Van Morrison - Van Morrison At The Movies: Soundtrack Hits

If Hollywood's marriage with pop music is too often a marketing-driven shotgun affair, there remain musicians whose artistry can't help but elevate whatever film project they're associated with. This 19-track compendium underscores that notion, gathering a career-spanning collection of the Irish rock-R&B legend's contributions to an eclectic body of films that stretches from Pope of Greenwich Village's effusive early solo hit "Jackie Wilson Said" to the unlikely live collaboration with Roger Waters on "Comfortably Numb" that seasons Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated The Departed. The collection serves as a concise primer to the high points of Van Morrison's mercurial career, from the gritty career-breakout hits ("Gloria," "Baby Please Don't Go") of his British Invasion band Them through such early solo touchstones as "Wild Night," "Brown Eyed Girl," "Domino," and the collection's fine, previously unreleased live version of "Moondance" from An American Werewolf in London. But, as tracks like "Wonderful Remark," "Bright Side of the Road," "Someone Like You," and his Chieftains collaboration "Irish Heartbeat" ably argue, it's also an invitation to explore less heralded, if equally seductive, corners of the singer's rich oeuvre. --Jerry McCulley

More from Van Morrison

Moondance

Astral Weeks

The Best of Van Morrison

Into the Music

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Great music to my ears ...

I've been a huge Van Morrison fan since my early twenties. I started buying all his music until 'The Healing Game'. I stopped there because he was releasing an average of 2 albums per year, and my financial status was becoming at risk. I am not a fan of compilations at all. I just bought this CD in a whim and I still don't know why. I may have all the songs in here except for a couple, but the quality of every track is excellent. There is not one single song that is not good. Perhaps the Pink Floyd song is helping selling this compilation a lot, since it appeared in 'The Departed', in a very interesting moment in that movie. I already had it in the 'The Wall' concert of Roger Waters in Berlin, but anyway ... This compilation may help getting a good overview of Morrison's music to those who still don't know him. It would also be a great asset in every CD collection of pop music. This compilation includes the THEM hits 'Gloria' and 'Baby Please Don't Go'. Also comes with the 'Brown Eyed Girl' super HIT. If my ears don't lie to me, I'd say these are remastered tracks. They really sound absolutely wonderful to me! The 'Moondance' live version included here is not the best I know. I like the studio version or, maybe better, the Live track included in his Live in San Francisco double album. This CD comes with an article by Michael Heatley where he tells us the movies these songs appeared in. It also includes credits for every song (no lyrics included), and a small portrait of Van Morrison (yes, with his hat on!). I would recommend this CD to anybody who would like to discover Morrison, or to have a very interesting collection of some of his best well-known hits. Then, if you like it, you can go ahead and try to get a collection of his top 10 best albums from Astral Weeks to The Healing Game. Maybe this is not a CD for those Van Morrison fans who may have all these songs already. Thanks for reading!
P.S. If you find my review helpful, vote YES (It does not mean you agree. It just means you found it helpful). You can read all my other reviews if you wish to. I modestly write them to help people form an opinion about movies, music and books, but if nobody reads them (if you don't vote I do not know if you did) there is no point in writing them. January 26, 2008

each song is a winner

I have never been a big Van Morrison fan. Well, that's not exactly true it seems. After listening to this collection of Morrison's movie contributions I realized I know more of his songs than I thought. I can't say I listen to them over and over again, but when songs like "Gloria," "Baby, Please Don't Go," "Moondance," "Wild Night," "Brown Eyed Girl," "Days Like This," and "Have I told You Lately" come on the radio, I'm not exactly changing the station. I may actually remember a few of these from the movies that they're taken from. This may as well have been a greatest hits collection, because each song is a winner. January 23, 2008

Great Van Morrison CD

This CD has all of Morrison's greatest hits and more. I had no idea how many movies Van Morrison contributed his music. Great CD. You won't be disappointed. January 14, 2008

Disappointed

I was very disappointed in this cd. It sounded like he was being forced to sing Domino. Like he was bored to death. This was true of several songs on the cd. October 25, 2007

It's Van, what do you expect?

I already have all of these songs (except for the Pink Floyd one), but the compilation is great. My wife, who doesn't really enjoy every Van song, does like everyone on this cd and it has some live versions that I never heard before. All-in-all, it's a great addition to anybody's music collection. October 1, 2007

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