And They Stood Upon The Lawn ...

"Wrapped up in the sound ..." A blissful and affecting piece that seems to me to be composed of almost affirmational statements, combining an element of gratitude and a desire for improvement.  "I'm living in my dreams, I'll make it better than it seems,""I gotta give a life a whirl," "Wrapped up in the sound, I'll make it better all around," "I'll leave these blues behind."  Always leaves me simultaneously soothed and elevated. Magic. Beautiful live versions from 2016 "Just a little bit higher ..."

The journey's longer than I thought ... This song has crept up on me and now I find it to be one of the most moving in Van's catalogue.  I think it is a combination of the acknowledgement of past mistakes, the things that 'get in the way' that have elongated the journey to now and the understanding that being with our loved ones can deliver perfect moments in time, where the world 'keeps standing still.'  A place of safety, comfort and love. I can hear the sound of violins I can hear the piper play And every time the song begins You just steal my heart away The journey's longer than I thought my love There's lots of things Get in the way But every time I think of you You just steal my heart away Just like a morning In May like this See the heather on the hill There's a place way up The mountainside Where the world Keeps standing still Just like the sunshine after rain I'll come To ...

You will change just like a flower slowly opening ... When there's no coming and there's no going.  You will meet your lover.  Be still. I believe I'll go walking in the woods ...

There's a dream where the contents are visible ...  "Will the blush remain on your cheeks my love? Is the light, is the light always seen in your hair? A breathtaking hymn of love from a man who is aware of how lucky he is to be loved by the one he loves. Will you still be my special rose ...

Going down by Avalon ... Magnificent in it's concept and performance, Van leading massed strings and gathered voices exulting in the magic of Avalon, the grail and the promise of rebirth. In the Upper Room the cup doth stand… Gonna make a brand new start ...

Riding on in ... As soon as the brooding harmonica comes in you know you are in for something special. A companion piece to Cash's 'The Man Comes Around.' Albeit one that draws upon Van's own bitter experiences. Nowhere to hide.  Riding on in ...

I got to run to the setting sun ... A song which personalises a place of ritual significance to the ancient Celts of the region of Finisterre (End of the Earth) and of more modern pilgrims to the area. A place where 'death' and 'rebirth' can be physically experienced in the setting and rising of the sun. If I've got to drive all night till the morning light ...

The words we do not need to speak ... Close your eyes.  Be still ...

I want to sing this song for you ... A prayer like song of reminiscence with an air of celebration. A memory of a time when the soul was free, the heart awake, a desire for the contemplation of one's own true self and a wish to keep young as one grows old.  So lift your glass and raise it high ...

Every time I take two steps forward ... Sarcastic, exasperated, down right pissed off. Van turns it into an atmospheric classic.  And if you liked the original, the guitar heavy Neil Young infused live version from 2013 is utterly spectacular. I end up having to take three back ...

She's alright with me  ... Delicate, passionate and precise.  Organ, flute, and guitar.  Van in control, open throated and open hearted.  The bee, not a bee.  THE bee. Mr Connie Hay on the drums alone.  Ow!  Listen to the man play.  A monumental classic. Wave after wave.  Peak after peak.  She's an angel ...

Sometimes you be living, living in a dream ... How could you write a finer love song than one which makes you love your lover more?  That's how this song always makes me feel. The swelling of your heart in your chest, the smile that creeps across your face, the spring in your step when you walk hand in hand down the street. Steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out ... It's just a windfall away ...

Let your flame burn into the night ... Down the mystic avenue, church bells chime in the blissful realm of Beautiful Vision. A tender paean to a new love infused with Blakeian angels and fiery visions. Gorgeous work by Mark Isham and Chris Michie. I saw you knocking with your heart ...

Everyone who's ever loved ... Socrates and Plato, they praised it to the skies. Van sent from the very beginning.  An extraordinary composition, instruments twist and curl around each other as they move toward a fully established harmony. Lifting us as they go. Everyone who's ever tried ...

Child don't do what I have done ... Oh sweet release, oh how you soothe me When I let go, I love how you use me I have finally come to realise It's in the doing, in the doing that we find A certain way that we can live our lives And obtain some piece of mind A monumental live version from 2002 And when I let go ...

And she moves ... A love song to the spirit of inspiration which sweeps me away with every listen. To the County Down. And she keeps the flame ...

I can hear the mothers voices calling ... "In the early morning we'll go walking where the light comes shining through." A longing for home captured in song. Deep roots that can never be severed and still sustain although strained by distance. Comfort and ease found upon return. "I wanna go home ..." Children, children, come home children ...

And he loved the little children ... I don't know why this song is so intoxicating. It puts me in the room with Van, drink in hand, while he sits at the piano and tells me all about this man.  I feel like I know him intimately.  Almost as if somehow it is my story as well. Or could be. Touching, beautiful and wondrous.  Lord, he was a drinking man ...

I stop a while and take in the scene ... A stately string drenched meditation on mortality and his life from a man recognising where he is on the journey that " curves and twists and turns and twists and turns and wanders 'til you get, 'til you get to the very end." The familiar trope of "standing in the pouring rain" as a metaphor for sadness/depression is made more touching by the admission of the man still having more questions than answers and facing the prospect of death that is ever closer , "there's something moving, moving in the shadows and it's getting dark now up on memory lane."  This place is not the comfort it once was. Don't know where I am or what I'm after ...

I had my eyes closed in the dark ... Twenty-six years.  You record an 8 minute masterpiece. Such is the strength of your output it doesn't see the light of day for twenty-six years.  Twenty-six years. Cut loose. Leave your thoughtlessness behind you ...