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1. Today @vanmorrison turns 75. I can think of no other singer-songwriter whose work I’ve enjoyed as much, ever since I was a boy. In two threads I’ll tweet a song from each of his many albums, starting with his 1964 classic with Them, “Gloria.” https://youtu.be/34ZKxt2p6tM ">https://youtu.be/34ZKxt2p6...
2. His other perennial favorite from his Them days is 1965’s “Here Comes the Night.” https://youtu.be/aXD1B2651X8 ">https://youtu.be/aXD1B2651...
3. Van’s first solo album was “Blowin’ Your Mind,” which included “Brown Eyed Girl.” https://youtu.be/UfmkgQRmmeE ">https://youtu.be/UfmkgQRmm...
4. In late 1968 Morrison recorded the landmark “Astral Weeks” album, which included a staple of his live shows for years, “Cyprus Avenue.” https://youtu.be/L8jPDdHd9y8 ">https://youtu.be/L8jPDdHd9...
5. The inescapable album in my teen years was 1970’s “Moondance,” and I grew sick of hearing the title track. Not so the number that followed it, “Crazy Love.” https://youtu.be/OIaKy1vM9hs ">https://youtu.be/OIaKy1vM9...
6. That same year he released “His Band and the Street Choir,” which gave us audience favorite “Domino.” https://youtu.be/yiDcPUOD-vY ">https://youtu.be/yiDcPUOD-...
7. I always turn up the radio in the car when this one comes on, the title track of 1971’s “Tupelo Honey.” https://youtu.be/3DbTIKHYwog ">https://youtu.be/3DbTIKHYw...
8. Morrison’s 1972 album “Saint Dominic’s Preview” opened with his tribute to an R&B influence, “Jackie Wilson Said.” https://youtu.be/w1R8MP3GGGs ">https://youtu.be/w1R8MP3GG...
9. The 1973 “Hard Nose the Highway” album yielded one durable hit, “Warm Love.” https://youtu.be/vjhvljKtf-U ">https://youtu.be/vjhvljKtf...
10. “It’s Too Late to Stop Now” (1974) is one of the greatest live albums ever, featuring R&B covers as well as Morrison’s own songs. Here are two—first “Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do.” https://youtu.be/Vtn4ufLtCvE ">https://youtu.be/Vtn4ufLtC...
11. And here’s Van’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me.” https://youtu.be/CTGBRXvwbg8 ">https://youtu.be/CTGBRXvwb...
12. The 1974 album “Veedon Fleece” is almost forgotten, but includes this memory of Morrison’s Ulster upbringing, Streets of Arklow.” https://youtu.be/kR3orob9xtE ">https://youtu.be/kR3orob9x...
13. Morrison did not release a new album again until 1977’s “A Period of Transition.” Here from that album is “It Fills You Up.” https://youtu.be/067VzA44vZ4 ">https://youtu.be/067VzA44v...
14. One of Van’s biggest successes was 1978’s “Wavelength,” which opened with “Kingdom Hall.” https://youtu.be/MPxqwixze3o ">https://youtu.be/MPxqwixze...
15. He closed out the 1970s with “Into the Music,” an album suggesting the turn his music was taking, with numbers like “And the Healing Has Begun.” https://youtu.be/QXMwEsfUBUo ">https://youtu.be/QXMwEsfUB...
16. In 1980 Morrison released “Common One,” featuring long contemplative numbers. One of the shorter numbers was “Spirit.” https://youtu.be/ke9goUVikrc ">https://youtu.be/ke9goUVik...
17. The 1982 album “Beautiful Vision” featured much more accessible pop tunes, but the title track may have been the loveliest. https://youtu.be/uOPvaLmBm38 ">https://youtu.be/uOPvaLmBm...
18. 1983’s “Inarticulate Speech of the Heart” had several instrumental numbers. But fans want to hear Van sing. Here’s an alternate version, from a reissue of that album, of “Cry for Home.” https://youtu.be/9zlQowGxNWg ">https://youtu.be/9zlQowGxN...
19. In 1984 Morrison released “Live at the Grand Opera Belfast,” which included “She Gives Me Religion,” originally on “Beautiful Vision.” https://youtu.be/If2hGoiW578 ">https://youtu.be/If2hGoiW5...
20. On “A Sense of Wonder” (1985), Morrison recorded some covers as well as new songs of his own. Here he sings Mose Allison’s “If You Only Knew.” https://youtu.be/GR191xUO4vk ">https://youtu.be/GR191xUO4...
21. “No Guru, No Method, No Teacher” (1986) returned to the contemplative mood with numbers like “Oh the Warm Feeling.” https://youtu.be/95KKFCFo3e8 ">https://youtu.be/95KKFCFo3...
22. This mood continued on 1987’s “Poetic Champions Compose,” with songs like “The Mystery.” https://youtu.be/zZkjuqcCSKI ">https://youtu.be/zZkjuqcCS...
23. In 1988 Morrison recorded “Irish Heartbeat” with The Chieftains, and sang the traditional “She Moved Through the Fair.” https://youtu.be/bV7ZFI0CDBw ">https://youtu.be/bV7ZFI0CD...
24. On 1989’s “Avalon Sunset,” Morrison asked a question many of us ask ourselves, “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God.” https://youtu.be/bV7ZFI0CDBw ">https://youtu.be/bV7ZFI0CD...
25. A much more up-tempo Van sang “Real Real Gone” on 1990’s “Enlightenment.” https://youtu.be/PVVkJI_2hog ">https://youtu.be/PVVkJI_2h...
I see that #24 had an erroneous link. Here’s the right one to “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?” https://youtu.be/kbuFha69kg0 ">https://youtu.be/kbuFha69k...
