy, Declan, Jimmy, Seamie, Mairtin, Cathal, Vickie, Andy and anybody else associated with this wonderful album.

Jackson C. Frank- Blues Run the Game (1965)

Review : Christy Moore At Brighton Dome 2/4/2016

It had been nine long months since I last saw Christy Moore. That was on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury last summer so I was really looking forward to Saturday's concert at the Brighton Dome. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable Christy concerts I have seen. That was partly because for the first time ever I was lucky to get a front row seat, but also because Christy, Declan Sinnott and Jimmy Higgins were on such good form.
The three of them came on stage promptly at 8.00 and began with the powerful North And South Of The River which was followed by Yellow Furze Woman. Both of these songs received warm applause from the audience. "Thank you very much", said Christy, "We've been hanging around all day, waiting for 8 O'Clock". City Of Chicago from his Ride On album was next, followed by Go, Move, Shift, written by Ewan McColl with extra verses by Christy. This song was greeted with a lot of cheers which suggested to me that there were quite a few members of the travelling community in the audience.
I wasn't familiar with the next song How Long. It is a very moving song written by Jackson Browne. I think Christy must be quite a fan of Jackson. Declan's guitar playing was quite exquisite on this song. Matty was next and the audience started clapping along. Christy stopped and said, "It's not that kind of a song", and started again and this time the audience listened. I love this song but I'm still not sure what a 'curra line' is. The second Jackson Browne song of the evening followed which was Before The Deluge. The perfect song for Spring time was next which I had never heard before. I put in my notes, The Garden Song so I hope that's right. No doubt young Colm will put me right if I have got that wrong. Shane McGowan's classic song A Pair Of Brown Eyes got the audience singing along with, 'a roving,a roving, a roving, I'll go'. Ride On, the title song from the album that first got me into Christy's music three decades ago was performed brilliantly. When Christy reached for his bodran an audience member shouted something out and Christy said, "You should have been here earlier, the support band were feckin' great". He then sang  The Well Below The Valley which the audience loved. Christy said that he first heard Nancy Spain in Jersey, sung by Barney Rush and it was the first time he ever flew to a gig.

I had never heard of the next song before which was Oblivious and written by Mick Blake who I had also not heard of. One of the great things about Christy which he has in common with Van The Man is that he can lead you on to discovering other great musicians who you might have missed otherwise. I have heard of Peter Gabriel, but I didn't know his song Wallflower before. The lyrics are really powerful and I just read that the song was actually banned in South Africa.
The mood was lightened a lot by the next song which I had never seen Christy perform live before but I knew really well by The Saw Doctors. It is Tuam Beat. I did actually meet the writer of this song Padraig Stevens outside a Saw Doctors gig at the Colston Hall Bristol one night. Christy's version is just as much fun so I hope he has a big hit with it. That was followed by another fun song which was Don't Forget Your Shovel. There was a song for a girl in the audience called Tallulah next which was Reel In The Flickering Light.

The mood was more sombre then for the very moving Missing You written by Jimmy MacCarthy. The Spanish Civil War song Viva La Quintar Brigada which is one of Christy's greatest self-penned songs was next and Declan picked out some really sweet notes on his guitar during this one. Christy said he would take one request and a lady in the audience asked for Victor Jara which I was really pleased about because I love this song which was co-written by Arlo Guthrie and Adrian Mitchell. It is 43 years since Victor was murdered by the Pinochet regime and he should never be forgotten.
The political songs continued with Ordinary Man and then Magdelene Laundries which I hadn't realised was written by Joni Mitchell. I saw a film recently about the Magdelene Laundries and it was horrific how people could be treated by a so-called church. Another of the humorous songs followed which was Delirium Tremens. I have noticed though that even with Christy's funny songs there is often a serious message. This song was dedicated to Andy who had just completed 900 days off the booze. Well done Andy. Natives  written by Paul Doran was next followed by Christy reciting On The Mainland followed by the Bobby Sands song Back Home In Derry. Johnny Duhan's song Voyage was followed by the ever popular Lisdoonvarna and Declan really went to town on his guitar during this song.

Christy and his two companeros left the stage but we knew there would be an encore which was Black Is The Colour which the audience sang along with and finally a song I don't think I have heard before called No Time For Love written by Jack Warshaw. I had never heard of him before either, but I just looked him up and Jack is an American singer-songwriter who has lived in Britain since 1965. There are some terrible gaps in my music knowledge. It was a great song to end the night on.
Afterwards it was nice to have a little chat with Hilary from Kerry who put me right on a few song titles. Thank you Christy, Declan & Jimmy for a wonderful concert at Brighton Dome.