Pay the Devil
Encyclopedia
Pay the Devil is the thirty-second album
by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison
, featuring twelve cover versions of American country and western tunes and three original compositions. It debuted at #26 on The Billboard 200 and peaked at #7 on Top Country Albums; it was listed at #10 on Amazon Best of 2006 Editor's Picks in Country in December 2006.
A deluxe edition of Pay the Devil featuring a video of five of the tracks taped during the performance at the Ryman was released on June 27, 2006.
, Merle Haggard
and George Jones
. Morrison's three originals are written and sung to blend with the classic country cover versions.
Erik Hage
described Morrison's version of "Till I Gain Control Again" written by Rodney Crowell
: "There's a sense of fragility and defeat, and it is moving in a way that a Van Morrison song rarely moves the listener. The singer sounds utterly broken down and shaken: 'hold me now, hold me now' he unsteadily repeats 'until I gain control again'. Even Morrison's most emotional material in the past never projected such pretty frailty."
by the mayor, and Morrison appeared at the historic Ryman Auditorium
that evening for the first time. He continued to promote the album throughout 2006 and appeared at the Austin City Limits Music Festival
on September 15, 2006 where his performance was listed as one of the top ten of the festival by Rolling Stone.
on March 7, 2006
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, featuring twelve cover versions of American country and western tunes and three original compositions. It debuted at #26 on The Billboard 200 and peaked at #7 on Top Country Albums; it was listed at #10 on Amazon Best of 2006 Editor's Picks in Country in December 2006.
A deluxe edition of Pay the Devil featuring a video of five of the tracks taped during the performance at the Ryman was released on June 27, 2006.
Songs
The songs on the album consist of twelve cover songs and three originals. The cover songs are chosen from old-time country songs recorded during the 1950s and 1960s by well-known country artists such as Hank Williams, Webb PierceWebb Pierce
Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
and George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
. Morrison's three originals are written and sung to blend with the classic country cover versions.
Erik Hage
Erik Hage
Erik Hage is an American writer, cultural reporter, and critic raised in Boston and New York State. His books include the critical biography The Words and Music of Van Morrison and the work of literary criticism Cormac McCarthy: A Literary Companion , which was deemed "indispensable," "engaging,"...
described Morrison's version of "Till I Gain Control Again" written by Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
: "There's a sense of fragility and defeat, and it is moving in a way that a Van Morrison song rarely moves the listener. The singer sounds utterly broken down and shaken: 'hold me now, hold me now' he unsteadily repeats 'until I gain control again'. Even Morrison's most emotional material in the past never projected such pretty frailty."
Promotion
Morrison previewed some of the Pay the Devil material at his live shows in the previous year. He promoted the new album with a seven city tour of the US in March 2006. On March 7, 2006, the day of its release in the US, Van Morrison Day was declared in NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
by the mayor, and Morrison appeared at the historic Ryman Auditorium
Ryman Auditorium
The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
that evening for the first time. He continued to promote the album throughout 2006 and appeared at the Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
on September 15, 2006 where his performance was listed as one of the top ten of the festival by Rolling Stone.
Track listing
- "There Stands the Glass" (Alize Gresham, Russ Hull, Mary Jane Shurtz) – 2:16
- "Half as MuchHalf as Much"Half as Much" is an American pop standard written by Curley Williams in 1951. It was first recorded by country music singer Hank Williams in 1952 and reached #2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The same year, Rosemary Clooney recorded a hit version for Top 40 markets and Alma Cogan in the...
" (Curly Williams) – 2:36 - "Things Have Gone to Pieces" (Leon PayneLeon PayneLeon Payne , "the Blind Balladeer", was a country music singer and songwriter.-Life:Leon Roger Payne was born in Alba, Texas on June 15, 1917. He was blind in one eye at birth, and lost the sight of the other eye in early childhood. He attended the Texas School for the Blind from 1924 to 1935,...
) – 3:11 - "Big Blue DiamondsBig Blue Diamonds"Big Blue Diamonds" is a song written by Earl J. Carson in 1950 and published by Lois Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Red Perkins and originally issued as a 78rpm single on King Records #903 b/w "Rag Man Boogie" in 1950...
" (Earl J. Carson) – 2:56 - "Playhouse" (Morrison) – 4:14
- "Your Cheatin' HeartYour Cheatin' Heart"Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by the American country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams in 1952, but released after his death in 1953.. It is often considered one of his greatest songs, and one of the great songs of country music...
" (Hank Williams) – 2:32 - "Don't You Make Me High" (Daniel Barker, Ken Harris) – 2:47
- "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It" (Clarence Williams) – 2:22
- "Back Street Affair" (Billy Wallace) – 2:49
- "Pay the Devil" (Morrison) – 3:03
- "What Am I Living For?" (Art Harris, Fred Jay) – 3:57
- "This Has Got to Stop" (Morrison) – 4:44
- "Once a DayOnce a Day"Once a Day" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded as the debut single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson for her self-titled debut album. The song was released in August 1964, topping the Billboard country music chart for eight weeks between late...
" (Bill AndersonBill Anderson (country music)James William Anderson III , better known as Bill Anderson, is an American country music singer, songwriter and television personality. He has released more than 40 studio albums and has reached No...
) – 2:52 - "More and More" (Merle KilgoreMerle KilgoreWyatt Merle Kilgore was an American singer, songwriter, and manager.-Early life:Although born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Merle Kilgore was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the son of Wyatt and Gladys B. Kilgore...
, Webb PierceWebb PierceWebb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
) – 2:46 - "Till I Gain Control Again" (Rodney CrowellRodney CrowellRodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
) – 5:59
DVD track listing (Deluxe Edition)
Filmed at the Ryman AuditoriumRyman Auditorium
The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
on March 7, 2006
- "Playhouse" (Morrison)
- "'Till I Gain Control Again" (Rodney CrowellRodney CrowellRodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
) - "Big Blue Diamonds" (Earl J. Carson)
- "This Has Got to Stop" (Morrison)
- "There Stands the Glass" (Alize Gresham, Russ Hull, Mary Jane Shurtz)
Personnel
- Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
- acoustic guitar, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Crawford Bell - vocals
- Trionagh Moore- vocals
- Olwin Bell - vocals
- Paul Godden - guitar, steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
- Mick GreenMick GreenMichael Robert "Mick" Green was an English rock and roll guitarist who played with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.-Biography:He was born Michael Robert Green, in Matlock, Derbyshire...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Karen Hamill - vocals
- Bobby Irwin - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Ian Jennings - double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Bob Loveday - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Leon McCrum - vocals
- Paul RileyPaul Riley (musician)Paul Riley is an English bassist, singer and record producer. He was a member of Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and Roogalator in the 1970s.-Biography:...
- acoustic bassAcoustic bass guitarThe acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar... - Johnny Scott - guitar, vocals
- Nicky Scott - electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Fiachra TrenchFiachra TrenchFiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench is a musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth in Ireland....
- vocals, stringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
arrangements - Geraint WatkinsGeraint WatkinsGeraint Watkins is a rock and roll pianist and accordionist backing artistes such as; Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney, Roy St. John and Shakin' Stevens...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Aine Whelan - vocals
- Gavyn WrightGavyn WrightGavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra, best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions as well as numerous TV and movie soundtracks Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London...
- string section leader
Production
- Van Morrison - Producer
- Declan Gaffney - Mixing assistant
- Jerome King - Assistant engineer
- Alastair McMillan - Mixing
- Walter Samuel - Engineer, mixing
Chart positions
| Chart (2006) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 26 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 7 |
External links
- Lost Highway Records-audio samples Pay the Devil