Veedon Fleece
By Van Morrison
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Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 Fair Play 6:12
- A2 Linden Arden Stole the Highlights 2:36
- A3 Who Was That Masked Man 2:42
- A4 Streets of Arklow 4:32
- A5 You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River 8:48
- B1 Bulbs 4:15
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guitar
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piano
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bass
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drums
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- B2 Cul de Sac 5:42
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guitar
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piano
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bass
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drums
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- B3 Comfort You 4:21
- B4 Come Here My Love 2:18
- B5 Country Fair 5:35
- Total length: 47:01
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16 Issues
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Veedon Fleece [p]
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Veedon Fleece 33 rpm
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Veedon Fleece 33 rpm
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Veedon Fleece 33 rpm
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Veedon Fleece Remastered
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Veedon Fleece Remastered
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Veedon Fleece Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Veedon Fleece Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Veedon Fleece SHMCD UICY-93588
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92 Reviews
I know in my heart of hearts that this is not a great Van Morrison album. And yet, I find that almost any time in the last nine months I've had a craving for Van's music I've gone for this one over any of the other nine or ten Van albums I own. I am not sure I can figure out why, but I think there are a couple reasons. Most of these songs are mildly melancholy, mid-tempo meanders that just sort of drift by in their pretty way and then move along to make way for the next one, but fit perfectly with certain moods. And a couple - especially the opening track "Fair Play" - take a little longer to stretch out and really make themselves felt; any Fela fan like myself should have no trouble recognizing the great riffs grounding the relatively minuscule 6:14 of the opener or even the 8:51 of the provocatively titled "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River" (which lends the album its title). Van knows when he's got a good groove, bass line or whatever, and isn't afraid to keep working it until he's done with it. Anyway, it's a beautiful record, perfect for a crisp autumn day, a lazy summer day, a bright spring day, whatever. I haven't tried winter yet - like I said, it's only been the last nine months that I've been hooked on it - but I'll get back to you in late January if you're interested.
Published
31453 7456-2 CD (1997)
ADVERTISEMENT
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A1
Fair Play
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A2
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
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A3
Who Was That Masked Man
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A4
Streets of Arklow
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A5
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
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B1
Bulbs
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B2
Cul de Sac
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B3
Comfort You
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B4
Come Here My Love
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B5
Country Fair
There IS a God...
I do believe in miracles – cause life itself is a miracle, and miracles happen every day cause life itself is happening every day, ever-present in a circle of birth and growing and bloom and ceasing.I do believe in a higher force and purpose behind it that we cannot put our fingers on,
neither with science nor with religions, ideologies, rules or any other attempts at explaining our existance and putting it to order. We're bound to fail cause the human mind is limited.
Either we experience there's more by somehow being given the favour and believe in it, or we don't.
I do believe that inspiration is a sacrament, a gift of grace that can enable us to experience the being-there of a sacred and indestructible, positive whole that, in absence of words to describe. we may name LOVE - or GOD - ...experience it through music and, of course, by listening to it.
I do believe so because there is music that can cause an epiphany inside the listener.
Music that is either being played in the state of innocence, or being created in a desperate and honest longing for it. Music in which basic human emotions are genuinely expressed
and turn into a mindblowing encounter with an essence that is more than facets of joy or pain or examples of brilliant analyzing/thinking, cause it's beyond the boundaries and categories and somewhat containing and transcending everything into more... so it becomes nothing less than a expression of life itself, with which the artists lends his voice and playing to a higher force.
Van Morrison is an artist who can leave the listener with an epiphany. Don't expect him to, though,
it just happens if it does. I have experienced it first in 1982, where he played a Live-Show for German „Rockpalast“-TV. I just didn't know what he was doing, I remember having been at a loss first, trying to get a grip on it. I tried to categorize and understand what it was that I was listening to,
cause it wasn't rock, it wasn't r'n'b / soul, it wasn't folk, it wasn't jazz, it wasn't anything of them in spite of elements that came out of all those genres. It was a strange mixture, really.
And the songs, played strictly one after the other without stopping for a banter, seemed to be very samey and simple. I didn't get it. My brain was helpless. And so he sang and the band played on and on until, suddenly, it was like someone, somewhere had switched a control lever in my head – and I felt like being in paradise. It was unbelievable – and suddenly I knew what it was.
It was music. No need to ask for any more. No need to think about or categorize it.
It was music and music is a miracle happening.
Well, how do you capture it on tape, conserve it on plastic, make the experience repeatable ?
No use asking. It just happens if it does. Some can feel it, others may not.
But „Veedon Fleece“ is one of those albums by one of those artists who can make it happen.
It's an epiphany for me, especially Album-side A.
And either you share it or not.
We can try to analyze the lyrics, but I'm afraid we're bound to fail.
„William Blake and the sisters of mercy looking for the Veedon Fleece“...
this, depending on your state of mind, is saying everything – or nothing.
Linden Arden... a thief of „Highlights“ whose „fingers have been put through the glass“...
well, this story about a drinking man who loves to go to church on sunday may succeed in telling you what can happen to a man when people around him are envious of anything cause they envy one's life, they envy life itself ( instead of getting one ).
But, all in all, „Veedon Fleece“ is one big longing for love, peace and harmony... say, a longing for home wherever or whatever it is... a longing of the soul
that eventually became so strong it's making the soul arrive there.
All those images of nature and fairness and the folky pace of the music are nothing but a help to get there.
And the wailing complaints about despair and violence, as their counterparts, are telling you why.
This music is pure inspiration that directly made its way into songs, and we're being given the favour of having an experience that there is a higher force and purpose, no matter how far we are from it, or even devided.
If only we can listen we can also have an epiphany.
And we ought to be grateful for that, so thanks to the musicians ( servants ! ) involved but, most of all, thanks to GOD for the miracle of music happening, for the sacred sacrament of inspiration.
If you're looking for a meaning in life, well, it's hard to find ( out ), but for sure it can't be a complete waste of time as long as we can listen to music like this,
regardless of one's belief or disbelief in „GOD“, so you don't necessarily need to share mine, okay ?
LOVE;
Roop
Published
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There are times when you feel bruised and alone so much that you almost take a kind of disquieting comfort in hearing someone as bruised and alone as you are. Veedon Fleece is, for me, as coherent a stab as Van would ever make at both a withdrawal from stardom, a quiet meditation on English pastoral themes a la William Blake and simply great songwriting which manages to ebb and flow, loosely and tightly, depending on the session and the players involved. For a long time, it was a bit of an overlooked epiphany in the catalog due to its having spawned no significant hit singles or radio-ready themes. Even 'Bulbs', the single subsequently released to try and boost the albums' sales is tinged with a sardonic bitterness aimed at showbiz cronies in the record business. No surprise there - amidst all the theatrical pretensions of glam and prog, audiences didn't have much room for a no-bullshit singer-songwriter facing his inner demons via contemplation and grief.
Coming off of his divorce with his wife, Van settled down in the countryside and let a simple honest flow of creativity come right out. It's the kind of record you need to be alone with at night when you're trying to find some glimmers of hope in your solitude. Much like Neil Young's On the Beach of the same year, it's a look at how superficial much of the seventies were becoming with a back-to-basics straightforwardness that reveals a lot of the ugliness behind the world. Van avoids self-glorifying isolation and pain - he prefers to simply tell the truth to himself through some abstract imagery and calming settings.
This sounds too lofty for an album so infused with humbleness, but the main theme here is resignation before fate - things suck, human relationships fall apart, but there's always consolation in musical sojourns and stream-of-conscious meditation. The album is comforting, Van's vocal stylings are his best ever, the session players all meld and go wherever they can to make some profound emotions strike home.
If you liked 'Madame George' or 'Astral Weeks', this is the logical successor and a much more consistent album - whereas Van looked ahead with a ripe imagination there, this is the one that takes place at the end of the ride. Sourly disillusioned but still feeding the poetic fire to carry on courageously.
Some of the greatest music ever recorded, in my opinion.
Coming off of his divorce with his wife, Van settled down in the countryside and let a simple honest flow of creativity come right out. It's the kind of record you need to be alone with at night when you're trying to find some glimmers of hope in your solitude. Much like Neil Young's On the Beach of the same year, it's a look at how superficial much of the seventies were becoming with a back-to-basics straightforwardness that reveals a lot of the ugliness behind the world. Van avoids self-glorifying isolation and pain - he prefers to simply tell the truth to himself through some abstract imagery and calming settings.
This sounds too lofty for an album so infused with humbleness, but the main theme here is resignation before fate - things suck, human relationships fall apart, but there's always consolation in musical sojourns and stream-of-conscious meditation. The album is comforting, Van's vocal stylings are his best ever, the session players all meld and go wherever they can to make some profound emotions strike home.
If you liked 'Madame George' or 'Astral Weeks', this is the logical successor and a much more consistent album - whereas Van looked ahead with a ripe imagination there, this is the one that takes place at the end of the ride. Sourly disillusioned but still feeding the poetic fire to carry on courageously.
Some of the greatest music ever recorded, in my opinion.
Published
Van’s music is all about feeling, and this release touches some indefinable essence of gentle reflective beauty. Van’s singing is also a very big part of his music and here he’s the nicest I’ve ever heard him, with lots of lovely falsetto. The overall effect is just daydreamy afternoon. “Linden Arden Stole the Highlights” has a classic simple melody with its delicate evocative piano motif. The quietly intense “You Don’t Pull No Punches” could be respected as one of his best, and flipping onto side two, “Bulbs” lifts the mood completely into real country party joy, this fine song should have been a hit and/or been on his Best Of.
As for the lyrics, I’ve given up completely on scrutinising him here, I don’t think it’s the point, you’ve just gotta dig the feel man. But "Linden Arden" is my favourite.
As for the lyrics, I’ve given up completely on scrutinising him here, I don’t think it’s the point, you’ve just gotta dig the feel man. But "Linden Arden" is my favourite.
Published
Let’s get the bad news, or should I say interesting news, out of the way first ... Van Morrison has never been know for wonderful album covers, matter of fact, his Hard Nose The Highway has to be one of the all time worst covers ever. I have no idea what he’s trying to convey with this hand-tinted image of himself and two Irish Wolfhounds, harkening back to an era that suggests some sort of antique portrait, rather than a young man attempting to break new musical ground. Though according to Mr. Morrison, the cover is full of mysticism and suggested meanings, echoing hidden aspects of his life at the time.
The Sutton House Hotel, featured in the background is actually a converted mansion overlooking Dublin Bay, the place where Van first stayed when arriving in Ireland on holiday. There have been several suggestions regarding the Veedon Fleece, an enigmatic and mysterious object as it appears in the album title and in the lyrics of the song “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push The River.” I think that the Veedon Fleece as perceived by Morrison, is wisdom, spiritual enlightenment, love, and an artistic vision ... one may see Veedon Fleece as as a sort of Irish Holy Grail, a quest on which Morrison was on for a variety of reasons.
This is the eighth studio album by Van Morrison, and was recorded shortly after his divorce from Janet Rigsbee. It seems that Morrison was rushing head long into everything during this era, because he returned to Ireland with his new fiancee Carol Guida rather quickly, hoping for inspiration, and hoping to put his past behind him. His choice must have been a good one, because he wrote and record nearly all of the tracks in just under four weeks. Initially the album was dismissed by nearly everyone, even to the point of ignoring it ... and that being said, Morrison has only sung five of the songs from the album in concert. Both Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone printed quite horrid dismissive reviews, though Rolling Stone, in a biography of Morrison touts the album as ”The culmination of everything Van was doing up to that point, all celtic mystic tumult in vocals and pastoral beauty in the music ... ranking among his most majestic music.” Which sort of leaves me scratching my head, because that quote really says nothing more than the obvious; though the album was a huge departure from the R&B style he was known for. If you were to ask me, I’d say that for the most part Morrison was channeling these songs, as if they’d been living in his head, and he just needed the right atmosphere and time in his life, for them to take form and see the light of day.
I’m not going to say that Veedon Fleece is an easy album to listen to, matter of fact there are only three songs that are stand out winners for me ... but in the same light, one must appreciate Veedon Fleece as an ambitious adventure, inexhaustible, inspiring, intellectually challenging, and eclectic ... ranking right up there with the musical statements that Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was trying to make. And like Brian it would take years for people to be able to appreciated this genuine piece of original music.
Van has stepped back into this musical style from time to time on individual songs, but never as the conceptual product found here. I think that even Mr. Morrison found this album demanding ... I know that when I finish playing it, I almost demand silence, as if there’s a palatable thickness to the air which must settle out before I can do just about anything else.
Oh, and to a fan, when questioned about the album’s title, Morrison said, ”It doesn’t mean anything, I made it all up myself.”
