Veedon Fleece
Encyclopedia
Veedon Fleece is the eighth studio album
by Northern Irish singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
, released in October, 1974 (see 1974 in music
). Morrison recorded the album shortly after his divorce
from wife Janet (Planet) Rigsbee. With his broken marriage in the past, Morrison visited Ireland
on holiday for new inspiration, arriving on 20 October 1973 (with his fiancee
at the time, Carol Guida). While there he wrote—in less than three week's time— the songs included on the album (except "Bulbs
", "Country Fair" and "Come Here My Love").
It has been compared to Astral Weeks with the same "stream of consciousness" lyrics but musically it is more celtic
, acoustic
and heavily influenced by Morrison's Irish trip. It has been called a genuinely underground album that he seemed to disown quickly after recording and has been referred to as Morrison's "forgotten masterpiece".
. Although the resulting concerts and live album, It's Too Late to Stop Now
have come to be known as a performing high for Morrison, the tour was physically and emotionally exhausting. Morrison decided afterwards to take a vacation break, returning to Ireland after a six year absence obtensibly to record an RTE
national TV show. Having gone through divorce proceedings earlier in the year, Morrison was now accompanied by his new fiancee, Carol Guida. The vacation visit lasted nearly three weeks during which time he only toured the southern part of the island and did not venture into his native Northern Ireland
as the country was engulfed in the Troubles.
" and "Cul de Sac" were recut in New York later with musicians with whom Morrison had never worked before: guitarist John Tropea, bassist Joe Macho and drummer Allen Schwarzberg. Given a rock music
treatment, these songs were released as the single
for the album."
in 1973; it was his first visit since he left Belfast
in 1967. (At this time his parents had moved to California and resided near him.) According to Erik Hage
: "Veedon Fleece from a lyrical standpoint, shows maturity, renewed poetical confidence, and a direct nod to actual literary influences." Hage further comments that musically it "can be seen as a companion album to Astral Weeks . The soft and complex musical textures (often augmented by flute) of this album are the closest he will ever again get to that vaunted 1968 album."
The opening track, "Fair Play" derived its name from Morrison's Irish friend, Donall Corvin's repeated use the Irish colloquialism "fair play to you" as a wry compliment. It's a 3/4 ballad that name checks Oscar Wilde
, Edgar Allan Poe
and Henry David Thoreau
. According to Morrison, the song derived "from what was running through my head" and it marked a return to the stream of consciousness channeled song-writing that had not been evident since several of the songs contained in his 1972 album, Saint Dominic's Preview
.
"Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" segues into "Who Was That Masked Man" (sung in falsetto
) which has a similar melody. The story line pertains to a mythological Irish
expatriate
living in San Francisco who, when cornered, turns violent and then goes into hiding, "living with a gun", and references a childhood interest in The Lone Ranger. Morrison described the anti-hero Linden Arden as being "about an image of an Irish American living in San Francisco - it's really a hard man type of thing, whilst the latter was a song about what it's like when you absolutely cannot trust anybody. Not as in some paranoia, but in reality."
"Streets of Arklow
" describes a perfect day in "God's green land" and is a tribute to the Wicklow
town visited during this vacation trip." The opening lines of the song: "And as we walked through the streets of Arklow, oh the colours of the day warm, and our heads were filled with poetry, in the morning coming onto dawn" were said to "contain the thematic seeds of the whole album: nature, poetry, god, innocence re-found and love lost" by PopMatters
critic John Kennedy.
"You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
" is frequently regarded as one of Morrison's most accomplished compositions. He revealed that the song owed a considerable debt to his readings in Gestalt therapy
. Johnny Rogan
felt that this track was representative of "an experimental peak, a step beyond even his most ambitious work."
On the second side of the album, the songs "Bulbs
" and "Cul de Sac
" focus on emigration
to America and homecoming.
