release date: May 19, 1989
format: vinyl (839 262-1) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Ivan Morrison
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Whenever God Shines His Light" - 2. "Contacting My Angel" - 3. "I'd Love to Write Another Song" - 4. "Have I Told You Lately?" (5 / 5) - 5. "Coney Island" - 7. "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?" - 8. "Orangefield" - 10. "These Are the Days"
19th studio album by Van Morrison released 11 months following Irish Heartbeat, which was an album of Celtic and Irish folk music, and in that regard this may appear as a big turnover. Stylistically, this is perhaps one of Morrison's most evident attempts within a mainstream pop / rock musical sphere, although, also the successor Enlightenment (1990) is a contender with appeal to a broader crowd.
Avalon Sunset also shows strong influences of chamber pop with bold use of string and brass arrangements, and then it's undeservedly best known for the collaboration work with one Mr. Cliff Richard, who takes part of "Whenever God Shines His Light". Well, 'collaboration' may be an exaggerated expression as Morrison wrote the song and Richard only features as duet vocalist. The rest of the album isn't really all that mainstream, but somehow that sticking label hangs on to an album, which is more than just fine. The beautiful love song "Have I Told You Lately?" may also be a resulting factor why it has been looked upon as his pure pop / rock album more than any other, but if you detract these two songs from the rest of the album, the end result is really an album with strong inner perspective and classic songwriting on the basis of rhythm & blues, soul, in combination with an ever-present celtic tone, and in that regard the album doesn't fall far from his modern classic: Into the Music (1979).
Fine and enjoyable.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
