Product Description

Part of Van Morrison's living-in-the-country-and-taking-life-easy series of early-1970s albums, TUPELO HONEY is full ofthe organic mix of soul, folk, blues, and rock that was hissignature 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. "OldOld Woodstock" and the title track are songs of devotion tohome 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".

Track Listing

1. Wild Night
2. (Straight To Your Heart) Like A Cannonball
3. Old Old Woodstock
4. Starting A New Life
5. You're My Woman
6. Tupelo Honey
7. I Wanna Roo You (Scottish Derivative)
8. When That Evening Sun Goes Down
9. Moonshine Whiskey
10. Wild Night
11. Down By The Riverside

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3667 in Music
• Released on: 2008-01-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Running time: 50 minutes

Customer Reviews

Van At His Lyrical Best
It has been said, by some cynical and unkind critics, that Van Morrison has been releasing the same record for the past 35 years. What is certain is that between 1968 and 1974 Van released six of the most sublime records in popular music. Each album from this period deals with different aspects of his intensely felt emotions: death and sex, homesickness and depression, gentleness and playfulness and, with Tupelo Honey, a celebration of his marriage to Janet Planet.

All the songs were written by Van and it is evident that he was in one of the most buoyant periods of his life; the joy in his heart and voice is manifest.

Typical of his mood are the infectious "I Wanna Roo You Tonight", "When That Evening Sun Goes Down", "Like A Cannonball" and "Moonshine Whisky"; swinging, rocking, rollicking good fun, yet tender and romantic.

Underpinning the album are two gorgeous love songs: "Tupelo Honey" and "You're My Woman". The title track is a masterpiece, almost hymnal in its reflective and emotional transparency - among the best songs that Van has written. "You're My Woman" is a public baring of his Celtic heart to the woman he loved and who bore his child.

This is simply a stunning album with Van at his lyrical best and backed by some fine musicians, including Mark Jordon, who provides some inspirational piano. Buy it, you won't be disappointed

"Tupelo Honey" Gets A Superb Remaster - And It's As Cheap As Chips To!!
This is the 3rd or even 4th re-issue on CD of "Tupelo Honey" (released originally on Warner Brothers in November 1971) and it's probably the best version to date.

Tracks 1 to 9 make up the original album with Track 10 and 11 being previously unreleased - an Alternate Take of "Wild Night" and a cover version of an old Traditional, "Down By The Riverside". I must say that both bonus tracks are excellent and not at all throwaway crap designed to sucker in punters (as some had feared). The upgraded booklet contains all the lyrics, but disappointingly no history of where the album fits in. The photo of Van, Lady and Horse originally featured on the LP inner gatefold is faithfully reproduced as the booklet centrepiece - a nice touch. There's band and production credits - and even lyrics for the two bonus tracks.

But the best bit is the SOUND. The original analogue master tapes have been 96K/24 Bit digitally remastered by Tim Young at Metropolis Mastering in London for this 28 January 2008 release - and the sound is just beautiful - and that's for almost every track. I say this because, I've had the 1998 remasters for a while and always thought they were `too' loud and `hissy' for comfort. Don't get me wrong, there is unfortunately still audible hiss on the gorgeous "Tupelo Honey" and "You're My Woman" (two on the best on here) but not `too' much to detract. Those without hiss are just unbelievably good.
The punch out of them! From the album opener "Wild Night" to "When That Evening Sun Goes Down" - the band might as well be in your living room - it's that vibrant and alive! The session men put in a blinder too - fantastic brass work by Jack Schroer and Luis Gasca on "Wild Night" with equally superb piano touches from Mark Jordan on "When That Evening Sun Goes Down". Ronnie Montrose, who later formed "Montrose" and created one of the hardest and best rocking debuts ever in "Montrose" (1973 on Warner Brothers, also produced by Ted Templeman) plays guitar, mandolin and even throws in some backing vocals too. Not everything on here is genius of course, but there's just something about his Warner Brothers albums (all of them) that's magical. And it's mid-price too - I picked up my copy for £6 in Central London.

All in all, a great sounding re-issue and one I urge fans and the uninitiated to get stuck into pronto.

PS:
Like "Tupelo Honey", 28 other Van Morrison albums are to be re-issued in remastered form throughout 2008 and into early 2009. Each will contain upgraded booklets, previously unreleased material and all will be at mid-price. They'll be released in 4 batches as follows (29 in total):

January 2008 (7 titles)
Tupelo Honey (1971), It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 CD Live Set) (1974),
Wavelenght (1978), Into The Music (1979), A Sense Of Wonder (1985),
Avalon Sunset (1989) and Back On Top (1999)

June 2008 (8 titles)
Veedon Fleece (1974), Common One (1980), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983), Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984), No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986), Enlightenment (1990), A Night In San Francisco (2CD Live Set) (1994) and The Healing Game (1997)

September 2008 (7 titles)
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972), A Period Of Transition (1977), Beautiful Vision (1982), Poetic Champions Compose (1987), Hymns To The Silence (2CD Studio Set) (1991), How Long Has This Been Going On (Live At Ronnie Scott's) (1995), Tell Me Something - The Songs Of Mose Allison (1996)

January 2009 (8 titles)
Hard Nose The Highway (1973), Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988),
Too Long In Exile (1993), Days Like This (1995), The Story Of Them (2CD Set) (1999), The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast (with Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber) (2000), Down The Road (2002) and What's Wrong With This Picture? (2003)

PPS:
Those hoping to see desperately needed sonic upgrades of his 1st and 2nd album masterpieces on Warner Bothers "Astral Weeks" (1968) and "Moondance" (1970) will be disappointed to hear that they're NOT in this re-issue campaign. Apparently there is still some dispute between the record label and Van that remains unresolved. A damn shame! They've both been on crappy-sounding non-remasters for over 20 years and they are glaring omissions here. Both of these recognised masterpieces deserve 2CD DELUXE EDITION treatment and soon. (Some tracks in remastered form are available across the 3 volumes of "Best Of"). Let's hope they sort their differences and soon!

Also, Van's new studio album "Keep It Simple" is due 17 March 2008 in the UK and 1 April 2008 in the USA

(For those interested in this re-issue series, I've also done reviews for "A Sense Of Wonder", "Into The Music", "Wavelength", "Back On Top" and the 2CD live set "It's Too Late To Stop Now")

Enhanced masterpiece

These melodies sneak up on you and linger long after the music has stopped. That is why Tupelo Honey is one of Van Morrison's most accessible and commercially successful albums. This re-release has been enhanced by the addition of Down By The Riverside and an alternate take of Wild Night. The packaging includes the original artwork and the lyrics to all the songs.

Tupelo Honey is a work of genius: there's the gorgeous title track with its delightful imagery and the swirling I Wanna Roo You with its foot tapping rhythm. The catchy When That Evening Sun Goes Down has a propulsive rhythm whilst the structural complexity of Moonshine Whisky, with its tempo changes and delectable female backing vocals, makes for a magnificent composition, similar to some of those meandering gems on Astral Weeks.

Wild Night is a powerful R&B outing with an old time rock and roll feel and Straight To Your Heart is another melodic rocker. I also love Old Woodstock, a song filled with warmth and joy. And that is what this album celebrates - domestic bliss and the joy of life. In its own way, it is therefore as spiritual as most of his best work, although perhaps not so overtly mystical. Well whether you're into Van for his poetry or for his tunes, this album will please you. It's a masterpiece.