The album concludes with the love songs, "Comfort You", "Come Here My Love", and "Country Fair"—the latter two employing the traditional Irish ballad
style. To Clinton Heylin, the songs also spoke to "the healing power of love... here at last are songs that speak of what he can do for her, rather than concerned solely with his needs and wants." Heylin comments on the song, "Come Here My Love": "This is no 'Autumn Song'. Rather, it sounds a lot like a man learning how to love again." Morrison spoke of "Country Fair" as having the same kind of feeling as "And It Stoned Me
", although that song was used to open the Moondance
album, instead of as a kind of closure.
Years before "Twilight Zone" was released as a bonus track on the 2008 re-mastered version of Veedon Fleece, Brian Hinton
had said about the version of the song on The Philosopher's Stone
: "'Twilight Zone' is a very slow, bluesy, late-night song that would fit right in on Veedon Fleece."
genres. Both Rolling Stone
and Melody Maker
printed dismissive reviews with Melody Maker commenting that the first side of the album featured "some of his least memorable shots at songwriting since Tupelo Honey". Rolling Stone called the entire album "self-indulgent ... mood music for mature hippies." However, the current Rolling Stone biography
of Morrison hails the album as "the culmination of everything Van was doing up to that point, all celtic mystic tumult in the vocals and pastoral beauty in the music" and ranks it among "his most majestic music".
Allmusic critics, Jason Ankenny and Thom Jurek called the album "brilliant" and commented that "With its elegiac tone and deeply autobiographical lyrics, this was a Morrison who didn't so readily associate himself with the feel-good, peace, love, and rhythm & blues sound American audiences were used to. If any album reflects a real period of transition for an artist, it's this one."
Scott Floman states in his review: "Veedon Fleece is one of the most ambitious albums ever made and one of the greatest: inexhaustible, eclectic, inspiring, beautifully performed, intellectually challenging, it remains the pinnacle of Morrison's art."
Derek Miller of Stylus Magazine
concludes: "Veedon [Fleece] is the kind of album, so frothy and thick, that requires silence when it's over. You have to turn the stereo off for a while. To me that's the better explanation for Morrison's three year absence. He'd just finished Veedon Fleece."
John Kennedy, PopMatters
critic wrote in 2004:
The album was featured as Mojo Magazine
's Disc of the Day in February 2008 and referred to as "Van Morrison's mystical 1974 masterpiece".
in 1976 on The Last Waltz
concert at Winterland
, from performing live. Clinton Heylin noted that Veedon Fleece is by far the most underplayed album in Morrison's canon. By 2010, only seven of the ten songs from the album have ever been played by Morrison in concert. Of those seven, only "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
" and "Streets of Arklow
" have been played more than twenty times live. "Fair Play" was performed for the first time live in June 2009. After Veedon Fleece, most of Morrison's albums would chart higher in the UK than in the US, partly due to his move back to Europe
several years afterward.
The June 30, 2008 reissued and remastered version of the album contains an alternative take of "Cul de Sac
" and "Twilight Zone". "Who Was That Masked Man" from this album was listed as one of the standout tracks from the six album reissue.
has said that when he agreed to write Celtic Crossroads, it was with the hope that he might "turn a few people on to this album, above all others in Morrison's rich oeuvre."
Sinéad O'Connor
reviewed the album on 28 November 2007 on The Dave Fanning Show
and praised it as: "the record I always come back to again and again...It is far superior to Astral Weeks and I love Astral Weeks. This is the definitive Van album with the definitive Van song, "Who Was That Masked Man"...It's the most obvious album he's ever done about Ireland...Veedon Fleece is the only thing I listen to just before I go on stage." When asked in an interview in 2005 to name something she considered "a mind-altering work of art", she answered: "Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece."
Singer-songwriter
Elvis Costello
has referred to this album as one of his favourites and names "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" as the song that makes this album "special to (him)."
