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Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl

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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl

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  • Artist: Van Morrison
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: February 24, 2009
  • Total Time: 71:23
  • Type: Live, Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

When an artist decides to perform a classic album in concert, the possibilities for disaster are myriad. Van Morrison's Astral Weeks had never been performed as a cycle before these performances at the Hollywood Bowl. With only one full band rehearsal, Van responded by bringing this mythic material to life with a rock showman's sense of audacity, a poet's vulnerability, a jazzman's sense of timing, and the mastery of a singer who knows where to find the hidden magic in his material. Morrison took the original track order and shuffled it to make it flow better live. He extended most tunes, turning some into mini-suites while tightening others. His well-seasoned lower register voice turned the wonder of a boy in 1968 into the spiritual receptivity and wisdom of a man who has weathered 40 more seasons of discontent and heartbreak.

The title track opens the set with that familiar up and down acoustic bassline andJay Berliner's nylon string guitar playing blues and jazz runs as Van keeps the first rhythm guitar chair down.(Berliner was lead guitarist on the original Astral Weeks sessions.) It's a tiny bit faster, but the flow is impeccable as skeletal strings come pouring through in the gaps. There is a beautiful sense of space as Tony Fitzgibbon's violin and viola solos come through in the middle and Richie Buckley's flute hovers from the margins. Morrison lets his players shine; he rises to improve with them, feeling his lyrics anew. He adds more gospel flavor to the tune, which is rooted there anyway with "I Believe I've Transcended." And you believe him. The live mix clicks and crackles; it's raw, full, and immediate, without overdubs.

The track order changes after "Beside You." It lilts and wanders with beautiful vibe work and Berliner's guitar. The first real surprise is "Slim Slow Slider," the closing cut on the original set and the third one here. The deep sorrow, helplessness, and dread in the tune is captured through melancholy memory, balanced by a sense of the previous, not weighted so much with trouble. But Morrison's present tense protagonist is engulfed in pain and confesses the weight is more than he can bear in the effortless segue called "I Start Breakin' Down." The drama is so arresting the listener can forget to breathe. The blues are heavy, the droning hypnotic Celtic ones that is, and they are never static. "Sweet Thing," and "The Way Young Lovers Do," are placed in succession here; they lock the listener in a breezy yet tight swinging groove. The strings caress Morrison's lyric without sweetness; the guitars create a bridge to deliver a strutting "Cypress Avenue," which is appended seamlessly with the killer bluesy soul of "You Come Walkin' Down." "Ballerina," slows it down again and Morrison delivers his best vocal performance of the evening, though "Madame George," which closes out the Astral Weeks material, is a close second; these cuts are simply an amazing one-two knockout. The band and the singer gel perfectly. There are two amazing encores: a dynamite, even shockingly spiritual autobiographical read of "Listen to the Lion" from 1972's Saint Dominic's Preview with saxophones, guitars, and strings all pushing against his vocal that moans and wails and roars before breaking through. The night ends with a sultry, scatting improvisation from the middle of "Summertime In England," from 1980's Common One.

Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl is not Astral Weeks, but it's brilliant and emotionally intense; it's honest and spiritually revealing. Morrison not only inhabits these songs 40 years later, but he fully understands them; making for a extremely engaging and necessary document from an artist who still has plenty of fire in his belly. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

Previous:Astral Weeks/Moondance/His Band and the Street Choir (2008 Album by Van Morrison)
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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl

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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Live album by Van Morrison
Released UK February 09, 2009
US February 24, 2009
Recorded November 7, November 8, 2008 at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California
Genre Folk-rock
Length 68:46
Label Listen to the Lion Records
Producer Van Morrison
Van Morrison chronology
Keep It Simple
(2008)		 Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
(2009)

Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl is the fifth live album recorded by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, and released in the US on February 24, 2009[1] (see 2009 in music) and on February 9, 2009 in the UK. It was recorded during two live concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California in 2008 and released on Morrison's new Listen to the Lion label and distributed by EMI.[2]

The live performances of the eight original songs that feature on the album were recorded on November 7 and 08, 2008. Coincidentally, they took place forty years after the classic Astral Weeks was first released by Warner Bros. Records in 1968.[3][4] One of the original musicians, guitarist Jay Berliner, joined with the many other musicians on the revisited version of Astral Weeks.[5]

The New York Daily News in the January 4 edition named Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl as one of the "Five Most Anticipated Pop Music Events for 2009".[6]

A DVD of performances from the concerts, Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl: The Concert Film is an Amazon.com Exclusive and was released on May 19, 2009.

