This is so interesting. Just shows you how tough you have to be in the Music Business. A Struggle but yet Van Morrison the fighter always survived and fought the Mob. God Job Van Morrison You Won! What a Career indeed.
That last album was fantastic. Everything...the other 27 songs were all good,very good, except the title one. He does it so effortlessly. Still made it sound pretty fresh..and nothing is more expired sounding than The Blues...
In 1966, in Woodland Hills, Ca. Every garage band started with playing G-L-O-R-I-A, by Van Morrison and THEM. He has always been a tangent between basic Rock and real music. He is viewed as a Savant, a guy whose ideas work just because they are on the edge. I have played 'Wild Night' and ' Into the Mystic ' more times than can be counted. Tupelo Honey was the one that got me, we lived in Sausalito then, and actually went by his place in Marin several times. Van will always ROCK!
I love Thems' take on Bob Dylans "It's all over now, baby blue" I've put that on a few times and told folk it was Jagger and Co.. They never asked a follow up.. Great vocal take from van his voice is top notch. Van really is the man. His performance of "Caravan" from "The last waltz" always wakes me up.. Plus Robbie Robertson (the guitar player😂) Van even blew The Band away that performance.
Good interview, Morrison is tough, he has to be. East Belfast in the’ 50’s was in its own way a rough place. It give him a good grounding for the hard times he had in Them, Bang Records and then Warner Brothers. He not only survived but thrived. He gets a bad press from the media but it’s well known in Belfast that he is very good to his family and friends. Van looks well. I wish him well.
I don't know about 'Bad Press'? Never Seen it? If True, it's only Because HE never 'Did the Media, Promotion crap'. I doubt he has Ever been on Any version of 'The Tonight Show' , done Few interviews, Loves "Music", otherwise just "Let me BE"! I am Not yours, period." He Says so much in a more obscure song I Just heard last week, on his recording with 'Joey Defrancesco' , 2017
@@q4991 There was a period in the 90’s when he was never out of the Irish press in the ‘80’/90’s when he living somewhere around or in Dublin - the guy was hounded for awhile by the tabloids, which for someone like Van Morrison was a disaster. As long as he is alive there will be press interest - he is a great artist after all - his background, unique in popular culture has been an influence in today’s culture. I admire Van’s (big) ball’s 😊
This was such an amazing interview from Van. The music industry is a fierce business to be in. Van not only survives it, but he also prevails in the brutal music business. Thank you so much for sharing this. 👏 👏 ✨ 🌠
Great interview. This man has been through a lot. Wealth of knowledge plus he doesn’t sugar coat. The Elvis comment shows a lot. He respects the beginnings of a genre, not into new artists.
I have loved and enjoyed your 🎶 since I 1st heard you sing Gloria with Them in the 70's. You have always been on my daily playlist today & my favorite is Someone Like You are Reminds me of you, as I'm missing seeing my only 40 yr old son since the lockdown. Your songs are inspirational and get me through my days. Your accent is prominent and never noticed it in your 🎶 but love hearing it. ❤
100Equipoise And that's to be admired. But the older I get, the more I revere the John Prine approach of smiling and keeping his own counsel. Nobody ever mistook Prine for anybody's doormat for it and, as far as I know, everybody always felt better for making his acquaintance. There are worse legacies.
Yes, Woolhall..thank you for putting this ON you tube...I also like hearing what Van Morrison says about this and that, and seeing his consideration of questions. I like his work, and I like that he remains as he is.
There's a reason he's called "Van the Man." Salt of the Earth. My favorite VM song is "Cleaning Windows". A perfect expression of the quiet dignity of the working man.
Van is a true artist and an honest man. An honest working man. I got nothing but good things to say about him. Not only is his music wonderful …his respect for the audience and art is immense. In an industry that makes sodom and gamers look clean… Van stays true to art and audience. That is what I see through he lens of my life experience. The song… ‘Whenever God shines his light’ lifted me up when when I was profoundly deflated. God bless you Van.
I think you might be overstating the case. He has often been a problematic performer, coming across as arrogant and aloof, and sometimes downright combative. At his best, he is definitely a true artist, but many of his shows and records are pretty far from his best. He seems at times rather unable to manage his real gifts, letting them be submerged under waves of resentment and ill will. But I see your point. His failings are only human, and seem to be accentuated by the fact that what he is aiming for is very high and sometimes unattainable. And aiming higher is almost the definition of art.
