The Authorized Bang Collection

by Van Morrison

Overview

In 1966, Van Morrison was a rough-and-tumble blues singer with the rowdy Belfast band Them. In 1968, Morrison was a solo artist who created a genre-defying, visionary masterpiece with his album Astral Weeks. Clearly a great deal happened during the time in between, and arguably the most important thing was Morrison reconnecting with songwriter and producer Bert Berns, who had worked with Them. Berns understood Morrison had tremendous talent and potential, and when he learned than Van had left Them, Bert invited him to come to New York City and cut some solo material for his label, Bang Records. A few months later, Morrison had his first solo hit, "Brown Eyed Girl," and his first quarrel with the music industry when the material he cut for Berns was compiled into an album, Blowin' Your Mind!, without his consent. While Morrison's material for Bang has been collected in many different forms, 2017's The Authorized Bang Collection is the first time anyone has done so with Van's participation and approval, and if it's not quite revelatory in its presentation (most of this material has been widely available before), it's certainly definitive in its quality. The first disc features the 17 Morrison tracks that Bang released as singles and on the albums Blowin' Your Mind!, The Best of Van Morrison (despite the title, most of it was unreleased), and T.B. Sheets, while disc two is devoted to single edits and session outtakes. While the material on the second disc is clearly for completists and hardcore fans, the tracks offer a fascinating look into the way Berns' production style complemented Morrison's loose but impassioned working methods in the studio. Berns was willing to create a spontaneous environment where the musicians served Morrison's vision, and it's not at all hard to see how tracks like "T.B. Sheets," "He Ain't Give You None," and "Send Your Mind" set the stage for the poetic conceits of Astral Weeks (especially given the presence of an early version of "Madame George"). The crisp new remastering of the original mixes shows Berns got a tough, lively sound out of his studio band, and the interaction between Morrison and the players is even more impressive with this set's new clarity. And closing out the collection is the first official release of the infamous set of demos Morrison cut to get out of his Bang contract. These songs were clearly meant to be too bad to be released, but it's all but impossible not to be fascinated as Van improvises spirited nonsense like "Ring Worm," "Up Your Mind," "Here Comes Dumb George," and "Want a Danish" over the space of 36 minutes. Morrison's 1967 work with Bert Berns at Bang was vital as it set the singer and songwriter on his creative path, and The Authorized Bang Collection offers an outstanding look into this annus mirabilis. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	04/28/2017
Label:	Legacy / Sony Music
UPC:	0889854246723
Rank:	130695

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Brown Eyed Girl [Original Stereo Mix]
2. He Ain't Give You None [Original Stereo Mix]
3. T.B. Sheets [Original Stereo Mix]
4. Spanish Rose [Original Stereo Mix]
5. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) [Original Stereo Mix]
6. Ro Ro Rosey [Original Stereo Mix]
7. Who Drove the Red Sports Car [Original Stereo Mix]
8. Midnight Special [Original Stereo Mix]
9. It's All Right [Original Stereo Mix]
10. Send Your Mind [Original Stereo Mix]
11. The Smile You Smile [Original Stereo Mix]
12. The Back Room [Original Stereo Mix]
13. Joe Harper Saturday Morning [Original Stereo Mix]
14. Beside You [Original Mono Mix]
15. Madame George [Original Mono Mix]
16. Chick-a-Boom [Original Mono Mix]
17. The Smile You Smile [Demo]

Disc 2

18. Brown Eyed Girl [Original Edited Mono Single Mix]
19. Ro Ro Rosey [Original Mono Single Mix With Backing Vocals]
20. T.B. Sheets [Take 2]
21. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) [Takes 10 & 11]
22. Send Your Mind [Take 3]
23. Midnight Special [Take 7]
24. He Ain't Give You None [Take 4]
25. Ro Ro Rosey [Take 2]
26. Who Drove the Sports Car [Take 6]
27. Beside You [Take 2]
28. Joe Harper Saturday Morning [Take 2]
29. Beside You [Take 5]
30. Spanish Rose [Take 14]
31. Brown Eyed Girl [Takes 1-6]
32. Brown Eyed Girl [Takes 7-11]

Disc 3

33. Twist and Shake
34. Shake and Roll
35. Stomp and Scream
36. Scream and Holler
37. Jump and Thump
38. Drivin' Wheel
39. Just Ball
40. Shake It Mable
41. Hold on George
42. The Big Royalty Check
43. Ring Worm
44. Savoy Hollywood
45. Freaky If You Got This Far
46. Up Your Mind
47. Thirty Two
48. All the Bits
49. You Say France and I Whistle
50. Blowin' Your Whistle
51. Nose in Your Blow
52. La Mambo
53. Go for Yourself
54. Want a Danish
55. Here Comes Dumb George
56. Chickee Coo
57. Do It
58. Hang on Groovy
59. Goodbye George
60. Dum Dum George
61. Walk and Talk
62. The Wobble
63. Wobble and Ball

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Van Morrison   Primary Artist,Guitar
Andrew Sandoval   Compiled
Herb Lovelle   Drums
Eric Gale   Guitar
Hugh McCracken   Guitar
Al Gorgoni   Guitar
George Devens   Percussion
Bert Berns   Director
Russ Savakus   Bass
Bob Bushnell   Bass
Jeff Barry   Tambourine,Vocals (Background)
Gary Chester   Drums
Garry Sherman   Conductor
Donald Thomas   Guitar

Technical Credits

Jeroen Van Der Meer   Project Director
Andrew Sandoval   Liner Notes,Mixing
Tom Burleigh   Direction
Van Morrison   Composer,Liner Notes
Bert Berns   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Wes Farrell   Composer
Brooks Arthur   Engineer
John Sellards   Design,Art Direction
Popsie Randolph   Photography
Traditional   Composer