Avalon Sunset is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irishsinger-songwriterVan Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success. In 2008, Avalon Sunset was reissued and remastered, featuring an alternative take of "Whenever God Shines His Light", and a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with additional lyrics by Morrison.
Recording
This album was recorded in England at Woodhall Studio, Eden Studios, Olympic Studios, Westside Studio, and Townhouse Studios. It marked the first appearance with Morrison of Georgie Fame, who played the Hammond organ and also provided backup vocals and helped direct the band. Morrison and Fame would work together for most of the 1990s. The all new songs were rehearsed in two days and then recorded in another two days. Arty McGlynn remarked about the band's feelings when the sessions ended "we still don't know if it's an album, or maybe a demo for an album." Morrison's reliance on spontaneity was evident on "Daring Night" where he can be heard calling out chord changes "one-four, one-four" to Roy Jones near the song's ending. The album was previewed at a private concert at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on 24 May 1989.
Music and lyrics
On Avalon Sunset, Rob Sheffield wrote, Morrison sang about God and love in a scat-influenced style, set against a musical backdrop of mellow folk rock. According to Donald Clarke, the album combined "religiosity and Celtic feeling, a sort of superior New Age music". The album opens with "Whenever God Shines His Light", issued as a successful single that charted at No. 20 in the UK and was a duet with Cliff Richard. The album contains the religious ballad "Have I Told You Lately" which became a hit single for Morrison, reaching No. 12 on the Adult Contemporary Charts, and was a bigger hit for Rod Stewart in 1993. This song was included on Morrison's 2007 album, Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits. Brian Hinton compares the idyllic female in "Orangefield" to Beatrice in the Divine Comedy. Phil Keaggy covered "When Will I EverLearn to Live in God" on his 1993 album Crimson and Blue.
Release and reception
Avalon Sunset was one of Morrison's most commercially successful albums, and his fastest-selling record in the United Kingdom, being certified gold soon after its release. The album was also met with critical acclaim. In a review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said Morrison has found new inspiration in more temporal themes, especially on the album's first side, although he cited the redemption-themed "Whenever God Shines His Light" as his most exuberant song since 1982's "Cleaning Windows". Spin magazine's Karen Schoemer called it an elegantly orchestrated record void of pain: "He celebrates nature, love and poetry too; this is contemplation without conflict, remembrances without bitterness. And no matter how esoteric things get, a charged sensuality permeates." In the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot said "I'd Love to Write Another Song" is a return to his 1960s and 1970s peak; on what is an otherwise good showcase for his insightful vocal delivery of simple yet evocative lyrics and a style of music that "strikes an artful middle ground between the visceral joys of Top 40 and the soothing aural wallpaper of New Age." At the end of 1989, Christgau named Avalon Sunset the 22nd best album of the year in his list for the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. The Times ranked it 63rd in its 1993 list of "All Time Top 100 Albums". In The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin wrote that the record featured "quite immaculate love songs" from Morrison, along with a prominent sense of spirituality and nostalgia throughout, while Morrison biographer Erik Hage called it "a powerful statement the often turbulent muse had stabilized, and was now a sublime force flowing through Van Morrison". AllMusic's Jason Ankeny was less enthusiastic and found it somewhat inconsistent but "nevertheless the work of a master craftsman, its lush orchestration and atmospheric production casting an irresistibly elegant spell".
Track listing
All songs written by Van Morrison, except where noted.