The Morrissons were not working class, they were very comfortably off and lived in a nice street in a nice house, and he went to a good school, they were respectable members of the community and churchgoers/members. Teenagers who had ANY cash to buy records in the early 60’s were not poor or struggling. Its a dumb myth that he is from a working class family. There was lots of poverty in Belfast amongst working class folk, the Morrissons were not a poor family, not in any sense wealthy but definively not poor, if you lived in Belfast you would know this
Great sound track to the movie BELFAST ..how appropriate is this guy ?!? My Northern Irish friends are powerful and his lyrics fit right into the 2021 film
At what point do you realise you are are hero to millions? At what point do you stop thinking about yourself as aspiring? When do you make it? Thank you van Morrison
The fact that he does not feel himself as a hero and still feels he is not as good the music they influenced him. Van himself would never view his actual influences as heroes either it's just not how his mind works and it's what keeps him relevant and moving forward the minute you buy into the idea that your a hero you start wanting to rest of your past glories. You become the eagles or you become jimmy page doing his 20 000th interview about the the zeppelin BBC sessions and I say that as a huge page fan . Van is not interested in being anyone hero . If you told Van he was your hero he owned probably smack you in the head .
Yes I remember Mr Morrison and they were a metaphoric kaleidoscope of the mystical inner being. Yes I remember and I still think Hard Nose the Highway is the best no matter what people say. Snow in Anselmo
Love Hard Nose the Highway.... ethereal...wispy Mt Tamalpais foggy movements...descending rather quickly upon the ever rusting steel and iron of the Golden gate.... Marin....San Rafael... the winding wet lanes of pavement....101.....and yes....the rare occurence of "Snow in San Anselmo".....
I was offered a record deal after performing at SXSW in Austin, TX a few years ago. I’d been “signed” before. When I told them I wanted to produce the album myself, it was a hard “no.” So, it was a hard “no” for me on the “deal.”
I'm NOT a record producer...nor do i play one on TV. When you get a door slammed in ur face more than a couple times, is it NOT possible to make ur own CD's @ sell 'em from the trunk of your car?! IDK how it all works. But THEN u hear of THAT someone Getting their Music Out there. Lead with Ur strengths. 📀🎶 ✊
looks the same way in his brown eyed girl video...and probably every day of his life since. he's earned his reputation as a curmudgeon. one of the great ARTISTS though!
Van morrison gets a bad rap for being crotchety. I think he just gets tired of telling the same old stories though. Interviewers always seem like they feel he is holding back, but I think he is as genuine and honest a person as they will ever interview. I think he's just frustrated that they aren't listening.
He says what he has to. NO extra B.S. Doesn't Sugar Coat anything. Could care less what the Big Wigs say about him...AND his millions of fan's KNOW VAN RULEs. Living Legend. SO grateful for over 5 decades of this unique @ gifted artist.
Wow this is a hell of a an interview - it was that commercial aspect that producer gloss battles that was definitive of the era . Also managers - like odd ball Oldham rocked up for the Stones ect fascinating story I wish I knew more about ?
This interview just goes to show that true musicians and musical geniuses aren't really meant for PR and interviews. He's not being rude but you can see his reluctance to talk about music, he just wants to play it, not have to discuss it and answer some of these inane questions. It's an awkward interview. It's like talking about sex, or religion. Not something you talk about, something you just do.
In my musical universe Van Morrison is Greatest Of All Time #2! Only surpassed by Elvis Presley. I read an interview in Uncut from about 2005, that Van had some admiration for Elvis as a singer. But wasn't important for him. That makes sense because he had already heard all this music that also influenced Elvis. And Elvis was so big in the early 60's, and had moved on from pure rock'n'roll as the whole world had since the 50's, that he practically was a large piece of Pop music by himself. Which was too commercial for Van and his friends therefore against it (=him in itself), like he said here. And that pop image made him not see how versatile Elvis was and deeply loved and was inspired by the same genres as him. Both Elvis and Van are incredibly versatile artists/singers as in how many genres they know and can perform very well. Van is great, but Elvis is an even better singer than Van. Van wins music writing. Then we have performing On Stage, charisma, looks, sense of humour, personality, generosity. I think Elvis is impossible to beat in these areas. Van might be great also, but hardly equal.
