Van Morrison

Somebody Tried To Sell VAN MORRISON A Bridge

Posted on by JL

Reveries for the laziest day of the week

1 February 2026

Irish music junkie VAN MORRISON, aged 80, will never ever
retire. He got blues & soul in his veins since he was born.

He scored his masterpieces late in the late 60s/70s with Astral Weeks (1968),
Moondance (1970), His Band And The Street Choir (1970) and Into The Music (1979).

In the 80s he went on with stand-out LPs such as Beautiful Vision (1982), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983) and Irish Heartbeat (1988).

In the 90s, he still had some good moments, but it wasn’t the imposing Belfast Cowboy (nicknamed that by the late Robbie Robertson of The Band) of the early days anymore.
He started to play the same songs over and over again.

He just released his 48th (!!!!!) LP, named SOMEBODY TRIED
TO SELL ME A BRIDGE (who comes up with such crazy titles).

The title track is Van by numbers. Very old skool, but still entertaining on a Sunday.


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Instagram – All Albums

VAN MORRISON – The Imperishable Belfast Cowboy Has His 47th Album Out

Posted on by JL

22 June 2025

79-year-old grumpy bear VAN MORRISON had his best musical years back in the 60s/70s and 80s with brilliant albums such as Astral Weeks (1966), Moondance (1970), His Band And The Street Choir (1970), Beautiful Vision (1982) and Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983), Irish Heartbeat (1988) and Avalon Sunset.

Afterward he started to repeat himself and making too many cover records.
Mind you his supreme blues/soul voice always and still stands out even on
his mediocre albums.


Press photo

And here is 47th full length, titled
REMEMBERING NOW with 14 new,
original songs.

Morrison comes up with his favorite mix of blues, soul, jazz, Celtic folk and rock,
with lots of horns, 60s organ, piano, strings and of course, his imperishable voice,
oth heartwarming and intense. As he sings in Haven’t Lost My Sense Of Wonder,
“I’m not gonna change my tune.”

It’s a feel-good record, an entertaining one for a quiet evening in, no more no less.

SINGLE

ALBUM


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Instagram – All Albums

THEM Featuring 19-Year-Old VAN MORRISON Released Their Debut LP ‘THE ANGRY YOUNG THEM’ 60 Years Ago Today

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Significant longplayers from the past

The Northern Irish rhythm and blues group THEM fronted by the 19-year-old,
future star Van Morrison released their debut LP THE ANGRY YOUNG THEM
on 11 June 1965, today 60 years ago.

On the back of the LP the band were introduced as follows: “These five young rebels are outrageously true to themselves. Defiant! Angry! Sad! They are honest to the point of insult!”

Six songs were Morrison originals, including the classic cracker Gloria.

GLORIA

ALBUM


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Bio – Discography
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VAN MORISSON – The Belfast Cowboy Recorded New Album And Drops First Single ‘DOWN TO JOY’

Posted on by JL

Reveries for the laziest day of the week

2 Mars 2025


Press photo

The ever-grumpy, now 79-year-old Irish legend VAN MORRISON has canned
his umpteenth album, named it REMEBERING NOW and will make all his fans
happy with it from June 13th on.

It’s marked as his return to original music with a rich blend of soul, jazz, blues,
folk, and country. Return? It’s what Van The Man did/does since he was 13. Mind
you, he got mellower and mellower over the years. His masterpieces such as
Astral Weeks, Moondance and Into The Music date from decades ago.

But his most important instrument – his voice – hasn’t aged whatsoever.
It’s a unique one you recognize immediately. Impactfully warm, grippingly
soulful and overwhelmingly powerful.

On the upcoming LP’s first single DOWN TO JOY The Belfast Cowboy (a nickname
the late The Band’s Robbie Robertson gave him once upon a time) does again what
he does for years now. Entertaining our ears with both easy-going and pleasurable
retro musings.

WATCH

STREAM


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Instagram – Tour Dates – All Solo Albums

7-Inch History – THEM (Van Morrison) 1965

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Great 7″ singles/sleeves/vinyl

13 September 2022

Band: THEM
Who: North Irish Belfast band build around
legendary singer-songwriter and grumpy bear Van Morrison
Active: 1964-1972 / 3 LPs with Van Morrison (who left the band
after only 2 years)

Single: HERE COMES THE NIGHT
Third 7″, released in 1965.
#2 on the UK singles chart.

Remarkable thing on the sleeve: Morrison is laughing. Very rare!

The young Belfast Cowboy at his bluesy best.

THEM: Bio – Discography

VAN MORRISON Released Classic LP ‘MOONDANCE’ 50 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Old and new albums to make your day…

28 February 2020

This month 50 years ago Irish singer/songwriter VAN MORRISON released his classic album MOONDANCE. A brilliant LP mixing rock, soul and jazz in a most affecting way. Gripping ballads such as ‘And It Stoned Me’, ‘Crazy Love’, ‘Into The Mystic’ and ‘Brand New
Day’ are amongst the most touching love songs he ever wrote. And spirited upbeat
pearls ‘Caravan’, ‘These Dreams Of You’ and ‘Glad Things’ emphasize the monumental
and incomparable soul voice of The Belfast Cowboy. Just a stunning record by one of
the greatest singer/songwriters of all time. Sheer splendor, pure magic!

