Beautiful Vision [Import, Original recording remastered]

Van Morrison | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 28, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Polygram Int'l
• ASIN: B00000JAYL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,458 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Celtic Ray

2. Northern Muse (Solid Ground)

3. Dweller On The Threshold

4. Beautiful Vision

5. She Gives Me Religion

6. Cleaning Windows

7. Vanlose Stairway

8. Aryan Mist

9. Across The Bridge Where Angels Dwell

10. Scandinavia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 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
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beautiful Vision (Audio CD)

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

This review is from: Beautiful Vision (Audio CD)

"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 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Van's one true masterpiece..., September 24, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Beautiful Vision (Audio CD)

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?