Van Morrison -- religious conversion?
David Hammerslag
sound decidely Christian. I hadn't listened to Morrison in quite some
time and this seems like a change in his music. Does anybody know if
he has undergone a religious conversion? Or, has he always had the
same beliefs and just decided to start including them in his work? If
he is a professing Christian, does anybody know of which denomination?
David Hammerslag
Center for Supercomputer Research and Development
University of Illinois
305 Talbot Lab.
104 S. Wright St.
Urbana, Il 61801
(217) 244-0277
ham...@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu
andrew.j.whitman
>On Morrison's recent album "Avalon Sunset," a number of the tracks
>sound decidely Christian. I hadn't listened to Morrison in quite some
>time and this seems like a change in his music. Does anybody know if
>he has undergone a religious conversion? Or, has he always had the
>same beliefs and just decided to start including them in his work? If
>he is a professing Christian, does anybody know of which denomination?
Well, Van is notoriously reticent, so it's difficult to answer those
questions directly. I'm not aware of any interviews where Van directly
addresses his philosophical/religious beliefs, so much of what I'm going
to say is pure speculation. Take this all with a large boulder of salt.
Morrison has always been fascinated by the strong mystical tradition
of his native Ireland. Even back in the mid '60s, when he was still
reworking R&B standards with Them, Van explored mystical/spiritual
issues in songs such as "Mystic Eyes," "Philosophy," and "Mighty Like
a Rose." So this is hardly a new concern.
But I do think that there has been a real emphasis on these issues
over the past ten years or so. It was almost as if Van went through
his hitmaking/popular phase in the early '70s, suffered through a few
years of disillusionment and creative fallowness, and then re-emerged
in the late '70s determined to make music that addressed the issues
of his heart. The real turning point, as far as I can tell, was the
1979 album "Into the Music." Here was the same old Van, whipping
himself into a frenzy by moaning and chanting the same phrases again
and again, but this time moaning and chanting about "being lifted up
by the Lord" and "the healing has begun." The albums that followed -
"Common One," "Beautiful Vision," "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart,"
"Sense of Wonder," "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher," "Poetic Champions
Compose," "Irish Heartbeat," and "Avalon Sunset" - have all continued
this theme.
This is stuff that will drive cold-blooded rationalists crazy. For
that matter, this is stuff that will drive people who want to
pigeon-hole artists into a particular belief set and value system
crazy. What does Van believe? Who knows. He apparently believes
in God. He apparently believes that one can commune with and
understand God only through means that move beyond rationality and
objective reality. In other words, he's a mystic. But what do you
expect from a guy who writes songs with titles like "Into the Mystic"
and "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart"? I wouldn't look for too many
credal statements to come from Mr. Morrison.
Moving from the Transcendant Other back to the historic space-time
continuum, I know that Van followed the teachings of one L. Ron Hubbard
for several years. Hubbard was a former pulp science fiction writer and
neo-spiritual guru who founded the Scientology movement/cult/organization/
church/scam (choose two out of the five). Van dropped out of Scientology
in the mid '80s and released an album titled, aptly enough, "No Guru, No
Method, No Teacher." Since then he has continued to release music that
is as spiritually enigmatic as ever. His latest album, "Avalon Sunset,"
contains several tunes that explicitly address Christian doctrines
and beliefs, and one song that extolls the wonders of crack cocaine.
Go figure. Whatever he is, I don't think Van's a Southern Baptist.
He still makes great music anyway.
>David Hammerslag
>Center for Supercomputer Research and Development
>University of Illinois
>305 Talbot Lab.
>104 S. Wright St.
>Urbana, Il 61801
>(217) 244-0277
>ham...@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu
Andy Whitman
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio
att!cblpn!ajw
Dave Tilley
>sound decidely Christian. I hadn't listened to Morrison in quite some
>time and this seems like a change in his music. Does anybody know if
>he has undergone a religious conversion? Or, has he always had the
>same beliefs and just decided to start including them in his work? If
>he is a professing Christian, does anybody know of which denomination?
I have no idea about his professed beliefs. However he has an album
(two albums ago) called "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" A famous Zen saying.
One song is called "Enter into the Mystery", Another is "The Alan Watts Blues".
Alan Watts is fairly well known in Zen/Taoist circles.
dave
Neal Johnson
about glamour - this was a reference to on of Alice Bailey's
books (don't remember the title but it had the word "glamour" in it.)
