Van Morrison- The Best Of

Beginning in 1967, Van Morrison has enjoyed a prolific career in which he has produced over 30 albums. This 1990 compilation was successful in its own right and provides a sample of the broad range of genres spanned by Morrison.

The styles vary from rock'n'roll in the style of The Animals to Bob Dylan-esque protest folk to "celtic soul" (Van's fitting description of his style). By far my favourite song is the rhythm and blues song Gloria, the combination of raw energy and somehow smooth yet tortured hammond organ is fantastic.

Moondance and Brown Eyed Girl are also good songs, but they have been played to death on the radio for me.

End of review.

Van Morrison fans best not read the following! So, why such a short review for a 21 track album that sumarises a long and highly successful career? Ummm... well... I... errr... don't like the rest of the songs. The song Gloria has single-handedly saved this CD from being thrown in my garbage bin! Personally, I find most of the songs to be fundamentally bland tunes which hide behind over-production and superfluous instruments (eg tacked on violins). Sorry...

Favourite songs

Gloria, Moondance, Brown Eyed Girl