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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hymns From the Master, December 28, 1999
This review is from: Hymns to the Silence (Audio CD)
What a wonderful album to have. All of Morrison's eclectic tastes can be found here, delivered with a sparkling production clarity befitting this grand tenor. "Take me back", "Need your kind of loving" and "Ordinary Life" are solid rock standards of guitar and barrel house piano. "Be Thou My Vision" and "See me Through" are beautifully rendered gospel hymns with an Irish twist. "I'm carrying a torch" is an aching love ballad. "Hyndford Street" and "Pagan Streams" are autobiographic spoken verse sonnets delivered in Morrison's delightful Ulster brougue. "Quality Street" and "All Saints Day" are such charming pop hooks that they seem to be derived from a by-gone era of Gershwin. All throughout, the set is accompanied ably on Hammond organ by the fluid Georgie Fame and the sensuous saxophone of Candy Dulpher. Van Morrison has a wealth of recorded material to choose from, with varying degrees of consistency, but this album spans the radiance of his talents of songwriting and arrangement in such a concise manner that his elusive muse could ever allow. His voice has grown fuller with age. This is a mature work that I would endorse to anyone seeking a primer on this great man's career.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
INSPIRATIONAL MASTERPIECE, June 15, 2003
This review is from: Hymns to the Silence (Audio CD)
Hymns To The Silence is an opus magnum where Morrison's talent reaches awesome new heights. The album impresses on many levels: the lyrical ingenuity, melodic beauty, intelligent arrangements and above all the expert mastery of many different musical styles, including country, folk, soul, rock and gospel. Although every track is memorable and tuneful, my favourites include I'm Not Feeling It Anymore with its galloping rhythms and flowing melody, the rocking Ordinary Life, a wry observation on life, the jaunty, jazzy So Complicated and the beautiful authentic country song I Can't Stop Loving You. Very personal observations like Professional Jealousy and Why Must I Always Explain have more of the folky feel about them, especially the second one with its hypnotic melody line. Perhaps the greatest moment is Be Thou My Vision, an extraordinarily powerful hymn that is one of this artist's best descriptions of spiritual ecstasy. In this regard, the title track is gripping too, but more subdued and restrained, creating a feeling of awe. See Me Through (Just A Closer Walk With Thee) is also very moving but a more traditional slice of gospel and it reminds me of Astral Weeks. The soulful song Take Me Back with its wistful harmonica likewise has a touch of that great album. Hymns To The Silence is an uplifting work of genius on a par with Astral Weeks, Moondance and Tupelo Honey but provides greater variety than any of them. Every track here has some special quality and the alternating musical styles make it a wonderful and inspiring listening experience.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the best of Van, September 3, 2002
This review is from: Hymns to the Silence (Audio CD)
This is my Friday night after work music, my Saturday night party music, and my quiet Sunday morning music rolled into one. Yes, I too, never get tired of the second cd. Hymns to the Silence and Carrying a Torch are beautiful. I even like Village Idiot alot. The clips they chose are so questionable. Get this Van and open a nice red wine. It's his best.
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