Search - Van Morrison :: Tell Me Something

DISCOVERING !

Benjamin | Chicago, IL USA | 01/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I usually bought everything by Van Morrison, so I did with this one. And what a great surprise !!! I discovered one of the best composers of the 20th Century !
I had the chance to talk with Mr Allison last November in the Jazz Showcase in Chicago and I told him I knew him by chance, because this album. He replies: "Yeah! I know ... this is a good album!". I asked him to play Benediction (one of my big temptations here!) but he told me he didn't have anybody to sing the harmonics ...
So, I stayed for the second set, we were just 12 of us, and he was performing songs from this album and he was looking at me. What else can I say ... ? A great pleasure and a luxury.
I got a picture by him with his signature, and believe me, the bass player told me he never does that, but that night in Chicago ... I touched the moon !
Try to get some by himself, like Allison in Wonderland, or the two discs he recorded in London last year."

Incredible recording!

Richard Links | Berkeley, California | 03/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I do not know what got into "Penguin Egg" or what he was really expecting out of this recording, but let me counter his negativity regarding Van Morrison.



First off, this is one of the most astonishing recordings I have ever heard and I do live recording myself. The musicianship is of the highest calibre and the singing, to me at least, is top-notch, not what is inferred by "Penguin Egg" at all. Van is in GOOD FORM! BELIEVE IT!



The recording seems to have been done mostly live to recording media, and to me personally, sounds an awful lot like it might have been mostly analog in origin, not digital.



If that is not the case, considering the vintage of the recording, it is a milestone in digital recordings during that era.



Kick back and enjoy this one! I listen mostly via headphones, and all I can say is that this one is AWESOME sounding, not doubt about it at all. And the dynamics? The recording was supremely produced and and really quite dynamic, as well. The heck with that funky MP3!



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!



Richard Links

Links Sound

Berkeley, CA"

This is the Perfecta

Jack | Phoenix, Azerbaijan | 03/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to this hot wax ever since it came out. Thanks to Links for the tips as to the true audio quality of the disc. Time to get it on the player, slip on the cans and groove.



As for Mr. Penguin Egg, I can understand his frustration with Van the Man. I didn't notice anything on this recording, but a few years ago I stopped automatically purchasing every new Van CD whenever I first saw it. It seemed he was in a rut and there was something missing in his performance.



I read a week ago that Van, like many of us, has the "Irish disease." That affliction saps one of creativity and true passion, though down about the bottom of the bottle you can feel creative and passionate as hell. Apparently he's gotten well, as the title of the new disc, "Keep It Simple," attests. I eagerly await its release.



I ran across "Tell Me Something" this morning because I'm on one of my periodic Mose Allison kicks. Here I am a 60-year-old man, and I decided that if I could live my life over I'd like to live it as Mose Allison.



Mose just absolutely does it for me. I caught his act in a posh supper club in Carefree, AZ a very long time ago, and the pure subversive nature of his art - in that setting - really got me off. It may sound like it to some, but "cocktail piano music" it AIN'T.



I was all hot to buy some discs this morning, but I really do have to go back to my collection and see which Mose songs I already have before I shell out the bucks.



Regardless, I'd appreciate any suggestions as to particular gems I might consider. Thanks."