CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Keep It Simple

by: Van Morrison

Release Date April 01, 2008
Typical, incredible Morrison. As always, the more I listen the deeper the meaning . . . 'stretching time stretching time . . .'

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Still on Top: The Greatest Hits

by: Van Morrison

Release Date November 06, 2007
The CD is a compilation of my favorite Van Morrison songs. They're still excellent after all these years.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Moondance

by: Van Morrison

Release Date October 25, 1990

The good news?

20+ years after their debut on CD, FINALLY, there are full remasters of "Moondance", "Street Choir" and "Astral Weeks".

The bad news?

They're not available domestically from Warner Music Group USA: All three are Warner Japan only.

And the really bad news?

As of today, Amazon doesn't stock the remasters (there is a 1996 Japan-released Moondance listed, but it is NOT the remaster, so don't waste your money). Hopefully, Amazon will correct this oversight soon. The catalog numbers for the three Japan Warner remasters are WPCR-75419, -20 and -21, which streeted in Japan on 6/25/08.

These classic albums, which we have all waited so long ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

It's Too Late To Stop Now: Live (2CD)

by: Van Morrison

Release Date January 29, 2008
This album is so great because all of Morrison's familiar gems gain something by these live performances. The band is tight, the audience appreciative and Van is firing on all cylinders. Old favourites like Into The Mystic and These Dreams Of You take on new rhythmic and vocal dimensions whilst I Believe To My Soul is a breathtaking R&B workout.

I honestly prefer this magnificent live version of Here Comes The Night with its flowing violins, although the original remains a classic too. Another stunning performance is Gloria, which I first heard in Patti Smith's version, but this one is amazingly gripping and powerful, as demonstrated by the enthusiastic reaction of the audience.

I have very few live albums and as a rule I ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Astral Weeks

by: Van Morrison

Release Date October 25, 1990

The good news?

20+ years after their debut on CD, FINALLY, there are full remasters of "Moondance", "Street Choir" and "Astral Weeks".

The bad news?

They're not available domestically from Warner Music Group USA: All three are Warner Japan only.

And the really bad news?

As of today, Amazon doesn't stock the remasters (there is a 1996 Japan-released Moondance listed, but it is NOT the remaster, so don't waste your money). Hopefully, Amazon will correct this oversight soon. The catalog numbers for the three Japan Warner remasters are WPCR-75419, -20 and -21, which streeted in Japan on 6/25/08.

These classic albums, which we have all waited so long to be brought ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Tupelo Honey

by: Van Morrison

Release Date January 29, 2008

Polygram ceased production of its portion of Van-The-Man's catalog, resulting in 29 titles, two-thirds of his entire recorded output, remaining frustratingly unavailable for the past several years. Even more regrettably, sixteen of those OOP titles had been fabulously remastered and re-released in 1998. Accordingly, prices for these had soared, especially for the remastered titles.

Then, in late 2007, The Announcement! All 29 OOP titles would be re-released in 2008! With new remastering! Extra tracks! Even mini-sleeve editions from Japan!

Well, fellow audiophiles and mini-sleeve aficionados, the hyperbole is unfortunately only half-true: Those 16 1998 remastered titles? Except for the bonus tracks, the 2008 re-releases are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3

by: Van Morrison

Release Date June 19, 2007
This double album is representative of V.M.'s best recent stuff. The fact that the sublime "Shenandoah" and "Meet Me in the Indian Summer" (Orchestral version) are included is alone worth the price of purchase. I've probably listened to Shenandoah 30 times already; it's a soul-stirring beauty of a song.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Veedon Fleece

by: Van Morrison

Release Date July 01, 2008
How many indispensable recordings can one guy release in a spectacular career? Enough for something important to get lost in the shuffle? Well, not for fellow musicians and the knowledgeable fans who have apparently treasured Veedon Fleece as a pinnacle of caledonio soul. (I read somewhere that Sinead O'Connor listens to it before each of her performances.) But feeling satiated by Astral Weeks, Moondance, St. Dominic's, Too Late to Stop, Into the Music, etc., somehow I apparently didn't give the original Veedon lp near the attention it deserved.

Fortunate really, cause with all the remastering being done these days it's actually a relief to be able to acquire a cd that I haven't long ago purchased before the sonic clarity and bonus tracks. Also, what ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher

by: Van Morrison

Release Date July 01, 2008
"No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" is part of the 2nd wave of Van Morrison remastered reissues to hit the shops in 2008 (see full list below). Released Monday 30 June 2008 in the UK and 1 July 2008 in the USA, it boasts truly superlative remastered sound quality, an upgraded booklet and 2 bonus tracks for the first time - one of which is an entirely new song.

Here's the layout (60:26 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 10 make up the original album - it was released in July 1986 on Mercury
Tracks 11 and 12 are previously unreleased bonus tracks - "Oh The Warm Feeling (Alternate Take)" and "Lonely At The Top" (the new song)

96K/24 Bit remastered from the original analogue master tapes; the sound quality on this re-issue is truly beautiful - clear, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

A Night in San Francisco

by: Van Morrison

Release Date July 01, 2008
In the real world, another live album by Van Morrison would be met by most people & even some of his die-hard fans with a resounding yawn - yet the wonderful and largely ignored 1994 2 disc set "A Night In San Francisco" didn't and doesn't deserve that. Remastered and repackaged on this 30 June 2008 re-issue, there's even a half-decent bonus track tagged onto the end of CD 2 - "Cleaning Windows".

The album's just as good as its famous 1974 predecessor - the legendary "It's Too Late To Stop Now" - it's just a more updated version. The mixture of tracks is similar too - a lethal combination of his own best compositions (new and old) with a healthy dose of rhythm `n' blues, soul, funk and jazz classics thrown in to lively up the mix.

I've been ... Read More: