Enlightenment (Remastered) Van Morrison

• 1 Real Real Gone 03:37
• 2 Enlightenment 04:04
• 3 So Quiet In Here 06:17
• 4 Avalon of the Heart 04:51
• 5 See Me Through 06:20
• 6 Youth of 1,000 Summers 03:44
• 7 In the Days Before Rock 'N' Roll 08:13
• 8 Start All Over Again 04:15
• 9 She's My Baby 05:17
• 10 Memories 04:20
• 11 Enlightenment (alternative take) 03:29
• 12 So Quiet In Here (alternative take) 04:03
• Total Runtime 58:30

Info for Enlightenment (Remastered)

Enlightenment is the twentieth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1990 and reached #5 in the UK charts and "Real Real Gone" charted at #18 in Mainstream Rock Tracks.

"Throughout Van Morrison's long career, his hit records have usually been followed by more obscure ones, so it should come as no surprise that 1990's Enlightenment was more subtle than its hit predecessor, Avalon Sunset. The intention of Enlightenment is marked by its first two songs, the scorching Celtic rhythm & blues of the opener, "Real Real Gone," and the pained spiritual yearning of the title track, a midtempo ballad drenched in nylon-string guitars, atmospheric synths, a gorgeous melody, and a tough Wurlitzer piano. The first tune, with its raucous horns, B-3, and crackling hi-hat and snare work, comes from the shouting R&B singer we've known since Moondance. It's addressed to a nameless other, with a call-and-response horn section answering his every line like it was the gospel truth. The slippery bridge-like lines at the ends of the verses and his invocation of truths from the gods of soul -- "And Sam Cooke is on the radio and the night is filled with space/Wilson Pickett said 'In the Midnight Hour'/That's when my love comes tumblin' down/Solomon Burke said, 'If you need me, why don't you call me'/James Brown said, 'When you're tired of what you got, try me'/ Gene Chandler said, 'There's a rainbow in my soul'" -- suggest he's almost found the truth in these moments from his past, a past that haunts him and whose secrets pour from his mouth when he sings, though they elude him. We can add to these, "Van Morrison said, 'Real, real gone/I can't stand up by myself/Don't you know I need your help/I'm real real gone.'" This is only underscored in "Enlightenment," where these koans mix with those of the Buddhist masters. Some of them come literally from Zen, others from the pit of the protagonist's life: "I'm in the here and now/And I'm meditating/I'm still suffering/But that's my problem...wake up." The rest of the album becomes a suite, with these themes underscored everywhere through an ethereal blend of sonic atmospheres and carefully crafted melodies that seem to come from the oblique shadow of the soul as it wanders, discovers, and sheds its trappings, still seeking. There's the folksy Irish folk-pop of "So Quiet in Here" and the dramatic yet elegiac regality of "Avalon of the Heart," where the ghosts of Keats, Shelley, and Yeats all meet to confer and wail. These songs are kissed further down the road by the contemplative jazz in "See Me Through," a sung prayer that is partially obscured by its chant-like melody. Morrison also does his trademark evocation of memory in the sprightly gospel of "Youth of 1,000 Summers." Jazz returns in the Friday night strut of "Start All Over Again," where sadness and hope mix inextricably. "She's My Baby," with its nylon-string guitars and taut snares, is breezy Celtic soul at its best, expressing an adult lovesickness in song. Enlightenment, like Avalon Sunset, marks one of Morrison's best productions, if not albums. Its sound is warm, enveloping, and humid. If the songs seem to bleed together a bit, that's on purpose; it's meant to be taken as a whole. It's an overlooked gem." (Thom Jurek, AMG)