Josh Klinghoffer
(Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Dot Hacker
) hails the record in Q Magazine
in November 2011. When asked which record he could not be without, he answered: "At this point I’ve determined that Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison is my favourite record of all time. I love it from start to finish; it’s perfect".
s. The photographer, Tom Collins, took the original photograph that situated Morrison and the dogs adjacent to the Sutton House Hotel, a converted mansion
overlooking Dublin Bay
, where Morrison first stayed upon arriving in Ireland for his vacation.
". Scott Thomas states in his review: "The Morrison-conceived Veedon Fleece is the symbol of everything yearned for in the preceding songs; spiritual enlightenment, wisdom, community, artistic vision and love." Steve Turner
concludes: "The Veedon Fleece...appears to be Van's Irish equivalent of the Holy Grail a religious relic that would answer his questions if he could track it down on his quest around the west coast of Ireland." Morrison explained the title with: "I haven't a clue about what the title means. It's actually a person's name. I have a whole set of characters in my head that I'm trying to fit into things. Veedon Fleece is one of them and I just suddenly started singing it in one of these songs, It's like a stream of consciousness thing." Morrison once told a fan
when questioned about the meaning, "It doesn't mean anything, I made it up myself."
. Hitchcock's first performances of the two songs were in May 1991 at McCabe's Guitar Shop
.
Production
UK Album Chart (United Kingdom)
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Northern Irish singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
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...
, released in October, 1974 (see 1974 in music
1974 in music
-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...
). Morrison recorded the album shortly after his divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
from wife Janet (Planet) Rigsbee. With his broken marriage in the past, Morrison visited Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on holiday for new inspiration, arriving on 20 October 1973 (with his fiancee
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
at the time, Carol Guida). While there he wrote—in less than three week's time— the songs included on the album (except "Bulbs
Bulbs (song)
"Bulbs" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1974 album, Veedon Fleece.It was chosen as the 'A' side single from the album.-Recording and composition:...
", "Country Fair" and "Come Here My Love").
It has been compared to Astral Weeks with the same "stream of consciousness" lyrics but musically it is more celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
, acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
and heavily influenced by Morrison's Irish trip. It has been called a genuinely underground album that he seemed to disown quickly after recording and has been referred to as Morrison's "forgotten masterpiece".
Background
During the summer months of 1973, Morrison had embarked on a three month tour with his eleven-piece band, The Caledonia Soul OrchestraThe Caledonia Soul Orchestra
The Caledonia Soul Orchestra was the band created by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 1973. The band is often considered one of the tightest performing backup groups of the 1970s...
. Although the resulting concerts and live album, It's Too Late to Stop Now
It's Too Late to Stop Now
It's Too Late to Stop Now is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1974 . Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever recorded, It's Too Late to Stop Now was recorded during what has often been said to be Morrison's greatest phase as a live...
have come to be known as a performing high for Morrison, the tour was physically and emotionally exhausting. Morrison decided afterwards to take a vacation break, returning to Ireland after a six year absence obtensibly to record an RTE
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
national TV show. Having gone through divorce proceedings earlier in the year, Morrison was now accompanied by his new fiancee, Carol Guida. The vacation visit lasted nearly three weeks during which time he only toured the southern part of the island and did not venture into his native Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
as the country was engulfed in the Troubles.
Recording
In 1978, Morrison recalled that he recorded the songs about four weeks after writing them: "Veedon Fleece was a bunch of songs that I wrote and then I just recorded it about four weeks after I wrote it. When you make an album you write some songs; you might have four songs and maybe you write two more, suddenly you've got enough songs for an album. According to the drummer Dahaud Shaar, the tracks were laid down in a very informal manner: "During that time I kinda haunted the studio, and Van would come in and we'd just do tracks." David Hayes recalled about the recording sessions: "Every night for about a week he came in with two or three new tunes and we just started playing with him." Jim Rothermel also recalled that during the California recording sessions for the album the songs were often a first take and that the band members had sometimes not heard the songs previously. The strings and woodwinds were arranged by Jef Labes in a New York studio. The song "Come Here My Love" was inspired during the week of the sessions and another song "Country Fair" was left over from the Hard Nose the Highway album and provided a fitting sense of closure. "BulbsBulbs (song)
"Bulbs" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1974 album, Veedon Fleece.It was chosen as the 'A' side single from the album.-Recording and composition:...