The album won Live Album of the Year at the MPG awards held on February 11, 2010.[7]

Contents

Production
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Sample from the live 2008 titled song, "Astral Weeks (I Believe I've Transcended)" shows "a deeper, louder roar than the blue-eyed soul voice of his youth – softer on the diction – but none the less impressively powerful."[8]
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

With only one rehearsal prior to the concerts and with Morrison, as producer insisting on no post-production engineering, the live album sounds essentially as it was heard by the concert goers. Morrison has said about the concerts and live sound of the recording: "The Hollywood Bowl concerts gave me a welcome opportunity to perform these songs the way I originally intended them to be." He was further quoted: "There are certain dynamics you can get in live recordings that you cannot get in a studio recording...There was a distinct alchemy happening on that stage in Hollywood. I felt it."[9] "The new record was recorded live, what [you hear] is what was played in its raw form. There was no mixing, no tweaking, no post-production at all, and I like that raw and edgy sound in real time."[10]

Astral Weeks Live in New York City

Van Morrison began a week of concerts and television appearances in New York City on February 27 and 28, 2009 to promote the new album. He performed the Astral Weeks songs along with some of his classics in two concerts at the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden and again on March 3 and 04 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.[11][12] During his stay in NYC, he made a guest appearance performing "Sweet Thing" on Jimmy Fallon's debut as host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 2, 2009.[13] Morrison made another rare TV appearance the next morning on Live with Regis and Kelly on March 3, 2009.[14]

Reviews and critical analysis

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[15]
Blurt 10/10 stars[16]
Daily Mirror 5/5 stars[17]
Entertainment Weekly A−[18]
The Independent 5/5 stars[19]
The Observer 4/5 stars[20]
Paste (82)[21]
PopMatters 8/10 stars[22]
RTÉ.ie 4/5 stars[23]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[24]

Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl received rave reviews by prominent critcs prior to release. Andy Whitman in Paste called the live album both "nearly miraculous" and a "tour-de-force", also further assessing it: "something delightfully unexpected and daring in a late career that has been increasingly characterized by playing it safe and keeping it simple."[25] Another early review by Mike Ragogna of The Huffington Post notes: "Through it all, Morrison is where he wants to be, onstage and in Heaven, singing, playing sax, guitar, and harmonica. The band's camaraderie is communicated musically, especially between Morrison and Astral's original guitarist, Jay Berliner."[26]

The word transcendent has often been used in the reviews of the concerts and live album of the Astral Weeks songs. A Blogcritics reviewer sums up his review with: "Van Morrison found the perfect outlet for his work. Not simply a rerelease, performing the songs again gives them even more soul than they did in 1968. There's a freedom to his voice that fills you up - like going to church - you feel deep inside. It's simple. It's transcendent."[27] Daily News critic Jim Farber concluded: "But its most transcendent moments showcase the pleasure of letting a singer take his voice to the limit."[28] The Observer critic's review commented that: "Transcendence is an overused word, but when Morrison hits his stride he seems to float onto another plane."[29]

Van Morrison on performing Astral Weeks live

Speaking of the 1968 Astral Weeks recording, Morrison told David Wild with Rolling Stone: "It received no promotion, from Warner Bros.—that's why I never got to play the songs live. I had always wanted to play the record live and fully orchestrated—that is what this is all about. I always like live recording and I like listening to live records too. I'm not too fond of being in a studio—it's too contrived and too confining. I like the freedom of live, in-the-moment sound."[30]

In commenting further on the Hollywood Bowl performances in a January 2009 interview, Morrison said: "There was an alchemy that took place, "I could feel it, and other people tell me they could literally see it occurring. I thought it was just going on within me. But apparently I was not alone. By the looks of it, far from it."[31]

The Hollywood Bowl concerts

The concerts both evenings were divided into two separate segments with a fifteen minute intermission. The first half consisted of Morrison and the band performing some of his classic concert favourites and also his most popular tunes from over the years.

The Astral Weeks songs were both evenings performed in a different sequence than that of the original album. As performed in both concerts they were: "Astral Weeks", "Beside You", "Slim Slow Slider", "Sweet Thing", "The Way Young Lovers Do", "Cyprus Avenue", "Ballerina" and ending with "Madame George". On both evenings Morrison returned to the stage to perform "Listen to the Lion" for an encore.

