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Song Of The Day – “Haunts Of Ancient Peace” by Van Morrison

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vanmorrisonHere we have one of Van Morrison’s most soulful pieces of music, originally from one of his most underrated albums. Common One was released in 1980 and features six deeply moving extended jazz meditations that hawked back to Morrison’s classic Astral Weeks album in sound and texture.

However, unlike Astral Weeks, this record’s release was met with unanimous derision from the critics who didn’t understand the literary and jazz underpinnings of the music and found it ponderous and boring. While the record does lack the kind of immediacy that grabs you on the first listen, it does reap generous rewards upon further listening.

The title of this song was named from a 1902 book by Alfred Austin (Poet Laureate 1896-1912). This version features the same band that played on the album, and was recorded at Montreux before the album’s release. The personnel featured new band members Mark Isham on trumpet, John Allair on organ and synthesizer, Pee Wee Ellis on saxophones and Peter Van Hooke on drums. The rest of the band is filled out with Morrison’s Caledonia Soul Orchestra members Jeff Labes on piano, John Platania on guitar, David Hayes on bass and Dahaud Shaar on percussion.

Today in Rock History – August 31

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1965, During a North American tour The Beatles played two shows at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California to a total of 28,700 fans.

1968, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Aurthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex all appeared at the first Isle Of Wight Festival held over two days. Tickets, 25 shillings, ($3.00).

1968, Howlin’ Wolf performed at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Texas International Pop Festival in Lewisville. Also on the bill, BB King, The Incredible String Band, Sam & Dave and Janis Joplin.

1970, Led Zeppelin played before 6,000 fans at the Milwaukee Arena, in a concert rescheduled from August 27th. One reviewer wrote, “The groups started slow, finished big, and the crowd unwound with them. By the end of the show the area in front of the stage was filled with hundreds of people who finally won out over the security guards.”

1971, The Rolling Stones, plus the father of Brian Jones, filed a high court writ against former managers Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton. They claimed the duo made a secret deal with Decca Records in 1963 to deprive the group of royalties.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Starkers Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Australia.

1974, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was quoted as saying, “I gave up drugs when the doctor told me I had six months to live.”

1975, Rod Stewart and the Faces, Loggins & Messina, Fleetwood Mac and Lynyrd Skynyrd all appeared at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.

1976, George Harrison was found guilty of “subconscious plagiarism” of the Ronnie Mack song “He’s So Fine” when writing “My Sweet Lord.” Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack’s estate. The Chiffons then recorded their own version of “My Sweet Lord.”

1977, Yes played at Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin.

1981, The Grateful Dead performed at the Aladdin Hotel Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1984, Purple Rain, the movie-starring Prince opened at cinemas across the UK with special late night previews.

1985, Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at number one on the US album charts. The album also topped the charts in 25 other countries and went on to sell over 20 million worldwide.

1997, Oasis went to number one on the UK album chart with their third album Be Here Now. The album had sold over a million copies on the first day of release.

2007, Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and The Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for “country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gourmandisers,” was originally launched to showcase country music.

Born on August 31: Roger Dean (1944) Van Morrison and Bob Welch (1945); Rudolf Schenker, The Scorpions (1948); and Glenn Tilbrook, guitar, vocals, Squeeze (1957)

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Today in Rock History – July 22

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beatles-introducing-beatles1963, The Beatles’ first US album, Introducing The Beatles was pressed by Vee-Jay Records, who thought they had obtained the legal rights from EMI affiliate, Trans-Global Records. When it was finally released in January, 1964, Capitol Records would hit Vee Jay with an injunction against manufacturing, distributing, advertising, or otherwise disposing of records by the Beatles. After a trial, Vee-Jay was allowed to release any Beatles records that they had masters of in any form until October 15th, 1964. After that time, they no longer had the right to issue any Beatles product.

1964, The Beach Boys performed at Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

1965, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones were each fined £5 at East Ham Magistrates Court, London after being found guilty of insulting behaviour at a Romford Road service station. The three had all urinated against a wall.

1966, The Who played at Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland. The venue is home to one of Scotland’s finest dance floors, famous for its bounce, which floats on fixed steel springs. During the 1960s The Beatles,  The Small Faces, and Cream all appeared at the Beach.

Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service

1967, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big Brother & the Holding Company appeared at the Convention Hall, San Diego, California.

1967, The Who play their first American live gig at New York’s Paramount Theater.

1969, Aretha Franklin was arrested for causing a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. After posting $50 bail, she ran down a road sign while leaving the police station.

1969, The Doors perform at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, California, portions of the show appear on Absolutely Live. Later the entire concert was released on CD as well.

1971, John and Yoko spent the second day filming the Imagine promotional film at their home in Tittenhurst Park Ascot, England. Today’s footage included the morning walk on the grounds though the mist and John Lennon singing “Imagine” in the white room on his white piano.

1972, Roxy Music appeared at Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1972, The Grateful Dead play the Paramount Northwest Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1972, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Sweden for possession of drugs.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1973, Humble Pie and Mountain appear at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1973, Van Morrison appeared at Birmingham Town Hall, playing his first UK show for over 2 years.

1974, The Eagles release their third album, On the Border.

1975, Number one on the Billboard album charts is Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti.  Second is Olivia Newton-John with Have You Never Been Mellow. Number three is Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

1975, Three Dog Night appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1975, The Rolling Stones go into the Musicland Studios in Munich to begin recording Black and Blue.

1976, On the campaign trail, Jimmy Carter tells the National Association of Record Merchandisers’ Scholarship Foundation Dinner his musical inspiration as governor of Georgia was Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin. He makes pertinent quotations from Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

1977, Stiff Records released My Aim Is True the debut album from Elvis Costello in the UK.

1978, The Police sign with A&M Records.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1982, Van Halen performed at BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama.

1989, Simply Red scored their first UK top charting album with their third release A New Flame.

1989, The soundtrack album Batman by Prince started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart.

2003, Coldplay played the second of two nights at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia on their A Rush of Blood to the Head world tour.

2004, American singer, songwriter and producer Arthur Crier died of heart failure. Member of The Chimes and had worked with Little Eva, Gene Pitney, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Ben E. King, Johnny Nash and The Coasters.

2005, Founder member and singer with The Chi-lites, Eugene Record died of cancer. Had the 1972 US No.1 single “Oh Girl” and 1972 UK No.3 single “Have You Seen Her.” He also released three solo albums.

2006, Johnny Cash was at number one on the US album chart with American V: A Hundred Highways. Released posthumously on July 4, the vocal parts were recorded before Cash’s death, but the instruments were not recorded until 2005.

Born on July 22: George Clinton, Parlaiment, Funkadelic (1941); Bobby Sherman (1943); Estelle Bennett, The Ronettes, and Rick Davies, Supertramp (1944); Don Henley (1947); and Rufus Wainwright (1973)

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Today in Rock History – July 20

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1965, Bob Dylan releases “Like a Rolling Stone.” The single becomes his first major hit, reaching number two on the US charts. The song remained on the charts for twelve weeks. It was recorded on June 15th and 16th at Columbia Studio A, on Seventh Avenue in New York. Then session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known.

1967, Jerry Lee Lewis kicks off his first English tour since he was hounded out of the country for being married to his 13-year-old cousin in May 1958.

1968, Cream started a four-week run at number one on the US album chart with Wheels On Fire. It reached the third spot in the UK.

1968, The Who and The Troggs played at the Virginia Beach Dome in Virginia Beach, Virginia

1968, Paul McCartney’s girlfriend Jane Asher announces on British TV that her engagement had been broken off. McCartney met future spouse Linda Eastman on a business trip earlier in June.

1968, Big Brother and the Holding Company and Blue Cheer performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.The

1968, Hugh Masekela started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Grazing In The Grass.”

1968, Iron Butterfly’s second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, entered the album chart for the first time. The album contained the 17-minute title track that filled the second side of the LP which went on sell over four million copies in the US alone.

1968, Jane Asher announced on the national British TV show, Dee Time, that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. Paul reportedly was watching at a friend’s home and was surprised by the news. She was said to have inspired many of McCartney’s songs, such as “All My Loving,” “And I Love Her,” and “We Can Work It Out.” Jane went on to have a career in films and television as well as becoming a successful author and business woman.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed in front of 2500 fans at Musicarnival in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

1969, King Crimson played at the Marquee Club, London.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appear at Century’s Huntington Theater, Huntington, New York.

