van morrison Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Them “Them (Historia de la Musica Rock)”

sfilzen — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 19:39:54 +0000

Them “Them (Historia de la Musica Rock)” 1982. No. 45 in the Spanish Historia de la Musica Rock, sold as a companion to a rock encyclopedia in the early 80s, one release every week, for about two years. Joe was in Spain last week and picked up this comp (on Decca): most of the tracks were hits, or at least are super-familiar (and loved) to me – one of my favorites is “Gloria” (spectacularly covered by Patti Smith in ’75), written by Van Morrison and recorded by Them in ’64. It originally was the b-side to another Them great (also on this comp), “Baby Please Don’t Go” (a traditional American blues song, popularized with Big Joe Williams‘ recording in 1935). “Gloria” is considered one of the greatest singles of all-time and received a Grammy Hall of Fame award in ’99. It would appear on Them’s first LP The Angry Young Them (1965). Both tracks are garagey, rocking. Other garage-rock tracks (my preference) on the comp are the rockabilly-leaning “Don’t Start Crying Now” (1964) and the wild, harmonica-forward “Mystic Eyes” (also written by Morrison and appeared on their first LP, #33 US). Not as garagey but I also like the super-creepy and bluesy (and Byrds-esque) “I’m Gonna Dress in Black” (1965) as well as the more mellow 60’s pop (but still a bit garage) “Here Comes the Night” – written by Bert Berns – which was a hit for Them in ’65, going to #2 in the UK and to #24 in the US. “Turn On Your Love Light” has also has a 60’s pop feel – it’s a cover of Bobby Bland‘s 1961 r&B hit single (I am most familiar with Grateful Dead’s version, a song they played in concert frequently – in 1969 at Woodstock they played it for over 45 minutes). I’m not a big fan of Them’s cover of Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins “I Put a Spell On You” – they went loungey…plus it’s impossible make that song better than the original. But overall this record is a solid compilation of Them’s material before the band began its disintegration in ’66.

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Van Morrison “Moondance”

sfilzen — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 17:12:23 +0000

Van Morrison “Moondance” 1970. Today, August 31st is Van Morrison’s 75th birthday (b. George Ivan Morrison, 1945) so I’m spinning his third solo studio LP, a huge critical and commercial success (#29 US, #32 UK). Still jazzy like his previous album Astral Weeks, Moondance is much more accessible with some pop sensibilities, r&b and folk influences (the 1968 Astral Weeks was considered a failure until relatively recently; it’s now viewed as one of the best albums ever released). Though not the typical kind of music I listen to, I really really love Moondance. “Stoned Me” is innocently folky, “Caravan” is a great groover and the singles are amazing, too. The r&b infused “Come Running” was the first single going to #39 in the US and the sweet bluesy “Crazy Love” went to #122 in the UK (it was originally the b-side to “Come Running”). The jazzy title track “Moondance” was the final single but it wasn’t released until 1977 (#92 US). My favorite track, however, by far is the smoothly beautiful “Into the Mystic” which still gives me goosebumps. Critics agree, rating “Into the Mystic” Morrison’s best song ever.

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Patti Smith “Horses”

sfilzen — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 19:58:33 +0000

Patti Smith “Horses” released on this date, December 13th, 1975. Raw, brutal, smart and subversive art energy, Horses is often hailed as the first major label punk release. Though it received little airplay and had no single releases, the album cracked the Billboard album charts (peaking at #47) and consistently rates as one of the best records of the 1970′s, inspiring a generation of “alternative” artists, including Morrissey, Siouxsie Sioux and Michael Stipe. Even the oft-stuffy Library of Congress took note, preserving it into the National Recording Registry in 2009 for its “cultural, historical [and] aesthetic significance.”

My favorite song on Horses is the loose cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” Smith retains the original’s music and chorus, but completely revamps the lyrics. Allmusic reviewer Stewart Mason writes about the track, “Bearing probably the most famous opening line of the entire American punk scene – ‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine’ being every bit as corrosive a start as ‘I am an Antichrist/I am an anarchist’ – Patti Smith’s complete re-imagining of the ‘60s garage classic ‘Gloria’ both sums up her entire persona and sets a standard that was so hard for the next generation of punks to live up to that most of them didn’t even try. More poetic than Jim Morrison, and far less prone to idiotic drunken rambling as well, Smith was the first mainstream rock and roll poet to deserve both sides of the appellation: the song’s first section, Smith’s own ‘In Excelsis Deo,’ features some haunting imagery, but it’s also so rhythmically interesting that the shifts into and out of Van Morrison’s cocksure strut ‘Gloria’ are utterly seamless. Further, Smith performs the oldie with more intensity, humor and openly sexual hunger than anyone since Morrison himself back in the days of Them, helped immensely by her stellar band, almost certainly the best group of musicians (Television was their only real competition) to unite under the rubric of punk.”

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