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Van
Morrison - Celebrating five decades of music
The enigmatic artist has
included Montreal as one of the few select cities for a live
performance of his critically acclaimed work – Astral Weeks
By
Peter Kerr
“I
first saw Van Morrison in the late 60’s at the
Capitol Theatre on Ste-Catherine Street. He performed two shows that
evening – and he was in full flight by the time the second
show was underway.” I’m in conversation with Rubin
Fogel, a lifelong fan of Van Morrison’s music, and the
promoter for Morrison’s October 1st performance at Salle
Wilfred Pelletier in Place des Arts.
Van
Morrison will be performing Astral Weeks and many
of his classic hits
October 1st at Salle Wilfred Pelletier
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I also attended that performance,
and 40 plus years later I still have vivid memories of the music from
that show, even though the music he played was but a fraction of the
body of work Van Morrison has produced and recorded in the ensuing
decades.
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Rubin continues; “The second time I
saw him was in 1400 seat
auditorium in The Plateau. Donald K Donald was producing the show, and
it was so hot and humid in there that I thought it was going to rain
inside the building – but what a show. Not in the traditional
sense of an entertainer that works the crowd – Van Morrison
barely speaks to the audience. He’s completely focused on
performing his music; an artist in the true sense of the
word.”
Van Morrison
is in The Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame,
the Songwriters Hall of Fame (he was presented his award by the late
Ray Charles), the Irish Music Hall of Fame, and has won six Grammy
Awards. He is a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his
contribution to music, had his likeness on an Irish postage stamp in
2002, and the French government made him an Officier de
L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He’s come a long
way from the Belfast working class neighbourhood where George Ivan
Morrison grew up.
Morrison
showed musical aptitude as a boy, growing up with music in the
household. His father had worked in Detroit before returning to work in
the shipyard in Belfast. He brought back a large collection of records
that included artists such as Ray Charles, Lead Belly, and Solomon
Burke, with whom he would later become friends. The music had profound
effect on Morrison. “If it weren’t for guys like
Ray and Solomon, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Those guys
were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasn’t for that
kind of music, I wouldn’t do what I’m doing
now.” His father’s record collection also included
the blues of Muddy Waters, the gospel of Mahalia Jackson, Woody
Guthrie’s folk music, Charlie Parker’s jazz, and
even country music by Hank Williams and Jimmie Rogers. With these
composers in mind, it’s easy to hear their influences in Van
Morrison’s body of work. And yet – his music and
singing is distinctive. Van Morrison sounds like Van Morrison, whether
he’s belting out Brown Eyed
Girl or almost crooning the beautiful, Have I Told Lately.
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Van Morrison during a
performance at The Hollywood Bowl |
While he had an aptitude for music, he did
not have the same interest
or ability for school. Without graduating, music would also become a
way for Van Morrison to make some money as a teenager, and then earn a
living as a young man without any traditional job skills.
Back to
Belfast; where Van coaxed his father to buy him a guitar when
he was just eleven. He taught himself how to play chords form a song
book, and was performing in a local group (what we would now call a
garage band) by the time he was twelve. At fourteen he formed another
group called Midnight Special. He then was inspired to learn the
saxophone, and returned to his original financier; The Bank of Dad. Van
applied himself to his new instrument, taking lessons and learning to
read music.
Now able to
play several instruments, he was more employable, and while
still a teenager, obtained work with touring show bands with great
names like The Javelins, The Monarchs, The Manhattan Show Band, and The
Golden Eagles. The calendar then turned to the 1960’s and
band names were changing. Four guys from Liverpool called The Beatles
had gained notoriety as the house band in a club called The Cavern; and
in Ireland, a group named Them and a song called Gloria were just
around the corner in Van Morrison’s life.
In April
1964, Van Morrison answered an advertisement for a new R
& B club opening in a Belfast hotel frequented by sailors. He
was playing in a group called The Gamblers, and they had a strong R
& B influence in their material, often improvising on stage.
Morrison played saxophone and harmonica, and shared vocals with another
band member. They changed their name to Them (taken from the title of a
50s horror movie) and attracted attention and audiences to the club in
the Maritime. The band was signed to Decca Records where they recorded
two albums and released ten singles; including a song that was
originally released as the b-side to Baby Please Don’t
Go. Although intended as a b-side, Gloria would go on to
become world-wide hit record and rock ‘n’ roll
standard. Morison had introduced the song to the band during their
engagement at the Maritime.
Them came to
North America in the spring of 1966, and the tour was a
success. However, the band became embroiled in a dispute with their
manager over finances, and after they returned to Ireland, they split
up. Some of the members reformed the band in 1967 and relocated to the
US. Van Morrison concentrated on his song writing, including songs that
would eventually be recorded on Astral Weeks.
Van Morrison
also moved to the United States in 1967, at the request of
Bert Berns, Them’s producer and the composer of one of their
singles, Here Comes the Night. Morrison recorded eight songs with Berns
in two days, including Brown Eyed Girl, which became a huge hit for
Bang Records in 1967. Forty years later it is the 4th most requested
song in the US. Berns passed away later in 1967, and Warner Bros.
purchased Morrison’s contract from Berns’ widow.
Morrison’s
first recording in 1968 for his new label was
Astral Weeks, regarded by many critics as the best albums ever made.
The instrumentation was more like a jazz-folk fusion; with an acoustic
stand-up base, drums played with brushes, vibes, acoustic guitar, flute
and even a string quartet. Rolling Stone Magazine places Astral Weeks
at #19 of their Top 500 Greatest Albums. That same list includes a
subsequent Van Morrison recording Moondance at #65. While it was a
critical success, Astral Weeks didn’t sell particularly well
at the beginning, and Morrison was nearly broke. He made more money
from performing than record sales.
In 1970 he
released Moondance, an much more upbeat recording that
became Van Morrison’s first million selling album, and
solving any remaining money problems. A series of albums followed, some
more successful than others, but none had the cachet or mystique of
Astral Weeks.
In November
2009, Morrison performed Astral Weeks on two consecutive
evenings at The Hollywood Bowl. Jay Berliner played guitar and Roger
Kellaway piano; significant in that both musicians played on the
original recording 40 years earlier. The concerts were a huge success,
and he has subsequently performed Astral Weeks in New York and London;
and has performed some of the songs during a variety of television
appearances.
Van Morrison
is bringing his Astral Weeks show to Place des Arts on
October 1st. Although Rubin Fogel is a veteran impresario of performers
from Leonard Cohen to The Funk Brothers, he is personally excited about
this show. “This isn’t just a concert –
it’s the major musical event of the
year!” Continuing, Rubin notes; “Montreal
audiences have an excellent reputation for being informed and
respectful of artists, and that’s one of the reasons Van
Morrison has selected Montreal as a place to perform. The concert is in
two parts; one featuring Astral Weeks, and a second part that is
essentially a greatest hits show.”
Tickets are
on sale at Place des Arts Box Office 514-842-2112 or online
at: www.laPlacedesArts.ca
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