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en.wikipedia.org]
Count me in for 1967 thru 1987 or 1988...thereabouts...
then the next ten years was also interesting, sometimes compelling;
hahha; he's got a 50 year recording career so this is gonna take
a LOT of teeth pulling to come up with even a Top Twenty for me.
Love the guy. To me, he's like Ray Davies or the Glims, or Pete's best Who stuff...
or anybody's work really...
I'd have to, and do very frequently, go back to Van's key influence Ray Charles,
and also Jackie Wilson; mixed with wild romantic dire tales of rhapsodic Celtic poetry. He's the Irish Bob Dylan, not Bono...not close...
....and Ireland is to the world of music, in many ways, as essential as is Africa, in the formation of deep and ancient soul musics...however diverse in a Continental and historical sense...
...music is where it all meets anyway....
Van a distinct very distinct blues singer even fresh faced unable to grow a beard....very 'informed' soulful young guy, hip to where American gospel turned to blues; I can hear so many influnces and colors in his vocal instrument and bluesy delivery.
Ray Charles a very, very deep major influence Van has said;
I've taken too big a bite of the subject matter with these meanderings, rather than a list, sorry; i'll come up with one down the line;
but Van has a lot of depth; and combed a lot of depths, so to speak;
and brought them to me as reliably as young Rolling Stones brought me Howlin' Wolf and many other seminal blues artists....
....his voice itself a fine instrument; he arranges his own horns, plays the sax;
and imo, well for me it's fascinating when a singer that is really distinct and facile enough, and soulful enough, for jazzy stuff...that he's really playing the sax through his singing almost. I feel that way about Van and also
when Dion Dimucci goes into his characteristic, stylistic 'scatting' singing...
...now i need to comb the depths with Ella nd others who also play 'instruments' thru their own 'vocal instrument' their own human bodies...
whoa gets heavy when an artist is transcendent; and i God I wish I could spell that right just once in any three or four tries; transcendant...
whatever...
...
...i don't know what his best songs are...
i guess recently i've listened to Jackie Wilson Says I'm In Heaven When You Smile and Tupelo Honey; I reguarly watch his Live performance with The Band
in The Last Waltz. cause that's IT. close the show; lock the doors.
everyone go home; you've seen what transcendant looks and sounds like;
watch as the band itself gets van infected and starts beaming and bouncing;
and holdin' the eff on; cause THE MAN is on the stage; stand back. just stand back and be grateful.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-05-04 03:41 by hopkins.