Music: Artists: Van Morrison
Van Morrison's new DVD Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
AMAZON EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE RELEASE On Heels of Critical Acclaim at London's Royal Albert Hall
Following Van Morrison's two critically-acclaimed sold out nights bringing his groundbreaking, signature new CD album, Astral Weeks to brilliant life at London's Royal Albert Hall, the anticipation builds for the May 19, 2009 Amazon exclusive new DVD release, Astral Weeks: Live at The Hollywood Bowl. Continue reading about Van Morrison's new DVD Astral Weeks Live.
(Photo left) IRE LISTEN TO THE LION FILMS MORRISON AND CLAPTON LISTEN TO THE LION FILMS MORRISON AND CLAPTONMeeting longtime friend Van Morrison backstage, even Eric Clapton was eager to relive the experience. The upcoming DVD release of Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl is exclusively available on Amazon.com. Photo Credit: Listen To The Lion Films. (PRNewsFoto/Listen To The Lion Films) LONDON ENGLAND 04/22/2009.
Van Morrison's KEEP IT SIMPLE
On March 11, 2008, Lost Highway will proudly release KEEP IT SIMPLE, the new CD album from Van Morrison. KEEP IT SIMPLE is Morrison's first album of new material since 2005, and the first in several years in which he penned all 11 songs specifically for one album.
In the interim the legendary artist had a year that may be unprecedented for any living artist, having released three separate collections of his hits, with the latest, "Still On Top" entering the UK charts at #2 and selling platinum, proving the ongoing appetite for his unrivaled work.
His music has always incorporated the widely varied influences he heard and absorbed since his childhood days on the streets of Belfast- long before the bands of his youth and his initial breakthrough with Them.
On KEEP IT SIMPLE, Morrison honors all those varied influences - jazz, folk, blues, Celtic, country, soul and gospel - at times melding them all together at once in his own signature sound. "I felt I had something to say with these songs ... " explains Morrison. There is a definite theme that recurs throughout the album, especially in the title track.
In keeping with that idea, KEEP IT SIMPLE does not boast the big horns or string arrangements of some of Morrison's previous work. What it does feature are gorgeous songs rich with emotion, depth and beauty. As on the poignant "Soul," where Morrison repeats the chorus, as if to subtly remind us that, "Soul is a feeling, a feeling deep within. Soul is not the color of your skin."
Morrison explains his approach with the track, "Entrainment" - "Entrainment is when you connect with the music ... Entrainment is really what I'm getting at in the music ... It's kind of when you're in the present moment - you're here - with no past or future."
Whether it's the easy country gospel of "Song of Home" or the bluesy swing of "How Can A Poor Boy," throughout KEEP IT SIMPLE Morrison exudes a wisdom gained through five decades of making groundbreaking music. Few artists have successfully recorded in as many genres of music as Van Morrison, and even fewer have remained as relevant for as long (only Ray Charles, with whom Van collaborated, comes to mind).
Morrison has done so by constantly moving forward and never sitting still. On the heels of a series of "Best Of" releases, this record starts fresh with what could well be a record full of all new classics.
Source: Lost Highway Records
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ --
Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits Collects 19 Cinematic Music Gems
CD Released February 13, 2007 by Manhattan/EMI
Concert tour through April 2007
Van Morrison's music plays a role in many of modern cinema's most cherished films. Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits, to be released February 13 by Manhattan/EMI Music Catalog Marketing, collects, for the first time, 19 of Morrison's best-known songs, presented as they've been featured in films.
In addition to favorites including "Gloria" from The Outsiders, "Wild Night" from Thelma & Louise, and "Brown Eyed Girl" from Born On The Fourth Of July, the new collection includes a previously unreleased live version of "Moondance" from An American Werewolf In London, recorded live with strings in 1986 at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre.
The cinematic qualities of Van Morrison's songs make it no surprise that he is one of the most popular choices for movie music. His compositions have graced the soundtrack of many box office hits over the years.