Rolling Stone wrote: “Van’s new album might send one back to the bright enthusiasm of “Brown-Eyed Girl” and the magic blues of Them Again; Van now sings with a magnetically
full electric band, complete with piano, organ, vibes, and intricately controlled saxophones
and flute. The band’s performance has a stately brilliance; and if it recaptures some of the feeling of the earlier music, the past is serving as a rite of passage toward the celebrations of Moondance.”. Full review here.

Hard to pick only three highlights. Anyway, I chose this trio of blissful beauties…

– INTO THE MYSTIC –

– AND IT STONED ME –

– CARAVAN –
(An awe-inspiring live version at The Band’s farewell concert – 1978)

Album in full…

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VAN MORRISON: Facebook – All Albums

5 Memorable Albums Turning 50 in 2020…

Posted on by JL

The best of the past…

Here are 5 Memorable Albums, selected by
Turn Up The Volume, turning 50 in 2020!

1. ‘Funhouse’ by THE STOOGES

Play here…

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2. ‘Loaded’ by THE VELVET UNDERGOUND

Play here…

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3. ‘After The Gold Rush’ by NEIL YOUNG

Play here…

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4. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band by JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND

Play here…

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5. ‘Moondance’ by VAN MORRISON

Play here…

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VAN MORRISON & THE CHIEFTANS – Heartwarming Album ‘IRISH HEARBEAT’ Released 30 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…

20 June 2018

Artist: VAN MORRISON & THE CHIEFTAINS

Album: IRISH HEARTBEAT

Released: 20 June 1988 – 30 years ago

ROLLING STONE wrote then: “It would be hard to imagine a more natural merger of pop
and folk than this collaboration between Van Morrison and Ireland’s preeminent oldwave traditional band, the Chieftains. Yet even those expectations don’t prepare one for the splendor and intense beauty of ‘Irish Heartbeat’, a collection of ballads that finds both acts at the top of their form. Never hokey and always affecting, Irish Heartbeat taps into the melancholy, deeply spiritual side of the Irish heritage, in which centuries-old music is more than a way of life; it is life. “ Score: 4/5 – Full review here.

TURN UP THE VOLUME says: A solid gold, Irish roots diamond.

OUTSTANDING TRACK: title song ‘Irish Heartbeat‘ is one to cry to. Overwhelming sentiments, gripping music, entrancing performance. Top!

Album in full…

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VAN MORRISON: Website – All Albums / THE CHIEFTAINS: Website – Facebook
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10 Memorable Albums Turning 50 in 2018!…

Posted on by JL

When I went back in time to find out which outstanding
longplayers still sound spectacular today after 50 years I
was really surprised that some of them actually turn fifty
as you hear their influences daily in 21st century music.
Here’s my selection. Ten classics! Ten stunning survivors!…

1/ ‘ASTRAL WEEKS’ by VAN MORRISON
Rolling Stone wrote: “Van Morrison never sounded more warm and ecstatic,
more sensual and vulnerable, than on his enigmatically beautiful solo debut”
Released:  29 November 1968
Listen: here

2/ ‘BEGGARS BANQUET’ by THE ROLLING STONES
Time Magazine: “England’s most subversive
roisterers since Fagin’s gang in Oliver Twist”
Released: 6 December 1968
Listen: here

3/ ‘THE KINKS ARE THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY’ by THE KINKS
Rolling Stone: “Each new hearing is a combined joy of renewal and discovery”
Released: 22 November 1968
Listen: here

4/ ‘WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT’ by THE VELVET UNDERGOUND
All Music wrote: “It’s easily the least accessible of VU’s studio albums, but anyone
wanting to hear their guitar-mauling tribal frenzy straight with no chaser will love it.”
Released: 30 January 1968
Listen: here

5/ ‘GRIS-GRIS’ by DR.JOHN
Rolling Stone: “A swamp-funk classic. ‘Gris-Gris’ blends
New Orleans R&B, voodoo chants and chemical inspiration.”
Released: 22 January 1968
Listen: here

6/ ‘THE BEATLES / THE WHITE ALBUM’ by THE BEATLES
All Music wrote: “None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together,
but somehow The Beatles create its own style and sound through its mess.”
Released: 22 November 1968
Listen: here

7/ ‘OGDENS’ NUT GONE FLAKE’ by THE SMALL FACES
All Music wrote: “The ballsiest-sounding piece of
full-length psychedelia to come out of England in 1968”
Released: 24 May 1968
Listen: here

8/ ‘DANCE TO THE MUSIC’ by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE
Rolling Stone: “Overall the album is uneven, but its highs are intense,
prolonged and ecstatic. Seductive melodies and horn lines tickle your mind.”
Released: 27 April 1968
Listen: here

9/ ‘ELECTRIC LADYLAND’ by JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
All Music: “Jimi Hendrix takes his funk and psychedelic sounds to the absolute limit.”
Released: 16 October 1968
Listen: here

10/ ‘MUSIC FROM BIG PINK’ by THE BAND
Rolling Stone: “The rustic beauty of The Band’s music and the drama of their own
reflections on family and obligations made ‘Big Pink’ an instant homespun classic.”
Released: 1 July 1968
Listen: here