Great Rock Albums of 1985: Van Morrison- A Sense of Wonder

Here's another example of how I was so focused on heavy metal in early 1985 that I didn't fully appreciate a good non-metal album. I have to admit, back then I didn't have much experience of the legend that is Van Morrison. My most memorable experience of him was his performance in the film, "The Last Waltz" where he sang with The Band. Other than that, what I knew of him was virtually zero.

While by 1985, I had become totally fed up with commercial radio, I have to thank it for this one. The single from the 1985 album, "A Sense of Wonder," "Tore Down a la Rimbaud" got a considerable amount of airplay in the early part of the year. It was only after a few listens that I got past my "it's not metal" mentality and realized that "Hey, this song is pretty good." However, for some reason, I never bought the album, which was a bit of a shame because I missed out on a good one.

Wikapedia puts Van's "A Sense of Wonder" album in the category of Celtic Soul. Well the man is from Northern Ireland and he does put his soul into the album so it's hard to disagree with that label. Back then, I would have put it into either or both of the categories of soft rock or mellow out rock. It covers both. While the deafening power chords I was so into in 1985 and still am today are absent, one can't fault the quality of the musicianship on it. Here's another myth I believed about Van which this album has obliterated. I thought that he only sang because that's what he did in "The Last Waltz." But he plays guitar and piano and rather well judging from the instrumentals "Evening Meditation" and "Boffyflow and Spike," the latter sounding like true Irish folk music.

While the single remains my favourite song on the album, the rest of the album keeps up as well. In my opinion, "Ancient of Days" could have been released as a single too because it's almost as good. After the first mentioned instrumental, he goes very almost gospel soul softer though I think the title track goes on a bit too long for me. The second instrumental does pick things up a pace after and "If You Only Knew" keeps that pace going with "A New Kind of Man" closing the album out with a good feeling.

Track Listing:

1. Tore Down a la Rimbaud
2. Ancient of Days
3. Evening Meditation
4. The Master's Eyes
5. What Would I Do
6. A Sense of Wonder
7. Boffyflow and Spike
8. If You Only Knew
9. Let the Slave (Incorporating the Price of Experience)
10. A New Kind of Man

Van Morrison

Van Morrison- vocals, guitar and piano

John Allair- organ

Bob Doll- trumpet

Tom Donlinger- drums

Pee Wee Ellis- tenor saxophone

David Hayes- bass

Chris Michie- guitar

Pauline Lazano- backing vocals

Bianca Thornton- backing vocals

The group Moving Hearts performs on tracks 6 and 7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oF3PMHq-Nk

I'm now a believer. Again, it could be me mellowing a tiny bit with age but I now appreciate how good the "A Sense of Wonder" album from Van Morrison really is. Perhaps I should delve into his discography a little more.

Next post: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- Southern Accents

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Great Rock Albums of 1984: U2- The Unforgettable Fire

 

Unlike the Greg Kihn Band, after their successful 1983 album, "War," followed by a successful live album, U2 didn't vanish into obscurity. Maybe Greg Kihn should have released a live album. That's all hindsight anyway. What is history is the fact that U2 followed up their success with the really cool album, "The Unforgettable Fire."

I don't think I've said this in previous posts about U2 but the one thing their music definitely did was appeal to Metalhead and Duranie alike. For those who don't know, a Duranie is someone who was into Duran Duran and similar type music. Those people listened to U2 and did not feel that they were going too weird in their music tastes while Metalheads could do the same without any feeling of selling out and going mainstream. "The Unforgettable Fire" album continues this trend for the band as both of those groups bought this album up.

Reading the history behind the making of the album, the band has said that they were trying to steer a different direction with it as they didn't want to be labeled as another arena rock band. Let me be totally honest here, I have never heard anything different in the sound of "The Unforgettable Fire" than what they had accomplished with their previous three studio albums. What U2 had been able to do very well with all four of their albums to date was make different sounding songs without having to change their overall style. I have always believed it was a case of more of this with the fourth album.