" and "Cul de Sac" were recut in New York later with musicians with whom Morrison had never worked before: guitarist John Tropea, bassist Joe Macho and drummer Allen Schwarzberg. Given a rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
treatment, these songs were released as the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for the album."
Composition
The songs, as recorded on the album, were influenced by his vacation trip to IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1973; it was his first visit since he left Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
in 1967. (At this time his parents had moved to California and resided near him.) According to 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,"...
: "Veedon Fleece from a lyrical standpoint, shows maturity, renewed poetical confidence, and a direct nod to actual literary influences." Hage further comments that musically it "can be seen as a companion album to Astral Weeks . The soft and complex musical textures (often augmented by flute) of this album are the closest he will ever again get to that vaunted 1968 album."
The opening track, "Fair Play" derived its name from Morrison's Irish friend, Donall Corvin's repeated use the Irish colloquialism "fair play to you" as a wry compliment. It's a 3/4 ballad that name checks Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
and Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
. According to Morrison, the song derived "from what was running through my head" and it marked a return to the stream of consciousness channeled song-writing that had not been evident since several of the songs contained in his 1972 album, Saint Dominic's Preview
Saint Dominic's Preview
Saint Dominic's Preview is the sixth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records...
.
"Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" segues into "Who Was That Masked Man" (sung in falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
) which has a similar melody. The story line pertains to a mythological Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
living in San Francisco who, when cornered, turns violent and then goes into hiding, "living with a gun", and references a childhood interest in The Lone Ranger. Morrison described the anti-hero Linden Arden as being "about an image of an Irish American living in San Francisco - it's really a hard man type of thing, whilst the latter was a song about what it's like when you absolutely cannot trust anybody. Not as in some paranoia, but in reality."
"Streets of Arklow
Streets of Arklow
"Streets of Arklow" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.The song describes a perfect day in "God's green land" and is a tribute to the Wicklow town of Arklow visited during the singer's 1973 vacation trip back to...
" describes a perfect day in "God's green land" and is a tribute to the Wicklow
Wicklow
Wicklow) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. Located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island, it has a population of 10,070 according to the 2006 census. The town is situated to the east of the N11 route between Dublin and Wexford. Wicklow is also connected to the rail...
town visited during this vacation trip." The opening lines of the song: "And as we walked through the streets of Arklow, oh the colours of the day warm, and our heads were filled with poetry, in the morning coming onto dawn" were said to "contain the thematic seeds of the whole album: nature, poetry, god, innocence re-found and love lost" by PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
critic John Kennedy.
"You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
"You Don't Pull No Punches, but You Don't Push the River" is a nine-minute song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.-Song origins:...
" is frequently regarded as one of Morrison's most accomplished compositions. He revealed that the song owed a considerable debt to his readings in Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy is an existential/experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, and that focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating...
. Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan is an author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He has written influential biographies of The Byrds, The Smiths and Van Morrison. His writing is characterised by "an almost neurotic attention to detail", epic length and a sometimes hostile...
felt that this track was representative of "an experimental peak, a step beyond even his most ambitious work."
On the second side of the album, the songs "Bulbs
Bulbs (song)
"Bulbs" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1974 album, Veedon Fleece.It was chosen as the 'A' side single from the album.-Recording and composition:...
" and "Cul de Sac
Cul de Sac (Van Morrison song)
"Cul de Sac" is the name of a song written by Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It first appeared as the seventh track on Morrison's 1974 album Veedon Fleece, and was released as the B-side to the single "Bulbs".- Lyrics and instrumentation :...
" focus on emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to America and homecoming.
