Enlightenment (Van Morrison album)

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Enlightenment
Enlightenment (album).jpg
Studio album by Van Morrison
Released October 1990
Reissued June 2008
Recorded February 1990
Wool Hall Studios, Real World Studio, Box Studio and Pavilion Studios, London, England; The Kirk, Somerset, England
Genre Celtic, Folk-rock
Length 50:30
Label Polydor
Producer Van Morrison
Van Morrison chronology
The Best of Van Morrison
(1990)The Best of Van Morrison1990		 Enlightenment
(1990)		 Hymns to the Silence
(1991)Hymns to the Silence1991
Singles from Enlightenment
  1. "Real Real Gone" b/w "Start All Over Again"
    Released: September 1990
  2. "In the Days Before Rock 'N' Roll" b/w "I'd Love to Write Another Song"
    Released: November 1990
  3. "Enlightenment b/w "Avalon of the Heart"
    Released: January 1991
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau B+[2]
Entertainment Weekly A[3]
MusicHound 3.5/5[4]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[5]
Select 4/5[6]

Enlightenment is the twentieth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1990 (see 1990 in music) and reached #5 in the UK charts and "Real Real Gone" charted at #18 in Mainstream Rock Tracks.

The June 2008 re-issued and re-mastered version of the album contains an alternative 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.[7]

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 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, a setting which served as both church or studio.[8]

Composition

Contrary to the meaning of the title, the theme of the album is actually full of doubt and the songs seem to be saying that everything is what you make of it — heaven or hell. 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.[9] 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.

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

Bonus tracks (2008 CD reissue)

  1. "Enlightenment" – 3:29 (alternative take)
  2. "So Quiet in Here" – 4:03 (alternative take)

Personnel

Musicians

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

Year Chart Position
1990 UK Album Chart 5

Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1990 The Billboard 200 62

Singles

Billboard

Year Single Chart Position
1990 "Real Real Gone" Mainstream Rock Tracks 18

Notes

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, pp. 292-293
  9. ↑ Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, pp 293, 294

References

External links

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