Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Professional Jealousy
2. I'm Not Feeling It Anymore
3. Ordinary Life
4. Some Peace Of Mind
5. So Complicated
6. I Can't Stop Loving You
7. Why Must I Always Explain
8. Village Idiot
9. See Me Through Part (Just A Closer Walk With Thee)
10. Take Me Back
11. By His Grace
12. All Saints Day
13. Hymns To The Silence
14. On Hyndford Street
15. Be Thou My Vision
16. Carrying A Torch
17. Green Mansions
18. Pagan Streams
19. Quality Street
20. I Must Be You
21. I Need Your Kind Of Love

Disc 2:

1. By His Grace
2. All Saints Day
3. Hymns To The Silence
4. On Hyndford Street
5. Be Thou My Vision
6. Carrying A Torch
7. Green Mansions
8. Pagan Streams
9. Quality Street
10. I Must Be You
11. I Need Your Kind Of Love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39099 in Music
• Released on: 1997-03-10
• Number of discs: 2

CD Description
A double CD at this stage of his career came as a surprise,but a double CD this good, came as a shock. Morrison had a great deal to say in 1991 about his childhood and his faith;much of it came through on this record in a much less oblique way than we had been used to. The spoken dialogue on "On Hyndford Street" is intensely personal and revealing. For once, we were hearing Morrison's thoughts. Morrison clearly has religion but on this riveting record he refused to preach.Georgie Fame continued to add familiarity to the sound and this was the best Morrison album for many, many years.

Customer Reviews

INSPIRATIONAL MASTERPIECE
Hymns To The Silence is an opus magnum where Morrison�s talent reaches awesome new heights. The album impresses on many levels: the lyrical ingenuity, melodic beauty, intelligent arrangements and above all the expert mastery of many different musical styles.

Although every track is memorable, my favourites include I�m Not Feeling It Anymore with its galloping rhythms and flowing tune, the rocking Ordinary Life, a wry observation on life, the jaunty, jazzy So Complicated and the beautiful authentic country song I Can�t Stop Loving You.

Very personal observations like Professional Jealousy and Why Must I Always Explain have more of the folky feel about them, especially the second one with its hypnotic melody line. Perhaps the greatest moment is Be Thou My Vision, an extraordinarily powerful hymn that is one of this artist�s best descriptions of spiritual ecstasy.

In this regard, the title track is gripping too, but more subdued and restrained, creating a feeling of awe. See Me Through (Just A Closer Walk With Thee) is also very moving but a more traditional slice of gospel and it reminds me of Astral Weeks. The soulful song Take Me Back with its wistful harmonica likewise has a touch of that great album.

Hymns To The Silence is an uplifting work of genius on a par with Astral Weeks, Moondance and Tupelo Honey but provides greater variety than any of them. Every track here has some special quality and the alternating musical styles make it a wonderful and inspiring listening experience.

This is excellent, even by Van Morrison's high standards!
Almost all of Van Morrison's music is worth checking out.

This is excellent, even by those high standards we have come to expect from him.

There are some simply astonishing tracks on here, that capture that beauty that Van Morrison's songs exemplify. Some songs are just stunning - check out "By His Grace" and the title track "Hymns to the Silence" - quite breath-taking! And "Carrying the Torch" is magnificent too. An exceptional album from an exceptional artist. Don't miss it!

Belfast, balmy afternoons and hymns to the silence
Van Morrison returns to the east Belfast of his childhood for a record with snatches of R and B, protestant chapels ('Be Thou My Vision') and the mysticism which with he somehow rose about it all without ever leaving it behind.

The title track is one of his greatest ever compositions and performances, and the whole thing is full of twists and surprises without ever losing the theme or the plot. Even when he starts to ramble a little in the nostalgia of place names around those terraced streets, you just feel you're there with him on those sunny afternoons of childhood. Inspired.