The album concludes with the love songs, "Comfort You", "Come Here My Love", and "Country Fair"—the latter two employing the traditional Irish ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
style. To Clinton Heylin, the songs also spoke to "the healing power of love... here at last are songs that speak of what he can do for her, rather than concerned solely with his needs and wants." Heylin comments on the song, "Come Here My Love": "This is no 'Autumn Song'. Rather, it sounds a lot like a man learning how to love again." Morrison spoke of "Country Fair" as having the same kind of feeling as "And It Stoned Me
And It Stoned Me
"And It Stoned Me" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It is the opening track on Morrison's third solo album, Moondance, which was released in 1970.-Composition and recording:...
", although that song was used to open the Moondance
Moondance
Moondance is the third solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on Warner Bros. Records on 28 February 1970 and peaked at #29 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart....
album, instead of as a kind of closure.
Years before "Twilight Zone" was released as a bonus track on the 2008 re-mastered version of Veedon Fleece, Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton, MBE is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.-Education:...
had said about the version of the song on The Philosopher's Stone
The Philosopher's Stone (album)
The Philosopher's Stone is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released in 1998 .The songs released on this 2-CD thirty track album were previously unreleased outtakes from 1969 to 1988...
: "'Twilight Zone' is a very slow, bluesy, late-night song that would fit right in on Veedon Fleece."
Reception
Generally, critics initially reacted by underrating or ignoring the album altogether, as it represented a significant departure from Morrison's more familiar R&B and soulSoul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
genres. Both Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
printed dismissive reviews with Melody Maker commenting that the first side of the album featured "some of his least memorable shots at songwriting since Tupelo Honey". Rolling Stone called the entire album "self-indulgent ... mood music for mature hippies." However, the current Rolling Stone biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Morrison hails the album as "the culmination of everything Van was doing up to that point, all celtic mystic tumult in the vocals and pastoral beauty in the music" and ranks it among "his most majestic music".
Allmusic critics, Jason Ankenny and Thom Jurek called the album "brilliant" and commented that "With its elegiac tone and deeply autobiographical lyrics, this was a Morrison who didn't so readily associate himself with the feel-good, peace, love, and rhythm & blues sound American audiences were used to. If any album reflects a real period of transition for an artist, it's this one."
Scott Floman states in his review: "Veedon Fleece is one of the most ambitious albums ever made and one of the greatest: inexhaustible, eclectic, inspiring, beautifully performed, intellectually challenging, it remains the pinnacle of Morrison's art."
Derek Miller of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
concludes: "Veedon [Fleece] is the kind of album, so frothy and thick, that requires silence when it's over. You have to turn the stereo off for a while. To me that's the better explanation for Morrison's three year absence. He'd just finished Veedon Fleece."
John Kennedy, PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
critic wrote in 2004:
The album was featured as Mojo Magazine
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
's Disc of the Day in February 2008 and referred to as "Van Morrison's mystical 1974 masterpiece".
Aftermath
This album was followed by a three year hiatus for Morrison from recording, and except for an appearance with The BandThe Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
in 1976 on The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco...
concert at Winterland
Winterland Ballroom
The Winterland Ballroom, often referred to as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400-seat music venue in San Francisco, California...
, from performing live. Clinton Heylin noted that Veedon Fleece is by far the most underplayed album in Morrison's canon. By 2010, only seven of the ten songs from the album have ever been played by Morrison in concert. Of those seven, only "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
"You Don't Pull No Punches, but You Don't Push the River" is a nine-minute song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.-Song origins:...
" and "Streets of Arklow
Streets of Arklow
"Streets of Arklow" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.The song describes a perfect day in "God's green land" and is a tribute to the Wicklow town of Arklow visited during the singer's 1973 vacation trip back to...
" have been played more than twenty times live. "Fair Play" was performed for the first time live in June 2009. After Veedon Fleece, most of Morrison's albums would chart higher in the UK than in the US, partly due to his move back to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
several years afterward.
