release date: Oct. 1974
format: cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Van Morrison
label: Polydor Japan - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Fair Play" (4 / 5) - 2. "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" (4 / 5) - 3. "Who Was That Masked Man" - 4. "Streets of Arklow" - 5. "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River" - 7. "Cul de Sac" - 8. "Comfort You" - 10. "Country Fair"
8th studio album by Van Morrison originally released on Warner Bros. is a side-step to his more introvert compositions as heard on Astral Weeks, though the music here seems more bound to his Celtic background. Already, Morrison has been engaged in and has worked with many musical styles. Sometimes he turns to blues, soul, rhythm & blues, folk, celtic folk, but he always has his singer / songwriter profile whatever style he embraces and on Veedon Fleece he dwells more than ever before on ancient roots of his homeland without making it entirely celtic folk as on his later collaboration work Irish Heartbeat with The Chieftains. There's often acoustic guitar or piano up front combined with flute and string arrangements making it his most chamber or in those days: baroque-styled album.
Since his move to America in the late 1960s Morrison hadn't been back in Ireland, but a divorce and a physically exhausting tour in '73, which had produced his great live album It's too Late to Stop Now!, made him withdraw from the limelight and during a vacation in Northern Ireland, he found peace and room to write the majority of the tracks for this album.
Veedon Fleece wasn't met by critical acclaim or huge sales numbers but over time it has grown to be mentioned as a 'forgotten' masterpiece. As a contemporary rising solo artist, Van was expected to deliver strong and short soul-based songs, which could be linked with Them, but this as Astral Weeks weren't seen as the great albums that time would later have them positioned as.
After the album release and after luke-warm to negative reviews and poor sales of his most recent and emotional album Van Morrison withdrew from the music industry. He didn't launch on any new tours; in fact, the only live performance he made in a three year period was his appearance in The Band's acclaimed The Last Waltz concert in 1976.
Although, I have only come across the album in recent years, and after having settled with the greatness of Van the Man through many of his other albums, this is just another of his truly great albums that I shall never tire off. Listening to it, is like opening a window and feel how a delicate breeze change the air without a lot of turmoil, and it's easy to imagine open green fields and a desolate country-side, which may / may not have inspired him on his three weeks return to Northern Ireland back then. It's an album full of sentiments - a bombardement to your senses. In retrospect, I kind of understand how music critics and fans were disillusioned wanting to have him at 'full force gale' - but they were only in need of time to understand his true nature and vast repertoire.
It's hard just to pin out the very best tracks on this 'cause it's really like going through a novel - it takes you to places and the journey is just the way it is. There are no jumps or U-turns or mistakes along the road, but it's there, laid out for you, and the journey is so damn fine.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Record Collector, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
