Customer Reviews
One of Morrison's most successful, not necessarily his best albums - By: Magic Rat, 23 Jul 2008 
This was an album that achieved considerable commercial success for Van Morrison at the end of the 1980s after he'd been treading water for a while. Kicking off with the somewhat incongruous collaboration with Cliff Richard on "Whenever God Shines His Light" the listener thinks that maybe this is to be a "spiritual" album, particularly with the inclusion of "When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God". However there is also some lovely ballladry in "Contacting My Angel" & the classic "Have I Told You Lately" (made popular by Rod Stewart); the Celtic soully "These Are The Days stands out, as does the Irish nostalgia of "I'm Tired Joey Boy & "Orangefield". "I'd Love To Write Another Song" is a bluesy burner of the type that appear on much of Morrison's more recent output & damn good it is too. For me, however, the highlights are the evocative, spoken "Coney Island" that just makes the listener want to go to Northern Ireland's coast there & then, & the intoxicating "Daring Night", which sees Morrison in "bandleader in control" mode as the musicians kick in & out following his instructions as Van growls on about "the great goddess of the eternal wisdom". This is a point of musical perfection on the album. Despite alll these good points though, I personallly prefer many other albums to this one. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it at alll but I feel albums such as "Hymns To The Silence", "Into The Music", "Veedon Fleece", "Beautiful Vision" & the eminently challlenging "Commmon One" are more fulfilling listens. Nevertheless, "Avalon Sunset" is not without merit & is breezy, reflective & nostalgic alll in one & is still up there, maybe not just right up there at the top.
Lush Van classic - By: russell clarke, 23 Apr 2008 
When Radio Two had a Van Morrison week not so long ago it cemented , to my mind anyway, that Van Morrison is an artist of contrasts.Some of his work is fantastic, some of it is okay & some of it is pants. It could be argued that you could level that at just about any artist but with Van Morrison the dichotomy is even more emphatic.
Avalon Sunset , recently remastered ( Of the recent re-releases only Avalon Sunset & Back On Top have been newly re-mastered) is one of the Van Morrison albums i love. Originallly released in 1989 ( A very fine year for albums) coming a year after the superb "Irish Heartbeat" the album was recorded in London ,Bath, & close to Avalon the mythic kingdom of King Arthur. Musicians who worked on the album included Georgie Fame on the hammond organ who worked with Morrison extensively throughout the nineties.
The songs were alll rehearsed for two days & then recorded over another two days . This level of spontaneity is apparent with one or two of the songs which have a looser feel. On "Daring Night" you can even hear Morrison callling a change in tempo. However much of the album has a lush sheen which suggests move love & attention rather than a daring throwaway approach.
The album is considered to be a spiritual one , but only the duet with Cliff Richard "Whenever God Shines His Light" , a pleasant enough track but one which rubs up this atheist the wrong way, speaks of direct faith. "When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God" , a far better song anyway , seems to question faith rather than revel in it.The ethereal "Contacting My Angel" is actuallly about a woman's presence ,not some celestial deity.Personallly i prefer the verdant orchestrated pieces. Even the spoken word "Coney Island" , which seems to wind a lot of people up , has a compelling nostalgic ambience that reallly wraps you up & the final line "Would,nt it be nice if it like this alll the time" has the power to reallly connect.
Arguably the most well known track off the album "Have I Told You Lately " is still a powerful affecting balllad & "Orangefield" has swooning strings, apt as the song is about schoolday love. The bluesier songs like "I,d Love To Write Another Song" & "Daring Night" are,nt as vital for this reviewer but prevent the album from becoming too cloying & emollient.
Along with "Poetic Champions Compose", "No Guru No Method, No Teacher", "Irish Heartbeat" & "Tupelo Honey" Avalon Sunset is my favourite Van Morrison album. Others will of course have their own & may well disagree violently with me. As i said at the reviews beginning Van Morrison is an artist of contrasts. Sometimes i can not so much take him or leave him as cross a multi-lane highway to avoid him. Avalon Sunset though is terrific.
The Great Underrated - By: D. Boland, 11 Apr 2008 In some ways "Avalon Sunset" is an odd album.This might have to something to do with the thread of religiosity which runs through it. There is also the variety of styles - New Age sound washes, Irish whimsy, the soppy & sentimental, & straight down-to-earth blues & soul.
The first song "Whenever God Shines His Light" is a duet with Cliff Richard. An out-and-out pop song, OK but slightly out of place. From this to "Contacting My Angel". I'm not so keen on this. It seems to have strayed in from "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart", without doubt the direst album Van Morrison ever made. "I'd Like to Write Another Song" is a spirited blues number, sung against blustering saxes & Georgie Fame's Hammond organ. Van sings like Joe Turner. No higher praise. The words were clearly barrel scraped - but it shows how to write a song when there is nothing to write about.
"Have I Told You Lately" is a very effective soppy number - much loved by, & played for, newlyweds at their wedding dance. "Coney Island" is spoken. In simple language he describes his experience & feelings on a day out in Ireland. It works. "I'm Tired Joey Boy" is out of the same mould. Simple, Irish folk song feel.
It's the last four songs that, for me, bring this album to near classic status. They alll have their faults. Van was clearly metaphysical at the time he wrote the lyrics. But he is back into soul mood, & with the grain of his talent.
"When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God" opens up on bass & primitive acoustic guitar over piano chords. It's simple straight declamation from Van Morrison, but, in the same way as you hear the gospel choir in Aretha Franklin, you can hear the Irish preacher in him. In "Orangefield" we are still in Ireland. The lyric here is simpler - an expression of delight in his lover. The music's heaviness & bombast overwhelm the words. But we are properly in the world of soul here, sound separating from meaning. The female backing group seem out of the Staple Singers.
In "Daring Night" we are lovers looking at the stars & dreaming of infinity. The words don't matter much. Van's vocalising becomes increasingly improvisatory in rapid repetitions of "baby, baby", "lord of the dance", "squeeze me" towards a climax, diminishing to pianissimo, alongside vocal ejaculations "don't let go". Van's confident, in-your-face vocal & evident relish of the music sweeps alll before it.
The final song, "These Are The Days", opens on a two-note rocking figure on piano, then guitar over accordion & cellos. Laid back vocal for a slow & heavily nostalgic song, looking back to the summers when he was young. God comes is as "the love of one magician turned the water into wine". Some of the best is towards the end, after the song is sung when he & the female backing group vocalise wordlessly - "na, na, na, na" - female wailing above him gospel fashion. Climax then out.
Why isn't it a classic?
All criticisms falll away before the Man. One of the great vocalists of the past fifty years
VAN THE MAN - By: DAG, 03 Mar 2008 Aside from Astral Weeks & Moondance, I never quite 'got' Van until this beauty. I found most of his output after the aforementioned two classics to be a bit samey & lacking any killer tunes. (I know! I know! True Van fans out there will be callling for my head!) But this album - & 'Enlightenment', which followed it, are my favourites post '72. The classic tracks are 'Daring Night' & 'These are the days' - wondrously lush arrangements with great melodies & a gospel feel. This album is extremely accessible & perfect if you found/find Van difficult to get into. I almost wore the vinyl out - especiallly side 2 - so it's good that this is now available at a decent price on CD. Don't think you'll be disappointed.
INCLUDES ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TRACKS OF ALL TIME - By: P. Clack, 24 Jan 2008 This album is one of the greatest popular music albums of alll time,and it includes a track that would certainly be on my list of Desert Island Discs,that's Coney Island.A trip on the coastline of Belfast,so well written you feel your being personallly escorted by Van himself around his hometown.
Then theres the beautiful songs that have become Van classics,Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (still by far the best ever recording of this song)and These Are The Days (remember it in the Hugh Grant movie Nine Months,when he's walking around the room with his baby).This album still gets better everytime I put it on & should be in every collection.I'm still amazed by the structure & majasty of songs like When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God,just listen to the power of his lyrics here.Then theres the big hit he had with Cliff Richard, Wherever God Shines His Light.Oh I could go on & on but it reallly comes down to one thing this is an absolutely fabulous release & should not be missed by anyone this time around.