1971, The Carpenters show Make Your Own Kind Of Music started a six week run on NBC-TV.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Boston Garden, Boston. Tickets were $4.50 – $6.50.

1974, David Bowie appeared live at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

1974, The Ramones decide to make their drummer Joey Ramone the lead vocalist.

1974, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Van Morrison, The Doobie Brothers and The Allman Brothers all appeared at Knebworth Park, England.

1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the opening night on their Born To Run Tour at The Palace Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island. This also saw the live debut of “Miami” Steven Van Zandt as a member of The E Street Band.

1975, The Summerfest concert lineup at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York was Judy Collins, Dan Fogelberg, Seals & Crofts, with The Eagles as headliners.

1975, Yes played at Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, Michigan.

1976, Buzzcocks made their live debut supporting The Sex Pistols and Slaughter & The Dogs at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester. In the audience was, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division) and Mark E Smith, (The Fall) and Mick Hucknall. Tickets cost £1.

1977, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Arizona State University Activities Center, Tempe, Arizona.

1979, Van Halen played at the Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Salem Fairgrounds, Salem, Oregon.

1983, ZZ Top played at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio.

1986, Carlos Santana celebrated his 39th birthday, and 20th anniversary in the music business, with a concert in San Francisco. Previous group members were assembled for the event, as 17 of them performed together on stage.

1990, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at Wembley Stadium, London, England, on her 57-date Blond Ambition World Tour.

1994, The Grateful Dead’s only performance on this date in history took place at Deer Creek Music Center, just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.

1999, The Rolling Stones reported a gross income of $337 million, (£168m), from almost two years of touring from their Bridges to Babylon and No Security tours. The Stones had played to over 5.6 million people, selling out all but 20 shows.

2000, The Evergreen Ballroom in Lacey, Washington was destroyed by a fire. During the ballroom’s heyday in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, many of music’s greats played there: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Duke Ellington, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and Fats Domino. Glen Campbell had lived in the kitchen at the venue for a while before he became famous.

2009, Jackson Browne settled his lawsuit against US Senator John McCain and the Republican Party after his 1977 hit “Running On Empty” was used without permission in a 2008 McCain presidential campaign ad that aired on TV and the Internet. McCain and the Republican Party apologized for using the song in the ad, and said that McCain himself “had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the creation or distribution of the video.”

2011, Pictures of The Beatles’ first US concert in Washington DC on February 11th, 1964, taken by a then 18-year-old Mike Mitchell, sold at Christie’s auction house for $361,938. Security in those days was very casual and Mitchell was just feet from the band as he snapped the black and white photos which he stored for years in a box in his basement.

2015, American country musician, songwriter and record producer Wayne Carson died at the age of 72 after suffering congestive heart failure. He co-wrote “Always on My Mind,” a hit for Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and others. He also penned “The Letter,” recorded by The Box Tops, Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, and “Soul Deep.”

Born on July 20: Buddy Knox, singer, songwriter (1933); Kim Carnes, singer; and John Lodge, The Moody Blues (1945); Carlos Santana (1947); Jay Jay French, guitar, Twisted Sister (1952); Paul Cook, drums, Sex Pistols (1956); Michael McNeil, keyboards, Simple Minds (1958); Chris Cornell, vocals, guitar, Soundgarden (1962); and Stone Gossard, guitar, Pearl Jam (1966)

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Today in Rock History – July 5

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1964, The Irish band Them, featuring Van Morrison, record “Gloria.”

1965, The Four Tops record their number five hit “It’s the Same Old Song,” which resembles their number one “I Can’t Help Myself.”

1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed a Folk-Rock group that would evolve into the Jefferson Airplane, the premier San Francisco psychedelic band of the late ’60s. The Airplane made its debut the following month at a Haight-Ashbury club, and was signed to RCA later in the year.

1966, On the recommendation of Rolling Stone Keith Richards’ girlfriend, Chas Chandler from The Animals went to see Jimi Hendrix play at The Cafe Wha? in New York City. Chandler suggests that Hendrix should come to England, which he does and Chandler became his manager.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, England.

1968, Bill Graham opens the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1968, The Jeff Beck Group appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London’s Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Adonais and released 3,500 butterflies. The event was also guitarist’s Mick Taylor’s debut with the Stones.  King Crimson, Family, The Third Ear Band, Screw and Alexis Korner’s New Church also appeared on the day.

