I actually had the opportunity to see Van Morrison at the Santa Monica Civic during this 1973 tour. He was riding on a string of popular albums like St. Dominic’s Preview, Moondance, Tupelo Honey and His Band and the Street Choir. I ended up not paying the $5 because “the word” was that although Morrison had a great voice, he “didn’t put on a great show” because of a notorious case of stage fright that made him uncomfortably stiff during a concert. The dvd of a London gig confirm’s the reputation, but on the basis of the music alone on these three cds that was the supply of the original 1974 classic concert album, I made a terrible mistake.
Morrison is backed by a snappy band accompanied by horns and strings, allowing him to delve into rock, romance and R&B at the flick of a wrist. His classic Irish tenor sounds like he was weaned in O’Brian’s Pub in Dublin, getting rootsy on “Since I Fell For You” and “Hey, Good Lookin’.” He varies the tone and delivery of repeated tunes like “Into The Mystic” and he goes way back for some oldies like “Brown Eyed Girl, “ ”Here Comes The Night” and a riveting “Gloria.” The team swings like a lounge act on “Moondance” and gets the juke joint jumpin’ on “Wild Night” and “Domino.” The closing “Caravan” and “Cyprus Avenue” expose Morrison for the earthy soul that he is, dedicated to music and moods and not distracting with light shows and smoke machines. A classic time for a class act.