Avalon Sunset

Avalon Sunset is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success. In 2008, Avalon Sunset was reissued and remastered, featuring an alternative take of "Whenever God Shines His Light", and a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with additional lyrics by Morrison.

Avalon Sunset
Studio album by
Van Morrison
ReleasedJune 1989[1]
StudioThe Woolhall, Eden, Olympic, Westside and The Townhouse Studios, England
GenreFolk rock, new-age
Length42:22
LabelMercury
ProducerVan Morrison
Van Morrison chronology
Irish Heartbeat
(1988)		 Avalon Sunset
(1989)		 The Best of Van Morrison
(1990)
Singles from Avalon Sunset
  1. "Have I Told You Lately" b/w "Contacting My Angel"
    Released: June 1989
  2. "Whenever God Shines His Light" b/w "I'd Love to Write Another Song"
    Released: November 1989
  3. "Orangefield" b/w "These Are the Days"
    Released: December 1989
  4. "Coney Island" b/w "Have I Told You Lately"
    Released: January 1990

Recording

This album was recorded in England at Woodhall Studio, Eden Studios, Olympic Studios, Westside Studio, and Townhouse Studios.[2] It marked the first appearance of Georgie Fame with Morrison, 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 1990s.

The all new songs were rehearsed in two days and then recorded in another two days.[3] Arty McGlynn (the guitarist) remarked about the band's feelings when the sessions ended "we still don't know if it's an album, or maybe a demo for an album." Morrison's reliance on spontaneity was evident on "Daring Night" where he can be heard calling out chord changes "one-four, one-four" (Gmaj to Cmaj) to Roy Jones near the song's ending.[4] The album was previewed at a private concert at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club In London on 24 May 1989.[5]

Music and lyrics

On Avalon Sunset, Rob Sheffield wrote, Morrison sang about God and love in a scat-influenced style, set against a musical backdrop of mellow folk rock.[6] According to Donald Clarke, the album combined "religiosity and Celtic feeling, a sort of superior New Age music".[7]

The album opens with "Whenever God Shines His Light", issued as a successful single that charted at No. 20 in the UK and was a duet with Cliff Richard. The album contains the religious ballad "Have I Told You Lately" which became a hit single for Morrison, reaching No. 12 on the Adult Contemporary Charts, and was a bigger hit for Rod Stewart in 1993. This song was included on Morrison's 2007 album, Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits. Brian Hinton compares the idyllic female in "Orangefield" to Beatrice in the Divine Comedy.[8]

Phil Keaggy covered "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God" on his 1993 album Crimson and Blue.

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Chicago Tribune[10]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
The Village VoiceA−[13]

Avalon Sunset was one of Morrison's most commercially successful albums,[9] and his fastest-selling record in the United Kingdom, being certified gold soon after its release.[14] The album was also met with critical acclaim.[15] In a review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said Morrison has found new inspiration in more temporal themes, especially on the album's first side, although he cited the redemption-themed "Whenever God Shines His Light" as his most exuberant song since 1982's "Cleaning Windows".[13] Spin magazine's Karen Schoemer called it an elegantly orchestrated record void of pain: "He celebrates nature, love and poetry too; this is contemplation without conflict, remembrances without bitterness. And no matter how esoteric things get, a charged sensuality permeates."[16] In the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot said "I'd Love to Write Another Song" is a return to his 1960s and 1970s peak; on what is an otherwise good showcase for his insightful vocal delivery of simple yet evocative lyrics and a style of music that "strikes an artful middle ground between the visceral joys of Top 40 and the soothing aural wallpaper of New Age."[10]

At the end of 1989, Christgau named Avalon Sunset the 22nd best album of the year in his list for the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll.[17] The Times ranked it 63rd in its 1993 list of "All Time Top 100 Albums".[18] In The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006), Colin Larkin wrote that the record featured "quite immaculate love songs" from Morrison, along with a prominent sense of spirituality and nostalgia throughout,[11] while Morrison biographer Erik Hage called it "a powerful statement [showing] the often turbulent muse had stabilized, and was now a sublime force flowing through Van Morrison".[14] AllMusic's Jason Ankeny was less enthusiastic and found it somewhat inconsistent but "nevertheless the work of a master craftsman, its lush orchestration and atmospheric production casting an irresistibly elegant spell".[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Van Morrison, except where noted.

  1. "Whenever God Shines His Light" (duet with Cliff Richard) – 4:58
  2. "Contacting My Angel" – 4:57
  3. "I'd Love to Write Another Song" – 2:52
  4. "Have I Told You Lately" – 4:20
  5. "Coney Island" – 2:00
  6. "I'm Tired Joey Boy" – 2:29
  7. "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God" – 5:38
  8. "Orangefield" – 3:50
  9. "Daring Night" – 6:10
  10. "These Are the Days" – 5:08

CD reissue bonus tracks
  1. "Whenever God Shines His Light" – 3:51 (Alternative take)
  2. "When the Saints Go Marching In" – 6:01 (Traditional, arr. by Morrison)

Personnel

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 30
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 35
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 18
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] 11
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 13
US Billboard 200[26] 91

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Gold 50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[28] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes and references
  1. "Avalon Sunset". Van Morrison's official website. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  2. "Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  3. Giles, Jeff (19 May 2015). "How Van Morrison got his groove back on 'Avalon Sunset'". UCR. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  4. Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p. 429
  5. Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p. 256
  6. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Van Morrison". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 561. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. Clarke, Donald (1998). The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2nd ed.). Penguin Books. p. 897. ISBN 0140513701.
  8. Hinton. Celtic Crossroads. p. 275-280
  9. Ankeny, Jason. "Review: Avalon Sunset". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  10. Kot, Greg (15 June 1989). "Morrison's Meditations". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  11. Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 0195313739.
  12. Evans, Paul (1992). "Van Morrison". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. pp. 487–88. ISBN 0679737294.
  13. Christgau, Robert (1989). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (5 September). New York. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  14. Hage, The Words and Music of Van Morrison, p. 110
  15. The Listener. 122: 41. 1989. In the wake of the critically acclaimed (we'd expect that), top ten (not so usual) album Avalon Sunset...CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  16. Schoemer, Karen (1987). "Avalon Sunset". Spin. New York (September): 87. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. Christgau, Robert (1990). "Pazz & Jop 1989: Dean's List". The Village Voice. New York (27 February). Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  18. "Rocklist.net...The Times All Time Top 100 Albums – 1993". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  19. "Australiancharts.com – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". Hung Medien.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. "Offiziellecharts.de – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  22. "Charts.nz – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". Hung Medien.
  23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". Hung Medien.
  24. "Swedishcharts.com – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". Hung Medien.
  25. "Van Morrison | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  26. "Van Morrison Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  27. "Canadian album certifications – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". Music Canada. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  28. "Dutch album certifications – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 3 June 2019. Enter Avalon Sunset in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  29. "British album certifications – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 June 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Avalon Sunset in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "American album certifications – Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 June 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

Sources

Further reading
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