Van the man

The Belfast Cowboy, Van The Man – call him what you want, but nothing comes close to describing Van Morrison quite like his own complex, ambitious, soulful and inspirational music.

Born at the tail end of World War II in the shadow of the East Belfast shipyards, Morrison’s formative years were to have a huge influence on his later music. His father George was a keen collector of US blues records and, by the time he left school, his son was intent on making music his life. Spells in various skiffle groups and showbands (including residencies in the same Hamburg clubs that would help shape The Beatles) eventually led to a chance meeting with the Belfast band The Gamblers, whom he joined in 1964 as vocalist and harmonica player, the very point at which they changed their name to Them.

For two years Morrison and the band toured constantly, playing the same hectic circuit as the Yardbirds and The Animals as well as scoring success with the garage classics ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’. When he left the band in 1966, Van decamped to New York to work with producer Bert Berns on two patchy solo albums which yielded, amongst other things, the enduring radio favourite ‘Brown Eyed Girl’.

The breakthrough came with Astral Weeks, his 1968 debut for Warner Brothers, which sold modestly at the time but has gone on to be regarded as a ground-breaking classic and one of the most influential albums of that heady, competitive decade. Moondance was the unforgettable follow up, a perfect distillation of Morrison’s US blues and soul background imbued with a deep-set Celtic romanticism and a unique way with melancholy melody.

The next 30 or so years were to bring a vast and varied body of work, that would see the Irishman elevated to an iconic status around the world. At his best, Morrison is untouchable, able to create music with an unbridled joy starkly at odds with his gruff public persona. The twin American and Irish influences have remained, often intertwined (as on Wavelength) but equally likely to appear in the purest form, as in the hugely successful Irish Heartbeat album with The Chieftains some 14 years later.

Even the most dedicated of fans would not venture that this has been the most tranquil of careers. There have been embattled moments along the way, but more often than not he has been able to emerge from these periods with albums of stunning quality, such as No Guru, No Method, No Teacher and Hymns To The Silence restoring the faith of those who have despaired at his more self-indulgent moments.

In recent years, there has been no sign of his creativity drying up. After the fine Days Like These album he went through a period of exploring his roots, teaming up with the likes of John Mayall to explore the avenues of rock ’n’ roll and blues respectively.

His work rate is certainly impressive. There seems to be an album every year or so (the latest being this year’s superb Down The Road) and he has become an almost ubiquitous feature on the Irish concert circuit. Like Dylan (with whom he has been favourably compared) these shows are unpredictable affairs, with the singer hell bent on doing it his way every time. But, while he describes what he does as work, he remains one of the most inspired performers in contemporary music.

When everything falls into place, there is still pure magic coursing through his veins. Close your eyes and lose yourself in the music. Van? Unmistakeably. The Man? Most definitely.

Post Scripts

Most significant moment
In 1976 Van guested on the star-studded The Last Waltz farewell gig for The Band after laying low for about three years prior to that gig following poor public reaction to his most recent albums. But such was the ecstatic audience and band reaction to his barnstorming version of ‘Caravan’ (complete with celebratory high-kicks and exuberant air-punching) that he soon returned to the fray with A Period Of Transition, kick-starting a memorable series of classic albums that included Into The Music, Beautiful Vision and Inarticulate Speech of The Heart.

View from the sidelines
According to Bono, “I’m in awe of a musician like Van Morrison. I had to stop listening to his records six months before we made The Unforgettable Fire because I didn’t want his very original soul voice to overpower my own. There’s got to be a spiritual link between Van Morrison and U2.”
George Jones, who was a fellow member with Van in The Monarchs Showband, recalls the humorous side of Van’s often austere personality. “He likes a good laugh, does Van. When The Monarchs did ‘Yakety Yak’ by The Coasters, he’d dress up as a caveman and start jumping over tables. In the middle of a rock’n’roll number he’d jump up on the guitar player’s shoulders. It was all acrobatics”.

Most memorable saying
“Turn up your ‘raddio’!”

What’s happening now
Van has never been one to let his quality control slip, but even by his own exalted standards this summer's Down The Road album was a cracker. The same goes for the dates on his Dylan-like never ending tour, which treads familiar ground on November 2 and 3 when he plays back-to-back shows at the Dublin Olympia.

Five key tracks

‘Gloria’ (1965)
A garage band classic that still resonates with the raw power of the period. Survives in his live set to this day, treated to a thrillingly ragged interpretation. Patti Smith’s blistering version on Horses is also a classic.

‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967)
Other biggie of the period. Countless covers bands may have tarnished its memory somewhat, but the original remains a joyous classic.

‘Moondance’ (1970)
Another excursion into the upbeat, fleshing out the ‘Astral Weeks’ sound with a horn led, soul feel and jazz stylings. Inspired.

‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’ (1989)
A touch sentimental maybe, but what’s wrong with that? This is a beautiful love song that underlines just what a great pop songwriter Van is.

‘Days Like This’ (1995)
There is much to admire in Van’s later work and this is an example – a wonderfully world weary ballad, Morrison’s voice carries the weight of experience.

The key album

Astral Weeks (1968)
Annoying as it must be to find an album you recorded over thirty years ago constantly quoted as your ‘classic’ – especially when there has been so much magnificent work in the interim – there’s no getting away from the fact that this is Van Morrison’s benchmark. A sparkling, fluid piece of work, it’s freeform song structure and vivid lyrics put it right up there with Dylan and the rest. Monumental and brilliant.