On a balmy evening some years ago, June 2005 to be exact, my wife and I sat in the idyllic setting of Leeds Castle in Kent to watch and hear a magnificent ninety minute set by Van Morrison – the Celtic cowboy, as he is sometimes known, giving the audience a memorable run through of his unique brand of Caledonian soul, blues and rock.
Rarely in my long experience of attending rock shows has there been such a feeling of right act, right time, right place. Even the moaning couple behind us, enraged at the cost of car-parking and how far it had been to walk from said car-park, finally shut-up complaining half an hour into the show – watching the other two-thirds with, to quote the Van himself, a sense of wonder.
Watching ‘Van Morrison – Live at Eden’ (a show recorded for the BBC cameras last summer) at the weekend, I was reminded of the Leeds Castle performance, prompted no doubt by the similarities in wonderful venues. Not having been there the Eden Project in Cornwall looks an amazing place, the surrounding countryside seen from a camera at the back of the stage is stunning, much like that bordering Leeds Castle.
The performances bore comparison as well in terms of much of the set-list, but from memory the Kent show seemed more cohesive, the new material showcased a little less contrived (the ‘Magic Time‘ album of 2005 is infinitely superior to the ‘Roll with the Punches‘ release of last year) and in reworking some of his virtually incomparable back catalogue Van turns a few of the songs into duets with his two backing singers – his actual ‘Duets‘ album of 2015 has much to recommend it, ‘Real Real Gone‘ with Morrison aficionado Michael Buble, an absolute gem.
But hey, this is Van the Man and not for nothing does that amount to far more than an easy rhyme.
The tone is set with opener ‘Have I Told You Lately‘ which is given more pizazz than the recorded version, fattened up by a brass arrangement with Van doing the honours on saxophone, the song losing some of its original nuance in becoming a light jazz number.
Of the ‘Roll with the Punches’ material being tried out, ‘Transformation‘ continues to sound a lot like ‘Russian Roulette‘ (from the ‘Days Like This‘ album of 1995), with the title track, ‘I Can Tell‘ and ‘Ride on Josephine‘ showing hardly any variation from how they appear on the album.
Yet for all the musical accomplishment of the seven piece band, at times it could be any top draw blues ensemble being put through their paces – although ‘Ride on Josephine,’ does give Van opportunity to blow some impressive harmonica as the song swings between a Bo Diddley shuffle and ‘Magic Bus‘ by The Who.
Not that the crowd seem overly concerned. Like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, no matter how perplexing things become on the stage being in the presence of greatness is enough and when ‘Here Comes The Night,’ ‘Real Gone Gone,’ and ‘Moondance‘ come forth in quick succession, overwhelming evidence, if it was needed, of listening to a true original has arrived.
Van announces ‘Why Must I Always Explain‘ with a comment about hiding behind his guitar (which he acknowledges as a joke), this staple of his latter-day live shows and one of his best songs of the last thirty years uplifting in melody and perceptive in message.
Of several great lines contained within it, ‘I get up in the morning and get my brief/Go out and stare at the world in complete disbelief‘ sounds a manifesto for his last dozen or so albums, many of which contain a composition spelling out his frustration at being asked to describe what he’s getting at, when it’s all there in the music (‘Not Feeling It Anymore,’ ‘New Biography,’ ‘This Weight,’ ‘Just Like Greta Garbo‘) just a few that come to mind.
After ‘Jackie Wilson Said,’ and ‘Brown Eyed Girl,’ bring the show to an uproarious conclusion Van asks for a big hand for the band then leaves the stage, singing ‘Brown Eyed Girl‘ as he goes, restarted to accompany his departure.
Should the audience want on encore it is there on the albums when they get home, an astonishing body of work containing at least half a dozen worthy of inclusion in any serious collection of popular music with one, the astounding song-cycle that is ‘Astral Weeks‘ impossibly perfect. Mystical yet emotive, powerful but touching, as its fiftieth birthday fast approaches it remains unsurpassed as a work of compelling beauty.
Recent offerings may have become a touch formulaic, but generally contain at least a classic apiece and no matter how often a song feels like it is based on a well-worked theme, there is always a feeling Van will eventually deliver – just as he did at Eden.
This article was first published on 26/3/2018.
NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE’ – an acclaimed thriller now available as an Amazon Kindle book.
