Van Morrison Songs Ranked
Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison OBE (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. His professional career began as a teenager in the late 1950s, playing a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands, covering the popular hits of that time. Van Morrison rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B band, Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic “Gloria”. His solo career began in 1967, under the pop-hit orientated guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single “Brown Eyed Girl”. After Berns’s death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968). Though this album gradually garnered high praise, it was initially a poor seller. Much of Morrison’s music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B, such as the popular singles “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”, “Domino” and “Wild Night”. An equal part of his catalog consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narratives, such as the album Astral Weeks and the lesser-known Veedon Fleece and Common One. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as “Celtic soul”.He has received two Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was knighted for services to the music industry and to tourism in Northern Ireland. He is known by the nickname Van the Man to his fans. Here are all Van Morrison songs ranked.
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15. Madame George (Astral Weeks, 1968)
“Those are backgrounds on the subject. But I think the mood of the song is basically that feeling when you know you’ve moved on from youthful days… and you’re stepping into a new life. It nostalgic.”
14. Baby Please Don’t Go (Down by Avalon, 1991)
“How can you go wrong with Van Morrison as lead singer. Great band. Is it Van or Mick. Listen closely. Great rock. If you like Van Morrison, then you will enjoy his early years with the group call ‘Them’.”
13. Brown Eyed Girl (Blowin’ Your Mind!, 1967)
“There is not much you can say of this song by Van Morrison other than WOW…When I listen to it, I am taken back to a time when I was young & carefree. Listening to Brown Eyed Girl just made you feel good and still does. Van Morrison has been around for awhile & he has other collections of songs that are just as good. This one song in particular just makes me feel very nostalgic.”
12. Sweet Thing (Astral Weeks, 1968)
“I love this song. Builds beautifully. His voice just melts me. An incredible piece of music. Definitely my favorite. The best song was ever written – hands down!”
See more: Van Morrison Albums Ranked
11. And It Stoned Me (Moondance, 1970)
“It’s biographical. Van Morrison was about 12 and with a friend going fishing on a summer day that started rainy but turned beautiful. They swam and fished and afterwards they were thirsty. They stopped by a stone house and asked a man for something to drink. He gave them what appeared to be water but in reality it was moonshine. He got ‘stoned’ which made an already memorable experience even more memorable.”
10. Glad Tidings (Moondance, 1970)
“One of my ‘life anthems’. A sing along song, always. To me it’s about not believing everything people tell you and being careful. ‘Believe no lies/and realise’ is the clincher for me – it’s saying, take on board what people tell you but don’t believe everything. It’s about not being led astray by”
9. Astral Weeks (Astral Weeks, 1968)
“So it’s another one of those nights where I’ve sat down after a hangover and wondered what the hell I’m doing with my life and this has suddenly hit me with all its glorious melody where before it just seemed to slip about without any familiarity, it seems so apparent and clear, as the body manages this particular focus after a quite literally sobering day of inactivity”
8. Bright Side of the Road (Into the Music, 1979)
“I have always loved this song and considered it a very uplifting song. However, I learned in the past week that my sister now has cancer and I was holding back my emotions about this news. This song came on my iPod, and I started to sob like a baby, as to how fleeting life can be. Thank you Van for touching something inside of me that needed to be expressed.”
7. Have I Told You Lately (Avalon Sunset, 1989)
“Very meaningful and beautiful song. If you love someone, tell them…you never know if you will have another chance to tell them.”
6. The Way Young Lovers Do (Astral Weeks, 1968)
“I find the bass to be perfect, It almost has a fumbling feel like the first time young lovers make love. This song was a big reason that I pre-ordered the album and it does not disappoint at all. It’s such a unique performance and a great way to re-imagine a classic song.”
5. Crazy Love (Moondance, 1970)
“This is beautiful music that should move anybody with its silky sound. Crazy Love, a fine soulful ballad that is presented in a very subtle, understated manner.”
See more: Merle Haggard Albums Ranked
4. Tupelo Honey (Tupelo Honey, 1971)
“My personal favorite from a litany of great songs! Song has everything, it’s a combination of music, lyrics, and vocals the end of the song a killer!”
3. Domino (His Band and the Street Choir, 1970
“Van tributes Fats with this corking R n B tune from “His Band and the Street Choir”. Easing in from that spare little guitar lick he would use again in “Wild Night”, it kicks on with the band and when the horns blow in, it’s double-six for me.”
2. Into the Mystic (Moondance, 1970)
“Oh man – Into the Mystic and Cypress Avenue might be the best songs ever written by Van the Man. Into the Mystic though possibly takes the cake. So freaking soulful. That bass line and guitar dance so well.”
1. Moondance (Moondance, 1970)
“Moondance” veers much further toward the jazz end of the spectrum – as opposed to the “rock” end that Morrison explored during the mid-sixties with his band, Them. Despite this, the song’s more traditional verse/chorus structure ensured a level of accessibility that had eluded the more meandering and pastoral tracks on Astral Weeks. Though not released as a single until years later, the song was a hit that remains one of Morrison’s most celebrated tracks.”