Customer Reviews

Vanthology: Tribute to Van Morrison

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VANTHOLOGY: A Tribute to Van Morrison

Some people don't like the practice of singers covering other performers songs. I do. Especially if they can give it a different slant and if they can improve on the original. If you are a Van Morrison fan, you might be among the first mentioned.

I liked this CD from the opening song, "Tupelo Honey" mainly because I have always admired Little Milton and have had his records in my collection for years. I did listen to excerpts from Van's original recordings and liked what I heard. He has an undeniable quality that makes you like, not only his voice, but also his compositions. Milton adds much to this song and his years of blues singing is clearly on display.

Syl Johnson, another favorite does justice to "Jackie Wilson Said." Another distinctive voice that isn't heard enough these days. William Bell, I recently saw on PBS and he has lost none of his charm. His rendition of Morrisons' "Have I Told You Lately" is perfect. What a fabulous singer he has remained throughout the years.

It seems that a lot of my favorites are here, including the great Freddie Scott, doing "Brown Eyed Girl." Marvelous singing. "Into The Mystic" by Frederick Knight was very special. He really got into the song and stretched for days!

The only female on the CD is the incomparable, Bettye LaVette. When Van heard this, he probably fell out of his seat! What can you say about Ms. LaVette except that she is a true genius. She does with "Real Real Gone" what great soul singers do: she takes an ordinary song and makes it a great one. Her soul is so deep, it's frightening! She sings this in her ferocious '70s voice. I can't think of any female that could top this performance. I loved the ending when she shouts and testifies about what Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke and James Brown "used to say..." The major highlight of the entire CD.

The rest of the performances are first-rate. So nice to hear Chuck Jackson again. He sounds as good as ever singing "Moondance." I would like to have heard Otis Clay sing another song. He's so soulful and churchy; "Warm Love" didn't seem like his type of song.

Many dj's have picked up Bettye's "Real Real Gone" and have added it to their playlists. Can't say that I blame them, it's a joy to hear a genuine soul singer go go go!

What a pleasure it is to hear singers that can SING! Ellis Hooks, Henry Butler, Bobby Patterson, Dan Penn and Son Seals are all wonderful. Looking at today's crop of young "singers," the field is pitiful. You won't find any off-key singing here, only PROFESSIONALS who realize that recordings are forever and understand that when you lay down a track, it will be there for future generations to hear.

When they hand out Grammys next year, this CD should be nominated judging from the junk that DOES get recognized and WINS these awards.

My local record store was having a buy 3 get 4 sale on CDs this week. I've been anxiously awaiting the release of Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" so I made a trip to get that CD (which I love, by the way). One of the other purchases to get to my "buy 3" was "Vanthology." It has been on my 'get' list for several months, but not one needing a special trip -- at least I thought it didn't.

At home I immediately put both CDs in the player and, as it happened, listened to "Vanthology" first. It was amazing. "Genius Loves Company" followed, but at decision time I went right back to "Vanthology" and played it a second time -- and I'll probably do a third time tonight as well.

I'm embarrassed to say that I was familiar with only two of the performers: Bettye Lavette and Son Seals. They provided wonderful renditions of Morrison's "Real Real Gone" and "Queen of the Slipstream" (respectively); but I was especially impressed with Little Milton's "Tupelo Honey" and Frederick Knight's "Into the Mystic."

This is an excellent compilation of songs and performers and I regret not having had it to listen to for the last several months. An especially enjoyable bonus are the liner notes that provide very interesting background to the performers and (fornutatley for me) point to other works of theirs that I will definitely look for.

This is a natural. It's great to hear soulful singers reinterpret these classic Van tunes, and emphasize the blues/soul/gospel influences inherent to Van's music. Many of these artists are getting on in years (as are many of Van's fans!)and rarely top Van's own versions, but they convey a real feeling for the form. Many of us have been disappointed by less than stellar "tribute" albums ("Blues on Blonde" comes to mind)but I think any Van fan would respond to this. A solid, diverse collection: great songs, great singing.

I have been a pretty intense Van Morrison fan since the mid 60's. He has been my favorite artist since around 1967. But I usually don't care for most covers of his tunes by other artists (for example, Johnny Rivers or Rod Stewart). There was, a few years ago, another tribute CD to Van with the singers being (I think) younger rock and pop stars. I didn't buy it because I felt pretty sure they wouldn't sing the tunes as good as Van himself.This CD is something different though. I love all 15 of these performances. Several are absolute killers. If I were to make a list of my top 20 Van songs of all time, only 1 or 2 of the 15 songs on this CD would be on that list. From my point of view, these 15 tunes seem like a "random" sample of Van's work. Some of the songs I've heard so many times (like Tupelo Honey and Moondance, for example) that I wasn't expecting to be moved at all by them this time around. Yet I was - it was like discovering new Van Morrison material, because great singers can each, in their own style, bring new feelings from great songs.

I also love great blues singers and great soul singers ("soul" as in the 60's soul artists). The 15 singers on this CD sing with such feeling - they're magnificent. They each demonstrate how beautiful and significant each of these songs really is. They bring back to life, and with their own passionate slants, these classics. The fact that (at least for me) these are just a sample of Van tunes, together with the fact that if I had never heard these songs before I would consider this one of the greatest blues and soul compilations I've ever heard, serves to underscore my belief that Van is one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century.

This album should appeal to all blues fans, and to all true Van Morrison fans. Just as I seem to do with every Van Morrison record I buy, I haven't been able to stop playing this CD since I got it a few days ago.

Most tributes have flaccid performances by artists who (a) don't understand the original side, (b) are not in the same class as the original artist, or (c) simply didn't bother to practice or develop a creative new arrangement.

This album has superb, intelligent artists who put together lovely new arrangements - many of the cuts would stand alone on the charts by themselves.

A great album.

I have all Van Morrison's records from the era when LP's were king. I have this CD in my auto and it has not been out for over a week. The songs get better each time I hear them. This is just plain great music. I hate to say it but they have made the original versions lose something. Buy this if you love good American music.

Great vocalists covering great material, but, sorry other reviewers, it misses the mark. Lisaten to it again folks and I think you might admit that it's not a 5 star collection. Too many of the musical arrangements and performances are perfunctory at best, and downright pedestrian at times. Over the album as a whole its all too samey and lacks the drive and attack of Van's recordings. Its fine as a reasonable example of this type of thing, but it should have blown me away. As it is its hardly even a breeze.