Customer Reviews

Common One

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Not only is 'Common One' my favorite CD of Van the Man's more than three dozen original releases, for my time and money it's the greatest album of all time.

I've listened to it thousands of times, and it kept getting better and better for the first several hundred. Now, it just holds steady at timeless greatness. There have been times in my life when I have laid on my floor, listening to it on headphones, tears streaming down my face at its beauty. For me, parts of this album are like getting a glimpse of God.

It's not for everybody. Some people I've made tapes for from it haven't liked it, called it boring and overlong. But others have been just as deeply moved as I. It's certainly not the place to start for the conventional music listener trying to be introduced to Van Morrison. Begin with "Moondance," "Into the Music" or "Enlightenment" for that.

Unique in its day and unique today, 'Common One' is just short of an hour long. Most of the songs are of slower tempo, several clock in at more than 15 minutes, and none are shorter than five. The lyrics are introspective and sometimes a little goofy, but the band (particularly sax man Pee Wee Ellis) is crackerjack and the singing is that of a soulful virtuoso. The horn break in "Satisfied" is the single greatest two minutes in music for me, ever. The way the epic "Summertime in England" repeatedly changes gears and conjures up images of everything from a sensual red robed lover to stoned British poets to a "suffering so fine" Jesus Christ is mesmerizing and captivating.

The entire album is evocative and romantic, and Van's singing is at its best. It's not an album that will knock you out the first time, most likely, because its charms are subtle before they become profound.

But 'Common One' has helped me through some hard times and made me appreciate the good ones even more. It's sustained my faith in God when I've had doubts. It has music that has reached into the very core of my soul and nurtured it, encouraged it, elevated it.

There are very few creative works, in any field, that I would call transcendent. Even The Clash's relentlessly magnificent 'London Calling,' probably my 2nd favorite album ever, and a release that changed my life even more than 'Common One,' can't come close to the otherworldly pleasure I've drawn from this work of art.

Again, it's not for everybody. If you're not on a certain wavelength (so to speak), you might think it's mostly a meandering, self-indulgent mess (though nobody I know has ever been able to turn their nose up at "Satisfied"). But you might also find it's a CD you'll keep playing for the rest of your life.

It may be blasphemy, but I like Common One more than Into the Music. Pee Wee Ellis and Mark Isham are given free reign to explore here, yet David Hayes and Peter van Hooke (one of Van's better rhythm sections) keep things grounded in the groove. Van himself is riveting. Electric Miles fans will dig "When Heart is Open", which hypnotically riffs over "It's About That Time/In a Silent Way". If you want to expand your horizons beyond "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "Domino", and find Van's outings from the last decade rather hollow and "phoned in", give Common One a try.

If Veedon Fleece is the best Van album (and I would argue it is), then "Summertime In England" from Common One, is possibly the best of all Van's songs. It is an intense song. I listen to it a couple times a year at the most. The vocals are unbelievable...and the lyrics are powerful. It is a mixture of suffering, and bliss. As Van puts it: 'high in the art of suffering....and the suffering so fine'. New fans should really listen to Veedon Fleece (for a couple years) before taking this last, and final step.

"Common One" is part of the 2nd wave of Van Morrison remastered reissues to hit the shops in 2008 (see full list below). Released Monday 7 July 2008 in the UK (8 July, USA), it boasts truly superlative remastered sound quality, an upgraded booklet and 2 bonus tracks for the first time.

Here's the layout (70:44 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 6 make up the album "Common One" released in September 1980
Tracks 7 and 8 are previously unreleased Alternate Takes of "Haunts Of Ancient Peace" and "When Heart Is Open".

