If the title didn't tip you off, the opening five-minute jazz instrumental "Spanish Steps" certainly reveals that Poetic Champions Compose is an art record.
Of course, Van Morrison has been making art records since at least Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, perhaps Common One, so that shouldn't come as a surprise.
What is a bit of a shock is that Morrison begins to shake off his self-conscious straitjacket here, letting a little more grit into the music, even if the record still is firmly ensconced in mid-tempos and ballads, with only Van's voice (soulful, yet not histrionic) to pull you in.
Much of this tends to float by, with only the occasional song ("I Forgot That Love Existed," "Did Ye Get Healed?") distinguishing itself.
The overly mellow atmosphere and Van's arch artiness may not make it universally appealing, yet this record is warmer, stronger than many of its predecessors, one of his highlights from the '80s.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish StepsVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | The MysteryVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Queen of the SlipstreamVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless ChildTraditional | Van Morrison | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Celtic ExcavationVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Someone Like YouVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Alan Watts BluesVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Give Me My RaptureVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Allow MeVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Did Ye Get Healed | Van Morrison | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 43 mins | 99 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June Boyce | Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Mick Con | Guitar |
| 3 | Mick Cox | Guitar |
| 4 | Neil Drinkwater | Piano, Synthesizer |
| 5 | Martin Drover | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 6 | Mick Glossop | Engineer |
| 7 | Roy Jones | Drums, Percussion |
| 8 | Royce Jones | Drums, Percussion |
| 9 | Van Morrison | Composer, Guitar, Harmonica, Primary Artist, Producer, Sax (Alto), Vocals |
| 10 | Steve Pearce | Guitar (Bass) |
| 11 | Traditional | Composer |
| 12 | Fiachra Trench | Arranger, Organ, Strings, Woodwind |
| 13 | Alan Watts | Guitar |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |