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Veedon Fleece | 
| Artist: Van Morrison
Label: Commercial Marketing
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.98
You Save: £4.01 (45%)
New (40) Used (3) from £4.20
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 4382
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 56
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 001136502
UPC: 600753087619
EAN: 0600753087619
ASIN: B0018BB220
Release Date: June 30, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Fair Play | | • | Linden Arden Stole The Highlights | | • | Who Was That Masked Man | | • | Streets Of Arklow | | • | You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River | | • | Bulbs | | • | Cul De Sac | | • | Comfort You | | • | Come Here My Love | | • | Country Fair | | • | Twilight Zone | | • | Cul De Sac |
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| Customer Reviews:
 An Absolutely Wonderful Album November 11, 2008
For me, this is maybe his best album, although it's quite hard to quantify the guy's output as he has been so prolific over what must be a 45 year career, and his material has veered from r'n'b to jazz, and on to traditional, country and several points in between.
Although recorded in America, a lot of the tracks seem very influenced by Ireland, and I believe he moved back to live there around this time. As with many of his albums, the lyrics are open to interpretation. I've read various tomes dealing with this, and I've always ended up more confused than when I started. My advice would be to shut the books, let this album float over you, and the lyrics will mean whatever they mean - to you.
Pastoral - Celtic - and in the case of "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River", incomprehensible, have been some of the descriptions applied to this album. I must confess that for years I'd lift the stylus when it came around to "You Don't Pull No Punches", as I did indeed find it unfathomable. But then one day the stylus stayed down, and lo and behold, it all made absolute sense. Beautifully arranged, heart stopping string section, and Van at the top of his game "Contemplating Baba" and "Looking for the Veedon Fleece"" - it's now one of my favourite pieces of music, ever. Transcendental I believe is the word. A work of genius!
Many of the other tracks are more immediately accessible, certainly musically. "Fair Play" I would guess harks back to his younger days in Ireland, and then "Linden Arden" and "Who Was That Masked Man" meld into one another with those strange lyrics again, concerning violent murder. And then comes "Streets of Arklow" which is a much more straightforward, slow air about Arklow, obviously! After which you have "You Don't Pull No Punches",which I've already mentioned. "Bulbs" is a more up tempo track, and was released as the single without really troubling the charts. "Cul De Sac" is a slower song with superb acoustic piano, and a great vocal complete with a mini Van trademark scat performance. A highlight!
The album draws to a close with three very-much Irish tinged tunes, "Comfort You", "Come Here My Love", and "Country Fair", all of which are beautiful.
Sorry to end on a sour note, but sadly, after actually seeing him in concert on countless occasions over the last 25 plus years, some of which were truly great, I decided after a series of very disappointing gigs that the one at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London last year, finally, was punishment enough. It was really grim, zero contact with the audience (not unusual). Very half-hearted performance, seeming to just be going through the motions before he made his exit at 9.30pm without so much as a thank you or good night to the punters who'd paid upwards of 45.00 for the privilege. At several points the band were in danger of being drowned out by the level of bored chatter from the audience. All very sad. To me he seems to be stuck in a big rut these last few years. He doesn't seem inspired, and inspiration has been at the heart of so much of his best music. Anyway there seem to be enough people out there who are still happy to enable him to sell out wherever he plays, so what do I know?
But I still have most of the albums, and I believe this one, although never a big success commercially, and followed by a period of inaction, represents him at a real artistic peak in his career.
 Ranks With His Best November 9, 2008
One man's meat is another man's poison. When it comes to musical tastes, there's no truer expression. Now, whereas I don't feel that this is Van's finest hour by a long chalk, it is utterly indispensible in terms of his back catalogue. It follows on from the Celtic Soul Orchestra period, and directly after what may come to be perceived as his greatest opus: I refer, of course, to the magnificent live album 'It's Too Late To Stop Now.' As far as studio albums go, 'Veedon Fleece' ranks with his best, but it is not as good (in my opinion) as 'Moondance', 'St. Dominic's Preview', 'Into The Music' or the best of them all, the evergreen 'Astral Weeks', still it's pretty damn close.
Remastered "Soul Satisfaction" From Van On This Overlooked 1974 Gem July 1, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
"Veedon Fleece" is part of the 2nd wave of Van Morrison remastered reissues to hit the shops in 2008 (see full list below). Released Monday 30 June 2008 in the UK and 1 July 2008 in the USA, it boasts an upgraded booklet, a 96k/24 bit remaster and 2 bonus tracks for the first time.
Here's the layout (56:36 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 10 make the album originally released in October 1974 on Warner Brothers
Tracks 11 and 12 are Alternate Takes of "Twilight Zone" and "Cul De Sac" and both are previously unreleased exclusive bonus tracks
The band consisted of:
RALPH WALSH and JOHN TROPEA on Guitars
JEFF LABES and JAMES TRUMBO on Keyboards
JACK SCHROER on Soprano Sax
JIM RITHERMEL on Flute and Recorder
NATHAN RUBIN and TERRY ADAMS on Strings
DAVID HAYES and JOE MACHO on Bass
DAHOUD SHAAR and ALLEN SWARTZBURG on Drums and Percussion
Labes, Shaar, Schroer, Hayes and Nathan Rubin were all part of "The Caledonia Soul Orchestra" who toured with Van and produced the dynamite "It's Too Late To Stop Now" live double released in March of 1974. Tight and complimentary to his style, they knew what Van wanted when he went in to record "Veedon Fleece". The album is a slight return to the style of "Astral Weeks" song-writing - not verse/chorus - but more soulful meandering workouts heavy on the mystical lyrics and falsetto vocals. This style is particularly evident on the fabulous "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River" which ended Side 1 of the album - an 8-minute strummer that gets its hooks into you and doesn't leave. The chipper "Bulbs" was issued as 7" single on both sides of the pond ("Cul De Sac" its B-side in the US, "Who Was That Masked Man?" in the UK).
