Pat Thomas: Van's albums

The author of "Listen, Whitey! The Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975" is writing essays on Van Morrison, album by album. Pat Thomas, an A&R consultant and noted music historian, jumped at the chance to "work my way through Van's entire catalog, one album at a time." Readers of Mr. Thomas' excellent writing will no doubt follow breathlessly, so we'll provide each installment here, making it easier to get your Van on!

"Angry Young Them": first installment of Van Morrison album by album essays

If Chris Morris had asked me to jump in a lake, I wouldn't have done it - but when he requested that I pick up the torch from his entertaining "a Dylan album a day" postings that had come to an end and do it for Van Morrison, I couldn't resist. While I won't be doing a Van a day, I do plan to work my way thru Van's entire catalog, one album at a time, every couple of days. I debated with myself - where to start - THEM, the Bang recordings or with Warner Brothers ? I decided to start at the very beginning......

As early as the first song on his first album (the UK version) of the band THEM’s debut – Van Morrison was addressing his relationship with “mysticism” via “Mystic Eyes” (a couple of years later, he’d write “Into the Mystic”). By definition, Van Morrison is a mystic: “a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect.” If Van had the self-awareness then to know he was already such an individual, then he’s even more of a genius than I already thought he was. After all, this is a man who has spent the better part of 4+ decades on a spiritual quest; “Beautiful Vision” “No Guru, No Method, No Teacher” “Enlightenment” to name but a few. But what really makes Van (and in this case THEM) special – is that he’s not just talking “mystic” – he’s got some dirty and gritty R&B behind him. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is man who blends Ray Charles and Bob Dylan effortlessly. “If You and I Could Be As Two” is sort of a by-the-numbers rock/blues, but at least as good what the Rolling Stones were doing then. Certainly as convincing, while lyrically, a tad better than Mick. “Little Girl” is more of the same, if lyrically weaker. “Gloria”- (what the heck can we see about this, that hasn’t already been said?) If this were the ONLY thing that Van had ever recorded – it would have guaranteed him the front cover of BOMP! and Ugly Things magazine once a year forever. THEM’s version is definitive – while obviously Patti Smith made this her own as well (think Hendrix doing “All Along the Watchtower, she OWNED it!). Others have tried, such as the Shadows of Night – who sold the most copies, while Van’s “brother” Jim via The Doors performed it as a nightly ritual in their early days. As Ray Manzarek later recalled:  “The first gig we played at The Whisky was with Van Morrison and THEM. Van Morrison was insane. The guy was ALL OVER the stage, man. Absolutely insane. Did that thing of holding the microphone stand upside down, and singing, and smashing the mic stand into the stage, and just...God, was he incredible! One night we had both bands on stage, the two Morrison’s on the same stage -Mmmmmmmh!” 

“You Just Can’t Win” – reminds me of The Animals, in their “House Of The Rising Sun” era. It’s got that same ‘bounce’ that the Animals brought to the table. Certainly Van rivals Eric Burdon as the strongest white blues singer that the UK had to offer in that era.  John Lee Hooker’s “Don’t Look Back” is performed with a tenderness that even the Hook could only hint at. Through the years, Hook ‘n Van would record and perform live, often with spectacular results. “I Like It Like That” is not the most interesting Van composition, but like many THEM songs of this era, what it lacks in song construction, Van makes up for in conviction. Van sings it like he means it,even if the backing band is a bit, pedestrian? While I think of it, one thing that I prefer from THEM (over, the early Rolling Stones, whom I also love) is the use of organ. That certainly gives THEM that Animals feel – with the Animals being one of the most under-rated bands of that era, in my not so humble opinion).

Thanks to Keith Richards’ autobiography, I really got turned onto the ways and means of Jimmy Reed. Wow! I spent a good chunk of last year discovering the essence of Reed, after decades of just knowing the diverse cover versions of which John Cale’s “Baby What You Want Me To Do” remains my personal favorite. Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City” gets a work-out here – but frankly, it doesn’t do it for me. Call me a sick puppy, call me anything you want, I will never deny it, but I prefer, ‘Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks’ version! (recorded decades later of course). It swings more. However, THEM’s version of that sublime road trip standard “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” brings it home nicely as the final song on the UK album.

Which brings us the key differences on the American debut. The inclusion of  Bert Bern’s essential “Here Comes the Night” as the opening song on Side One. Friggin’ Hell. This is one of the best-recorded moments of the 1960’s for me. The arrangement is perfect, as it moves from the dark to light and back again. The “chorus” providing a slightly omnoius tone, while the verse remains upbeat and bouncy. Despite Van’s utter disgust with Bert Berns (as a producer and money/gate keeper), he continued to perform Bern’s song years later – even including it on a live solo album. The first time I heard it was via David Bowie’s version on Pinups (smile). A fairly obscure Van song “One Two Brown Eyes” is included on the American LP. It’s got a bit of a ‘calypso beat’ going on – which right off the bat, makes it an unusual song in the THEM canon. It also features some of the‘sickest’ lead guitar work on any THEM recording – like a cat being squeezed ever so gently. Mmmmmm.

For years, Van has bashed the album title of “The Angry Young Them” as pure marketing, but given Van’s penchant for being both an asshole and denier -  I beg to differ. An asshole in the sense that, yes, he was ‘angry’ back then (and still is) – and a denier in the sense that Van hates any type of record company labeling. The front cover of the UK label shows THEM as stoic bad-asses, while the American cover presents a slightly softer, yet still moody group. There are no frills here, visually or sonically – and that’s a template that Van has kept on going with. Most of his solo catalog has straight visuals (with the exception of that horrific “Hard Nose The Highway” artwork), while sonically, Van generally has kept it classic and classy - without any contemporary sonic flavoring in the recordings. No drum machines, no dance remixes. If Van had stopped with this album (and there’s a couple of hapless folks who wish he had), we’d still be talking about him.