The Sutton House Hotel, featured in the background is actually a converted mansion overlooking Dublin Bay, the place where Van first stayed when arriving in Ireland on holiday. There have been several suggestions regarding the Veedon Fleece, an enigmatic and mysterious object as it appears in the album title and in the lyrics of the song “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push The River.” I think that the Veedon Fleece as perceived by Morrison, is wisdom, spiritual enlightenment, love, and an artistic vision ... one may see Veedon Fleece as as a sort of Irish Holy Grail, a quest on which Morrison was on for a variety of reasons.
This is the eighth studio album by Van Morrison, and was recorded shortly after his divorce from Janet Rigsbee. It seems that Morrison was rushing head long into everything during this era, because he returned to Ireland with his new fiancee Carol Guida rather quickly, hoping for inspiration, and hoping to put his past behind him. His choice must have been a good one, because he wrote and record nearly all of the tracks in just under four weeks. Initially the album was dismissed by nearly everyone, even to the point of ignoring it ... and that being said, Morrison has only sung five of the songs from the album in concert. Both Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone printed quite horrid dismissive reviews, though Rolling Stone, in a biography of Morrison touts the album as ”The culmination of everything Van was doing up to that point, all celtic mystic tumult in vocals and pastoral beauty in the music ... ranking among his most majestic music.” Which sort of leaves me scratching my head, because that quote really says nothing more than the obvious; though the album was a huge departure from the R&B style he was known for. If you were to ask me, I’d say that for the most part Morrison was channeling these songs, as if they’d been living in his head, and he just needed the right atmosphere and time in his life, for them to take form and see the light of day.
I’m not going to say that Veedon Fleece is an easy album to listen to, matter of fact there are only three songs that are stand out winners for me ... but in the same light, one must appreciate Veedon Fleece as an ambitious adventure, inexhaustible, inspiring, intellectually challenging, and eclectic ... ranking right up there with the musical statements that Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was trying to make. And like Brian it would take years for people to be able to appreciated this genuine piece of original music.
Van has stepped back into this musical style from time to time on individual songs, but never as the conceptual product found here. I think that even Mr. Morrison found this album demanding ... I know that when I finish playing it, I almost demand silence, as if there’s a palatable thickness to the air which must settle out before I can do just about anything else.
Oh, and to a fan, when questioned about the album’s title, Morrison said, ”It doesn’t mean anything, I made it all up myself.”
Published
Van closed out his classic period with his most beguiling record to date. Fuck Astral Weeks! Where's Veedon Fleece at Hollywood Bowl?! Now that would get me excited, for real, actually I would probably have to move out to LA to see that one.
As he had previously done on Astral Weeks, Van completely disregards concerns for being commercial. It starts off gently with a heart-wrenching performance on Fair Play. As inscrutable as the lyrics are, a theme arises of loneliness. Sadly, my fondness for Veedon Fleece has increased almost incrementally with my own loneliness. Don't know if that's a coincidence, but its true. Everything about side one is perfect, maybe not for all moods, but good when you want to look out a window on a rainy day. To this day, I sing along word for word not knowing what the fuck I am talking about. But it is great. If you've never heard it, I would say that the record sounds very much like the imagery that you see on the front cover: its just Van alone with his dogs, at a distance looking like a certain member of AC/DC, but most striking are the rolling hills and the dark green hue of it all. The album's centerpiece, You Don't Pull No Punches, is a classic mystery to me. The fact that I have no idea what a veedon fleece is makes it all the more weird, but here I am singing along. I love it. Bulbs is the long lost Van shudda-been-a-hit. What an amazing record. On Cul de Sac, Van grunts for a solid thirty seconds at the end. He actually goes, "huh huh huh huh huuuuuuuuuuuuuuhh..." A little comic relief, mayhaps? Whatever it is = it is true genius! After Cul de Sac I feel the record is not unlike Terry Reid's River album, which also seems to fade into thin air. And yes, there was a time when Country Fair use to make me cry without exception, but now I am older, lonely and wafer thin. My home is on the green green hills that I have never seen... oh wait, that's Ray Davies...