The Band consisted of:
MICK COX on Lead Guitar
HERBIE ARMSTRONG on Acoustic & Electric Rhythm Guitar
MARK ISHAM on Trumpet and Flugelhorn
PEE WEE ELLIS on Saxophone and Flute
TONI MARCUS on Sitar and Violin
JOHN ALLAIR and MARK JORDAN on Keyboards
DAVID HAYES on Bass
PETER VAN HOOKE on Drums
(Strings on "Summertime In England" and "Wild Honey", the Choir on "Haunts Of Ancient Peace" and the extra horn section on "Wild Honey" were all arranged by Pee Wee Ellis)

96K/24 Bit remastered from the original analogue master tapes; the sound quality on this re-issue is BEAUTIFUL - clear and clean. The booklet is naff though, functionary at best - it reproduces the lyrics (Alternates included too) and session details, but no new photos, no history of the record - an opportunity missed.

As most of the tracks are lengthy, his sessioned musical partners in the band get to stretch out - and what superb musicianship is on display here - one second all jazzy and trippy, the next soulful and peaceful. Choirs and strings combine too - to devastating effect. Even when the songs threaten to get `too' carried away, Van brings it all down to quiet patches, where his vocal raps are inspired and now an integral part of his live set. The opener "Haunts Of Ancient Peace" is just lovely - PEE WEE ELLIS blowing away soulfully. But ELLIS really gets to let rip on the concert/fan favourite "Summertime In England" that doesn't actually wear out its 15-minute plus timing. The brass and melody on "Wild Honey" sounds like a Manhattans/Harold Melvin soul song - warm and lovely - it washes over you so sweetly - with the rhythm section's tight playing brought out by a great remaster. If I was to point out a downside, it would be the sax solo on "Spirit", it's harsh and a little shrill - maybe it was recorded that way. Also the 15-minute floating album closer "When Heart Is Open" is a little hissy - when none of the other tracks display any. But these are minor niggles.

The bonus Alternate Take of "Haunts..." is roughly the same length as the finished album version - just over 7 minutes, but it sounds like a run through - a rehearsal - its nice, but nowhere near as good as the finished version. "When Heart Is Open" is a different kettle of fish altogether - I love it! It has a cool SITAR opening and shorter playing time of just under 8-minutes. There's also beautiful violin playing from TONI MARCUS towards the end. If anything, it ends too soon. I suspect fans will be raving about it soon!

To sum up - "Common One" isn't the dizzy heights of "Astral Weeks" for sure, but it is a great Van Morrison album - deeply steeped in mysticism and his endless quest for inner peace. And at last, it sounds JUST BEAUTIFUL. Highly, highly recommended.

PS:
30 Van Morrison albums are re-issued in remastered form throughout 2008 and into early 2009. Each title contains an upgraded booklet; previously unreleased bonus tracks and all will be at mid-price. The releases are in 4 batches as follows:

28 January 2008 (7 titles)
Tupelo Honey (1971), It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 CD Live Set) (1974),
Wavelenght (1979), Into The Music (1979), A Sense Of Wonder (1985),
Avalon Sunset (1989) and Back On Top (1999)
(see SEPARATE REVIEWS for all 7)

30 June 2008 UK/1 & 8 July 2008 USA (8 titles)
Veedon Fleece (1974), Common One (1980), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983), Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984), No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986), Enlightenment (1990), A Night In San Francisco (2CD Live Set) (1994) and The Healing Game (1997)
(see also SEPARATE REVIEWS for "Veedon Fleece", "Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart", "Enlightenment", the live 2CD set "A Night In San Francisco" and "No Guru, No Teacher, No Method")

September 2008 - delayed until February 2009 (7 titles)
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972), A Period Of Transition (1977), Beautiful Vision (1982), Poetic Champions Compose (1987), Hymns To The Silence (2CD Studio Set) (1991), How Long Has This Been Going On (Live At Ronnie Scott's) (1995) and Tell Me Something - The Songs Of Mose Allison (1996)

January 2009 (8 titles)
Hard Nose The Highway (1973), Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988),
Too Long In Exile (1993), Days Like This (1995), The Story Of Them (2CD Set) (1999), The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast (with Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber) (2000), Down The Road (2002) and What's Wrong With This Picture? (2003)

