At the Movies: Soundtrack Hits

by

Van Morrison

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If you are in the market to own just one Van Morrison CD collection, Van Morrison "At The Movies", is the disc for you. This cd combines 19 tracks from all phases of his long distinguished career. The Irish soul man has never sounded better with remastered clarity, that makes this the choice over "Greatest Hits Vol-1 & Vol-2. This cd actually combines the best of those two collections and more. His classic gems from the "Them" days "Gloria", and "Baby Please Don't Go", are included here as well. His reworking of "Brown Eyed Girl", proves he has not lost anything from those vocal chords. His live take on "Caravan" from the "Last Waltz", is one of the finest live recordings ever. Lots of modern gems here as well, like 'Days Like This", "Real Real Gone", and the "Bright Side Of The Road". The real treat on this collection however, is the inclusion of his collaboration with Pink Floyds Roger Waters, on "Comfotably Numb", which was recorded live in Berlin in 1986 and features Rick Danko and Levon Helm. Some outstanding ballads are here as well like, "Someone Like You", "Have I Told You Lately", "Wonderful Remark", and "Hungry For Your Love". Considering the price and the fantastic content of this cd, I consider this cd essential to everyone who is both new to Van Morrison music and to well seasoned fans who would like to add a career retrospective not available until now. It doesn't get any better than this.

The sound, of course, is wonderful. Great songs, too. But you don't need BOTH this and "Best Of ... Volume 1" unless you're a completist. Yes, this one *does* have "Comfortably Numb," plus an unnecessary new version of "Brown Eyed Girl" and a few live versions of songs from "Best Of ... Vol. 1" But for being a supposed Academy Award inspired collection, why does this lack the ONLY Oscar-nominated song Van's done ("Sitting On Top Of The World" from the film, "Evelyn")??? I'd blame a greedy record company for this CD, but as Van calls his own shots, let's say it represents a failure of imagination. Only 3 stars for a lack of creativity in this compilation ... but Van will -no doubt- laugh all the way to the bank.