Good list, Vaj. I'm a fan of the "Celtic Van" myself, the songs in which he reveals his Irish heritage and his feel for it. One of the classic albums of this type is the little-known "Veedon Fleece."
As for "Gnostic Van" or "Spiritual Van," there are examples of these types of songs scattered among many different albums. Some faves include: The Master's Eyes (from A Sense Of Wonder) Philospher's Stone (from Back On Top) Ancient Highway (from Days Like This) Village Idiot (from Hymns To The Silence) Take Me Back (from Hymns To The Silence) On Hyndford Street (from Hymns To The Silence) Pagan Streams (from Hymns To The Silence) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > If you haven't listened to Van Morrison since the 60's or 70's and > like most people are SO sick of hearing the same ole three Van songs > played on the radio (Brown Eyed Girl, Gloria, Moondance, etc) over and > over and over again, here's something you'll dig: "The Gnostic Van" I > like to call it. It's music for everyone's -- anyone's -- spirit. > > If you've only heard the top 40 Van, you need to know this. Van is a > modern bard and mystic cum boozehound who has a catalogue of great > blues-folk-rock songwork, which if you're a meditator or a sage-in- > training you'll very likely have a resonance with. I've shared this > particular playlist with almost all of my friends and a number of > acquaintances and it's been quite popular, some sharing it with others > in a Van-chain reaction. :-). > > I always had it in the back of my head that I should listen to some > old Van, when about 12 years ago I was asked to sit in with a local > blues band to jam with. Their harmonica player re-introduced me to > Van. Here's the best I can share so far: > > The list starts out with some classics from No Guru, No Method, No > Teacher: > > 1: Got To Go Back No Guru, No Method, No Teacher > > If ya ever dug a good ole Ray Charles and just really grooved to it, > you'd have to like this as well. A tribute and a new song, perfectly > rendered for the mystics of our age born in 40-50-60 (and even) 70- > ish. Well who knows, probably even now. > > 2: Oh The Warm Feeling No Guru, No Method > > Most would resonate with what he's describing in this song-poem. > > 3: Foreign Window 5:23 Van Morrison No Guru, No Method, No Teacher > > A great anthem for any pilgrim, traveling wherever. > > 4: A Town Called Paradise 6:15 Van Morrison No Guru, No Method, No > Teacher > > We've all, at one time, got in a car and just went somewhere -- > anywhere -- that conveyed a sense of higher place, higher dimensions. > IMO this song shares that sentiment and renders it as a universal > paean. As universal, the imagery of traveling across earth and > traveling across our own spiritual landscape, it's just something > almost anyone can resonate with. > > 5: In The Garden 5:47 Van Morrison No Guru, No Method, No Teacher > > If you ever witnessed someone you knew, go through an awakening > (doesn't really matter what kind), you'll dig this one. > > Yep, that garden, but all of our gardens. > > It's also the garden of "no guru, no method, no teacher....just you > and I, in nature...". > > My kinda garden. :-) > > 6: One Irish Rover 3:28 Van Morrison No Guru, No Method, No Teacher > > [How they rove.] > > Tell me the story > > Now that it's over > > > Wrappèd in glory > > For one Irish Rover > > > Tell me You're wiser now > > Tell me you're older > > > Wrapped in glory > > For one Irish Rover... > > > I can tell > > By the light in your eyes > > So far away... > > > 7: So Quiet In Here 6:17 Van Morrison Enlightenment > > If you live on a coast, some coast, somewhere sea-bound, you can dig > this. It's a real presence in my life so I can groove on it, but I > hope it resonates universal with all my friends, really. Even if you > ever drove along some coast (whatever "coast") it just might ring some > good feeling-tone for you. > > > 8: See Me Through 6:20 Van Morrison Enlightenment > > Deep love. > > > 9: Youth Of 1,000 Summers 3:44 Van Morrison Enlightenment > > Ever read Joseph Campbell or were yuo ever a Youth that was lost in > some 'eternal' summer? > > Yes, we all have our summers of the heart and our lives. > > > 10: In The Days Before Rock 'n' Roll 8:13 Van Morrison Enlightenment > > What a perfect capturing of this idea: a radio bringing in the birth > of rock & roll. I played this for my parents over dinner one night: I > was surprised -- they actually "got it". > > > 11: Coney Island 2:04 Van Morrison Avalon Sunset > > Not that Coney Island, but really any Coney Island... :-) > > > 12: Fire In The Belly 6:34 Van Morrison The Healing Game > > The spiritual and physical world, we bridge both, don't we? > > > 13: When Will I Ever Learn to Live In God 5:39 Van Morrison Avalon > Sunset > > Even with "no god" as god, one could appreciate this, because both are > [still] about beliefs, no? > > > 14: Piper At The Gates Of Dawn 3:53 Van Morrison The Healing Game > > The Great God PAN. Y'all know if there was God named PAN and a that > competing religion could try to make you afraid of that PAN, don't you? > > Well "they" did, and now PAN is a demon...but is "he" really? He he? > > Don't let the worshippers of the new gods fool you on the old ones. > > > > ...More as I have time... >
