Category Archives: Van Morrison

Blues, folk, Gospel, Jazz, Soul, The Best Songs, Van Morrison, Video

The Best Songs: Sometimes I feel like a motherless child


The Negro spiritual, Motherless Child Blues is a Negro Spiritual that turned into “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” (or simply “Motherless Child”) .

The song dates back to the era of slavery in the United States when it was common practice to sell children of slaves away from their parents. An early performance of the song dates back as far as the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Like many traditional songs, it has many variations and has been recorded many times.

The song is clearly an expression of pain and despair as it conveys the hopelessness of a child who has been torn from his or her parents. Under one interpretation, the repetitive singing of the word “sometimes” offers a measure of hope, as it suggests that at least “sometimes” I do not feel like a motherless child.

Although the plaintive words can be interpreted literally, they were much more likely metaphoric. The “motherless child” could be a slave separated from and yearning for his African homeland, a slave suffering “a long ways from home”—home being heaven—or most likely both. (- wikipedia)

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Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Van Morrison

Videos of the day: Van Morrison – Just Like A Woman (Bob Dylan) 3 takes

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Photo: Jarle Vines (Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 3.0)
Photo: Jarle Vines (Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 3.0)

“Just Like a Woman” is a song written by Bob Dylan and first released on his 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde.  It was also released as a single in the U.S. during August 1966 and peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Just Like a Woman has been covered by a variety of different bands and artists,among them are Radka Toneff, Roberta Flack, Manfred Mann, Nina Simone, The Byrds, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley, Rod Stewart, Counting Crows, Gregg Allman and Richie Havens. Today we hear and listens to Van Morrisons takes on this beautiful song.

Three incredible performances in a 30 year time span. I love that jazzy feeling that he infuses his interpretations with.

Van Morrison – Just Like A Woman (live 1974, Winterland, San Francisco):

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Music Calendar, Van Morrison

Today: Van Morrison released the album Moondance in 1970 44 years ago

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van morrison Moondance

In Moondance, Morrison bursts forth in warm Technicolor. The Van Morrison that the public would come to know and recognize over the decades—Van the Man, the Belfast Cowboy, etc—essentially makes his first appearance on Moondance.
~Erik Hage

 

This is Van Morrison’s 6th Symphony; like Beethoven’s equivalent, it’s fixated on the power of nature, but rather than merely sitting in awe, it finds spirituality and redemption in the most basic of things. The pinnacle of Van The Man’s career, and maybe, of non-American soul in general.
~Nick Butler
Van Morrison, April 1970
Photo: David Gahr

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Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Great albums, List, Stax, The Band, Van Morrison

The 5 Best box sets and reissues of 2013

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I am one of those old guys that still buy physical copies of art (albums). I say it is because I need it to play in the car, but that’s really just an excuse. I love the sensation of unpacking a new album, the feel, the artwork, the printed lyrics, the smell, hell, the whole package!

When the record companies have sold me all the classic albums, they release them again, with better sound, with more songs and bonus features, I don’t feel cheated, I feel blessed. I love archival music stuff, and long to hear studio outtakes, live takes and alternative versions of songs.

It has been a good year for music archivists, and my favorite reissues/archival releases this year are:

 1. Bob Dylan – Another Self Portrait (1969-1971) The Bootleg Series Vol.10

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This is from my post right after I bought the box set:

I have now had a few days listening to the new Bootleg series 10 deluxe box set. It is very interesting, and it is actually rather good. I am one of those few that kind of liked the original album, so I expected to like Another Self Portrait. I was not expecting that I would like it as much as I do.

That said, there are two things that stand out however. The first is the demo version of When I Paint My Masterpiece, it knocked me out. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

But the best of the release is the full Isle of Wight performance with The Band, and I really did not expect that!

– Hallgeir Olsen (Johannasvisions.com)

When I paint my masterpiece – Demo:

A fantastic historical document!

2. The Band – Live at the Academy of Music 1971

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A 4-CD/1-DVD box set chronicles Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel’s 1971 concerts at New York’s Academy of Music, featuring arrangements by New Orleans great Allen Toussaint.

One of the best live albums in rock history got the deluxe treatment, and yes, it got even better. Rock of Ages had 18 wonderful tracks, this upgrade has 56(!) tracks with The Band (and Bob Dylan) at their very peak. 56 best takes of songs from  four evenings in 1971 (including the New-Years eve show in its entirety). I have played Rock of Ages so much I thought that nothing could surprise me, but this set did. The sound, the packaging, the liner notes and the pictures, everything is top-notch.

Life is a Carnival (Live, 1971):

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Great albums, Music Calendar, Van Morrison

Today: Van Morrison released His Band and the Street Choir in 1970

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“Why did you leave America
Why did you let me down,
And now that things seem better off,
Why do you come around,
You know I just can’t see you know,
In my new world crystal ball,
You know I just can’t free you now,
That’s not my job at all.”

– Van Morrison 

“His Band and the Street Choir is another beautiful phase in the continuing development of one of the few originals left in rock. In his own mysterious way. Van Morrison continues to shake his head, strum his guitar and to sing his songs. He knows it’s too late to stop now and he quit trying to a long, long time ago. Meanwhile, the song he is singing keeps getting better and better.”

– John Landau, Rolling Stone Magazine (1971)

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