Beautiful Vision

Van Morrison

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1982
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KNG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,469 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Music > World Music > Celtic > Rock
  #19 in	Music > R&B > Soul > Blue-Eyed Soul
  #63 in	Music > Blues > Contemporary Blues

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This 1982 sleeper captures Van Morrison banking the fires of his more urgent, R&B-flavored '70s classics to sculpt a quieter, contemplative synthesis laced with Celtic flourishes, minimalist synthesizers, and the skeletal horn charts of saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and trumpeter-synthesist Mark Isham. Neither as expansive as the pastoral jazz meditations of the underrated Common One nor as limpid as the glossier, sometimes gloomier confessional pop that dominates his later-'80s albums, Beautiful Vision hews to ballads and loping, midtempo songs that allow Morrison gentle foils for his unmistakable vocal melismas. On its best tracks, "Dweller on the Threshold," "Cleaning Windows," "Vanlose Stairway," and "She Gives Me Religion," he alchemizes soul, gospel, and his own Irish roots in a balance he would often pursue from this point forward. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description
Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) pressing of this rock album. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Universal. 2008. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting and Memorable Album By Van The Man!, August 5, 2000

By	Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I first heard this album when I was living outside London in the early 1980s, and quickly became a re-confirmed Van Morrison fan. No one has a wider range of styles, interpretations, and abilities than Van, and he puts all of his eclectic talents to use here. From the opening "Celtic Ray", a celebration of the simple joys of Irish country life to the final refrains of the instrumentally provocative "Scandanavia', Morrison shows why he has so confounded fans and critics for the last three decades. This album marked a new, less popular, but much more mature style, or styles, since Morrison is so multi-faceted in his approach to each song that it is hard to describe his musical tastes, uses of instruments or arrangements that he has to be heard across a number of albums to recognize common and recurring themes or approaches. There is much to appreciate and enjoy here, from the haunting "Beautiful Vision" to "Dweller On The Threshold" to the comically caustic commentary in "Cleaning Windows", Morrison's take on a multi-talented artist moonlighting as a workman. There are several instrumentals here, and they do much to provide the atmospherics for the mood of the album. My favorite is the aforementioned "Scandanavia", although a number of other songs like "Aryan Mist" have instrumental sections that are absolutely beautiful. Morrison later revved up his career with the blockbuster "Avalon Sunset" album later in the 80s. But all the elements he brought so memorably into that later comeback and reemergence onto the popular charts was here in this album in spades. I think you will a lot to enjoy and appreciate in this sleeper of an album by one of the best of the sixties generation of singer/songwriters. Enjoy!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Definite High Point in Van's Career, September 14, 1999

By	Chris Lauer([e-mail]) (Atlanta, Ga.) - See all my reviews

"Beautiful Vision" is one of Van Morrison's most accessible and enjoyable works. Besides such high quality "hits" as "Dweller On The Threshold", "She Gives Me Religion", and "Cleaning Windows", it also contains the delicate and haunting "Across The Bridge Where Angels Dwell" and the eventual concert favorite "Vanlose Stairway" in its original form. The lyrics are intriguing and the Van's voice is strong and emotional as he sings of his return to his Irish roots. The musical arrangements are just the right balance between pop/rock and Van's unique fusion of jazz, soul, r&b and Lord knows what else. A real winner.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Van's one true masterpiece..., September 25, 2005

By	Eric Andreasen "blues4eric" (Northern California) - See all my reviews

I am confounded as to how and why people do not appreciate the greatness of this work. I first heard "Cleaning Windows" while driving from San Francisco to Oakland on the Bay Bridge, and said to myself "I MUST find and purchase this CD!". I have a lot of other Van, but this is still by far the BEST! Seriously. The odd thing is, all the other songs on the CD are masterpieces, also. Some day this work will be rightly appreciated. What's not to love?