Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl: The Concert Film
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl: The Concert Film is the second official DVD by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released May 19, 2009 (see 2009 in music).[1] It features the songs from his 1968 classic album, Astral Weeks. The live performances on the DVD were filmed from two separate concerts by Van Morrison at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California with a fourteen-member band. The DVD is featured as an Amazon.com Exclusive in the United States with a release date of May 19, 2009. Morrison also released an album on CD and vinyl on February 24, 2009, entitled Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl with material from these two concerts.
| Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl: The Concert Film | ||||
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| Video by | ||||
| Released | May 19, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | November 7, November 8, 2008, at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Blue-eyed soul | |||
| Label | Listen to the Lion Records | |||
| Producer | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison chronology | ||||
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Included as a trailer and entitled "To Be Born Again" is an interview conducted by Scott Foundas with Morrison explaining some of the meaning behind Astral Weeks and other footage behind the scenes.[2] Some of the songs on the DVD have new sections that were added during the live performances on stage at the Hollywood Bowl. As producer of the CD and DVD, Morrison insisted on no post-production engineering so that the sound would be as close as possible to the live concert performances.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| USA Today |  [3] |
Mike Clark with USA Today called it: "A preservation of last year's rhapsodically received Nov. 7 and 8 performances, kinetically photographed and edited for an even more succulent taste."[4]
Track listing for DVD
All songs, music and arrangements by Van Morrison
- "Astral Weeks – I Believe I've Transcended"
- "Beside You"
- "Slim Slow Slider – I Start Breaking Down"
- "Sweet Thing"
- "The Way Young Lovers Do"
- "Cyprus Avenue – You Came Walking Down"
- "Ballerina – Move On Up"
- "Madame George"
- "Listen to the Lion – The Lion Speaks"
Bonus tracks (2009 DVD release)
- "Common One"
- "Gloria"
Bonus features
- To Be Born Again – trailer
Personnel
- Van Morrison – vocals, guitar, harmonica
- Jay Berliner – guitar
- Tony Fitzgibbon – violin, viola
- Roger Kellaway – grand piano
- David Hayes – double bass
- Bobby Ruggiero – drums
- Paul Moran – harpsichord, trumpet
- Richie Buckley – flute, saxophone
- Sarah Jory – 2nd rhythm guitar
- Liam Bradley – percussion
- Nancy Ellis – violin
- Terry Adams – cello
- Michael Graham – cello
On the bonus tracks
- John Platania – guitar (Bonus material only)
- Rick Shlosser – percussion instrument – ("Gloria" only)
- Bianca Thornton – backing vocals (Bonus material only)
- Liam Bradley – backing vocals – ("Gloria" only)
- John Densmore – tambourine ("Gloria" only)
Credits
- Van Morrison – executive producer
- Gigi Lee – executive producer
- Josh Karchmer – producer
- Darren Doane and Van Morrison – directors
References
- Rosen, Steven (February 1, 2009). "Van Morrison:Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl". blurt-online.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- Hall, Tara (May 1, 2009). "May's New Music DVD Releases: Elton John, Van Morrison, The Moody Blues". livedaily.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
- USA Today review
- Clark, Mike (May 2, 2009). "New on DVD: Morrison concert, 'Valkyrie'". usatoday.com. Retrieved May 22, 2009.