Search - Van Morrison :: His Band & Street Choir

Hippie Soul

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 02/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Van Morrison has made so many albums, many vastly different from the one preceding, that it would be hard for a new fan to know where to start. I have a recommendation: get Moondance then get His Band and Street Choir. Together these albums provide the listener with the essential expression of Van Morrison's love of American rhythm and blues.
Most of us have heard Domino and Blue Money. Good as they are for top 40 tunes they are hardly the best songs on the CD. The insouciant swing of Give Me A Kiss and Call Me Up In Dreamland are in stark contrast to the morose introspection that imbues some of his later masterpieces. The hard-driving sax on I've Been Working makes it impossible not to want to dance. If I Ever Needed Someone gives voice to Morrison's deep spirituality and Street Choir seems a scolding antidote to the anti-Americanism that was rife at the time of recording.
Put this CD on, and it will lift you right up no matter how down you are feeling. Out of all his albums, I rate this in the top 5. It is upbeat, it is rock, it is jazz, it is blues, and it is hippie soul at its best."

A joyful noise.

bluemamma | San Luis Obispo, CA USA | 09/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time someone tried to play this album for me, I was really reluctant to listen. It was the early seventies, a few years after the album came out, and the Van Morrison song that was getting the most radio play at the time was TB Sheets. Brilliant song, but harrowing Ð certainly not something you want to listen to every day. So when my friend said he was going to put on a Van Morrison album, I said, "This is going to be painful, isnÕt it?"Before the first song (Domino) was over, I knew I was wrong. This has got to be the most joyous album ever made. That great old Biblical phrase "a joyful noise" is the only way to describe it. ItÕs not a sappy, moon-June kind of happiness. I keep thinking of a line from Blue Money. He sings, "YouÕre so glad to be alive, honey." ThatÕs the spirit that courses through this album. It sounds like a man who has been deep down in the blues (the man who sang about TB sheets, I guess) and came up laughing and smiling and singing his heart out. If youÕve listened to any later Morrison albums, you know that joy didnÕt remain in much of his music. But at least weÕve got this album. Even the most pensive song on the CD Ð IÕll Be Your Lover Too Ð is warm and contented, full of quiet joy. Most of the songs on here really do make you glad to be alive.IÕve heard His Band and The Street Choir described as a "minor" Moondance Ð the same rich and soulful horns, the same jazz feel, but without the lyrical depth. Maybe. ItÕs true thereÕs not a song here with the poetry of Into the Mystic or And It Stoned Me (both from Moondance), but pure, unadulterated happiness is nothing to turn up your nose at. Owning this album really is like owning a little chunk of joy."

Many great classics from the early days

Gabe | Norwalk, CT | 09/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This albums contains many great classics from Van Morrison's early days that you really don't hear much anymore. Not to mention, this album also contains that great hit from "Proof of Life" that no one can find called "I'll be your lover, too". Definitely a great album for those who like that early seventies folksy song of Van Morrison"