Tupelo Honey [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Van Morrison
Artist: Ronnie Montrose; Connie Kay
Engineer: David Brown; Doc Storch; Steve Barncard; Wally Heider
Producer: Van Morrison; Ted Templeman; Van Morrison; Ted Templeman
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Van Morrison (guitar, harmonica, background vocals); Van Morrison (vocals); Mark Wilson Jordan, Mark Jordan (piano, electric piano); Bill Church (bass guitar); Janet Planet, Janet Planet (background vocals); Ronnie Montrose (guitar, mandolin, background vocals); John McFee (steel guitar); Stuart "Boots" Houston (flute, background vocals); Bruce Royston (flute); Jack Schroer (saxophone); Luis Gasca (trumpet); Ted Templeman (organ); Gary Mallaber (vibraphone, percussion); Connie Kay, Rick Shlosser (drums); Ellen Schroer (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Alastair McMillan; Mick Glossop. Audio Remasterer: Tim Young . Audio Remixers: Donn Landee; Lee Herschberg. Liner Note Author: Kaz Akaiwa. Recording information: Columbia Studios, San Francisco, CA; San Francisco And Columbia Studios, San Francisco, CA; Wally Heider, San Francisco, CA. Arranger: Van Morrison. Part of Van Morrison's living-in-the-country-and-taking-life-easy series of early-1970s albums, TUPELO HONEY is full of the organic mix of soul, folk, blues, and rock that was his signature sound at the time. The freewheeling "Wild Night" bursts at the seams with the pure joy of living, carried along by R&B horns and Morrison's own soulful invocations. "Old Old Woodstock" and the title track are songs of devotion to home and hearth, indicative of the mood prevailing at the time, as the acid-rock excesses of the '60s gave way to a more down-home sound � la the Band, CSNY, et al. Nevertheless, even though he spent some time with his feet up in front of the fireplace, Morrison was always too much of a soul man at heart to remain low-key for long, as evidenced by the up-tempo closing tune, "Moonshine Whiskey." Tupelo Honey is typical of Van Morrison's early-'70s work in both sound and structure; after dispensing with the requisite hit -- here, the buoyant, R&B-inflected "Wild Night" -- he truly gets down to business, settling into a luminously pastoral drift typified by the nostalgic "Old Old Woodstock." At the heart of the record are a pair of stunning love songs, "You're My Woman" and the hymn-like title cut, one of Morrison's most enduring and transcendent compositions. [As part of a massive remastering and reissue campaign, virtually every major Morrison title (and many minor ones) were reissued, like Tupelo Honey, with a pair of bonus cuts. These include a much longer alternative take of "Wild Night" (where you get a lot more Ronnie Montrose guitar and a popping, more elaborate horn chart). The other is, and no, we're not kidding, a raggedy, largely acoustic version of "Down by the Riverside" that feels more like a rehearsal for getting the band warmed up to play than something to actually be released.] ~ Jason Ankeny and Thom Jurek

Rolling Stone (11/25/71, p.56) - "...Musically, the album functions at several different levels. Van turns in a truly virtuoso vocal performance and there are several moments on the record of obvious and planned vocal greatness..." Rolling Stone (3/4/99, p.89) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...one of the last, sweetest expressions of what we think of as "the Sixties"...evokes images of "Old, Old Woodstock" and articulates a shimmering vison of peaceful, back-to-the-land domesticity..." Uncut (p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "It was war, open-hearted, perfectly relaxed....'Tupelo Honey' is sung by a man who has grabbed us by the lapels and won't let go until we understand precisely what he's experiencing..." Q (Magazine) (p.117) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]ome of the warmest, most intimate love songs of Morrison's lengthy career....'Wild Night' comes as close to defining white soul music as anyone has ever got." Q (Magazine) (p.141) - "[H]is warmest recording, TUPELO HONEY is Morrison at his most contented and unguarded." Record Collector (magazine) (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] fine blend of R&B Americana and homegrown Celtic musings..."

Van Morrison first came to notice as the powerful vocalist of the mid-1960s group Them ("Baby Please Don't Go," "Gloria"), and then with the solo hit "Brown-Eyed Girl." Morrison followed this success with two landmark albums, ASTRAL WEEKS and MOONDANCE, which masterfully combined folk, gospel, rock, and jazz. As complex a performer as any that rock & roll has produced, the soulful Irishman has produced numerous outstanding recordings in his long career, mixing his pensive and passionate R&B-inflected rock with a decidedly mystical bent.

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