Van Morrison New Album

lbwdog · #1 03-01-2009, 01:23 AM

FWIW, Van recorded two nights in November '08 at The Hollywood Bowl and performed his masterpiece 1968 album "Astral Weeks" in it's entirety!

Just downloaded it and....WOW!! Not sure of the bassist, but the whole ensemble is excellent.

Psychicpet · #2 03-01-2009, 01:49 AM

cool.I've heard of a bassist that worked for him recently for a few months maybe even a year or two... the bassist is top shelf pro, and an outstanding human being.....but had to quit the "Van" gig because he refused to continue to deal with Van being not an ***hole but rather the whole a**.

still undoubtedly a great album as Van is an amazing artist but it always irks me to hear of certain artists actually being 'human' and not always the best ones that they can be off stage.

still will absolutely check this recording out as Van is great.

MR PC · #3 03-02-2009, 12:59 AM

The bassist on the new VM album is David Hayes. He has played with VM on and off for many years and recordings. (He has played on many recordings in the S.F. Bay Area as well.) Check the VM discography. Creative P-Bass player, but not known as a driving force in the world of recorded acoustic bass.

The acoustic bassist on the original Astral Weeks sessions was Richard Davis. 1969. Richard is not only a phenomenal living bassist and teacher, but a legend in music as well. I wonder why VM didn't hire Richard for the remake?

StyleOverShow · #4 03-02-2009, 01:38 AM

Van Morrison doesn't toot his horn hard enough. He is a master at creating hooks and lyrics with tears of irony.

I remember seeing him live in the early 70's, relatively small venue and he could hardly manage to face the audience, he was so shy. He stood at a forty five degree angle and sang to the first row of faces he could find in the lights. I thought it had something to do with his girlfriend or something, but caught him a second time and same thing.

Yeah, the Richard Davis is a monster. Looking forward to the release.

-richard

lbwdog · #5 03-02-2009, 09:08 PM

I've been a Van fan since, I guess, 1967 (Brown Eyed Girl), but became a devotee in '73. I consider him the consumate artist.

In '98, I played on an album for Mercury Records, which had Bas Hartong as executive producer. Got to pick his brain for some cool Van stories! What a unique character....