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Into the Music
Studio album by Van Morrison
Released August, 1979
Reissued January 2008
Recorded Spring 1979 at Record Plant, Sausalito
Genre Celtic
Folk rock
Pop rock
Length 49:30
Label UK Mercury
US Warner Bros.
Producer Van Morrison
Professional reviews
Van Morrison chronology
Wavelength
(1978)		 Into the Music
(1979)		 Common One
(1980)
Singles from Into the Music
  1. "Bright Side of the Road" b/w "Rolling Hills"
    Released: September 1979
  2. "Full Force Gale" b/w "Bright Side of the Road"
    Released: December 1979
  3. "You Make Me Feel So Free" b/w "Full Force Gale"
    Released: 1980

Into the Music is the eleventh studio album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music).

As was often the case with Morrison, the album draws on a variety of styles, from New Orleans R&B to Philly soul and Celtic folk, and the featured soloists are saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and violinist Toni Marcus. On first release this album was hailed as a "comeback" after two lacklustre releases, charting at #12 in the UK Album Charts in 1979. Its reputation has since grown and now it is often regarded as among Morrison's greatest albums.

The January 29, 2008 reissued and remastered version of the album contains alternative takes of "Steppin' Out Queen" and "Troubadours".[1]

Contents

Songs

The opening track, "Bright Side of the Road" was a successful single in the UK, charting at #63. The healing power of music would be subtly introduced on "And the Healing Has Begun" and would be a continuing theme in Morrison's music. Although a celebration of love and life was the predominant theme of the album: "Troubadours", "Steppin' Out Queen" and "You Make Me Feel So Free" were especially so.[2] The album is notable for its interpolation of an elegiac version of the fifties pop hit "It's All in the Game", that was voted #813 on Dave Marsh's list of 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, B-side to the Morrison song "Cleaning Windows".[3] Morrison wrote most of the songs while he was staying with Herbie Armstrong in the Cotswold village of Epwell, England, and the sense of place is reflected in the spirit of the music. During this time, he would often walk through the fields with his guitar composing the future album's songs.[4]

Morrison on Into the Music

Morrison has been quoted as remarking on this album: "Into the Music was about the first album where I felt, I'm starting here...the Wavelength thing, I didn't really feel that was me." (1988) "That's when I got back into it. That's why I called it Into the Music." (1984)[5]

Critical response

David Marsh described the album's nocturnal, balladic second side suite as "the greatest side of music Morrison has created since Astral Weeks".[6] Rolling Stone Magazine reviewer Jay Cocks concludes: "That's what this album is about, proudly and stunningly and with no apologies. Resurrection. Real Hope."[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Van Morrison, unless noted.

Side one

  1. "Bright Side of the Road" – 3:47
  2. "Full Force Gale" – 3:14
  3. "Steppin' Out Queen" – 5:28
  4. "Troubadours" – 4:41
  5. "Rolling Hills" – 2:53
  6. "You Make Me Feel So Free" – 4:09

Side two

  1. "Angeliou" – 6:48
  2. "And the Healing Has Begun" – 7:59
  3. "It's All in the Game" (Charles Dawes, Carl Sigman) – 4:39
  4. "You Know What They're Writing About" – 6:10

Bonus tracks (2008 CD reissue)

  1. "Steppin' Out Queen" - 7:00 (alternative take)
  2. "Troubadours" - 5:30 (alternative take)

Personnel

Musicians

Additional musicians

Production

  • Producer: Van Morrison
  • Assistant Producer: Mick Glossop
  • Recorded & Mixed by: Mick Glossop
  • Assistant Engineers: Alex Cash (recording), Leslie Ann Jones (mixing)
  • Horn Arrangement on "Troubadours": Mark Isham
  • Horn Arrangement on tracks 1-3, 6-7 and 9-10: Pee Wee Ellis

Charts

Album

Billboard

Year Chart Position
1979 Pop Albums 43

UK Album Chart

Year Chart Position
1979 UK Album Chart 21

Notes

  1. ^ Van Morrison Official Website
  2. ^ Rogan, No Surrender, p. 327
  3. ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). "The 1001 Greatest Singles". control.lth.se. http://www.control.lth.se/~anton/personal/music/1001_number.html. Retrieved 2008-08-12.  
  4. ^ Turner, Too Late to Stop Now, p. 141-142
  5. ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.345
  6. ^ Marsh, Dave The Rolling Stone Album Guide, 2nd Edition
  7. ^ Cocks, Jay (1979-11-01). "Into the Music Music Review". Rolling Stone Magazine. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/albums/album/195506/review/5942158. Retrieved 2008-12-07.  

References

  • Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London: Vintage Books ISBN 9780099431831
  • Turner, Steve (1993). Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now, Viking Penguin, ISBN 0-670-85147-7
Van Morrison
Them
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Videos
DVDs
Live at Montreux 1980/1974 · Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl: The Concert Film
Films
To Be Born Again
Unofficial Bang albums
Tribute albums
No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison · The Van Morrison Songbook · Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison · Into the Mystic: An Instrumental Tribute to Van Morrison · The String Quartet Tribute to Van Morrison · Smooth Sax Tribute to Van Morrison · Mystic Piano: Piano Tribute to Van Morrison
Discography · Albums · Songs · List of artists who have covered Van Morrison songs  · Related topics







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