Van Morrison, vocals, guitar, harmonica
Dave Bishop, soprano and baritone saxophones
Paul Durcan, spoken word (on track 7)
Dave Early, drums (except on tracks 4, 10)
Georgie Fame, electric piano, hammond organ, backing vocals
Alex Gifford, synthesizers, piano
Steve Gregory, tenor saxophone, flute
Malcolm Griffiths, trombone
Bernie Holland, lead guitar (on tracks 2, 6, 9)
Henry Lowther, trumpet (on tracks 6, 8, 9)
Brian Odgers, bass (on tracks 2, 9)
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, piano (on tracks 3)
Steve Pearce, bass (except on tracks 2, 9)
Frank Ricotti, vibraphone (on track 8)
Steve Sanger, drums (on tracks 4, 10)
Steve Waterman, flugelhorn (on tracks 6, 8, 9)
The Ambrosian Singers
John McCarthy, choirmaster (on track 4)

Digitally remastered

Van Morrison
One of music’s true originals Van Morrison’s unique and inspirational musical legacy is rooted in postwar Belfast.

Born in 1945 Van heard his Shipyard worker father’s collection of blues, country and gospel early in life.

Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly he was a travelling musician at 13 and singing, playing guitar and sax, in several bands, before forming Them in 1964.

Making their name at Belfast’s Maritime Club Them soon established Van as a major force in the British R&B scene. Morrison’s matchless vocal and songwriting talents produced instant classics such as the much covered ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’.

Those talents found full astonishing range in Van’s solo career.

After working with Them’s New York producer Bert Berns on beautiful Top 40 pop hit ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967), Morrison moved to another realm.

Recorded over 3 days with legendary jazz musicians Astral Weeks (1968) is a still singular album combining street poetry, jazz improvisation, Celtic invocation and Afro Celtic Blues wailing.

Morrison would weave these and myriad other influences into the albums that followed in quick succession.

Reflecting on new life in America on the joyous Sinatra soul of Moondance (1970) and the country inflected Tupelo Honey (1971) he summoned old spiritual and ancestral life in the epic St Dominic’s Preview (1972) closer track Listen To The Lion.

Double live album Too Late To Stop Now (1973) highlighted Morrison’s superlative performing and bandleader skills. Mapping out a richly varied musical course throughout the 70s he shone among an all-star cast including Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters on The Band’s Last Waltz.

Indeed, borne of his Irish Showband instincts, the magic of the live performance has been a consistent feature of Morrison’s career.

Settling back into life in the UK in 1980 he released Common One an album centring on Summertime In England an extraordinary invocation of literary, sensual and spiritual pleasure the song would often become a thrilling improvised centrepiece to his live shows.

Steering his own course throughout the 80s on albums such as No Guru, No Method, No Teacher he claimed Celtic roots with The Chieftains on Irish Heartbeat. Teaming with Georgie Fame brought new impetus to his live show while Avalon Sunset saw him back in the album and single charts by the decades end.

Van Morrison continued to advance on his status as a game- changing artist through the 90s and into the 21st century.

Awards and accolades - a Brit, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, 6 Grammys, honourary doctorates from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, entry into The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres - attested to the international reach of Van’s musical art.

Yet there was never any suggestion that Morrison, one of the most prolific recording artists and hardest working live performers of his era, would ever rest on his laurels.

Collaborations with, among others, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Lonnie Donegan, Mose Allison and Tom Jones confirmed the breadth of his musical reach.

Morrison’s visionary songwriting and mastery of many genres continued to shine on albums celebrating and re-exploring his blues, jazz, skiffle and country roots.

The influence of the musical journey that began back in Post War Belfast stretches across the generations, and Morrison’s questing hunger insures that the journey itself continues.

Constantly reshaping his musical history in live performance, Morrison reclaimed Astral Weeks on 2009’s album Live At The Hollywood Bowl.

The subtitle of Van Morrison's latest album, Born to Sing: No Plan B, indicates the power that music still holds for this living legend. "No Plan B means this is not a rehearsal," says Morrison. "That’s the main thing—it’s not a hobby, it’s real, happening now, in real time."

With one of the most revered catalogues in music history and his unparalleled talents as composer, singer and performer Morrison’s past achievements loom large. But, as throughout his extraordinary career, how that past informs his future achievements and still stirs excitement and keen anticipation.

This album contains no booklet.