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VAN MORRISON - SAN FRANCISCO 1971

January 3, 2023 – 6:44 am

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VAN MORRISON
San Francisco 1971 [X-Ray, 2CD]
Live at Pacific High Studios, San Francisco, CA; September 5, 1971. Very good stereo/mono soundboard. New 2022 Euro bootleg.

First gaining recognition as the lead singer of the Northern Irish collective Them, and writing their seminal 1964 hit ‘Gloria’, when Van Morrison began pursuing his own career in the late 1960s, he started a long journey down one of the most idiosyncratic musical paths in history. His synthesis of folk, blues, jazz, and Celtic influences remains utterly unique.

Many live performances by Van have been made over the course of Morrison’s career, but none is more celebrated nor captures Morrison in better form than the live broadcast presented here. Recorded before an intimate audience of 200 at Pacific High Recording Studios and broadcast on KSAN radio shortly before the release of the Tupelo Honey album, this performance captures Morrison at a pivotal turning point in his life.

He had recently relocated from the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York to the Bay Area. On the career front, he had just completed negotiations on a new recording contract, and the saxophone-fuelled single, ‘Wild Night,’ had just been released, with the soon-to-be-available Tupelo Honey destined to become the most popular LP of his career so far.

In addition to the public debut of some of Tupelo Honey’s material, this potent performance includes key tracks from his first four solo albums and several live performances not to be found anywhere else. Additionally, the informal nature of this concert finds Morrison in relaxed and even jovial form, which is a delight in itself. Both Morrison and his superb band are on fire here, so much so it’s a wonder that such desirable recordings were issued at the time. Indeed, this recording provides listeners with a greater sense of Morrison’s wide-ranging influences and his ability to control dynamics better than any of his studio albums.

This is Van Morrison at the top of his game, delivering a set fuelled with unbridled passion. With no trace of the nervousness nor the anger that occasionally marred his concert performances during the era and with his sense of humour so prominent, it is no wonder that this recording has achieved such legendary status among Morrison’s fans and collectors. In addition to the Pacific High set, this new 2CD set also include Van’s performance from the year previous at Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore West venue, recorded for broadcast on April 26th 1970.

Only two songs, “Tupelo Honey” and “Moonshine Whiskey” are monaural this time, but even if you subtract that, the sound is the best so far.

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Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (320 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

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Disc 1
Track 101. Tom Donahue Intro 0:25
Track 102. Into The Mystic 5:58
Track 103. I’ve Been Working 6:25
Track 104. Friday’s Child 5:54
Track 105. Que Sera Sera/Hound Dog 3:01
Track 106. Ballerina 9:02
Track 107. Tupelo Honey 6:48
Track 108. Wild Night 4:44
Track 109. Just Like A Woman 8:05
Track 110. Moonshine Whiskey 7:53
Track 111. Dead Or Alive 5:22
Track 112. You’re My Woman 6:02
Track 113. These Dreams Of You 3:26
73 mins

Disc 2
Track 201. Domino 6:19
Track 202. Call Me Up In Dreamland 3:46
Track 203. Blue Money 4:30
Track 204. Bring It On Home 4:28
Track 205. Buona Sera 3:36
Track 206. Glad Tidings 3:54
Track 207. Crazy Love 2:54
Track 208. Come Running 6:36
Track 209. The Way Young Lovers Do 3:27
Track 210. Everyone 3:02
Track 211. Brown Eyed Girl 2:12
Track 212. And It Stoned Me 4:18
Track 213. These Dreams Of You 3:46
Track 214. Caravan 7:08
Track 215. Cyprus Avenue 13:01
Track 216. Into The Mystic 5:31
79 mins

Lineup:
Van Morrison - guitar, vocals
John Platania - guitar
Dahaud Shaar - drums
Brother Jack Schroer - saxophone
Collin Tilton - saxophone, flute
Keith Johnson - trumpet
Alan Hand - keyboards
John Klingberg - bass
Janet Planet - backing vocals
Ellen Schroer - backing vocals
Martha Velez - backing vocals

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