Van Morrison remasters coming soon....

This is great news. I've been a fan since 1974 and have most of his CD's. But yes the earlier albums are terribly recorded such as Hard Nose the Highway, His Band and the Street Choir, St. Dominick's Preview, Moondance, A Period of Transition, Live in Belfast, Astral Weeks, etc. The At the Movies CD I believe contains some early cuts that have either been remastered already or re-recorded in the studio. Brown Eyed Girl for example sounds great with super bass, etc. Also Wild Night.

Now about Veedon Fleece. Yes, I completely agree with Musicslug. Totally unappreciated and under rated. But Van hits some of his highest notes in those songs, especially in Linden Arden Stole the Highlights. Last year I went on a serious search for this CD but to no avail. I finally downloaded it in MP3 from Yahoo Music reluctantly. But at least I have it. Then not a month later, there it was in a CD store here in NJ. Brand new copy. Never fails.

His later CD's from the 90's sound fairly good today so I would say those would be lower priority to purchase. The Healing Game sounds great for example. Thanks to Tomcy6 for the schedule. I read a book about Van's life recently and it helps me appreciate his music and poetry even more.

Last year at a local outdoor concert, I went to see and met John Platania who was performing with another group. He was Van's lead guitarist early on. I believe he also recroded with him on a recent album. You can see him in the DVD, Van Morrison Live at Montreux. Super guy. johnplatania.com.

what about moondance

I have received two Japan Mini LP CD versions with SHM-CD (Super High Material). I can't read the explanation (in Japanese) but it is not a mastering process but a material and manufacturing process.

However, to my ears, Tupelo Honey and Into The Music, sound great and I love the Mini LP versions especially the gatefold on Tupelo Honey.

Van does not control the masters for Moondance or Astral Weeks and maybe a couple of others. They were tied up in a long time feud with WB but they did just recently reissue Moondance on a remastered LP so maybe there is hope yet we can see one on CD but not on this almost career spanning series.

Looks like the June releases will be waiting for then? I should probably just get my old Denon turntable fixed and cleanup some vinyl since I have most of the early works on LP. Veedon and Hard Nose are 2 of my favorites along with Moondance. Love the artwork on Hard Nose too! Van Has long been one of our favorites!

The night I listened to Van on my old reel to reel was like going back in time for me. My wife asked me if I still had the deck and I went snooping in the storage area....lots of music that I had not listened to in years! Anybody remember the early works of Lindisfarne? I had forgotten about them until that night.