The June 30, 2008 reissued and remastered version of the album contains an alternative take of "Cul de Sac
Cul de Sac (Van Morrison song)
"Cul de Sac" is the name of a song written by Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It first appeared as the seventh track on Morrison's 1974 album Veedon Fleece, and was released as the B-side to the single "Bulbs".- Lyrics and instrumentation :...
" and "Twilight Zone". "Who Was That Masked Man" from this album was listed as one of the standout tracks from the six album reissue.
Influence
Biographer Brian HintonBrian Hinton
Brian Hinton, MBE is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.-Education:...
has said that when he agreed to write Celtic Crossroads, it was with the hope that he might "turn a few people on to this album, above all others in Morrison's rich oeuvre."
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
reviewed the album on 28 November 2007 on The Dave Fanning Show
The Dave Fanning Show
The Dave Fanning show is a radio program broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. The show is presented by Dave Fanning and covers a range of various topics.The show "takes a look at the world of the arts through music and film.....
and praised it as: "the record I always come back to again and again...It is far superior to Astral Weeks and I love Astral Weeks. This is the definitive Van album with the definitive Van song, "Who Was That Masked Man"...It's the most obvious album he's ever done about Ireland...Veedon Fleece is the only thing I listen to just before I go on stage." When asked in an interview in 2005 to name something she considered "a mind-altering work of art", she answered: "Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece."
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
has referred to this album as one of his favourites and names "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" as the song that makes this album "special to (him)."
Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Klinghoffer
Joshua Adam "Josh" Klinghoffer is an American multi-instrumentalist, who is best known as the current guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Klinghoffer replaced his friend and frequent collaborator John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009.Klinghoffer also fronts Dot Hacker, and was...
(Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and Dot Hacker
Dot Hacker
Dot Hacker is an experimental rock band from California formed in 2008 by Josh Klinghoffer, before joining Red Hot Chili Peppers as guitarist in 2009. Klinghoffer is the band's songwriter, lead singer, guitarist and also plays piano. Members of this band were in the touring incarnation of Gnarls...
) hails the record in Q Magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
in November 2011. When asked which record he could not be without, he answered: "At this point I’ve determined that Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison is my favourite record of all time. I love it from start to finish; it’s perfect".
Album cover
The album cover photograph shows Morrison sitting in the grass between two Irish WolfhoundIrish Wolfhound
The Irish wolfhound is a breed of domestic dog , specifically a sighthound. The name originates from its purpose rather than from its appearance...
s. The photographer, Tom Collins, took the original photograph that situated Morrison and the dogs adjacent to the Sutton House Hotel, a converted mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
overlooking Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south...
, where Morrison first stayed upon arriving in Ireland for his vacation.
Album title
Several authors have commented on the mysterious object, "Veedon Fleece" 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 RiverYou Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
"You Don't Pull No Punches, but You Don't Push the River" is a nine-minute song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.-Song origins:...
". Scott Thomas states in his review: "The Morrison-conceived Veedon Fleece is the symbol of everything yearned for in the preceding songs; spiritual enlightenment, wisdom, community, artistic vision and love." Steve Turner
Steve Turner (writer)
Steve Turner is an English music journalist, biographer and poet, who grew up in Northamptonshire, England. His first published article was in the Beatles Monthly in 1969. His career as a journalist began as features editor of Beat Instrumental where he interviewed many of the prominent rock...
concludes: "The Veedon Fleece...appears to be Van's Irish equivalent of the Holy Grail a religious relic that would answer his questions if he could track it down on his quest around the west coast of Ireland." Morrison explained the title with: "I haven't a clue about what the title means. It's actually a person's name. I have a whole set of characters in my head that I'm trying to fit into things. Veedon Fleece is one of them and I just suddenly started singing it in one of these songs, It's like a stream of consciousness thing." Morrison once told a fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
when questioned about the meaning, "It doesn't mean anything, I made it up myself."