That Martin Scorsese is a Van Morrison fan is unsurprising: the connection was made when Robbie Robertson's former roommate directed The Last Waltz, The Band's historic farewell performance in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.
Rock writer and spectator Greil Marcus described Morrison's entrance as the catalyst that "turned the show round... There he was on stage, in a maroon suit and a green top, singing to the rafters. They cut into 'Caravan' (with John Simon waving The Band's volume up and down), and the horns at their most effective -- while Van burned holes in the floor... It was a triumph, and as the song ended Van began to kick his leg in sheer exuberance, and he kicked his way right offstage like a Rockette. The crowd had given him a fine welcome and they cheered wildly when he left."
Morrison's live version of the Pink Floyd classic "Comfortably Numb," featured by Scorsese in his 2006 blockbuster The Departed, was cut in Berlin some 16 years earlier when Roger Waters put on a live production of "The Wall." There was a Band connection again, with Levon Helm and Rick Danko contributing background vocals.
Departed star Jack Nicholson also appeared in James L Brooks's As Good As It Gets, which used the title track from Days Like This, Van's latest album at the time of release (1997). But it's the earlier classics that have inevitably attracted the most attention from directors, even if some have been performed by others.
Not one but two Vietnam movies have featured his music, and, as befits the timescale, they have chosen 1960s vintage material. "Brown Eyed Girl," Morrison's first U.S. solo hit from 1967, was Oliver Stone's choice in 1989 for the Born On The Fourth Of July soundtrack, while the earlier "Baby, Please Don't Go" from Morrison's Them days appeared in 1987's Good Morning Vietnam. Continuing the military theme but moving forward a musical decade, Taylor Hackford's An Officer And A Gentleman visited the often overlooked Wavelength album for "Hungry For Your Love" -- a fine addition to a well above average soundtrack.
At the other end of the musical spectrum, the tender "Someone Like You" was not only a highlight of Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss but also Bridget Jones' Diary. And Michael Hoffmann's One Fine Day, the George Clooney/Michelle Pfeiffer film from 1996, included Morrison's classic "Have I Told You Lately?"
Mark Joffe's The Matchmaker reflected Morrison's Irish heritage by telling the story of an election campaigner (Marcy Tizard, played by Janeane Garofalo) who visits an Irish village to track down the ancestral roots of the U.S. senator she works for, only to find romance. Suitably, the track selected was "Irish Heartbeat," Morrison's 1983 creation with The Chieftains.
With An American Werewolf In London, John Landis created the classic horror movie. Typical of his witty style was his use of music, and he incorporated a number of different 'moon-themed' pop songs including "Moondance," which, because of the contrast in mood this created, echoed the comedy/tragedy juxtaposition.
Van Morrison has announced several upcoming concert dates. For more information and updates, visit www.vanmorrison.co.uk.
Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack CD Hits
1. Gloria (performed by Them) -- The Outsiders
2. Baby, Please Don't Go (performed by Them) -- Wild At Heart
3. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) -- Pope Of Greenwich
Village
4. Domino (live) -- Clean & Sober
5. Moondance (live)* -- An American Werewolf In London
6. Queen Of The Slipstream -- Extreme Close-Up
7. Wild Night -- Thelma & Louise
8. Caravan (live) -- The Last Waltz
9. Wonderful Remark -- King Of Comedy
10. Brown Eyed Girl -- Born On The Fourth Of July
11. Days Like This -- As Good As It Gets
12. Into The Mystic (live) -- Patch Adams
13. Hungry For Your Love -- An Officer And A Gentleman
14. Someone Like You -- French Kiss
15. Bright Side Of The Road -- Fever Pitch
16. Have I Told You Lately? -- One Fine Day
17. Real Real Gone -- Donovan Quick
18. Irish Heartbeat (with Chieftains) -- The Matchmaker
19. Comfortably Numb (live) -- The Departed
* previously unreleased
Source: Manhattan/EMI
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 4, 2006 /PRNewswire/ --
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