PPS:
Those hoping to see desperately needed sonic upgrades of his 1st and 2nd album masterpieces on Warner Bothers "Astral Weeks" (1968) and "Moondance" (1970) or even "His Band & The Street Choir" (late 1970) will be disappointed to hear that they're NOT in this re-issue campaign - on either side of the pond. "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" in particular have both been languishing around on crappy-sounding non-remastered CDs for over 20 years now and they're glaringly obvious omissions in this supposedly 'extensive' re-issue campaign. These universally recognized masterpieces have long deserved 2CD DELUXE EDITION treatment (some tracks in remastered form are available across the 3 volumes of "Best Of"). However, I've recently been informed by a good source that all 3 are NOW AVAILABLE since June 2008 in JAPAN in RHINO REMASTERED form. See the excellent Japanese site CDJAPAN.CO.JP for details (worded in English).

This, for my money, is the best of Van's albums - well perhaps it ties with Astral Weeks. This goes beyond music to religion. To listen to this album on headphones or in a quiet space is a transforming experience that I just don't get from any other artist alive or dead. Van at one of the many peaks of his craft.

This deeply spiritual music will one day be compared to the hymns of the medieval visionary Hildegard of Bingen. Summertime In England, whence the album title is drawn, is a magnificent devotional piece with complex but oh so beautiful instrumentation and soulful vocals. Van's brand of funky soul emerges in Satisfied with its jazzy saxophones over a brooding rhythm track, whilst Wild Honey is an evocative pastoral ballad. The uplifting song Spirit is very positive and inspirational and reminds me of an exquisite song with the same title by The Waterboys. I suspect that the awesome but gentle tour de force When Heart Is Open refers esoterically to the opening of the heart chakra. It certainly has that effect on me! There's less of Van's trademark R&B on this album and in general, these pieces are not as overtly religious as say, Be Thou My Vision on Hymns To The Silence, but they're equally moving. Common One offers exquisite music for the soul - listening to it is pure gnosis.

Like I said this album is definetly not for the first time listener of a Van album. It does not contain any of the pop flash of such tracks as "Moon Dance" or "Brown Eyed Girl". But what it does contain are some of Van's most introspective (and long) songs. The opening "Haunts of Ancient Peace" is a fantastic cut that continues to explore Van's quest for spiritual yearning. The best track on the album is "summerime in England" a fantastically aranged lengthly wonder. I wholeheartidly recomend this album after you have eased in with Moondance followed by Veedon Fleece.

This album may not be for the fans of Gloria and Brown Eyed Girl. But here Van takes a big turn in his music and really lets it all hang out. The lyrics are such that every time they are listened to it seems as if they are being heard for the first time. The introspective lyrics are indeed "haunting" and make a good case for the belief that we have all been here before. Clearly, Van turns and leaves something behind for something new with the release of this album. If your soul has ever felt a yearning,this album is a must. Van's vocals are at his best, and the the horns are out of this world!

The opener 'In Haunts of Ancient Peace' is the most beautiful work of music I've ever heard. And I'm not even a fan of Van Morrison, which means that I know parts of his recorded music, but I'm not especially touched by it in general. But this work is something else, it's a very sincere and profound masterpiece, and nothing ever recorded in music history can compare with it. That's how good it is. You know, when you want to describe music, you usually talk in levels: a fine rocker, a moody jazz piece, great blues, heavenly vocals; there is music for everyone's taste, and there is lots of good music around for everyone to appreciate. But in the end, when you have discovered loads of music that you appreciate, where can you go next? You can keep on searching all around, untill you finally find your 'buddha', the ultimate goal of your (musical) quest. I found my Buddha right here on this album...

Casual Van fans know that his best stuff was in the last 60s/1970s, in the late 70s and for all of the 1980s his albums weren't so good, and that Van has returned for form in recent years.

So Common One sucks, right!?!?

Look, this is a great album. It's not a pop album at all. Don't expect Domino or Wild Nights or anything like that. It's not preachy, though. It's this beautiful study of musical spaces and moods as opposed to killer riffs. It absolutely transports you.

It's a cheap CD. If you're considering this, it's a great CD for Sunday morning in bed, any time when it's raining, and during nighttime driving.