Van Morrison
September 24, 1991: A Banner Release Day for Musical Masterworks
I walked into Rhino Records in New Paltz, New York on September 24, 1991, with one mission in mind: copping the new cassette by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After months of reading about the band working on the follow-up to their 1989 breakthrough LP Mother’s Milk with Rick Rubin, the time was finally nigh. Heading into the store after school, the metallic gray Rock and Roll Over-evoking cover art for Blood Sugar Sex Magick was staring right at me from the new releases shelf. I snatched up the cassette, along with Ceremony, the new Cult album, which had come out that day as well. I lumbered over to the counter and was greeted with a side-eye from the store manager as he surveyed my purchase choices. “So you’re not getting Nevermind?” he asked. “Huh?” “The new Nirvana album,” he s...
5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Bob Guccione, Jr
Name Bob Guccione Jr. Best known for Depends who you ask! My beloved girlfriend thinks I’m a menace. Come to think of it, so did my father, actually. Um, come to think of it… Well, other than that, starting this magazine! And publishing WONDERLUST (wonderlusttravel.com). And generally pissing people off, if I’m being honest. Current city Milford, PA Really want to be in Italy. Always Italy. Where I would be careful not to do any more than the average Italian does. To be culturally sensitive, you know? Excited about Watching SPIN climb out of its decade long inertia and become kick-ass and meaningful again, in that order. My current music collection has a lot of World music, classical and jazz, which are the three kinds of music I listen to most. I have no country and almost no rap (ex...
The 100 Greatest Rock Stars Since That Was A Thing
Three of the 100 are in this picture! The Rolling Stones, in 1964, from left to right: Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Brian Jones. The problem with lists like this is they are invariably bullshit. So our prime objective was to make sure we didn’t do a bullshit list. I’m not saying we did a scientific one either. Because that isn’t possible — actually, it is, if you wanted some compilation of who sold the most records/concert tickets/has the most fans/got the most death threats, etc., and someone could come up with a bunch of very empirical metrics and create a “heat index” or something, and could deliver an actual scientific ranking! But we, um, didn’t do that. In fact we didn’t even, technically, do the “we...
Van Morrison and Eric Clapton Are At It Again in ‘The Rebels’
Van Morrison and Eric Clapton joined forces again for “The Rebels,” a duet of “Where Have All the Rebels Gone” from Morrison’s new album Latest Record Project: Vol. 1. An accompanying animated video shows drawings of musicians including Axl Rose, Robert Johnson, Kurt Cobain, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead on “Wanted: Rebel” posters. The questioning call to action lyrically asks, “Where have all the rebels gone / They’re not saying very much at all,” and surmises that they’re “hiding behind their computer screens.” In December 2020, the duo released “Stand Up and Deliver,” which followed controversial tunes from Morrison that protested lockdown measures in the United Kingdom throughout the pandemic. The elder statement of blues-rock shared the song as Slowhand & Van, which soun...
Van Morrison Blames ‘Freedom of Speech’ Over Negative Response to Anti-Lockdown Songs
Van Morrison made his displeasure with the UK’s COVID-19 protocols very evident via anti-lockdown tracks including “Born To Be Free” and “Stand and Deliver” — and now the outspoken Northern Ireland veteran says his new songs were received negatively due to a lack of “freedom of speech. “If I can write about it, I do. Poetic licence, freedom of speech… these used to be okay. Why not now?” Morrison stated in an interview with the Times. “Just as there should be freedom of the press, there should be freedom of speech, and at the minute it feels like that is not in the framework. If you do songs that are an expression of freedom of speech, you get a very negative reaction.” The “Brown-Eyed Girl” singer wrote some of his lockdown protest tunes in collaboration with Eric Clapton, with ...
Van Morrison Shares ‘Only A Song’ From Upcoming Latest Record Project Volume 1 Album
Often-contentious Irish singer Van Morrison has made news in recent months for being opposed to the COVID lockdown and released several songs voicing his displeasure. Today, however, Morrison shared “Only A Song,” the lead single from his soon-to-be-released 42nd album, Latest Record Project: Volume 1. <!– // Brid Player Singles. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”: “Brid_10143537”, “obj”: {“id”:”25115″,”width”:”480″,”height”:”270″,”playlist”:”10315″,”inviewBottomOffset”:”105px”} }); –> “Only A Song” features lyrics like “Only a song, it’s not set in stone, it’s only a song/It’s only a poem, it could change i...
