VAN MORRISON : CAN YOU FEEL THE SILENCE

  1. Go the the hide-place in your mind (John Allair)

  2. Into the mystic

  3. Moondance

  4. Wavelength

  5. Full force gale

  6. Bright side of the road

  7. It's all in the game

  8. She gives me religion

  9. Northern muse

  10. Vanlose stairway

  11. Help me

  12. When I come home (Bianca Thornton)

  13. Celtic ray

  14. Dweller on the treshold

  15. Satisfied

  16. Cleaning windows

  17. Summertime in England

  18. Scandinavia

Label : Pluto Records

Time : 77:30

Venue : Grugahalle, Essen, Germany

Date : April 4th, 1982

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Jan Seijbel) : The concert which this boot was taken from was originally broadcast on German TV as part of the Rockpalast series, recorded in the Gruga Halle in Essen.

Review (BigOzine) : It was the 10th Rockpalast Festival and the producers wanted one of their favourite acts to come. Rick James opened the festival. The Kinks closed the show. But it was Van Morrison they really wanted to hold the centre. Morrison did not disappoint. The already reticent singer-songwriter brought a solid backing band with him that included Pee Wee Ellis and the always capable and inspiring Mark Isham. Together the pair gave this performance the atmosphere and shading it needed for Morrison's new moodier songs off his album Beautiful Vision. The show starts and dispenses quickly with fan favorites Into The Mystic, Moondance and Wavelength. The beat remains "up" through Full Force Gale and Bright Side Of The Road then cools for a trio of new songs off Beautiful Vision - She Gives Me Religion, Northern Muse and Vanlose Stairway. In 1982, Morrison was 36. His reputation for not doing interviews was already legend. "You can find what I have to say in my songs - I have nothing to add," he had said. His style of songwriting was described as "stream of consciousness" and not hits-centric. We should be thankful that German fans took the trouble to encourage him to perform for television and that the results have been properly recorded and archived for generation X and beyond to appreciate. As the producers mentioned: "Van Morrison is very reserved, in actions and gestures, at his concerts. Surely, when one looks a little closer at how he sings. one sees the tremendous strength exuded by this seemingly unmoving man. He is concentrating only on the music and his singing." For the rest of the show, Morrison supremely confident, unleashes his new songs Celtic Ray, Dweller on the Threshold, the amusing Cleaning Windows and closes with the instrumental Scandinavia. This was one of the most adventurous periods in his career and offered a lot of stimulating albums that veered away from chart music. It established his reputation as a serious artist. "Turn up your radio and let me hear the song." This is taken from an Italian bootleg in excellent quality.