Also one the album "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" he does
make reference to reincarnation all mixed in with references
to the Trinity, etc. Very eclectic and personal...
============================================================================
name: Neal Johnson "Do What You Will Shall Be the Whole of the Law"
mail: n...@apple.COM "Love is the Law, Love Under Will"
phone: (408) 974-6246
disclaimer: Everything stated here is disclaimed by all.
============================================================================
Colm K. Mulcahy
>In article <1990Jan8.2...@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> ham...@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes:
>>If he is a professing Christian, does anybody know of which denomination?
>
>of his native Ireland. Even back in the mid '60s, when he was still
>reworking R&B standards with Them, Van explored mystical/spiritual
>issues in songs such as "Mystic Eyes," "Philosophy," and "Mighty Like
>a Rose." So this is hardly a new concern.
Native Northern Ireland, there's a huge difference. Belfast is as far
removed from the southern Irish experience as you can get. Van's fondness
for his southern cousins didn't emerge till around 1973, when he moved
there from the States (but gave up on the idea rather rapidly).
I never heard anybody assert that the songs you name were remotely influenced
by Irish mysticism. Growing up in Belfast in the 50s was hardly a very
mystical experience.
I's say it came from within the man, and would have surfaced no matter where
he grew up.
>But I do think that there has been a real emphasis on these issues
>over the past ten years or so. It was almost as if Van went through
>
[rest of excellent posting deleted]
>
>Go figure. Whatever he is, I don't think Van's a Southern Baptist.
True, but he used to be a Northern Jehovah's Witness !
--
Colm Mulcahy | email address: | If a hen and a half
Dept. of Math & CS, | co...@mathcs.emory.edu | lays an egg and a half
Spelman College, | co...@emory.bitnet | in a day and a half,
Atlanta, GA 30314 | {sun!sunatl,gatech}!emory!colm | how many ...
ZIM...@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
>In article <12...@cbnews.ATT.COM> a...@cbnews.ATT.COM (andrew.j.whitman) writes:
>>In article <1990Jan8.2...@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> ham...@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes:
>>Go figure. Whatever he is, I don't think Van's a Southern Baptist.
>
>True, but he used to be a Northern Jehovah's Witness !
Makes it hard for me to respect the guy. What would lead him to
adhere to such silly "religions"?
Ben Zimmer
Colm K. Mulcahy
>In article <48...@emory.mathcs.emory.edu>, co...@mathcs.emory.edu (Colm K. Mulcahy) writes:
>
>>In article <12...@cbnews.ATT.COM> a...@cbnews.ATT.COM (andrew.j.whitman) writes:
>>>In article <1990Jan8.2...@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> ham...@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>>>Go figure. Whatever he is, I don't think Van's a Southern Baptist.
>>
>>True, but he used to be a Northern Jehovah's Witness !
>
>So Van has been both a Jehovah's Witness
about as much as i was a Catholic. his family were Witnesses, i somehow doubt
that Van was very active that way past childhood (if even that much, I never
heard that his parents were too religious anyway).
>_and_ a Scientologist?
that was his own decision. this is not unusual among people in the entertainment
business, didn't Chick Corea fall for L. Ron "I've Got Your Money Now, Sucker"
Hubbard too ? And he spent his youth playing piano at Bar Mitzvahs !
>Makes it hard for me to respect the guy.
well, is it at all relevant to his music ? I mean, has the quality of his 80s
output mysteriously declined since YOU learnt that he came from a JW backround,
and opted for Scientology at one stage ?
>What would lead him to
>adhere to such silly "religions"?
let's not get into that, IN THIS NEWSGROUP.
Speaking of music, who's got the scoop on:
"Copycats Ripped Off My Soul"
Tom Bowers tells me it's:
>A great (soundboard quality) bootleg recorded after
>"No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" came out. It was recorded
>in Germany and it's possible that it's an audience tape but it
>sure doesn't sound like it.
is this relatively easy to get in North America ??
Pete Gibson
>Makes it hard for me to respect the guy. What would lead him to
>adhere to such silly "religions"?
Respect the man for his music, not for his personal life.
-- Pete
pe...@sequent.UUCP
..{tektronix,ogicse,uunet}!sequent!peteg