November 7, 2008 concert

The classic set list for the November 7 concert was: "Wavelength", "Saint Dominic's Preview", "And the Healing Has Begun", "It's All in the Game"/"You Know What They're Writing About", "Troubadours", "Angeliou", "Moondance", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Gloria".

Critic's comments:

"True to form, he showed no interest in recreating what he did 40 years ago in a New York recording studio, but was focused on revamping the song structure dramatically in service of the present." (Randy Lewis - LA Times)[32]

"To be sure, there were slight differences (in the most notable structural change, he moved the almost unbearably desolate album closer, "Slim Slow Slider" to earlier in the set, and finished with the marginally more cheerful "Madame George") but it was still recognizably —triumphantly—Astral Weeks." (Tim Page -The Washington Post)[33]

November 8, 2008 concert

The classic set list for the concert on November 8 was: "Wavelength", "Saint Dominic's Preview", "Caravan", "It's All in the Game", "Here Comes the Night", "And the Healing Has Begun", "Common One", "Brown Eyed Girl", and "Gloria".

Critic's comments:

"Revisiting past glories can be a risky proposition for artists...But on this evening, Morrison's spellbinding performance spoke to the timelessness of both the artist and his work." (Brian Egan - Billboard)[34]

"Sometimes he evoked the fragility of the original material, but more often he took charge of the music with the authority that comes from four decades of performing, even shuffling the original playing order for no obvious reason." (Gavin Edwards - Rolling Stone)[5]

Track listing for CD

All songs written by Van Morrison

  1. "Astral Weeks - I Believe I've Transcended"—6:32 - 3:24
  2. "Beside You"—5:59
  3. "Slim Slow Slider - I Start Breaking Down"—4:08 - 3:37
  4. "Sweet Thing"—5:38
  5. "The Way Young Lovers Do"—3:18
  6. "Cyprus Avenue - You Came Walking Down"—4:40 - 1:19
  7. "Ballerina - Move On Up"—6:36 - 3:09
  8. "Madame George"—8:43

Bonus tracks (2009 CD release)

  1. "Listen to the Lion - The Lion Speaks"—5:15 - 2:28
  2. "Common One"—6:39

Track listing for (Vinyl LP)

All songs written by Van Morrison

Disc one

Side One

  1. "Astral Weeks - I Believe I've Transcended"—6:32 - 3:24
  2. "Beside You"—5:56

Side Two

  1. "Slim Slow Slider - I Start Breaking Down"—4:08 - 3:37
  2. "Sweet Thing"—5:38
  3. "The Way Young Lovers Do"—3:18
  4. "Cyprus Avenue - You Came Walking Down"—4:08 - 3:37

Disc two

Side Three

  1. "Ballerina - Move On Up"—6:36 - 3:10
  2. "Madame George"—8:46

Side Four

  1. "Listen to the Lion - The Lion Speaks"—5:17 - 2:29
  2. "Common One"—6:14
  3. "Gloria"—6:24

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums[36] 1
U.S. Billboard 200[37] 33
Austria Albums Top 75[38] 36

