The album received mixed reviews when mindless critics compared it to other standards of Morrison’s discography; the ‘rock room’ finds the record the perfect collection
for candlelight introspection, or as a soundtrack for quiet, pale dawn morning
coffee and reflection. The imagery is succinct, the instrumentation tasteful and the melodies
haunting. The record breathes the warm air of a lover’s breath and elicits the the comfort of home in spite of the possibly chilly
touch of synthesizers. Morrison stays relatively restrained through the records
two sides, leaving his rock and roll draped over the chair in the corner and
bearing his naked truthful soul. The record remains a slight departure from what is expected from Morrison, and those departures usually will lead to the best art.
The album begins with the atmospheric yet funky ‘Higher than
the World’. Morrison’s singing is restrained throughout intimate the verses
before breaking through the clouds with a excited recitation of the chorus. The
keyboards sway like trade winds, while a clean muted guitar lends the tune it’s brittle funkiness.The tune is one of Morrison’s finest melodic statements of the era and a conglomerate of the elements that will make up the rest of the record.
The tasteful keyboards quietly begin the next song,
‘Connswater’ on a hazy drift, before suddenly galloping across green rolling
landscapes of Ireland with a joyous Irish statement. Big percussive drums take
a turnaround mid song leaving the purely Irish jig of the instrumental verses to
bob along buoyantly outside the darkened waters edge, An allusion to his future
work with the Chieftains’, this song is a jumpy and overt instrumental tribute to
Morrison’s heritage.
‘River of a Time’ follows and is a song that contains minimalist
lyrics but maximum imagery, propagated by a churning arrangement reminiscent to
these ears as something that would possibly come from Dylan’s 1989 LP Oh Mercy. The song is an invitation to a spiritual
congregation on the ‘River of Time’ using nothing but your own ‘Heart and
Soul’. A personal favorite off of the record, Van features on piano and combines the
perfect portions of lyric, melody and mood to invoke introspection through this
emotive and classic piece.
The second instrumental of the LP, ‘Celtic Swing’ sandwiches
‘River of Time’ and starts off in the agitated mists of swirling horns and
synths before emerging with a maneuvering drum that does exactly what the title
implies. This song continues through current times to remain a standard in Morrison's set lists, a fitting display of music and heritage for Morrison.
Closing the first side of the record, ‘Rave On John Donne’
follows a spoken word, rap, growl by Morrison that becomes a smooth croon by the
crux of the tune. The lyrics immortalize a litany of writers and intellectuals
and Morrison’s invocation to “Rave On’. The song dissipates into a drumless and
weightless musical contemplation toward its conclusion. An epic song that can be interpreted in differing ways, again dependent on your view.
Side two begins, the album’s title track appears with a ‘No.
1' added to the end of the title indicating a continuation later on the side. The song is developed along the edges like a black room
photo, slowly coming into focus. The
melodic mantra undulates with a woman’s wordless vocal intonations appearing as manfesting specters.
The percussive piano in which the song settles on continuously folds over on itself
until big drums emerge, encouraging the songs wings from earth into flight.
‘Irish Heartbeat’ follows, the song was recorded twice by
Morrison once for Inarticulate Speech of
the Heart and later on the 1988 release with the ‘Chieftains’, Irish Heartbeat. A song about faith,
family and heritage, the song is inseparable from its creator; they are one and
the same. Acoustic guitars churn, the melody feels traditional and familiar, Van's is voice thick and rich. If you are a fan of Van you know that this song pretty much sums it
all up. Morrison's singing during the fade out is dramatically inspirational as he ‘da, da, da’s’
his way until the tape trails to silence.
‘The Street Only Knew Your Name’ is the first injection of R
and B on the record. The song brings out the ‘Street Choir’ as sweet backing vocals
punctuate Morrison’s first ‘all out’ vocal attack of the LP. Placed perfectly
in the track listing, the tune elicits alienation from someone who
realizes that you can’t always return home no matter the circumstance. The song
spotlights quintessential Van with a big band and taps some rock and roll
shoes. Morrison blows some highlight horn on the song and his first open throat vocal blasts of the record initiate magic.
‘Cry for Home’ settles into a comfortable groove, a response
to the previous song, comforting with the belief that there will be no more worry when you ‘hear
the cry from home’. The instrumentation stays true to the record with clean
plucky guitar tapping on the wide swath of synthesizer bedding. The chorus is
of sing-along quality leaving me with a certain aspect of holiness especially
when Van invites the chorus to take another round. Morrison sings with a bird on his shoulder in
the guise of a lofty flute. Beautiful.
The last but one song on the record comes as a second variation
on a theme with ‘Inarticulate Speech of the Heart No. 2’. This segment of song uses the pre-scetched scene and expands on it through lyrical repetition and
subtle melody explorations. Enveloped piano and keyboards develop subtle drifting phrases that
shoot off of the central rhythm in sparkling flares. Morrison is indeed a 'soul in wonder' as he states confidently with a vibrant chorus behind him. Van also offers a few
transparent quotes from his saxophone to swim amongst the musical watercolors.
The album closes with the final instrumental and possibly
best one of the collection, ‘September Nights’. The light jazz of the piano/bass relationship
initiates the almost drumless melody forward. A blue chorused acoustic guitar
quotes a melody while Morrison and his singers moan in passionate response. The
song reveals it’s insides when at first a stunning grand piano takes a solo, followed by
Morrison becoming involved with a delicate horn/vocal call and response. The
song becomes a classic book, subject to interpretation and reflection when its
spine is cracked. At first listen an odd choice as a
closing number, but similarly to the entire record well placed when taken with its surrounding context.
Van Morrison’s 1983 record Inarticulate Speech of the Heart hides clandestinely in the
impressive volumes of Morrison’s diverse and influential catalog. The album
features all of Morrison’s greatest strengths to wonderful effect through
honest and sometimes experimental compositions. As an aside, in my opinion the
LP is also a somewhat rare case of an artist using the production values of the early 1980’s to some of their
greatest strengths. In addition, one of his most
enduring songs sits snugly on the ‘B’ side of the record ready to be discovered
by a hopeful future music lover when searching out classic vinyl records. The rest of
the collection features soulful recitations of pure Van Morrison songwriting
and spectacular instrumental prowess. A divine record of note that if you know well you should revisit
and if you haven’t heard it, search it out now.
Great album and, once again, your writing gets me digging something out to listen...
ReplyDeleteThanks friend! Only took 5 years for me to get notified of your kind words. Tha k you for stopping in.
DeleteGreat read, great album. Thanks!
ReplyDelete