Van Morrison Announces 28-Song Double Album Latest Record Project
After a spate of controversial anti-lockdown songs in 2020, Van Morrison has switched gears, dropping a song about his songs, titled “Latest Record Project,” with the repeating verse “have you got my latest record project?” It’s the first song released and also opens the album double-album titled Latest Record Project, of course. It arrives May 7 via Exile/BMG. Musically, the lovely soul melody with female backup singers serves as an “ad” for the 28 news songs on the set, written during the lockdown. Some of the songs have some questionable titles, including “Stop Bitching, Do Something,” “They Own the Media, “Why Are You on Facebook?” and “The Long Con” that seemingly refer to things that have occurred during quarantine. Last year’s tracks are not on Latest Record Pro...
Eric Clapton and Van Morrison’s Anti-Lockdown Track Is Out Now
Van Morrison is still currently working on the world’s worst renaissance in his effort to go from being known as “that old guy who wrote ‘Brown Eyed Girl’” to “that old guy who writes anti-lockdown songs.” As we initially reported last month, Morrison recruited guitar deity Eric Clapton for “Stand and Deliver,” the latest track to support his Save Live Music campaign. It was supposed to release on Dec. 4 (and it actually did thanks to the two of them not knowing how to effectively remove things from the internet) but was officially delayed for two weeks. Well, now it’s out and as bad as pretty much everyone expected. While it’s sure to be the Boomer rallying cry of anti-lockdown, anti-mask, anti-vaccination, and pro-disease people everywhere, Clapton singing lyrics like “Do you want ...
Van Morrison and Eric Clapton Team Up for Anti-Lockdown Song ‘Stand and Deliver’
Van Morrison has teamed up with Eric Clapton on his latest anti-lockdown song, “Stand and Deliver.” Set to release on Dec. 4, the track’s proceeds will go toward Morrison’s Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, which aims to assist musicians who are facing financial hardships because of the global pandemic and lockdown measures that followed. Morrison previously released the lyrically pointed songs “Born to Be Free,” “As I Walked Out” and “No More Lockdown.” Due to the pandemic, Clapton, who performs the Morrison-written track, worries about the fate of the live music industry. “There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,” Clapton said (via Variety). “We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The al...
Van Morrison Releases First Anti-Lockdown Song ‘Born to Be Free’
Raise your hand if you ever thought Van Morrison would become the face of the anti-lockdown movement? Put your hand down, you’re lying. Anyway, with 2020 being as it is, Morrison has already railed against the “pseudo-science” that has shaped the COVID-19 pandemic and promised to release a trio of singles in the coming weeks addressing the issue. Well, that first one is here. Titled “Born to Be Free,” the song sounds like something that late-era Morrison would have released — albeit with puzzling lyrics (as you might expect considering the topical matter. With phrases like “don’t need the government cramping my style” and says that psychology “isn’t for the benefit of you and me.” So there you go. Earlier in the week, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires mocked Morrison’s stance and shared a cov...
Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires Mock Van Morrison, Share ‘Into the Mystic’ Cover
Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires shared a new Van Morrison cover… but not before giving a warning first. The married musicians opted for a cover of Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” on Isbell’s I So Lounging show on the Sept. 18 live stream. Given Morrison’s recent behavior — including releasing three anti-lockdown protest songs to the press last week — it was only fitting that Isbell shared a little disclaimer. “There was a time in the past when our dear Van Morrison had such beautiful music, such beautiful songs, that everyone paid attention to him,” Isbell said. “Now that time has passed, and I fear that our dear Van Morrison is still desirous of the attention that he once received. So now he likes to say things, like the government asking you to not give everyone the COVID-19 v...
Van Morrison to Release Three Anti-Lockdown Protest Songs
Van Morrison is releasing three new tracks —Born To Be Free, As I Walked Out and No More Lockdown — in response to the ongoing UK government lockdown restrictions, the Irish singer announced on his website today (Sept. 18). “I’m not telling people what to do or think, the government is doing a great job of that already. It’s about freedom of choice, I believe people should have the right to think for themselves,” Morrison stated on the site. The songs, available for download and streaming, will have a staggered release: “Born To Be Free” on Sept. 25; “As I Walked Out” on Oct. 9 and finally, “No More Lockdown” hits on Oct, 23 “No More Lockdown” has the most pointed lyrics of the trio of protest songs: “No more fascist bullies / Disturbing our peace / No more taking of ou...