Notes

  1. ^ Fusilli, Jim (2009-02-24). "Van Morrison revisits 'Astral Weeks'". wsj.com. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123543248786353835.html. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
  2. ^ Cashmere, Paul (2008-12-19). "Van Morrison goes live for EMI". undercover.com. http://www.undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=7219. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  3. ^ Roberts, Randall (2008-11-08). "Van Morrison's Astral Weeks at the Hollywood Bowl, Night one:set list for a stunning evening". laweekly.com. http://blogs.laweekly.com/play/live-in-la/van-morrisons-astral-weeks-at-1/. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  4. ^ Hughes, Breanna (2008-11-14). "On the Download: Van Morrison". accesshollywood.com. http://www.accesshollywood.com/on-the-download-van-morrison_article_12193. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  5. ^ a b Edwards, Gavin (2008-11-10). "Van Morrison revisits "Astral Weeks" at Hollywood Bowl". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/11/10/van-morrison-revisits-astral-weeks-at-hollywood-bowl/. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  6. ^ Farber, Jim (2009-01-04). "Five most anticipated pop music events of 2009". nydailynews. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/01/04/2009-01-04_five_most_anticipated_pop_music_events_f.html. Retrieved 2009-01-04. 
  7. ^ "Music Week: Epworth named Producer of the year". musicweek.com. 2010-02-10. http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1040016. Retrieved 2010-03-10. 
  8. ^ McNulty, Bernadette (2009-04-29). "On Another Astral Plane". telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/bernadettemcnulty/5245540/On-another-Astral-plane.html. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 
  9. ^ "Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" Live at the Hollywood Bowl". marketwatch.com. 2009-01-07. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/van-morrisons-astral-weeks-live/story.aspx?guid=%7B9B9EF147-63B5-4FB2-A52C-7942C0A96AFF%7D&dist=msr_1. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 
  10. ^ Pilot, Jessica (2009-02-10). "Catching Up With...Van Morrison". pastemagazine.com. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/02/catching-up-with-van-morrison.html. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  11. ^ Shteamer, Hank (2009-01-07). "Van Morrison brings Astral Weeks to NYC in February". timeoutny.com. http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/tonyblog/?p=8580. Retrieved 2009-01-23. 
  12. ^ Simpson, Matt. "A.M. Nuggets: Van Morrison Two-fer at Beacon Theater, Playing Astral Weeks in Entirety". wnew.com. http://www.wnew.com/2009/02/am-nuggets-van-morrison-twofer-at-beacon-theater-playing-astral-weeks-in-entirety.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
  13. ^ Young, Alex (2009-03-03). "Watch: Jimmy Fallon sweats, Van Morrison sings "Sweet Thing"". consequenceofsound.net. http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/03/03/watch-jimmy-fallon-sweats-van-morrison-plays-sweet-thing/. Retrieved 2010-10-12. 
  14. ^ "Live with Regis and Kelly:Episode 93". locatetv.com. http://www.locatetv.com/tv/live-with-regis-and-kelly/6126710. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
  15. ^ Allmusic review
  16. ^ Blurt review
  17. ^ Daily Mirror review
  18. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  19. ^ The Independent review
  20. ^ The Observer review
  21. ^ Paste review
  22. ^ PopMatters review
  23. ^ RTÉ.ie review
  24. ^ Rolling Stone review
  25. ^ Whitman, Andy (2009-01-21). "Old fart roundup: Van Explodes, Brooooce Implodes". pastemagazine.com. http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/whitman/2009/01/old-fart-roundup-van-explodes-brooooce-implodes.html. Retrieved 2009-01-27. 
  26. ^ Ragogna, Mike (2009-01-26). "Van Morrison-Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl". huffingtonpost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/huffpost-review-van-morri_b_160775.html. Retrieved 2009-01-27. 
  27. ^ Del Jefe, Musgo (2009-02-10). "Music Review: Van Morrison's - Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl". blogcritics.org. http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/02/10/010803.php. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
  28. ^ Farber, Jim (2009-02-13). "a moving Van Morrison delivers fine work with 'Astral Weeks'". nydailynews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/02/13/2009-02-13_a_moving_van_morrison_delivers_fine_work.html. Retrieved 2009-02-13. 
  29. ^ Thomson, Graeme (2009-02-15). "Pop review: Van Morrison, Astral Weeks Live". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/15/van-morrison-astral-weeks-live. Retrieved 2009-02-15. 
  30. ^ Wild, David (2008-11-13). "Forty Years Later, Van Morrison Returns to 'Astral Weeks' in L.A.". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/24012779/forty_years_later_van_morrison_returns_to_astral_weeks_in_la. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
  31. ^ Lewis, Randy (2009-01-09). "Van Morrison takes listeners on his spiritual journey". latimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-morrison9-2009jan09,0,5414358.story. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
  32. ^ Lewis, Randy (2008-11-08). "A nostalgic night of 'Astral Weeks'". latimes.com. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/10/entertainment/et-morrison10. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  33. ^ Page, Tim (2008-11-10). "Van Morrison, re-Exploring the mysteries of his 'Astral Vision'". washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902183.html?hpid=sec-artsliving. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  34. ^ Egan, Brian (2008-11-15). "Van Morrison revisits "Astral Weeks" in Hollywood". Reuters/Billboard. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4AE10U20081115. Retrieved 2010-10-13. 
  35. ^ Henrit, Bob. "Interview with Liam Bradley". mikedolbear.com. http://www.mikedolbear.com/story.asp?StoryID=1977. Retrieved 2010-06-07. 
  36. ^ Billboard Top Internet albums
  37. ^ Artist Chart History: Van Morrison
  38. ^ Austria Albums Top 75

External links

Van Morrison
Them
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Videos
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Films
  • To Be Born Again
Unofficial Bang albums
Tribute albums

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