Track Listing

1. Domino
2. Crazy Face
3. Give Me A Kiss
4. I've Been Working
5. Call Me Up In Dreamland
6. I'll Be Your Lover Too
7. Blue Money
8. Virgo Clowns
9. Gypsy Queen
10. Sweet Jannie
11. If I Ever Needed Someone
12. Street Choir

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24284 in Music
• Released on: 1993-01-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

CD Description
The dark night of the soul that culminated in ASTRAL WEEKS found its counterpart in Morrison's next two albums, the seminal MOONDANCE and its subsequent sister, HIS BAND & THE STREET CHOIR. Both released in 1970, these latter two albums defined the folk/soul/blues amalgam that would prove to be thefoundation of Morrison's music. The photos inside the sleeve reveal Van as country gentleman, looking at home and (darewe say it) happy. This image is furthered by his then-wife Janet Planet's liner notes, which paint a picture of Van as a man reborn.
The music more than bears this out. The tunes here are among the most soulful in Morrison's repertoire.The classic opener "Domino" finds him wailing over a punchyhorn section and insistent, percolating rhythms, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Van rocks his way through the R&B-inflected "Blue Money", gets down on the funk workout "I've Been Working", and waxes lyrical on "If I Ever Needed Someone", which seems to be both a gospel song and love ballad simultaneously. HIS BAND & THE STREET CHOIR is perhaps Morrison's most open, exuberant recording.

Customer Reviews

DELIGHTFUL R&B EXCURSIONS
Domino is the catchy slice of soulful pop that opens this great album. Crazy Face has gorgeous organ and I love the rockabilly rhythm and catchy melody of Give Me A Kiss. I’ve Been Working is an impressive funk workout that actually reminds me of the sound of James Brown; it’s awash in exquisite sax and organ. The rousing Call Me Up In Dreamland sounds more like country-soul to me and here again the sax is the hero. Van goes into torch song mode for the brooding I’ll Be Your Lover Too. One of the highlights of the album is the brilliant Blue Money with its catchy tune, hypnotic chorus and bubbling beat. (The obscure singer Cristina did a marvellous cover of Blue Money on her now out-of-print album Sleep It Off that appeared on Ze Records in the 1980s). Overall, His Band And The Street Choir is a wonderful showcase of Morrison’s delightful take on various R&B styles. Measured against masterpieces like Moondance, Tupelo Honey and Hymns To The Silence, it’s not amongst his absolute best, but by any other standard it’s a great work that will amply reward the listener.

Solid, swinging folk and R&B
The follow-up to the magnificent "Moondance", "His Band and the Street Choir" is not as innovative or as multi-facetted as its predecessors. It is still unmistakably Morrison, with its inimitable blend of folk, rock, blues, soul, jazz and country, but it is rather more down to earth, musically and lyrically than "Astral Weeks" and "Tupelo Honey" from the same period.

And it is rather an unusual Van Morrison-album, in fact, in that all of the twelve songs clock in at less than five minutes, and ten of them are unde four minutes. That is a REALLY restrained Van Morrison-album, I'll tell you!

Most of this is relatively straight-forward R&B and folk-rock, although nothing is ever completely straight-forward with Van the Man. The arrangements go from fully band-backed electric numbers to folkish acoustic or semi-acoustic pieces and back again, and the highlights include the swinging, good-time rhythm and blues of "Call Me Up In Dreamland", "Blue Money", "Domino" and "Give Me A Kiss", and the folkish and partly acoustic ballad "Crazy Face".

Unlike some of Van the Man's best albums, "His Band and the Street Choir" isn't really one of those albums which can almost make you high. The material is a bit too uneven, and some of the slow, folkish pieces are not all that interesting, to be honest. But most of it works, and works very well, and remember: second-rate Van Morrison is still better than most other artists' best efforts. And "His Band and the Street Choir" is well worth picking up.

There's more to Van Morrison than Karaoke singalongs.
So there is more to Van Morrison than Brown Eyed Girl. I have not heard much of his music, however, over the last few years I have loved "Days Like This" which led me to this cd, which I have grown to love too. Van the Man shows us that it is possible to be a distinctive powerful voice while creating beautifully crafted music and lyrics. "I'll be your lover too" is a song which makes me stop what ever I am doing and just listen. I am currently working my way through his back catalogue, educating myself and finding some musical gems on the way. Try it, like me you might be surprised.