release date: Oct. 1990
format: cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,22]
producer: Van Morrison
label: Polydor / Exile - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Real Real Gone" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Enlightenment" - 3. "So Quiet in Here" - 4. "Avalon of the Heart" - 5. "See Me Through" - 6. "Youth of 1,000 Summers" - 7. "In the Days Before Rock 'n' Roll" (4,5 / 5) - 8. "Start All Over Again" - 9. "She's My Baby" - 10. "Memories"
20th studio album by Van Morrison originally released on Polydor comes in a year of celebration it seems. In January he released The Best of Van Morrison (later identified as Best of Van Morrison - Volume 1) - his first ever best of compilation album compiling some of his best known songs of his first 25 years' recording career spanning back to when he was part of Them, and then this, his 20th studio album.
Compared to his most recent album, the sales-wise successful Avalon Sunset (1989) he withdraws somewhat from digging further into mainstream territory with a clever combination of forces. The album continues a path laid out on some of the lesser known songs from the '89 album - songs that blends rhythm & blues, soul and singer / songwriter folk, and he does that so skilfully with the assistance of a few stable musicians: bassist Steve Pearce, drummer Dave Early, and keyboardist Georgie Fame with whom he has played with on many albums as well as live performances.
The reception of the album wasn't quite as positive as that of his former album, although, the album peaked at #5 on the UK albums chart list, and the only single release "Real Real Gone" made it to number #18. However, imho, this is Van Morrison at his best and picking the highlights of this album is a hard one 'cause it's such an incorporated whole with one song after the other that just shines of star quality. It simply doesn't contain one filler and the level here is impressive. When I first listened to this, I thought it was a compilations album of his best songs. Avalon Sunset is a fine album with songs that reminds of the material on this but the '89 album doesn't share the same coherency as this one. There may not be another "Have I Told You Lately" here but nearly all tracks have a lasting quality of classic memorable compositions. Today, it still contains more than a handful of great compositions and it's a mere wonder why this hasn't found its way to higher fame.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, MusicHound 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Select 4 / 5 stars ]
1990 Favourite releases: 1. Neil Young Ragged Glory - 2. Van Morrison Enlightenment - 3. Sinéad O'Connor I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