Covers
The songs are so personal and idiosyncratic in nature that they have not been covered by well-known musicians except for versions of "Fair Play" and "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" by Robyn HitchcockRobyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
. Hitchcock's first performances of the two songs were in May 1991 at McCabe's Guitar Shop
McCabe's Guitar Shop
McCabe's Guitar Shop is a musical instrument store and live music venue on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. Opened in 1958, McCabe's specializes in acoustic and folk instruments, including guitars, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers, fiddles, psaltries, bouzoukis, sitars, ouds, and ethnic...
.
Side one
- "Fair Play" – 6:14
- "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" – 2:37
- "Who Was That Masked Man" – 2:55
- "Streets of ArklowStreets of Arklow"Streets of Arklow" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.The song describes a perfect day in "God's green land" and is a tribute to the Wicklow town of Arklow visited during the singer's 1973 vacation trip back to...
" – 4:22 - "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the RiverYou Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River"You Don't Pull No Punches, but You Don't Push the River" is a nine-minute song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.-Song origins:...
" – 8:51
Side two
- "BulbsBulbs (song)"Bulbs" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1974 album, Veedon Fleece.It was chosen as the 'A' side single from the album.-Recording and composition:...
" – 4:18 - "Cul de SacCul de Sac (Van Morrison song)"Cul de Sac" is the name of a song written by Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It first appeared as the seventh track on Morrison's 1974 album Veedon Fleece, and was released as the B-side to the single "Bulbs".- Lyrics and instrumentation :...
" – 5:51 - "Comfort You" – 4:25
- "Come Here My Love" – 2:21
- "Country Fair" – 5:42
Bonus tracks (2008 CD reissue)
- "Twilight Zone" – 5:48 (alternative take)
- "Cul de Sac" – 2:54 (alternative take)
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...
- vocalSingingSinging 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...
, 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... - Ralph Wash - guitar
- John TropeaJohn TropeaJohn Tropea is a guitarist with extensive experience in the rock, pop, and jazz genres. Tropea has written for and played with major recording artists from around the world...
-guitar on "Bulbs" and "Cul de Sac" - David HayesDavid Hayes (musician)David Hayes is an American bass guitar player.Hayes has worked with Van Morrison, The Rowans, Terry & The Pirates, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Country Joe McDonald and others....
- 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... - Joe Macho - bass on "Bulbs" and "Cul de Sac"
- Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw) - 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 ....
- Allan SchwartzbergAllan SchwartzbergAllan Schwartzberg is a famous studio musician drummer, most of whose recordings were made in the 1970s. He has played on hits such as Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye". He has played with KISS, James Brown and Peter Gabriel as well...
- drums on "Bulbs" and "Cul de Sac" - Nathan Rubin - 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....
- Terry Adams - violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- James Rothermel - fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, recorderRecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple... - Jack SchroerJack SchroerJohn Henry "Jack" Schroer was a saxophonist, pianist and arranger best known for his work with Van Morrison in the 1970s as a member of his band The Caledonia Soul Orchestra....
- soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in... - James Trumbo - 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...
- Jef Labes - piano on "Bulbs" and "Cul de Sac"
Production
- Producer: Van Morrison
- Engineers: Jim Stern, Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw), Jean Shaar, Elvin Campbell
- Photography: Tom Collins
- Art Direction: Ed CaraeffEd CaraeffEd Caraeff is a photographer, illustrator and graphic designer, who has worked largely in the music industry. He has art directed, photographed and designed hundreds of record album covers from 1967 to 1982 for numerous artists, including Elton John, Carly Simon, Three Dog Night and Dolly Parton...
- Arrangements: Van Morrison, Jef Labes (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...
and woodwind) - Remastering: Ian Cooper, Walter Samuel
Album
Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Pop Albums | 53 |
UK Album Chart (United Kingdom)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | UK Album Chart | 41 |