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The Boy From East Belfast

duan Aug 27 2020 03:03 PM

The world's a pretty strange place at the moment - way back in April, we realised it was Van Morrison's 75th birthday this year (August 31st). At that point, amid all the sadness and the passings, we thought it's important to mark things when people are there not when they're gone and so set about creating a tribute to one of the greatest artists of the modern era. That's lead us to this. Rave On Van Morrison! Which features 75 (well it'll be closer to or even over 80 by the end) Irish Artists performing Van Morrison songs - all recorded over the 'lockdown' period - so done in gardens, bedrooms, via Zoom and even then the odd well socially distanced studio :) We've started releasing them to over the last two weeks and the reactions been great, and one of the things that's amazed me is what a fucking songbook he has. Anyway have a gander [url]https://www.youtube.com/user/hotpressmagazine/videos and see what you like personal favourites so far are almost all of them, but take a bit of time to enjoy Bronagh Gallagher, Jess Kav, Gary Lightbody, Damien Rice and Wyvern Lingo.

Edgy MD Aug 27 2020 03:10 PM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Wow. I'm diving in. See ya in a week.

Fman99 Aug 27 2020 08:31 PM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Yeah, sames. As Robbie said, Van's the man!

Johnny Lunchbucket Aug 27 2020 10:01 PM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Good start.

Johnny Lunchbucket Aug 28 2020 05:43 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Holy fuck Bronagh Gallagher

Edgy MD Aug 28 2020 06:57 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Right?

Edgy MD Aug 28 2020 07:12 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

The first one is a softly sung "Moondance" (naturally) from Andrea Corr. [YOUTUBE]0zKo7SSbhZQ[/YOUTUBE] Confession, I'm annoyed by computerized radio programming playing a song about dancing under an autumnal moon during the daytime in a completely inappropriate time of the year. It's not October, but it's almost Septemeber, and though you may be listening during the daytime, and Ms. Corr is playing in the daylight, this uke effort is not a lost cause, shining particularly on the pre-chorus sections. Andrea is the usual lead singer of her family band, the Corrs, who could sometimes feel awful plastic, making their big American launch in the 1990s as guests on Beverly Hills 90210 and wearing too much damn makeup. But family band that they are, they've stuck at it, and certainly had a few transcendent moments along the way. She's been a high-profile campaigner in the struggle against AIDS in Africa, as well as global poverty. "Moondance" is, of course, the title (and opening) track from Van Morrison's end-to-end terrific 1970 album Moondance. Van had just moved to Woodstock hoping to draw from Dylan's aura, only to find out Dylan was leaving at the same time. But he found a vibrant community (and probably quickly met The Old Mole) and recruited his largely unknown musicians from the local jazz scene. He continued the jazzy explorations of his previous album (the lovely but commercially disappointing Astral Weeks), but this time tightened things up and regained some of his R&B swagger, even deploying the punch of some Memphis-y horn section throughout. The track is known for its scat-singing outro, an element that Van and others who've covered the song use to extend live performances by several minutes. Andrea here stays economical, coming in at a Beatlesque 2:48.

Lefty Specialist Aug 28 2020 10:32 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Wow, I'm gonna get lost in this.

duan Aug 30 2020 11:01 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Glad you're enjoying them!

Edgy MD Aug 30 2020 12:31 PM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

Chapter two gives us the baby-faced Hudson Taylor reaching even further back than Ms. Corr, reinterpreting "Cyprus Avenue" from 1968's Astral Weeks. Hudson Taylor isn't tomorrow's starter for the Angels, but a pair of young adult brothers — Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor — from Dublin, who cut their teeth as buskers, and so kind of bring to mind Once-singer/leading man Glen Hansard. Astral Weeks, Van's second post-Them album, had van slip-sliding away from the blues, where he had previously planted his flag, into the philosophical poetic folkie he would largely come to be known as. But "Cyprus Avenue" is very much a blues song in structure, even if it texturally goes further afield. It's a mansion-on-the-hill song, which is a common theme for American songwriters, but it also relates to what Irish literature calls big-house stories and plays. At first you may get the idea that cutie Alfie Hudson-Taylor doesn't have the gravitas to pull it off in his young man's tenor, but he's older than Van was when he sang it, and if you let the song progress, the band even brings it further back toward it's blues base. You'll like. [YOUTUBE]0DdnWULFwTQ[/YOUTUBE]

duan Aug 31 2020 06:56 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

By the way Edgy - I'm very impressed with the capsule reviews - but just so you know there's over 75 of these !

Edgy MD Aug 31 2020 08:15 AM Re: The Boy From East Belfast

I noticed. There were about 20 when I started. I'll back off the narrative. Here's the soulful Wallis Bird, who plays guitar Jimi Hendrix-style, turning a righthanded guitar over to play lefthanded. She continues the pattern of drawing from Morrison's rich, mystical early solo years, playing "Listen to the Lion" from 1972's St. Dominic's Preview. [YOUTUBE]ZRKSlgHhkHw[/YOUTUBE]