Originally released on vinyl as a single sleeve album with a green insert for the session details, that same bland green is used on the booklet and inlay beneath the see-through tray - hardly original, nor exciting. There's no new interview, no photos, no singles pictured, no history of the record and its place in his catalogue - zip. The lyrics to "Twilight Zone" are reproduced though. Wow! Push the boat out boys!!
Also, the liner notes don't mention WHERE or WHEN the tapes were 96k/24 bit remastered. Still, the sound is hugely improved over the initial CD releases, but a real downside for me is the sloppiness with which this has been remastered - there's very audible hiss on almost all of the tracks - and the hiss is at exactly the same level all the time - you can't help but feel that this was simply run through a machine without anyone trying to tweak or make better each individual track - like say you get on a HIP-O SELECT CD or a MOBILE FIDELITY disc. Effort put in - in other words.
The two bonus tracks are a mixed bag. As you've probably noticed, "Twilight Zone" wasn't on the original LP; it first appeared as an outtake from the "Veedon Fleece" sessions on the 2CD 1996 set "The Philosopher's Stone". The version on PS runs to 8:24 minutes and is presented on that set in superb sound quality; this take is shorter at 5:51 minutes and different - unfortunately it's also a lot more hissy and not as good as the PS version. "Cul De Sac" fares far better - it's very good - and more than an interesting curio. I'll be playing it again.
Overall, "Veedon Fleece" is a lovely album and a bit of a lost gem in his catalogue - and this remastered re-issue is recommended despite the slightly disappointing sound quality.
PS:
30 Van Morrison albums are re-issued in remastered form throughout 2008 and into early 2009. Each title contains an upgraded booklet; previously unreleased bonus tracks and all will be at mid-price. The releases are in 4 batches as follows:
28 January 2008 (7 titles)
Tupelo Honey (1971), It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 CD Live Set) (1974),
Wavelenght (1979), Into The Music (1979), A Sense Of Wonder (1985),
Avalon Sunset (1989) and Back On Top (1999)
(see SEPARATE REVIEWS for all 7)
30 June 2008 UK/1 & 8 July 2008 USA (8 titles)
Veedon Fleece (1974), Common One (1980), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983), Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984), No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986), Enlightenment (1990), A Night In San Francisco (2CD Live Set) (1994) and The Healing Game (1997)
(see SEPARATE REVIEWS for "Enlightenment" and "Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart")
November 2008 (7 titles)
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972), A Period Of Transition (1977), Beautiful Vision (1982), Poetic Champions Compose (1987), Hymns To The Silence (2CD Studio Set) (1991), How Long Has This Been Going On (Live At Ronnie Scott's) (1995), Tell Me Something - The Songs Of Mose Allison (1996)
January 2009 (8 titles)
Hard Nose The Highway (1973), Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988),
Too Long In Exile (1993), Days Like This (1995), The Story Of Them (2CD Set) (1999), The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast (with Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber) (2000), Down The Road (2002) and What's Wrong With This Picture? (2003)
PPS:
Those hoping to see desperately needed sonic upgrades of his 1st and 2nd album masterpieces on Warner Bothers "Astral Weeks" (1968) and "Moondance" (1970) or even "His Band & The Street Choir" (late 1970) will be disappointed to hear that they're NOT in this re-issue campaign. Apparently there is still some dispute between the record label and Van that remains unresolved. A damn shame! "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" in particular have both been languishing around on crappy-sounding non-remastered CDs for over 20 years now and they're glaringly obvious omissions in this supposedly 'extensive' re-issue campaign. These universally recognized masterpieces deserve 2CD DELUXE EDITION treatment and soon. (Some tracks in remastered form are available across the 3 volumes of "Best Of"). Let's hope they sort their differences and soon!
He painted his masterpiece June 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Van Morrisons finest record, hands down, no contest! To suggest the last four tracks are boring is cantakerousness Van would be proud of!If its 'Brown Eyed Girl' you're looking for go to yr nearest Karaokenotalentthemepubnightmare ('Bulbs' is quite jaunty though).A more complete record you'll struggle to find and a great argument in the war against albums waged by Ipodians who just want the 'cream' to be randomly chosen for them by a chip.This is clotted cream from start to finish,the great sleeve;with that hair and those dugs is the scone and that voice from Van,The(Bon Ma)man,well its gotta be the jam.
Cryptic folk album June 12, 2008
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
The lyrics are a bit more cryptic than usual. What is a Veedon Fleece? Morrison has no idea. He just thought it sounded good. I think a lot of the songs sound like they're about something, but are really pretty vague (like mid 60's Bob Dylan).
Who Was That Masked Man and Linden Arden Stole The Highlights are about unusual subjects and are among some of his best songs.
I've never been convinced by his extended 10 minute tracks. They always feel like short songs that have been elongated with stylish singing repeating choice lyrics. You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River is the only 10 minute track of his I like. It holds my attention and feels deep, although it's still repetitive and slightly boring. And I'm not convinced it needed to be so long. It could easily have faded out about six or seven minutes in.
The last four tracks are boring and I find that I usually don't bother listening to them.
It's an album of considerable merit and it is worth buying.
The artwork looks great. At first it looks awful with it's weirdly tinted colours but eventually it starts to look very stylish. A very atmospheric photograph with its wide framing of the subject sitting on the grass of a hotel with two large dogs.
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