1969, The Who, Chuck Berry and Bodast all played two shows, one at 5:30 and another at 8:30pm, at The Royal Albert Hall.

1969, Vanilla Fudge performed at Place des Nations in Montreal, Quebec.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band were part of the Atlanta Pop Festival lineup held at Byron, Georgia.

1971, A Led Zeppelin gig in Milan turns violent when police fire tear gas at the crowd. The band escapes unharmed, but numerous arrests are made and a roadie is hit in the head with a bottle.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia.

1972, Procol Harum and The Eagles appeared at the Golden Hall, San Diego, California.

1974, David Bowie played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Roger Waters – photo by Danny Clifford (dannyclifford.com)

1975, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart, Steve Miller and Roy Harper all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, England, tickets cost £3.50 ($5.60). Pink Floyd premiered their new album Wish You Were Here with the help of Spitfires, pyrotechnics and an exploding plane which flies into the stage.

1975, Yes performed at Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville, Indiana.

1976, Elvis Presley appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Civic Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

1978, the Electric Light Orchestra performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1978, The manufacturing of Some Girls the new album by The Rolling Stones was halted at EMI’s pressing plant after complaints from celebrities including Lucille Ball who were featured in mock advertisements on the album sleeve.

1979, Foreigner played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1980, ZZ Top performed at the Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Florida.

1981, Van Halen played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1981, Rush appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1982, Sun records musical director Bill Justis died of cancer aged 55. He worked with Sam Phillips at Sun Records, and also worked with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He had the 1957 US number two single “Raunchy,” the first Rock and Roll instrumental hit. Also had a number one hit in Australia in 1963 with “Tamoure.”

1983, Eric Clapton played at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland.

1984, Van Halen performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Sunrise Musical Theater, Sunrise, Florida.

1995, More than 100 Grateful Dead fans were hurt when a wooden deck collapsed at a campground lodge in Wentzville, Missouri. Hundreds of people were on or under the deck sheltering from heavy rain. More than 4,000 Deadheads were staying at the campground while attending Grateful Dead concerts in the St. Louis suburb.

1999, The Eurythmics announced their first world tour for more than ten years, with all profits would be given to charity. The duo made the announcement from the Greenpeace boat ‘Rainbow Warrior’ moored on the River Thames in London.

2007, English jazz and blues singer and film critic George Melly died at his London home at the age of 80 of lung cancer and vascular dementia.

Born on July 5: Robbie Robertson (1944); Michael Monarch, guitar, Steppenwolf (1948); Huey Lewis (1951); Nick O’Malley, bass, Arctic Monkeys (1985)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Born To Sing” by Van Morrison

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I’m always fascinated by how the record companies approach the marketing of their legacy artists. To the record company, legacy artists are loss leaders, they have name value but don’t sell the number of records they used to. Many of these artists are either kept on their label’s roster for their marquee value, or they find themselves cutting distribution deals with independent labels like Concord Records to release their records. Paul McCartney and Paul Simon have recently gone down this route with their latest releases, and McCartney has gone as far as re-releasing his entire back catalog for the umpteenth time as well. I find it very telling which artists get the promotional bucks behind their releases versus those that don’t. For instance, the build up to Bob Dylan’s latest album “Tempest” went on for months, culminating in live streams a week before the release and a plethora of ways to purchase his new music, including one bundle that included a signature harmonica (for $119.99). With all the promotional muscle behind his release, Dylan only debuted on the charts at number three (roughly 110,000 in sales), a full two slots below the debut of his last record. Neil Young is deep into promotion for his second release this year, the forthcoming double-disc “Psychedelic Pill.” Neil recorded with Crazy Horse for the first time in seven years resulting in the “Americana” album earlier this year. Like that album, several tracks debuted with social media in the form of videos, well in advance of their release. While on tour, Neil has pretty much ignored the “Americana” album in favor of debuting many of the songs that will end up on “Pill.” Meanwhile, members of Crazy Horse hit the media trail giving interviews about the recording sessions of both albums. And just to ensure that your holiday gift giving will be Neil-filled, a biography “Waging Heavy Peace” and a concert film “Journeys” are also hitting the shelves this fall. The Rolling Stones seem hell-bent on milking every last dollar out of their 50th Anniversary with a book, a hits record and some concert dates. The band reconvened in the studio to record only two new songs. These songs will form the basis of their upcoming hits album called “Grrrr” that will be released in every which way to make you buy music you largely already own. There will be a single disc, double disc and multi-disc version released on CD and, of course, the obligatory over-priced multi-disc vinyl version. Since not much has happened on the charts for the band since their 40th anniversary hits album “Forty Licks,” you can pretty much count on shelling out your dough to buy songs you already own in order to get the two new songs. What will follow are a handful of live dates at two venues: one in Newark NJ and one across the pond at the O2 Arena in London. Top ticket price for the New Jersey show will cost some rich boomer $750.00. This brings us to Van Morrison, another legacy artist that stands about as tall as Dylan, Young, Simon, McCartney and The Stones. His awkwardly-titled new album “Born To Sing – No Plan B” has seemingly appeared with very little fanfare. The far more reclusive Morrison gave only one promotional interview behind the album to Mojo. While Van’s new release is largely a mixed bag, his singing is as committed as ever. It kind of makes me wonder why it is that Morrison’s new album hasn’t been met with the same fanfare and the five-star reviews of the rest of the lot?

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison and Bob Dylan

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Van Morrison is one of the few musicians who can breathe the same rarified air as Bob Dylan…and in my book, he is right up there on the Mt. Rushmore of rock. So here’s a clip of the Belfast bard and his royal Bobness performing one of Van’s classics from the “Moondance” album. The clip was filmed in Greece at the tail end of Dylan’s 1989 tour. On a beautiful, sunny day, the two climbed up the Hill of the Muses in Athens and performed a four-song set in front of BBC cameras including this song, “And It Stoned Me,” “One Irish Rover” and “Foreign Windows.” The footage was captured for the BBC documentary “Arena: One Irish Rover – Van Morrison in Performance.” Oh, to have been one of those cameramen…

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Haunts Of Ancient Peace” by Van Morrison

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Here we have one of Van Morrison’s most soulful pieces of music, originally from one of his most underrated albums. “Common One” was released in 1980 and features six deeply moving extended jazz meditations that hawked back to Morrison’s classic “Astral Weeks” album in sound and texture. However, unlike “Astral Weeks,” this record’s release was met with unanimous derision from the critics who didn’t understand the literary and jazz underpinnings of the music and found it ponderous and boring. While the record does lack the kind of immediacy that grabs you on the first listen, it does reap generous rewards upon further listening. The title of this song was named from a 1902 book by Alfred Austin (Poet Laureate 1896-1912). This version features the “Common One” band and was recorded at Montreux before the album’s release. The personnel on this performance includes new band members Mark Isham on trumpet, John Allair on organ and synthesizer, Pee Wee Ellis on saxophones and Peter Van Hooke on drums, along with Jeff Labes on piano, John Platania on guitar, David Hayes on bass and Dahaud Shaar on percussion, who were all members of Morrison’s Caledonia Soul Orchestra.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Haunts Of Ancient Peace” by Van Morrison

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45-adapter-logo2vanmorrison

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Haunts Of Ancient Peace” by Van Morrison

Today’s Song of the Day by Eric Berman is one of Van Morrison’s most soulful pieces of music, originally from one of his most underrated albums.

Common One was released in 1980 and features six deeply-moving extended jazz meditations that harked back to Morrison’s 1968 masterpiece, Astral Weeks in sound and texture.

Unlike Astral Weeks, this record’s release was met with unanimous derision from the critics who didn’t understand the literary and jazz underpinnings of the music and found it ponderous and boring.

While Common One does lack the kind of immediacy that grabs you on the first listen, it does reap generous rewards upon further listening. The title of this song was inspired by a 1902 book by Alfred Austin (Poet Laureate 1896-1912).

The live version video shows the Common One band in action from Montreux before the album’s release. The personnel includes new band members at the time Mark Isham on trumpet (channeling his best Miles), John Allair on organ and synthesizer, Pee Wee Ellis on saxophones and Peter Van Hooke on drums, along with Jeff Labes on piano, John Platania on guitar, David Hayes on bass and Dahaud Shaar on percussion, who were all members of Morrison’s Caledonia Soul Orchestra.