A Night in San Francisco [Bonus Track]

Performer: Van Morrison
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Van Morrison (vocals, guitar, alto saxophone, harmonica); James Hunter (vocals, guitar); Brian Kennedy, Shana Morrison (vocals); Ronnie Johnson (guitar); Haji Ahkba (flugelhorn, background vocals); Jonn Savannah (keyboards, background vocals); Teena Lyle (vibraphone, percussion, recorder, background vocals); Nicky Scott (bass, background vocals); Geoff Dunn (drums). Recorded live at the Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, California on December 18, 1993 and The Mystic Theater, Petaluma, California on December 12, 1993. "In The Garden/You Send Me/Allegheny" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. On the poignant version of "I Forgot That Love Existed" found here, Morrison muses on the possibilities "If my heart could do the thinking/And my head began to feel." It's this very dichotomy between the emotional and the cerebral that informs his finest work, creating the necessary artistic tension. These and other contrasts are explored on this two-disc live set, recorded late in 1993, right after Van's return to his blues/R&B roots on TOO LONG IN EXILE. That return is well documented here (especially in his duets with Jimmy Witherspoon, Junior Wells and John Lee Hooker), but it's placed in and set in relief by the larger context of Morrison's catalog. R&B churners like "It Fills You Up" and "I've Been Working" share stage time with tender ballads ("Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," "Tupelo Honey"), jazzy excursions ("Jumpin' With Symphony Sid") and spiritual journeys ("In The Garden," "Did Ye Get Healed?"). A NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO more than lives up to its back cover promise of "ballads, blues, soul, funk & jazz," offering all that and more, under that distinctive, ultimately unclassifiable umbrella of Van Morrison music.

Rolling Stone (7/14/94, p.102) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...A NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO is the culmination of a career's worth of soul-searching that finds Morrison's eyes turned towards heaven and his feet planted firmly on ground..." Entertainment Weekly (5/27/94, p.88) - "...this two-disc live set testifies to music's transformative powers. The once shy and eccentric performer has become a consummate stylist, leading an eight-piece band through R&B classics, and holding his own with guests John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Junior Wells...." - Rating: B Dirty Linen (12/94-1/95, pp.52-53) - "...who would expect the caffeine jolt that this album provides....an unbelievably tight band....This album is the welcomed return of an old friend..." NME (Magazine) (4/30/94, p.39) - 7 - Very Good - "...The final half hour...is, of course, blindingly great. Van's motor is running at last and he's raking through all the records that thrilled him as a kid..."

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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