anyway, bloody genius
As he had previously done on Astral Weeks, Van completely disregards concerns for being commercial. It starts off gently with a heart-wrenching performance on Fair Play. As inscrutable as the lyrics are, a theme arises of loneliness. Sadly, my fondness for Veedon Fleece has increased almost incrementally with my own loneliness. Don't know if that's a coincidence, but its true. Everything about side one is perfect, maybe not for all moods, but good when you want to look out a window on a rainy day. To this day, I sing along word for word not knowing what the fuck I am talking about. But it is great. If you've never heard it, I would say that the record sounds very much like the imagery that you see on the front cover: its just Van alone with his dogs, at a distance looking like a certain member of AC/DC, but most striking are the rolling hills and the dark green hue of it all. The album's centerpiece, You Don't Pull No Punches, is a classic mystery to me. The fact that I have no idea what a veedon fleece is makes it all the more weird, but here I am singing along. I love it. Bulbs is the long lost Van shudda-been-a-hit. What an amazing record. On Cul de Sac, Van grunts for a solid thirty seconds at the end. He actually goes, "huh huh huh huh huuuuuuuuuuuuuuhh..." A little comic relief, mayhaps? Whatever it is = it is true genius! After Cul de Sac I feel the record is not unlike Terry Reid's River album, which also seems to fade into thin air. And yes, there was a time when Country Fair use to make me cry without exception, but now I am older, lonely and wafer thin. My home is on the green green hills that I have never seen... oh wait, that's Ray Davies...
anyway, bloody genius
Published
-
A1
Fair Play
-
A2
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
-
A3
Who Was That Masked Man
-
A4
Streets of Arklow
-
A5
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
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B1
Bulbs
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B2
Cul de Sac
-
B3
Comfort You
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B4
Come Here My Love
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B5
Country Fair
"Linden Arden's" niggardly two-and-a-bit minutes have Morrison stretching his vocals to the limit for the first time since "Beside you" in recounting the bizarre tale of a drinkin' man with a penchant for decapitation. Accompanied by an undulating piano melody that sounds like it was written for a harpsichord, it really is unlike anything else in the Van index. The other obvious parallel lies in the sparse, fluid final track, as "Country Fair" takes on the impossible task of emulating "Slim Slow Slider" and nearly measures up.
Two difficulties: "Streets of Arklow" may have been recorded 30 years ago, but its tremulous whistle had to be as insufferably Oirish then as it is when the Corrs do it now. And what the bejabers is going on at the end of "Cul-de-sac"? It sounds like he's rooting for truffles.
Published
-
A1
Fair Play
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A2
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
-
A3
Who Was That Masked Man
-
A4
Streets of Arklow
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A5
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
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B1
Bulbs
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B2
Cul de Sac
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B3
Comfort You
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B4
Come Here My Love
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B5
Country Fair
Shortly after discovering that Astral Weeks was better than sex, I delved into Van's early '70s output in an effort to find something that was nearly as orgasmic. And you don't have to look very far because the man was hot property in that period, but this, and not Moondance, is the other true masterpiece in his catalogue.
Like Astral Weeks the lyrics seem like streams of consciousness, Van's vocals like free jazz and the instrumentation is lush and pastoral. This is not a groovy R'n'B record. This will make a grown man weep.
"Fair Play" sets up the playful, nostalgic mood with phrases like "Geronimo" and "High-ho silver". The first half is marked by its use of piano as the main instrument, which gives the album a different feel to AW. The centrepiece is clearly the mystical, in name and in nature, "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River" which uses flutes and strings to conjure up some kind of spiritual awakening.
The second side closes with a string of heart-meltingly beautiful love songs, the highlight of which is probably the tenderly whispered "Come Here My Love". They all trump "Crazy Love" in my mind though as here Van is doing what I think he does best; accessing his supernatural side.
The literary references, in particular to the romantics, seem fitting. This is Van going back to nature and getting all emotional on us. It's stunning from start to finish.
Published
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Catalog
13 May 2024
12 May 2024
10 May 2024
9 May 2024
8 May 2024
8 May 2024
8 May 2024
-
A1
Fair Play
-
A2
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
-
A3
Who Was That Masked Man
-
A4
Streets of Arklow
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A5
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
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B1
Bulbs
-
B2
Cul de Sac
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B3
Comfort You
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B4
Come Here My Love
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B5
Country Fair
7 May 2024
6 May 2024
5 May 2024
5 May 2024
4 May 2024
4 May 2024
2 May 2024
1 May 2024
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