Back On Top

Van the Man with daughter Shana also a singer/song writer

Avalon Sunset was recorded in London and Bath, England, and close to Avalon, the mythic kingdom of King Arthur and released in June of 1989.  A deeply spiritual album that was Van's fastest selling record in the U.K., going gold soon after release.  It marked the first appearance with Morrison of Georgie Fame, who played the Hammond organ and also provided backup vocals and helped direct the band. Morrison and Fame would work together for most of the nineties.  Hit singles from the album were Whenever God Shines His Light, Have I Told You Lately and These Are the Days. The albums opening track, Whenever God Shines His Light, a duet with Cliff Richard, was released as a single in November 1989 for the Christmas sales market.  Van and Cliff performed the duet on the British music chart television show, Top of the Pops.  The single charted at #20 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 on the Irish Singles Chart. Have I Told You Lately, released June 5, 1989, is a romantic ballad often played at weddings although it was originally written also as a prayer.  It has become a classic song and has received acclaim by winning a Grammy Award and a BMI Million-Air certificate.  Have I Told You Lately charted at number twelve on US Adult Contemporary Charts and has been a popular cover song with many vocal and instrumental versions recorded by numerous artists and bands.  In 1993, Rod Stewart's version charted at number five in the US and UK. These Are the Days, released in December features a recurring theme in Morrison's music and lyrics, the belief that the predominant sense of enjoyment and appreciation of life is to be found in the present moment:

These are the days of the endless summer These are the days, the time is now There is no past, there's only future There's only here, there's only now

Back on Top, released March 9, 1999, had mixed reviews from critics but charted higher in the US than any of his albums since Wavelength.  This album marks a slight return to the forms of music he is most known for: blues and R&B and went gold in both the US and UK.  Upon the album's release, Rolling Stone reviewed it as one Monet and nine Norman Rockwell's, the "Monet" being When the Leaves Come Falling Down which it called a masterpiece.  Singles were Precious Time, Back on Top and Philospher's Stone. Back on Top, released in May 1999, has a happy upbeat melody and the optimistic lyrics may be about being successful in personal relationships as well as professionally successful:

Always strivin', always climbing way beyond my will It's the same old sensation, isolation at the top of the hill

The Allmusic review for the album, says that Back on Top, the title track, swings along with such ease that you're tempted to check and make sure you didn't put in Moondance by mistake. Precious Time, released February 1999, has since become an often performed concert tune for Van Morrison with very meaningful lyrics about the quick passing of time and the need to enjoy life while we can:

It doesn’t matter to which God you pray Precious time is slipping away

Keep it Simple, released March 17, 2008 in the U.K. and April 1, in the U.S., the first studio album of all new original material since his 1999 album Back on Top.  In an interview on BBC Radio Four on 10 March 2008, Morrison spoke of his inspiration for the songs on the album: Its got elements of blues, folk, gospel all my influences i.e. - Curtis Mayfield.  Its got a lot of inspiration from various things I was inspired by out there but it comes out like a new album. With That's Entrainment, Van explains his approach to the music on the album.  In his words: Entrainment is when you connect with the music...Entrainment is really what I'm getting at in the music...It's kind of when you're in the present moment - you're here - with no past or future.

Wanderin' Spirit
February, 2015
"Back on Top"

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