''Enlightenment'' is the twentieth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

. It was released in 1990 and reached No. 5 in the UK charts and " Real Real Gone" charted at No. 18 in Mainstream Rock Tracks. The June 2008 re-issued and re-mastered version of the album contains alternate takes of " Enlightenment" and "So Quiet in Here". "Start All Over Again" from this album was listed as one of the standout tracks from the six album reissue.

Recording

The album was recorded in London, England, and Real World in Box. The arrangements were by Fiachra Trench and Micheal O'Suilleabhain played piano with a brass section made up of British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musicians from the late sixties: Frank Ricotti, Henry Lowther and Malcolm Griffiths. One of the songs "So Quiet in Here" was recorded at the Kirk, Rode,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, a setting which served as both church or studio.

Composition

The song "Enlightenment" contains the words: "I'm in the here and now and I'm meditating/ And still I'm suffering but that's my problem/ Enlightenment, don't know what it is". "So Quiet in Here" is a continuation of the song " Into the Mystic" from the '' Moondance'' album. The single released from the album, " Real Real Gone", was originally written and meant for the 1980 album ''

Common One ''Common One'' is the twelfth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1980. The album was recorded over a nine-day period at Super Bear Studios, near Nice, on the French Riviera. Its title is in the lyrics of t ...

''.Hinton, ''Celtic Crossroads'', pp 293, 294 The song "In the Days Before Rock 'N' Roll" was a collaboration between Morrison and the Irish poet Paul Durcan.

Track listing

All songs by Morrison unless noted otherwise. #" Real Real Gone" – 3:43 #" Enlightenment" – 4:04 #"So Quiet in Here" – 6:09 #"Avalon of the Heart" – 4:45 #"See Me Through" – 6:13 #"Youth of 1,000 Summers" – 3:45 #"In the Days Before Rock 'N' Roll" (Durcan, Morrison) – 8:13 #"Start All Over Again" – 4:10 #"She's My Baby" – 5:14 #"Memories" – 4:14

Bonus tracks (2008 CD reissue)

#" Enlightenment" – 3:29 (alternate take) #"So Quiet in Here" – 4:03 (alternate take)

Personnel

Musicians

*Van Morrison – vocals, guitar, harmonica *The Ambrosian Singers – choir, with John McCarthy as choirmaster (on 4) *Dave Bishop –

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

s * Paul Durcan – spoken word (on 7) * Dave Early – drums (except on 4, 10) *

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

–

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, backing vocals *Alex Gifford – synthesizers, piano * Steve Gregory –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, flute *Malcolm Griffiths –

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

*Bernie Holland – lead guitar (on 2, 6, 9) * Henry Lowther – trumpet (on 6, 8, 9) * Brian Odgers – bass guitar (on 2, 9) * Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin – piano (on 3) *Steve Pearce – bass guitar (except on 2, 9) * Frank Ricotti –

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

(on 8) *Steve Sanger – drums (on 4, 10) * Steve Waterman –

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

(on 6, 8, 9)

Production

Recorded mainly at Wool Hall Studios, Beckington
Townhouse, London, Real World, Box and Pavilion Studios, London.
("So Quiet in Here" recorded at The Kirk, Rode, Somerset) *Producer: Van Morrison *Engineers: Mick Glossop, Steve Williams *Additional engineering: Alastair McMillan *Mixing: Mick Glossop, Steve Williams *String, Brass and Choir arrangements: Fiachra Trench *String section leader: Gavin Wright *Keyboard and Synth arrangements: Neil Drinkwater

Charts

Album

UK Album Chart

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

(North America)

Singles

Notes

References

* Hinton, Brian (1997). ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary,

External links

Van Morrison's ''Enlightenment'' another sign of transition
{{Authority control Van Morrison albums 1990 albums Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Van Morrison