Tommy S There's a piece of this history that you're overlooking. There was no such thing as Jim Crow in Britain and Ireland. Teenagers in the UK, the Irish Republic and Europe had the distinct advantage of experiencing the totality of Elvis, Big Joe Turner and Howlin Wolf all at the same time. The whole absurd exercise of sheltering young people from 'race music' - the way much of the US was obsessed with doing - it just didn't exist. It makes perfect sense then that a guy of Van's vintage would have completely separate compartments for Muddy Waters and Elvis. Much of America - by contrast - was still too hysterical on the subject to even make a distinction between the black originators and their gifted white admirers.
@@chriscoughlin9289 Sorry, but I don’t understand the reference to Jim Crow in your response to me. Otherwise I can’t dispute what you write, since you probably know more than me about the subject regarding British circumstances.
@@chriscoughlin9289 OK, thanks for explaining. I never mentioned him or race separation, so therefore it seems to me as if perhaps your reply was meant for someone else?
@@TS-gg9dk Huh? You went on at some length about how Elvis wasn't 'important' to him. If you've followed Van's career, you know that the blues shouters that inspired Elvis (John Lee, Howlin' Wolf) CLEARLY were. Van has always had a track record for displaying his regard for the innovators, not their imitators - however talented Elvis, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee undeniably were. I merely pointed out that somebody raised outside of the segregated US in the 50's (like Van) had no reason to compare Elvis with Muddy Waters or those other greats - the way terrified censors in America were doing. They just weren't in the same category for most UK bands - not just Them, but the Stones, Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac, Small Faces etc. There's a reason none of them made a career out of covering white Rockabilly.
Seems like the interviewer was trying to make the conversation all about race. I respect Van Morrison for sticking to names of individuals rather than letting himself get sucked into the race-baiting.
It’s amazing how any good music ever comes from such a restrictive environment like the “music industry” (key word: industry). Of course money will always be the focus and motivating factor in any business, but it’s interesting to hear how Morrison dropped the “Artist” moniker (obviously a legal term) for the more empowering title of “producer.” Most people really have no idea what these titles actually mean. Especially today. Seems that these poor schmucks today should be given a class by bands and artists that have been thrashed and burned by the industry… especially before they ever consider signing any contract
People with dignity act with a certain degree of seriousness. It was normal since time began for adults to act like adults, until chat shows and lesbian comedians came along and decreed that everyone should act like petulant brat children.
i mo chónaí Hilarious. People like Van, Dylan and Neil Young have all spent half a century putting up with a reputation for being 'difficult' All because they refused to be saddled with somebody else's baggage - ie being spokesmen for the 60's generation left mythology. And you pretend to admire them for it. Except - what's the first thing you want them to do? Make them carry YOUR baggage for the other side. Sorry dude - those guys have been refusing to buy whatever it is you're peddling for A LOT longer than 'Ellen' has been on the airwaves.
Like Van says, the music business is ALL about the money. Why he means, in the misleadingly quoted phrase in the heading of this video clip, is that he stopped being listed as an "artist" on the music business's vampire contracts, because, as he says, the "artist got nothing." So he started calling himself a "producer" on the contracts, which gave him more control and limited the predatory rake off of the record companies. As Johnny Cash said, "Country Music is for people who hate country music." The music business makes music as expensive as it can, to serve its operators and investors and the landlords and mortgage holders of venues. The musicians get ******, the audiences get ******, and the music gets ******. The great thing is, though, that music survives at the grass roots. There's a bumper-sticker you used to see at the Strawberry Music Festival, "real musicians have day jobs."
Just don't ask him to sing "Brown Eyed Girl" Mum used to get the same bus as him most days into town (Belfast) in the mid sixties, says he was always very polite but very quiet.
What is it about British interviewers? Just because you're off camera doesn't mean you don't need to mic your voice. Had to crank volume all the way to hear the bloody questions and still couldn't hear everything he said. A seemingly not uncommon shortcoming with interviews conducted in the UK.
I guess Morry was our Harold Pinter ? Shoot me down if I'm over the cliff ? But was he more Seamus Henney ? Did he avoid the Troubles ? Can't seem to remember ?
I wonder if he means being an artist in like being a rock artist? Van is like any authentic musician much like Miles, Hank Williams, Ray Charles,and any all folk blues players from the dawn of time. No real pretension just playing singing
He's probably shy just a tough guy image... when U hear his lyrics that's the real Van U can tell they come from the heart... he's a straight shooter...👍