With "The Unforgettable Fire" the hits come out straight away, probably because I heard the first single, "Pride in the Name of Love" on the radio before I bought the album. History states that the single was released first so that's probably why. Still, it ranks up their among my favourite U2 songs of all time. The second single, "Bad" is the second single released and that stands out as well while at the same time, you know it's a good U2 song. I could never fathom why the title track never charted in North America as it's a really cool track as well. If anything, I would rate it above "Bad." But if you know me by now, albums aren't about the singles on them and there has to be some hidden gem in the album. For me, that track is "Wire." If I had my way, that would have been released as a single. I like the little guitar lick The Edge uses at the beginning before it goes into a good rocking song. In fact, The Edge shows his guitar skills all through the song. Actually, "Indian Summer Sky" is a really good song and that's what you need for a good album.

The other thing which definitely appealed to me back in 1984 was U2's use of politics in their music. This continues with this album, especially as two songs are dedicated to the late Martin Luther King Jr, one of them being the first single. "Bad" was about heroin addiction and the idea for the title track came when the band was visiting the war museum in Hiroshima, Japan. Put these things in with the music on the album and it's no wonder why I liked it so much.

Track Listing:

1. A Sort of Homecoming
2. Pride in the Name of Love
3. Wire
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. Promenade
6. 4th of July
7. Bad
8. Indian Summer Sky
9. Elvis Presley and America
10. MLK

U2

Bono- lead vocals,

The Edge- guitars, keyboards, backing vocals

Adam Clayton- bass

Larry Mullen Jr- drums

Heavy metal was going strong in 1984, so was U2. This album is clear evidence of that fact.

Next post: Steve Perry- Street Talk

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock Albums of 1983: U2- War

 

My original intention was to post U2's breakthrough album "War" in succession with Todd Rundgren and Bryan Adams. However, with the death of David Bowie, I felt the need to abandon that intention in order to pay proper homage to a true rock icon. The idea for my original intention came about because back in 1983, there was a chance to see Todd Rundgren, U2 and Bryan Adams together. They were playing a concert in Charlotte, North Carolina and the local radio station in Jacksonville, where I was stationed, was running a bus to it. I would have loved to have gone but unfortunately, the Marine Corps stuck me on duty that day so I couldn't. It's no wonder why I didn't re-enlist.

Like I said a second ago, U2's third album, "War" was the album where they finally got the attention they deserved in the US. In 1983 and I've probably said this before, commercial radio didn't totally suck, so when the monster hits, "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day," blew me away when they got played, I naturally had to get a hold of the album. Especially, having heard their first two albums, "Boy" and "October." U2 was one of those bands where I could tell the johnny come lately's that I was listening to them before they got famous.

What I have always liked about War is that, at least in my ears, it's not much different to their first two albums. They didn't have to change to get accepted, (something they would forget in the years to follow.) U2 brought a different sound to the table which many people liked when they got to hear it. The fascinating thing about "War" is that the album has been enjoyed by both metalheads and Duranies (people who worshiped Duran Duran) alike. In fact, they have often been labelled 'punk' mainly because there was no other category in which to put them.

So many great things have been said about the "War" album, I would just be repeating them and even now, I find it difficult to find my own words. I know I just really like this album. The two singles already mentioned are my joint second favourite U2 songs of all time, "I Will Follow" takes the top slot. However, I was more than slightly disappointed when they didn't play the third single from the album, "Two Hearts Beat as One" when I finally got to see them live in 1985. While all of the songs are good, I would have to pick "Surrender" as my favourite of the lesser known songs on "War."

Track Listing:

1. Sunday Bloody Sunday
2. Seconds
3. New Year's Day
4. Like a Song
5. Drowning Man
6. The Refugee
7. Two Hearts Beat as One
8. Red Light
9. Surrender
10. 40

[caption id="attachment_2198" align="aligncenter" width="233"] U2[/caption]

Bono- lead vocals, additional guitar

The Edge- guitars, piano, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Seconds"

Adam Clayton- bass

Larry Mullen Jr- drums

In 1983, U2 finally broke into the big time with a fantastic album "War." This album was a milestone for the band and fans like me in so many ways. In fact, often times I think that the band should go back and listen to this album and remember what got them to where they are.

Next post: Supertramp- Famous Last Words

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com