Blogcritics Comments on Music Review: Van Morrison - Still On Top: The Greatest Hits

Comment by Connie Phillips on Music Review: Van Morrison - Still On Top: The Greatest Hits

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 19:19:38 EST

Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.

Comment by Paradox on Music Review: Van Morrison - Still On Top: The Greatest Hits

Mon, 5 Nov 2007 07:53:43 EST

Glen, I understand your review and agree with most of it. The one point with which I take exception is the suggestion that somehow Astral Weeks should be on a compilation album. I personally hope that never happens. The sum of the whole on that album is greater than the sum of the individual songs; it needs to be listened to in its entirety to be fully appreciated. Bits and pieces on a compilation album would greatly diminish it. JMO, of course. Van remains a fascinating figure, though.

Comment by Donald Gibson on Music Review: Van Morrison - Still On Top: The Greatest Hits

Sun, 4 Nov 2007 16:35:13 EST

I've seen Van once, in the '90s when The Healing Game was his current album. He was great, but the crowd misjudged what kind of show they were in for. He had a small orchestra and was playing in a theatre, so most of the material leaned toward the slower (and often obscure) songs. The crowd that showed up, though, was hungry for "Gloria," "Brown Eyed Girl," and "Tupelo Honey". And so they shouted for them, which ticked Van off. He stopped mid-song ("In the Garden") and said if people did not quiet down, he would be gone. -Donald

Comment by Holly Hughes on Music Review: Van Morrison - Still On Top: The Greatest Hits

Sun, 4 Nov 2007 14:04:41 EST

I saw Van in the early 70s one night when he just walked offstage in the middle of his set, never to return. Kinda hard to go on being a Van fan after that -- I persevered, but never again with my whole heart. I agree with you; his greatest hits are so mind-blowing, the weaker stuff is all the more baffling. And yet there are obscure gems on every album (like "Rave On John Donne") that it'd be a shame for first-time fans to miss. It's the idiosyncratic stuff that makes him who he is, not the radio-ready hits. Someday maybe somebody will also release a compilation that digs into those as well.