Disc 11. Rough God Goes Riding 2. Fire In The Belly 3. This Weight 4. Waiting Game 5. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn 6. Burning Ground 7. It Once Was My Life 8. Sometimes We Cry 9. If You Love Me 10. Healing Game, The 11. At The End Of The Day
Label: Polydor (USA)
Release Date: 07/01/2008
Original Release Date: 1997
Recording Mode: Stereo
Recording Type: Studio
Distributor: Universal Distribution
Personnel: Van Morrison (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica); Ronnie Johnson (electric guitar); Peter O'Hanlon (dobro); Leo Green (tenor saxophone, background vocals); Pee Wee Ellis (soprano & baritone saxophones, background vocals); Matt Holland (trumpet, background vocals); Haji Akbar (flugelhorn); Paddy Moloney (Uilleann pipes, whistle); Robin Aspland, Phil Coulter (piano); Georgie Fame (Hammond organ, background vocals); Nicky Scott (bass); Alec Dankworth (acoustic bass); Geoff Dunn (drums, percussion); Ralph Salmins (percussion); Brian Kennedy, Katie Kissoon (background vocals).
Recorded at Westland Studios and Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland.
Personnel: Van Morrison (vocals, harmonica); Ronnie Johnson (guitar); Pee Wee Ellis (soprano saxophone); Leo Green (tenor saxophone); Matt Holland (trumpet); Robin Aspland (piano); Georgie Fame (Hammond b-3 organ, background vocals); Alec Dankworth (double bass); Nicky Scott (bass guitar); Geoff Dunn (drums); Ralph Salmins (percussion); Katie Kissoon, Brian Kennedy (background vocals).
When you're what the music industry calls a "career artist," with an appeal based on something more substantial than one hit single or album, you can go one of two ways. You can coast along from album to album, churning out variations on the formula that made you successful early in your career, or you can remain a vital, inventive artist, probing the outer reaches of your craft and continually searching for new vistas. THE HEALING GAME proves--not that there was any doubt--that Van Morrison is definitely in the latter camp.
While tracks like "Rough God Goes Riding" and "Waiting Game" ride on the same R&B feel that has been the backbone of many Morrison albums, the lyrics paint a portrait of a man whose struggle with the verities of love, life and death is unending. Through these conflicts, the Celtic soul man is continually forced to seek out new ways of dealing with the world and himself. Bolstered by his longtime cohort, organist Georgie Fame, and a full complement of first-class R&B musicians (including former James Brown sideman Pee Wee Ellis), Morrison tries to quench the fire in his soul through the cathartic healing power of the music.
Rolling Stone (3/6/97, p.69) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...songs adhere to pop structures while allowing him room to stretch his celebrated vocal cords. Morrison works the gruff low end of his register to great effect...he's grown more authoritative with age....summons the testimonial power of gospel and soul music..."
Q (1/98, p.113) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Q (4/97, p.126) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...Delving into doo wop, jazz and soul, Morrison is in classic form, both ruminative realist and nostalgic dreamer."
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